What's with Trek???

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Evil Chocula

I just explained the difference, twice.

Thats just me though, I'm just explaing my "brand perception" to the OP, not helping DeeZee rationalize the amount of money he just spent on his Turner.

I just explained the difference, twice.

"Thats just me though, I'm just explaing my "brand perception" to the OP, not helping DeeZee rationalize the amount of money he just spent on his Turner."

OUCH!

Actually I got a great deal on it via The Path

EC I do have to give you your props for buying that Chuma (sp?). At least is not made by kids in Taiwan

[soul rider]

Treks always been good to me, yes i have cracked a hardtail, my VRX, yes VRX, i am on my third swing arm and second main frame, but hey life time warranYy no questions asked. imo the perception was they were an "XC" minded company. then they have been trying to get in good with DH/FR crowd, not sure if it worked, but they invested 2 million for the 10" downhill bike they have out now, which looks like a simple single pivot, but it's more than that. the bike and shock were manufactured in conjunction with each other. not just a frame with a shock stuffed in there. my 2 cents

[Aztlan]

My first real MTB was a Trek 6500 HT and it's still running strong. I use it mostly on my trainer and on asphalt. Would I buy from them again. Sure.

I got my eye on a nice Trek Road bike.

[Winger]

I've owned 2 treks and have been generally happy with them.

The 4900 was my newb hardtail. I rode it for 4 years, and still use it as my backup bike. I love riding it simply because it is bombproof.

The Fuel EX8 has been a decent bike, now that it is broken in. My current regret is that I bought the 2007 model, when they made drastic improvements for 2008.

The thing I love about Treks is the lifetime frame warranty.

As for image...I can't say I care. I get more "image" joy out of riding my cheapo 4900 hardtail past expensive bikes.

Would I buy another Trek? Maybe, except this time I'd spend more time testing out different brands of bikes.

[madrider]

While recently shopping for a road bike I picked up the Trek Madone (at Jax!!!!), and it's been a great bike. What was I looking for? A good, solid components, no nonsense, don't touch, ride until the wheels fall off -ride. Bontrager, shmontager, I'll replace it when it breaks.

Do I shop the same way for my MTB? No. I want to be excited when I buy a frame or components. Walk into a trek store, look at the bikes, unless you know what you're looking at, they all look very similar- what's the excitement in that? The picture of the Remedy is cool, but it looks like all the other Treks in a different color. I walk into the back room at the path and I start to hyperventilate. Even specialized has a little more pizzazz with their Demo's and triple crown forks that make me take a second look.

While I'm sure Trek makes great bikes, they haven't got/earned the rep yet, why, I'm not sure. Others are right, even Specialized and Giant have more going for them than Trek. Maybe while Trek was focusing on the developing the road market with Lance, others were developing the MTB market...

[SAR_boats]

Originally Posted by mazer75

I just don't see Trek as innovative. Specialized is a huge company, but at least they are always trying something new. I don't see anything like that coming from Trek. There's just nothing compelling about them, no "edge".

(I should point out that I'm a Specialized owner/whore).

Which is why the big red S has been using the same suspension design for the last decade.

(By the way, I own an S-Works enduro)

Originally Posted by EMrider

Specialized probably plays by similar rules, but they do seem to be more focused on performance and leading edge technology than Trek.

I've heard that they do.

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by kdog4130

Trek is a good company, who employees passionate people that are true cyclists. Meet some of them, and you would be hard pressed to tell me they have no soul.

I have a GF Sugar 4+ and enjoy the bike. It was given to me for free so thats part of the reason i like it, but i've replaced parts as they break and it's done everything i ask of it. Along the lines of your comment,

Originally Posted by kdog4130

Meet some of them, and you would be hard pressed to tell me they have no soul.

STR always has large rides going and represents a large buying demographic of MTB enthusiasts and many smaller companies, ie. Chumba, Yeti, Rocky Mountain, Bionicon, etc have made a local effort to bring their products to the people. The road goes both ways and Trek needs customers more then the customers need Trek, so maybe if Trek wants to be considered less of a vanilla company just opening a facility along the coast is not going to convince core enthusiasts that Trek has changed.

[Liquid55]

I don't care who makes the bike as long as I like it and can afford it, thats what is all comes down too.

[Pain Freak]

Being more xc orientated I like the Trek bikes. I haven't spent a great deal of time on them, but what I've rode I really liked. True, they are more for the 4" travel people, but I think they handle exceptionally well. Technically they are lagging and as anyone who rides road bikes will tell you they flat out outsell everyone. Their road bikes are their bread and butter and I think after they signed Lance they decided to spend most of their R&D on these bikes first and what was left over would be given to the mtb arm of the company. I think most mtb'ers see this. How many big name riders, ride a Trek mtb? I think Trek was just keeping one foot in the mtb scene and now with Team Discovery gone and Lance being retired, they might decide to get back into it. I hope so, because years ago that was the bike to have.

And yes, the Bontrager stuff for the most part sux. They should know better, their road bikes mostly have a Shimano drive train.

[station]

Yeah the new higher end Treks are beautiful. The super sweet thing about Treks is that if you crack the frame they give you a new one (or credit towards a new one). Even after 10 years. Unless you paint it or whatever. that's kinda rad. Specialized would just be all "whatever".

[Cowgirl]

As a past Specialized dealer, past Giant dealer and now a current Trek dealer I too find customers who either love or hate Trek....funny most everyone comes in loving Gary Fisher and are always surprised when they are told it's made by Trek.

I know from my experience that people want the most bang for their buck and I can create that in a more custom bike that we start building from Frame up like the Santa Cruz line we sell...

But the Trek product does fit that nitch in the industry that has a certain price point that they need to buy in and they can find that with the bigger lines like Trek, Specialized and Giant, etc...And those lines are great for entry level buyers who are just starting into biking and don't know if they will fall in love with it...

I actually use the financing that Trek offers to sell any product line in my store...that is a big bonus they offer..ride off on your dream bike and pay for it the rest of your life...it's the American way! Where else can you get 0% interest and no payments for a year while your pedaling the tread off the tires.

I have to say that I have made sure not to become a TREK ONLY store...I think that limits you to your customer base...Trek and Specialized are battling it out to have stores that only stock their product and I do think that is wrong...that is where the "soul" is lost in a shop.

There are plenty of shops that stock a large assortment of brands to please all that come in and I think that is where you can still find a shop that has "soul"...

[alank]

I can tell that Trek is making some moves to appeal more to the mtb enthusiast. Overall, I like their concentric pivot design. I had a chance to ride one briefly and came away somewhat impressed. However, I am somewhat disappointed that Trek took CHUMBA's beloved "EVO" name - without even asking permission!

About the whole Bontrager components falling apart, when CHUMBA spec'ed out our wheels, we had everyone in the company take a set, and put them on our personal bikes and ride them for several months before we agreed to use them in our build kits. That way, we knew they worked. As a small company of mtb enthusiasts, we try everything we sell beforehand even if it comes from a reputable manufacturer, to make sure everything performs best. And, we also look for value for our customers, if we can save our customers a dollar while bringing similar or even at times, exceeded performance, we will do it. Last, we always listen to our customers, and since we are usually always out riding with them, the feedback comes real quick. For instance, at one point, our riders thought that the EVO's seat angle was a little slack for all mountain, but perfect for freeride and light DH. So we split up the EVO, one into a freeride model, and one with a 72 seat angle for all mountain climbing. One thing I really hope for CHUMBA is that we always stay close to the riders, listen, and bring the best performing bikes to market in a value-added way.

[RacinJason]

For those who want to get away from the norm.

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

As a past Specialized dealer, past Giant dealer and now a current Trek dealer I too find customers who either love or hate Trek....funny most everyone comes in loving Gary Fisher and are always surprised when they are told it's made by Trek.

I know from my experience that people want the most bang for their buck and I can create that in a more custom bike that we start building from Frame up like the Santa Cruz line we sell...

But the Trek product does fit that nitch in the industry that has a certain price point that they need to buy in and they can find that with the bigger lines like Trek, Specialized and Giant, etc...And those lines are great for entry level buyers who are just starting into biking and don't know if they will fall in love with it...

I actually use the financing that Trek offers to sell any product line in my store...that is a big bonus they offer..ride off on your dream bike and pay for it the rest of your life...it's the American way! Where else can you get 0% interest and no payments for a year while your pedaling the tread off the tires.

I have to say that I have made sure not to become a TREK ONLY store...I think that limits you to your customer base...Trek and Specialized are battling it out to have stores that only stock their product and I do think that is wrong...that is where the "soul" is lost in a shop.

There are plenty of shops that stock a large assortment of brands to please all that come in and I think that is where you can still find a shop that has "soul"...

[dutch]

Except that I bet trek's EVO stands for Every Valuable (marketing/improvement) Opportunity, and chumba's EVO stands for "EVOlution that is really just a first".

I hope that doesn't sound like I'm bashing either, I love my trek and I would really like to try an EVO, but anograms are probably my favorite thing in the world, and I'm drunk.

Originally Posted by alank

I can tell that Trek is making some moves to appeal more to the mtb enthusiast. Overall, I like their concentric pivot design. I had a chance to ride one briefly and came away somewhat impressed. However, I am somewhat disappointed that Trek took CHUMBA's beloved "EVO" name - without even asking permission!

[alank]

Originally Posted by dutch

Except that I bet trek's EVO stands for Every Valuable (marketing/improvement) Opportunity, and chumba's EVO stands for "EVOlution that is really just a first".

I hope that doesn't sound like I'm bashing either, I love my trek and I would really like to try an EVO, but anograms are probably my favorite thing in the world, and I'm drunk.

Hi Dutch,

I am just disappointed with Trek for using one of our frame's name that we've invested a lot of time, marketing, and resources to promote. The CHUMBA EVO was reviewed in Mountain Bike Action, Mountain Biking, Decline, and several other national and international media outlets. There is simply no way their marketing people did not know about it as I'm sure they are reading those publications religiously. CHUMBA's EVO was out far before their "evo" linkage, and it is just sad to me that they would disregard CHUMBA's intellectual property in such a manner.

[CalEpic]

Originally Posted by alank

Hi Dutch,

I am just disappointed with Trek for using one of our frame's name that we've invested a lot of time, marketing, and resources to promote. The CHUMBA EVO was reviewed in Mountain Bike Action, Mountain Biking, Decline, and several other national and international media outlets. There is simply no way their marketing people did not know about it as I'm sure they are reading those publications religiously. CHUMBA's EVO was out far before their "evo" linkage, and it is just sad to me that they would disregard CHUMBA's intellectual property in such a manner.

I'm wondering how Specialized feels about your rear suspension design?

I'm not trying to bash you, Jason or Chumba but the constant Spam makes your statement comical.

C

[alank]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

I'm wondering how Specialized feels about your rear suspension design?

I'm not trying to bash you, Jason or Chumba but the constant Spam makes your statement comical.

C

I don't know you personally, so I will not take any of your comments as a personal attack against me. I'm sure you are a nice guy in person and maybe when we meet in-person we will have a better conversation.

If you do know Ted and CHUMBA from the Bike Beat days in the early 90s, you might be familiar with the suspension designs that were used back then, and that is all I can say about that subject.

Not sure why you find my comment comical either, but we've spent a few years and a lot of dollars promoting the "EVO" name and it wasn't funny to us when another manufacturer decides to use it on one of their bikes.

However, you are entitled to your opinion - no hard feelings.

-A.

[Winger]

Holy Crap! Schwinn trumps all with their EVO exercise bike! EvOWNED!
http://sporting-goods.pricegrabber.c...;20bikes/skd=1