Trek Bicycle Corporation
Parent Intrepid Corporation | | |
Subsidiaries | List
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Website | trekbikes.com |
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek,
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
1976-1979 — The early years
In December 1975,
1980–1984 — Trek becomes a business
Hampered without additional manufacturing capacity, Trek sales plateaued in the late 1970s. In just a few years, Trek had outgrown its original "red barn" manufacturing facility—a former carpet
1985–1991 — Technology frontier
In 1985, borrowing technology from the aerospace industry, (and bike companies such as Alan and Vitus), Trek introduced its first
1989 was a pivotal year for Trek, marking the year that the company unveiled its first molded carbon fiber frame, the Trek 5000. The 5000 frameset (monocoque carbon frame plus bonded aluminum fork) had an advertised weight of 3.3 lb (1.5 kg). Designed by Trek but built by Brent Trimble, an outside manufacturer, the 5000 suffered enough quality problems that it was discontinued after just one year. But the lessons learned from the 5000 would prove to be instrumental in driving Trek to develop its own carbon manufacturing capabilities in the coming years.
In 1990, Trek developed a new category of bicycle that combined the comfort features of a mountain bike with the quick ride of a road bike: MultiTracks, Trek's first line of
1992–1996 — OCLV and acquisitions
In the early 1990s, Trek's director of technology, Bob Read, attended an
In 1993, Trek introduced its first OCLV Carbon mountain bike frames, the 9800 and the 9900, which at 2.84 lb (1.29 kg) was the world's lightest production mountain bike frame.
In 1993, Trek also acquired
In 1994, Trek entered the growing home fitness arena, introducing Trek Fitness Exercycles. In 1996, Trek discontinued the Exercycle line, spinning off its fitness division into an independently-owned company, renamed Vision Fitness.
In 1995, Trek introduced its full suspension Y bike, a departure from traditional bike design. The Y bike sold well, and won an "Outstanding Design and Engineering Award" from
1997–2005 — The Armstrong years and further expansion
In 1997, Trek helped sign former world road race champion (1993) Lance Armstrong to the Trek-sponsored United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999 aboard a Trek 5500, becoming the first American to win the Tour on an American team riding an American made bicycle. Armstrong went on to win a record-setting seven-consecutive Tours de France, all of them aboard Trek bicycles aside from a few early time trial stages that he rode aboard a Litespeed bike, painted and badged as a Trek.
In 1998, Trek established its Advanced Concepts Group (ACG), a collection of designers, engineers & technicians dedicated to technologies development. The leading edge of Trek's design and engineering efforts, ACG is perhaps best known for a number of products introduced and used by Lance Armstrong during his historic Tour de France wins, including the original Trek Madone (2003)—named for the Col de la Madone, a 12K climb that starts in the French town of Menton and used by Armstrong to test his fitness—and TTX time trial bike (2005). That same year, Trek opened its first European manufacturing facility, a frame and wheel assembly plant in Carlow, Ireland. The Carlow facility stayed open until late 2004, at which time Trek transferred its European production to a manufacturing facility in Hartmannsdorf, Germany.
Responding to the unique needs of female cyclists, in 2000 Trek introduced Women's Specific Design (WSD) bicycle and accessories. WSD products are designed to fit female riders, and feature sizing and proportions appropriate for women. In October 2001, Trek introduced a custom bike program named Project One, which gave customers the opportunity to customize their Trek bike by selecting the bike's paint scheme and component mix.
Hoping to expand into a new market segment, Trek introduced Trek Travel in December 2002, a provider of luxury cycling vacations in Europe and North America. Trek Travel operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Trek Bicycle until January 2007, when Trek spun off its interests in the company. Despite the split, Trek and Trek Travel enjoy a close working relationship.
In 2003, Trek acquired Villiger, a Swiss bicycle company, and Diamant, the oldest bicycle company in Germany. The acquisition gave Trek a foothold in the active-leisure bicycle market, an important segment in Europe. As part of the acquisition, Trek took over ownership of the Villiger-Diamant production facility in Hartmannsdorf, Germany. Trek's global expansion continued in 2005, when Trek expanded into the Chinese market by opening two stores in Beijing and signing deals with 20 Chinese distributors.
For the third time in its history, in 2005 Trek again expanded its worldwide headquarters in Waterloo, adding another 43,000 sq ft (4,000 m2) to house its burgeoning engineering, R&D, and marketing departments. As part of the expansion, Trek included an atrium exhibit to display a number of historically significant bikes from Trek's family of brands, including one of the first mountain bikes ever built by Gary Fisher, and seven bikes used by Lance during his historic Tour de France run (one from each year, 1999–2005).
2006–present
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: missing mention of the founding of / partnership with BCycle.(November 2023) |
In 2008, after years of behind-the-scenes support for the League of American Bicyclists and the Bikes Belong Coalition (now PeopleForBikes[6]), Trek announced its 1 World 2 Wheels bicycle advocacy campaign at its annual Trek World dealer convention in Madison, Wisconsin. Central to 1 World 2 Wheels is its "Go By Bike" initiative, which urges Americans to ride their bikes instead of drive their cars for trips of two miles (3 km) or less. Through 1 World 2 Wheels Trek also pledged $1,000,000 to help fund the League of American Bicyclists’ "Bicycle Friendly Community" program and committed $600,000 to the International Mountain Bicycling Association's (IMBA) Trail Solutions Services. On January 6, 2014, Trek announced the acquisition of the Electra Bicycle Company.[7]
In 2009, Trek created the Trek Women Triathlon Series.[8] 2011, Trek sponsored three women's triathlon series; the Trek Women Triathlon Series, the Danskin Series and the Iron Girl Series.[9]
As from the 2014 season, Trek became the main sponsor of
In 2017, Trek paid equal prize money to the male and female winners of the Cyclocross World Cup race hosted at their headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, which was, "the first time in the history of the sport that women would be paid as much as men for racing the same course at the World Cup level."[10]
In 2021, Trek announced the release of its professional level Madone.[11]
2014 unified hour record
In 2014, the UCI unified the two classifications into a single classification in line with regulations for current track pursuit bikes. Following the change in the rules, German Jens Voigt became the first rider to attempt the hour record, on 18 September 2014 at the Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland on a Trek bicycle.[12][13] He set a new record of 51.110 km, beating the previous record set by Sosenka by 1.410 km.[14]
In the media
Trek Y series bikes were used in the hit TV series Pacific Blue and outfitted with Spinergy wheels, NiteRider lights and Janned police bags making each bicycle worth $5,000.[citation needed]
Production
In early days Trek has manufactured bikes by itself in Wisconsin and distributed under the brands Gary Fisher, LeMond Racing Cycles, Klein, and Villiger Bikes brand names. Nearly all Trek bicycles frames are produced in Taiwan and China. Most of the high end alloy frames are welded in Tawian and finished in Wisconsin. An important supplier is the Chinese company Quest Composite Technology, which also produces frames for the German brand "Canyon".
Products
Eco-friendly products
For the year 2010, Trek teamed with multiple suppliers to provide
Bontrager
Bontrager branded products include helmets, tires, wheels, handlebars, stems, seatposts, saddles, electronics and cycling shoes, water bottles, cycling clothing and other accessories. The Bontrager brand name is being phased out and replaced with Trek branded products, adding the Bontrager name to Klein, Gary Fisher and LeMond as American companies that Trek has acquired and then dissolved.
LeMond brand
The relationship between Trek and Tour-de-France winner Greg LeMond went back to at least 1995 when LeMond licensed Trek to produce LeMond branded bicycles. According to Trek, "In 1999, the LeMond line was one of the fastest growing road bike brands and one of the top five largest road bike brands in the United States".[15]
In March 2008,
Trek responded in April 2008 by suing to sever business ties with LeMond.[15][17] Trek's press release said that "LeMond's suit was characterized by Burke as containing false and irresponsible allegations". Burke also said "for years, Greg LeMond has done and said things that have damaged the LeMond brand and the Trek brand as a whole". . . . "His actions are inconsistent with our values—values we believe in and live everyday. And after years of trying to make it work, we are done."[15] The suit was settled out of court in 2010.[18] As of 2021 LeMond remains the only American Tour de France champion and was eventually awarded a congressional gold medal for his career long commitment to cycling.[19]
Brands
The Trek Bicycle Corporation consists of several brands:
- Trek Bikes
- Electra Bicycle Company
- Klein Bikes(discontinued)
- LeMond Racing Cycles (discontinued)
- Gary Fisher Bikes (discontinued)
- Diamant Bikes (Germany)
- Villiger Bikes (discontinued)
- Bontrager parts — Trek's in-house parts and accessories
- Trek Travel — Provider of cycling vacations and tours[20]
Notes and references
- ^ "Trek Bicycle president slams Trump on corporate taxes, failed leadership, and 'America First theory'", www.businessinsider.com
- ^ Glauber, Bill (2 August 2014). "In the middle of political firestorm, Trek Bicycle rolls on". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ Umhoefer, Dave (28 July 2014). "Scott Walker says Trek makes 99% of its bicycles overseas". PolitiFact. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "Trek Factory Experience | Trek Bikes". www.trekbikes.com. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
- ^ a b "Early BMX Pioneers". American Bicycle Association BMX. Archived from the original on 2008-08-16.[1]
- ^ "PeopleForBikes". PeopleForBikes. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
- ^ "Trek announces acquisition of Electra". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ "2009 Trek Women's Triathlon Series information". www.trifind.net. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- ^ "Women's Triathlon Series Follow Trend in Women's Participation | Triathlete.com". Triathlete.com. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- ^ Quinlan, Anna. "The Incredible Way 1 Company Is Giving Female Athletes the Credit They Deserve". POPSUGAR Fitness. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- ^ Curmei, Cristian (12 January 2021). "Less is More with the Ridiculously Priced Madone SLR-9 Road Bike from Trek". autoevolution.
Ever wonder what kind of machines riders use in the Tour de France? Well, what you're about to witness is one of those very machines, so keep reading if you want to get acquainted
- ^ Giles Richards (13 September 2014). "The Agenda: Jens Voigt aims to break one of cycling's toughest records — Sport — The Observer". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ "Answered: 11 questions about Jens Voigt's hour record attempt — VeloNews.com". VeloNews.com. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ Clemitson, Suze (19 September 2014). "Why Jens Voigt and a new group of cyclists want to break the Hour record". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ a b c TREK TO IMMEDIATELY SEVER RELATIONSHIP WITH GREG LEMOND Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, Media Release, trekbikes.com, 2008 4 8, retr 2012 10 13.
- ^ Complaint, LeMond Cycling Inc, vs Trek Bicycle Corporation Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, 2008 3 20, retr 2012 10 13. from trekbikes.com.
- ^ a b Trek announces an end to deal with Greg LeMond, Steve Frothingham, Velo News, Published Apr. 8, 2008, Updated Apr. 9, 2008, retrieved 2012 10 13
- ^ Steve Frothingham (Feb 1, 2010). "Trek/LeMond lawsuit settled". VeloNews. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ^ "road back for Greg LeMond could include Congressional Gold Medal". Minneapolis Star Tribune Tony Brown. 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Bike Tours & Cycling Vacations - Trek Travel Bike Trips". Trek Travel. Retrieved 2022-08-15.