So I haven't been into mtbing for very long, but I have gotten into it in a bigger way than I did road biking. I work at a very large orange county trek dealer (a beer for whoever can guess which one), and I've always kinda wondered what's the bad rap with trek on the mountain bike scene. Things I already know: Trek is a big company, they make a lot of money and have a lot of market share, people don't like that. Trek's older mountain bikes were pretty dated, as they reused an old design over and over again with only minor tweaks. but I ride a trek remedy, I've only seen favorable reviews of it, and the new trek fuel EX is pretty badarse and comes spec'ed pretty well for the price. Also the rest of their mtb line (at least for this year) including their hardtails and 69ers is pretty solid... Why don't you like trek?
I've never quite understood the attitude either. I've had only good experiences with Trek, and have personally owned 5 of their bikes in the past, two of which they warrantied frames, no questions asked. I think a lot of it is the loss of personal attention from a large company, other than that, I don't know.
bontrager had a older fuel and imo they clearly forced too many bont components on the bike. bont crankset was cr@p. sold that pos. have a fisher before buyout and still have that bike...it rocks
good question; it just comes w/ the territory when you're ONE of the bigger bicycle companies out there. just like specialized everyone wants to knock the king of the hill so everything they produce is picked over and some of it is rightfully justified. Plus a big company is perceived to be less in touch w/ the passionate group because they appeal so much to the vanilla end of the spectrum? just a thought
I used to have a trek Hardtail, I thought it was great. They didn't have 29ers when I was ready for a FS and the Fishers were hard to find so I had to go boutique. PM me when you get that new Full Suspension 69er in to demo. I think that bike will sell well.
I own a fisher Possum and my only complaint is the crap Bontrager components. If Trek would wise up and nix the crappy parts, I'd be somewhat sold. The biggest improvements I can see that need to be made is to get rid of the bontrager wheelsets and DEFINITELY get rid of the Bontrager cranks. I had a bontrager crank literally fall apart on me in mid ride with less than 100 miles on it. Caused me to take a nasty spill and had to walk my bike several miles back to the car. I replaced the crank with a shimano XT and now I'm waiting for the wheelset to go so I can replace with some Mavics.
Trek's newer mountain bikes are just like Trek's older mountain bikes. Welcome to 1998. It looks like their DH bike uses a single-pivot suspension design, which is the same as their 90s DH bikes. I don't know the Trek line, but there appears to be a huge gap between their XC racers and their lame DH bike. Maybe Trek should learn that most mtbers aren't XC racers, and we don't want bikes with XCish geometry (I didn't find the specs on their page, but they look XCish). And so you must work at Jax Irvine. No shop with soul carries Trek. Specialized, yes; Trek, no.
I think the question is what's with people, not Trek. People's impressions are pretty hard to explain. I got turned off to Trek because the local dealer in Chino was staffed with arrogant dickheads. They only knew Trek as a brand and called everything else crap. That arrogance was a deal killer for me. I know they are not Trek, but they represent the brand to locals like me. My perception is that for the same money you can get a better spec'd bike from another brand. I see Trek as being over priced for what you get. I could be totally wrong, but this is my impression. All that said, my parents just bought new Trek HTs for themselves and they are loving riding them. The local dealer up in their area was good and that made all the difference.
My first MTB was a Trek. Worst experiance ever. Issues with the Store more than the bike, but still issues that were a pain in the ass to deal with. Most of the personel at the store just didnt care it seemed like. not to mention the finacing issues....lame. so now im seling my Trek.
I guess it's about image and marketing. As long as I've been into bikes I've had a positive image of Trek... but I'd never go out and buy one. They've always made pretty good bikes, there's just nothing exciting about the name for some reason. They have no soul. To me, Trek is like AOL. Giant, GT and other corporate brands just don't give off the vibes. I'm not into bling bling bikes. My only bike is a 90's StumpJumper M2 made by a huge company like the ones listed above, but it still feels cool to me for some reason. It's got soul.
not sure it's merely a large co image issue. burton is huge in boarding and while I don't own one of their boards (i ride lib & nitro) I haven't heard too many complain about the Q of their products. cannot say same for trek- think they made their name in roadie and simply hasn't translated to mtb
I would tend to agree. I had an 03 Fuel 98. I love the bike, but had issues with the Bonty components. I also didn't know any better and bought it from a really crappy shop that was not supportive at all. I just sold it a few months ago and I'm glad it's gone.
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).
Many of you have not seen this bike yet, the new Trek Remedy 8. It speaks for itself. This photo is going to be part of the press release coming in the next 3 months. Check out their new offerings. Things have changed.:beer:
I dont really have an issue with trek. When I was shopping around for bikes back in the day a trek fuel was one of the bikes I tried. I think I didnt pick it because it didnt fit right and the price wasnt in my range. I ended going with a giant which I am pleased with. Last year I built up a Trek SS and now I use it to get to class. (and sometimes go on mtb rides too).
gotta love the blanket statements, and yes you're right, i do work there. possibly the most perceptive part of your comment. besides this though I guess everything makes sense. I'm having issues with my bontrager wheels right now, but I also run their saddle (by choice, its actually off of a trek madone roadie), their lock-on grips (pretty much any grip nowadays is made by the same company, odi i think makes 'em), and their stem and bars, which haven't given me any trouble. I've got the cranks too, and besides the weight, they're holding up fine with no issues as of yet.
I had a 5200 carbon road bike back in the day... Seemed to work ok but even the 62 was a bit small for me...
I still have my late 90's vintage Trek hardtail hanging in the garage as a backup/loaner bike. I like the frame fit & geometry, and it was a decent entry-level bike for its time. For a committed group like you'll find here on STR, the biggest problems I can see are the component mix, the lack of custom options, and the dealers. The components have been widely discussed already. The lack of custom options means that someone who knows exactly the mix of pieces they want will be turned off. And it's not that all dealers stink, but as a more mass-market oriented brand, Trek is mostly found at larger dealers with more poorly trained staff and generic product selections. That's a combination that will drive away the hard core cyclists who want knowledgeable service and a choice of high-end components and accessories. That's a broad generalization, I know, and some Trek dealers are probably exceptional....I just can't think of one in my region. The bottom line is that all those factors undermine Trek's credibility among those who are most committed to the sport & lifestyle. That doesn't necessarily make them bad bikes, but it makes it impossible to gain the sort of cult following or elite cache that the boutique brands generate.
A lot of these neg comments are more focused on the dealer experience than the bikes specifically. But that does say something about Trek because I'm sure they have very detailed contracts that their retailers must follow. I'd guess that most of these contracts require the dealers to carry Trek as their flagship brand, with tight restrictions on what other brands they can sell. At least that seems to be the case from my experience. Every Trek dealer I'm aware of seems to dedicate 75%+ of their floor space to Trek bikes with maybe a few others stuffed into the corner. This is a huge turn off to all except the most clueless customers. When a dealer only sells one brand, they have zero credibility and just make up stories to get people to buy. Specialized probably plays by similar rules, but they do seem to be more focused on performance and leading edge technology than Trek. I think their stranglehold on the distribution channel manifests itself in many of the comments about Trek having no soul or lacking in something that serious MTBers want. Rob
