From The Top - Trek CEO John Burke

Sep 28, 2013 at 13:04
by Mike Levy  
John Burke Photo by Sterling Lorence



You likely know Trek as being one of the world's largest bike companies, but the American brand didn't always offer a dizzying range of road, mountain, and commuter bikes. In fact, there was a time when they offered exactly one model, a bare road touring frameset that was silver brazed and cost $275 USD. That may not seem expensive compared to today's machines, but it wasn't a small sum of money in 1976, and was actually pricey enough to place Trek in the mid to high-end range of what was available at the time, which were mostly Japanese-made products. Those early years were spent manufacturing frames in a converted carpet warehouse, affectionately known as the 'Red Barn', before being forced to move to a larger facility in 1980 due to increasing demands for their steel frames - sales doubled in 1981, and then again in 1982, according to Trek. And it was in 1983 that the first steel prototype mountain bike frame was produced, although the term 'mountain bike' should be used loosely as it was modelled after its road-going counterpart. Much has changed since those early days, with Trek playing a pioneering role in the use of carbon fiber with their OCLV (Optimum Compaction, Low Void) carbon fiber frame that debuted in 1992, to the carbon fiber Session 9.9 downhill race bikes that sit atop Trek's mountain bike range today.

Trek CEO John Burke has been there pretty much since the beginning, which makes sense given that his father, Richard Burke, co-established the company that his son now heads. Just think about that for a second - how many multi-million dollar companies are run by the son of their founder in this day and age? The answer is not many, with the Trek CEO certainly not being the norm in American business. Burke didn't simply walk into the position, either, as his initial position at Trek was packaging orders before moving up the ladder to sales, and then eventually to a customer service position. As you can imagine, this gives Burke a very different perspective of the company he steers relative to how many other CEOs see their company, and it's likely one of the reasons that he places bike advocacy, from IMBA to cycling lanes, high on his list causes.



• Founded in 1975 by Richard Burke and Bevil Hogg

• Manufactured 900 hand-brazed steel framesets in 1976

• First building was the 'red barn,' a carpet warehouse

• First bonded aluminum frame in 1985, the Trek 2000

• First molded carbon frame in 1989, the Trek 5000

• OCLV carbon frames debuted in 1992

• Advanced Concepts Group established in 1998

• Purchases Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes in 1993

• Number of employees: 1,600 (2006)



Your father, Richard Burke, co-founded Trek in 1976, with the company hand-brazing frames out of the iconic red barn in Wisconsin. What can you recall of those early days?

Ha! Some of the earliest memories I have of the early days would be that a couple of Trek employees would come by the house with frames and components to show my dad. I remember taking a look at the first Heely chromatic hub. People would visit the house for product stuff, and I remember my dad loved to talk business during the visits. Whenever we’d drive somewhere we’d talk business and he’d tell me how Trek was doing, and I was at the first Trek retailer launch that was held at the Pine Knoll Supper Club. I remember that there were maybe twenty retailers there. That was the year Trek started, and we maybe sold around nine hundred bikes, but I thought that was really cool. I remember coming up to Trek with my dad on a Saturday to count inventory... I must have been sixteen, because I had my temporary license and we were driving home and I fell asleep. He was not real happy about that.



You wrote a book, titled ‘One Last Great Thing’, that talks about the relationship you had with your father, as well as delving deep into the history of Trek. Was it difficult to write or, as is the case when someone feels strongly about a certain subject, easy to put those thoughts down?

I would say it was easy. Originally I wrote it for my two kids, and the only purpose of the book was that my dad left a lot of great life lessons, and the last eighty eight days of his life was really a moving experience. I wanted my two kids, Rich and Courtney, to understand that. So, you know, on airplane trips over three or four years I pounded it out and never thought it would go past those two people, and as I got to the end I thought the lessons he left might be good for others so I showed it to a publisher and they thought it was good enough to turn into a book.



You took over Trek’s day-to-day operations in 1998, but you were intensely involved in the company long before that. What were your roles within Trek prior to taking over the helm, and how was transitioning to the CEO position of the company that your father established many years before?

When I started with Trek in college my first job was picking and packing orders in the warehouse. I was a good picker and packer. After I’d get finished picking and packing for the day I’d get on the phones and try and sell stuff, and I was pretty good at selling. And after I graduated from college I was a traveling sales rep, and I was a pretty good rep. I got promoted after about a year and a half to head up customer service. It wasn't a time when
Trek was really known for good customer service. I had a team of really great people and we turned things around really quickly to take care of customers. I was involved in taking Trek international, and that was a really rewarding experience, and then I was involved in a lot of the product stuff. That was good training for taking over the full responsibility for the business. I got to see a lot of pieces of the business.



Those initial years must feel like such a long time ago now. While most riders likely think of Trek as one of the largest bicycle companies in the world, its beginnings, just like many successful businesses, were much more humble. Do you think that your father’s ethos of those early years in the late 1970s still comes into play today, in a company that employs nearly 2000 people worldwide?

Absolutely. You know, it does in so many ways, but I’ll give you two big ones. My Dad really grew up in the distribution business, and the one thing he really understood is that he loved to listen to customers. I think Ben Franklin said, “You don’t judge a man’s intelligence by what he says, but by the questions he asks.” My father was an expert at asking questions and listening to what customers wanted, and then exceeding their expectations. And that is a core value of Trek that really has stood the test of time.

The second biggest influence he had on Trek is that we’re not just here to build, design and sell the best bikes in the world and try to make a profit doing it. We do all those things, but we try to do really good things with the bike company. We’ve created this jewel, and we use Trek to make the world a better place. One thing I’m really proud of is the funding we’ve provided to IMBA (ed: International Mountain Bicycling Association is a non-profit group that promotes advocacy and trail work) over the last ten years. We’re the first company to come out and say “any full-suspension bike we sell, we’re going to give ten bucks to IMBA” and… nobody followed us. So every year we get to write IMBA this huge check, and it’s something we take pride in. If you take a look at what we’re doing with B-cycle in Madison, we donated a two million dollar bicycle sharing system to Madison because we wanted to learn more about bike sharing, but we also thought it would be cool for the community. We’ve done a lot with Bikes Belong and the League of American bicyclists to help make the bicycle a bigger part of people’s lives, and I think that’s a cool thing.



bigquotesWhen I started with Trek in college my first job was picking and packing orders in the warehouse. I was a good picker and packer. After I'd get finished picking and packing for the day I'd get on the phones and try and sell stuff, and I was pretty good at selling.



We all extol the virtues of getting more people on bikes, be it serious mountain or road bikers, or more commuters and those out for a Sunday spin with their family. That battle starts with cycling advocacy, a cause that you are obviously very familiar with. Lets pretend for a moment that you have been granted three wishes to help bring about a change – what are they, and why did you choose them?

Ok, for that I would go back to a speech that I gave in Las Vegas at Interbike on how to get bicycle advocacy (at least in the US market) to a 5% mode share by 2025. I laid out a couple really simple ideas. And one of them is to create a war-room where we have all the information so we can be more organized and more politically connected. There were too many times in the last US transportation bill where we didn’t really put our best foot forward because we weren’t organized. And what’s happened is Bikes Belong has gone out and hired Jenn Dice (who I consider one of the best advocates in the US – bar none) who’s going to head The Bohm Strategy Center. Within the Bohm Strategy Center there’s going to be all the information on senators, congressmen, celebrities, mayors, enthusiasts – people who care about bikes in an organized fashion so that when the movement needs to get something done we’re going to know who those people are who can make a difference. In the past we haven’t been there. So that’s one.

The second thing I’m waving my wand at is really creating an NRA for bicycles. I was giving a speech the other day on bicycle advocacy to a University of Wisconsin group on city planning and I asked the group how many of them rode their bikes more than once a week. And out of the thirty people twenty five hands went up. And then I asked “How many of you are a member of an organization that’s interested in promoting more and safer places to ride your bike?” No hands went up. And so what I really believe, in America, is that there are millions of people who care about cycling. They care about better places, they care about safer places to ride their bike, and none of them belong to an organization that’s helping to make it a reality. My second wave of the wand is for People for Bikes, to turn that into the NRA for cycling.

My third wish is for every company who cares about cycling to actually do something when it comes to making America a bicycle friendly country. You’d be amazed at the fact that only 20% of the companies in the bike industry are actually doing anything. And it’s sad. And then you take a look at companies who sell mountain bikes. If you sat down with the leaders of IMBA and said “who’s really killin’ it for you?” it would only be 20%. So my third wish would be that everybody that really cares about cycling – industry companies, retailers, and people who love their bikes - really gets involved. I think it’s going to be in the next year, the next twelve months, there are going to be some key things that industry people, retailers, and consumer are going to be able to do to join the movement. And the more the merrier.



Trek



Some cities and local governments have made good regarding cycling by building proper bike paths, commuting lanes, and encouraging people to pedal more often, but others seem to have placed cycling low on the priority list. Who do you feel needs to step it up?

I like to set my sights high. And Madison, Wisconsin, is a great city for cycling – if you live in the United States. It’s a lousy city if you go to Holland or Denmark or Germany. So I think just about everybody needs to step it up. If you take a look at the demographics, the good news is that there are so many cities that are getting on board – New York City, Washington, and Los Angeles are doing a lot of stuff. But y’know, I was in Santa Barbara last week and I had a meeting with people in Santa Barbara – that’s the perfect place for bicycle advocacy, and there’s not much going on because they don’t have the resources. There’s opportunity everywhere. I’ve never seen more progress, I’ve never seen more opportunities.



The shortfall of dedicated cycling routes in urban areas is often cited as one of the main reasons for the relative lack of casual cyclists in the North America, especially compared to some European countries, while it has also been said that cycling just isn’t ingrained into our culture as much. Do you think that there is single prime reason that we don’t see more people on bikes?

The single biggest reason you don’t see people on bikes is the lack of separated lanes. There’s a great study that shows that 1% of people are hardcore cyclists, 7% of people are enthusiasts, and there’s 40% that are interested, but concerned about safety. That’s a massive number of people! And then there’s 35% of people who aren’t interested, never will be, so I don’t really care. So if those 40% lived in Holland, they’d be riding bikes all the time and won’t do it in America because they don’t want to get out into the middle of the street, be a foot and a half away from a car, and competing for the same turf. And so I think one of the problems (there have been many successes in the bike movement over the last 15 years) has been the emphasis of on-street bike lanes that compete with cars. If you really want to move the meter, you gotta have separated facilities. If you take a look at the green lanes program that’s going on right now: it’s the first time that there’s a really creative solution for low-cost ways to separate bikes and cars. We’re going to look back five years from now or ten years from now and go “wow, that really helped transform cycling in America.



In 1976, the first year of Trek’s existence, the company manufactured nearly 900 hand-brazed framesets in its Wisconsin facility, a converted building often referred to as the ‘Red Barn’. Fast forward to 2013 and Trek is manufacturing their high-end carbon fiber frames by hand in Wisconsin. How important is American manufacturing to you personally, and do you feel that it has become easier or harder over the past decade to produce an American-made product?

I would say it’s become harder, because we’re the only people left doing it. There’s no other major brand that manufactures anything. Cannondale doesn’t, Specialized doesn’t, Trek really stands alone in that. It is difficult, and it is expensive. We do it for a couple of reasons. One, we do it to build the best bikes in the world. If you take a look at Madone 7 Series, Session, Speed Concept bikes that we make in the US it’s amazing stuff. And being able to control the production allows us to do that. The second reason we do it is that it’s a great learning environment. We make bikes in the US, we make a lot of bikes in Asia, we also make bikes in Germany, but really having that high-end product built in the US really helps us develop product throughout all the price ranges.



I think that many consumers really appreciate the US-made approach, but overseas manufacturing has improved drastically over the years, with both methods and quality control being refined to the point where many of the finished products compare equally to anything made on-shore. Given these changes over the last few years, why continue to manufacture your carbon frames in the U.S. when it's likely a much more expensive process?

One, it’s to be different, because nobody else is doing it. Second is that it’s a really good learning experience for Trek. And third is Project One. Project One really is amazing: pick out your own components, pick out what color you’d like, and we’ll deliver it in as little as two weeks. And that’s a program we’d like to expand in the future.



The Project One concept, which recently expanded to include mountain bikes under its umbrella, is impressive, especially given the timeline of it all. What could be done to encourage more companies to manufacture their products in the U.S.A.?

That’s a really good question. It’s hard. Every industry is different. Unfortunately you can’t put a blanket statement on all US industries. The challenge of the bike industry is that so many of the suppliers are in Asia, so it’s even harder than a lot of other US industries.


Project 1 truck at sedona arizona Photo by Sterling Lorence



The minds at Trek have been behind many advancements in bicycle technology over the past decades (29er geo, OCLV, etc.), but is there one specific development that stands head and shoulders above the rest in your mind?

I would say carbon fiber development. If you go back to 1992, we were the first major company to build our own full-carbon bikes and I remember looking at everybody in the marketplace who was like “don’t buy those bikes, you don’t want a carbon bike, it’s all about titanium, or M4 aluminum, and this is where you gotta be.” We kept at it, and we kept at it with road bikes and mountain bikes and here we are today and every high-end bike in the world is carbon fiber. That wasn’t easy. Today you can go to Asia and just have somebody do one of those but in the early days that was groundbreaking technology. And to this day we continue to really push the envelope.



And what about those bikes from Trek’s past? Is there a certain model that you look at as being the one that holds the most memories for you?

There are a couple of bikes. I would say the Trek 2000, 1985. Bonded aluminum. That bike was really the forerunner to carbon fiber technology. It also had Dura-Ace indexed SIS shifting. That was a leapfrog for what was currently on the market. Our first carbon bike, the 5500. When that came out in 1992 that was a leapfrog product. The Y Bikes, 1995. Those were amazing bikes. Fuel EX, 2008. Trek had really been struggling in the full-suspension market for a while, and when they came out it was like “wow, those are really good bikes.” Full-floater, Active Braking Pivot, just awesome technologies that rocked our line. Great stuff.


bigquotesThe biggest benefit from racing, because we're a really technical company, more so I think than anybody else, is the marriage of guys who push bikes to the absolute limit being able to communicate and develop products with people who really know how to push the limits on the design and engineering side.



Trek



Can you see a future where, similar to the successful approach used in the motorbike realm, companies produce nearly every component of the complete bike? It certainly could be argued that the final and fully integrated product would perform very well.

We already do a lot of integration, much more than anybody else does. Within our road lineup, brakes are integrated into the frame of the Madone and Speed Concept bikes. On the mountain side, we work very closely with Fox and RockShox to deliver better, integrated, custom suspension solutions such as our DRCV shock. Jose Gonzalez, a Trek employee who oversees our Santa Clarita-based suspension lab, did a lot of the work on that. Production remains with the suspension manufacturers, but development is jointly shared. And if you take a look at SRAM and Shimano, like Intel does with making of chips that power computers, there’s a real value added by those suppliers, and I don’t see that changing.



Making mistakes and bad choices is all part of the learning process, but is there anything in Trek’s 37 year history that, if given the ability, you’d like to go back and be granted a do-over?

Ha! You’re right about mistakes. I’ll tell ya, my least favorite bike in the history of Trek is the 1990 6000. It was neon-yellow bike with black splash paint. It was perhaps the worst bike that we ever produced. It didn’t shift well, the brakes sucked. I kept the bike for about 20 years as a memory to never do anything like that again.


Trek



The cycling media landscape has changed drastically over the last decade, with some online sources growing exponentially as a few printed outlets have fallen upon difficult times compared to the late 90s and early 2000s. What do you see the scene looking like ten years from now, and what effect has the internet had on your approach to doing business?

To me, it’s only natural what’s happened with the rise of internet information vs magazines in the cycling spectrum. You see the same thing in every other news category; it’s all going to the web. For me, I love it. I think (and I’m going to get on my soapbox here), there is so much negativity in the world about every little problem, so that nobody stands back and appreciates what we have. And I think one of the most amazing advancements in the world has been the access to information and news. And it boggles my mind that I can get online and find out anything I want to about anything at the click of a mouse. So I can be up to date on everything that’s going on in the bicycle business, everything that’s going on in mountain biking, I can know what’s going on with currencies – the world’s at your fingertips, and I think it’s a great thing that people take for granted.



Besides the easy access to information, the internet has also had a far reaching effect on how many people purchase the bikes and gear, with some companies offering direct online sales. Trek is not one of these, however, with your bikes being sold only by authorized Trek stores. What do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages to this approach, and do you see it changing at any point in the future?

Great question, and only time will tell. Let me tell you a few things that I know for sure: the bicycle is a technical piece of equipment. The bicycle comes in various sizes. The bicycle needs to be serviced. None of those can be done most effectively online. All of those are better off in person – it’s a better experience at a bicycle retailer. If we’re talking about books, if we’re talking about an iPad, I get it, but if we’re talking about making sure that you’re buying the right bike that’s the right size and you’re forming a relationship with somebody who’s going to take care of it for you, I’d want to buy that bike at an awesome bicycle retailer. And there’s a lot of them out there.



I think that it’s fair to say that, true or not, most riders don’t picture the CEO of a large company like Trek getting out on the bike that often. Where are we most likely to find you: on the greens with a golf club in your hands, or in the saddle putting in some miles?

Out of those two, you’re better off to find me on my bike. I put in about 5,000 miles a year on the road. I love to ride to work and back; it’s 22.4 miles. Every summer my wife and I do l’Etape du Tour in France – it’s one of the hardest stages of the Tour. And my personal goal is to do it every year until I’m 70. And it’s frickin’ cold in Wisconsin in the winter, so we have a house in Santa Barbara and I love to ride my mountain bike up Romero canyon. My favourite riding is always in the fall. It’s my favourite time of year and at the end of the day, I’ll go ride the mountain bike trails we have at Trek. If it’s a fall day and it’s 6:30 at night and just getting dark, and you’re flying through the woods, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.


www.trekbikes.com

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Member since Oct 18, 2005
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102 Comments
  • 31 1
 it's great to hear about someone else's perspective on the industry who isn't a regular media presence for the majority of us mortals Smile
  • 14 0
 I had no idea that trek was still manufacturing in the US. I can completely support that.... When I have been looking at bikes in the last year this is something I have been keeping in mind. I have owned multiple treks and fishers... I havent in a few years. Maybe its time to get another one.
  • 11 22
flag Fix-the-Spade (Oct 15, 2013 at 12:02) (Below Threshold)
 I'd have liked a bit more honesty when asked about his mistakes, his company's biggest can be summed up in two words, Lance Armstrong.
  • 7 0
 Don't base one huge company and all their past accomplishments, designs, race wins etc. on one jerkoff athletes decisions. Would you hate _____ because of shaun palmers weed scandal?

My first real bike was a Gary Fisher. It didn't hold up to my learning curve, but the Paragon I got as a replacement was a vastly better frame, and is still going strong under my father (who is just now himself learning to ride). These articles are great in so many ways. Please keep up this type of coverage!
  • 7 1
 Bit of a difference in scale there, if Palmer had run a fourteen year campaign of cheating, corruption, intimidation and blackmail and Intense/Specialized had spent tens of millions supporting him, maintained the facade against a string of riders, trainers, assistants, doctors, lawyers and journalists, dismantled other brands and carried out character assassinations on anyone who dared question them and then when it all finally blew up gone 'well shit, we didn't know a thing, let's just move on and pretend it didn't happen,' then yes, you can bet damn well that my first thought on an interview with Steber or Sinyard would be 'how can you look anyone in the eyes after all that,'
.
But Palmer didn't do that, Armstrong did, Armstrong's operation involved a whole team for years, it's Trek that signed the cheques and pretended not to notice, it's their elephant in their room. You can't talk about Trek's history and not bring it up, they defined themselves for almost two decades by that man and until someone very high up in Trek comes out and says 'we screwed up, we knew something was off and we chose to ignore it, we're sorry,' it will always be a stain on their character
  • 7 3
 It's great that they make some bikes in the U.S., however the majority are not. Highest end road bikes and the carbon Session from what I understand. The majority are made by Giant in Taiwan.
  • 6 1
 @dualsuspensiondave i believe they are actually made in the same factory as giant but the aren't actually made by giant themselves as most trek frames are original and have been designed by trek and then made to their specifications by an outside contractor (not giant) but please correct me if I'm wrong. Smile
  • 4 1
 I don't give 2 shits about any of it, I just love riding my Session and not 1 bit of Trek bashing is gonna change that.
  • 4 1
 They are actually made to Trek's specifications in Giant's facilities, by Giant employees.
  • 1 0
 Dave is right...
  • 5 3
 you know what grinds my gears..
that these guys are selling you a frame (scratch slash session) which they know the Chainstays are going to fail,.. and set you up in warranty with the same godddammn failing chainstays..not improved.. the same faulty ones.. . and when you are out of warranty you can pay for them..300$. but they will still fail eventually..
but as we all know 50/100 grams of extra alu on them would hurt the business.. by not selling as much.
GFY trek.. after all the misery i have seen here... i will never buy a trek again..
  • 1 1
 I know a few people with slashes that are not only cracking on the chain stays but also the main pivot.
  • 2 0
 My trail frame is an 09 Reign which has taken a real beating without any failures to this point, (knock on wood). So if Giant employees are responsible for putting together Treks, that's a good thing.
  • 1 1
 @Bryantaber - I can only imagine that Giant only make what trek want them to. So if trek design a terrible chain stay, giant will make it how Trek wants it. In the end if a terrible design is produced - it wont work no matter who makes it whether that be by Giant, Trek, Specialized etc.
  • 3 0
 Hello all, There is a difference between Giant Bikes and Giant Taiwan Manufacturing. While they are both part of the Giant structure, t's GTM that makes bikes for a number of bike companies, with an iron curtain between GTM and Giant Bicycles.
  • 1 1
 Thanks TrekUK. So who in Taiwan makes your bikes GTM or Giant? I think thats the question that needs to be answered.
  • 1 1
 hmmm. I always wonder how come a company will come out. make a frame out of 75$ worth of aluminum and then charge $2300...Make it in china for dollars worth of asian labour. I guess we know. they arent really competing. i actually would love to see a company break down the prices of manufacturing.
  • 1 0
 YT industries ?? they come close imo..
  • 1 0
 R and D for pivot placement. Also ...all that profit has what's been funding the large strides made in Carbon improvement research (imo).
  • 1 0
 @hammm i know aim a bit late but GTM makes the trek frames not giant bicycles
  • 19 2
 Again - I know it's not 60 minutes, but I'd love to question him about Trek's warranty and spares setup. Trek used to do one of, if not the best warranties in the business, lifetime on the entire frame,. Then you saw a lot of chainstay failures on Remedy/Session etc, and suddenly the warranty was main triangle only and 1/2 years on the swingarm. What's worse - a friend has a 4-year old Session, out of warranty, with a broken chainstay - and there are no replacement chainstays available. (The oldest they have is a 2011). Quality of warranty would have attracted me to Trek in the past - now it's a reason I'd avoid them,
  • 10 33
flag wakaba (Oct 15, 2013 at 1:52) (Below Threshold)
 Hype from the CEO, not a pic that resembles anything real or tangible. Trek swamps the LBS, just like Spec and you get less choice and that choice is vastly overpriced. Mediapresence of the brand is too much. Most of their stuff is cheap generic ware, flagship products are few and those are not topnotch. Sharing the needle with junkie Armstrong is making this brand a nogo.
  • 4 1
 @honourablegeorge. Hey man! pretty such the same chainstay will actually fit from the oldest session 8 all the way to the carbon one (which is stil ali), not much has actually changed in term of size and geo with that part of frame, i'd have to double check but 2 friends of mine actually had the oldest session 8, one not long ago actually had the hole frame replaced for next to nothing in price! and the other had the chainstay replaced for very little too! your friend might not be out of luck yet!
  • 2 1
 Thanks Dave, but we spoke to Trek (both here and the the US), and they confirmed that the newer chainstays won't fit.
  • 6 0
 Hmm - I take it back. Seems Trek USA (and Ireland) were misinformed, I just spoke to them in the UK, and they're 100% sure the 2011 swingarm WILL fit, and they have stock. Which is a much happier situation.
  • 2 1
 Hey, same here with my Scratch. Im waiting two and a half month for my chainstay and nobody can tell me when they will arrive. I will change as soon as possible to another brand. Second. They're not stupid, me neither. They change geometry, wheel sizes and other things, or eliminate bikes from their list like the Scratch. So if my Bike is broken again, they will offer me some slash or other trash with the same chain stay problem and less Travel. no solution for me. i got better experience with other brands...f.e. my dad has an scott spark. broke his chainstay after 4 years and he got a new chainstay withing 4 days and the exchange were paid by scott. trek would't pay for my exchange if i haven't made trouble in the internet and sent an email to the chef of customer service....
  • 2 1
 Im waiting for the chainstay of my scratch for 2 months and i haven t see anything. I M very disappointed......
  • 4 1
 My "Warranty" experience with Trek thus far has been good. I have a 2010 Trek Remedy that snapped a chain-stay. A replacement, as others are finding are not available. I am the second owner and technically not entitled to warranty coverage. Trek stepped up and sold me a 2011 replacement frame, for a minimal cost (all things considered). Very fair.
  • 1 0
 how much are "minimal costs"?
  • 3 2
 In fairness to Trek I won't disclose that, but very fair. They are cool in my book. These are lightweight frames, when you push them hard they can break. They definitely had some issues with early Full Floater stays, I can only hope they have rectified.
  • 4 0
 While Trek has been good with their warranty on my scratch. (Just broke my 4th chainstay in 3 years, 2nd this season) I find it rather amusing that rather then correct the chainstay issues on their bikes, they just changed the warranty and in the long run are screwing over their customers by continuing to sell bikes with known problems and a reduced warranty...
  • 1 1
 the very first sessions had that problem and the slashes also. between them seems to be more than 4 years. Good Change... So Session, Remedy, Slash and Scratch have the same problem. never change a breaking system... for trek its the minimum to extent warranty for the first owners. the suspension and bike are working good. that's not the point. i just don't understand why trek can't construct the chain stay to live longer than a half season. It's just 10 grams
  • 2 0
 Perhaps there is something about the Full Floater design that stresses the lower stay near full compression? Maybe not as simple as beefing up the stays? I can understand Scratch stay's breaking, they are not going to redesign those, supply them until they are gone. Old Remedy stays are no longer available. But if Scratches are breaking I don't know what gives.... My Bike broke under full compression which is easy to do with the DCRV and I will be switching to a different shock moving forward to be honest.
  • 1 1
 I noticed that my stays are not cracking under full compression, but in sharp corners when you pump into a berm. The most recent one made the crack/womp noise doing this motion into a berm. The funny thing about breaking 2 in one year so far is that I have been teaching my niece to ride and have really tamed my riding down a lot as I'm obviously not gonna bring her down the big jumps. Another thing I found amusing is that Trek had just given me a brand new frame and chain stay and it took less then 2 months to break with very mild riding. I also know people who have the same problems with the sessions and if you look at some of the pros chain stays, the problem area on the stays is all compressed and beefed up in that general area. So why not release those to the customers if it helps too at least prolong the inevitable.
  • 1 0
 I agree john, Id like some more info myself.
  • 1 0
 @gemueseapfal - Couldn't really tell you cost.. but its didn't burn a hole In my friends wallets put it that way... Smile
  • 6 0
 To preface my comments: Three of the six bikes in my stable are Treks. A stealth black SOHO for bike paths, an older Trek Fuel 80 that was my first "proper" mountain bike, and an older hybrid that my wife uses. With that being said I am concerned for Trek's future, especially after their recent announcement regarding updates being every two years vs. every year. I'm concerned that Trek is ceding (or has already recently ceded) the innovation crown to Specialized (begin flame wars), and that without much of a fight. I also think Trek needs to step it up from a marketing perspective and really tout their strengths:US made, bike advocacy, Project One, DRCV, etc., as I rarely see anything written or said about Trek, including posts to mtbr forums (that's bad). Even Trek's website is stale and unexciting, while Trek's ads in the various cycling mags don't hold a candle to the big S (I can picture the last few S ads (get sick soon!), but I can't recall even one Trek ad, can you?). Trek also needs to find a way to strengthen their Bontrager brand or they need to sub-brand or re-brand or partner (e-thirteen, ENVE, or some other up and coming). Competition helps advance the industry, and it pains me to see Trek begin to lose that "coolness" factor, which is the death knell for any established industry player. Just my 2 cents.
  • 2 5
 Except that TREK bikes completely rip.
  • 2 0
 Not much is made in the U.S. actually. Highest end carbon road bikes, and I think the carbon Session as well.
  • 9 1
 They're talking about Trek, not Lance. Lance has had way too much publicity.
  • 5 4
 Trek propped him up for almost two decades, there's a lot to talk about.
  • 5 0
 You missed the most important question...

Why won't you sell just a frame without the accessories?
IE. Scott had the 899 which they (technically) didn't sell frame only. For that you had the RC model.
Now in 2013-14 you got the SL frame version available.

Why this question? Because I want a trek frame for which I'm willing to pay for the custom paint job (project one) BUT not willing to pay for the accessories that I already have...
  • 5 0
 Still riding my 1996 Trek 970 everyday - the 2nd 'proper' mountain bike I ever owned. Raced on it, jumped it, toured around Europe on it, now commute on it everyday - I have had many bikes but I can't part with this one! True Love.
  • 3 0
 Amazing! Same story here, except on both my old 93 Trek 7000 with RockShox Quadra! love those elastomers. And my old 92 Treek 1200 roadbike. It goes to show when a person has a great experience (riding/service) with a brand they'll continue with them. Just bought a Trek Fuel EX8 2 years ago, my first dual susp bike. Absolutely love it.
  • 5 0
 Interesting about the advocacy. Had very little idea about how committed Trek is to advocacy - definitely a huge plus for them for that
  • 4 0
 Any purchases that we make as staff also have a mandatory contribution to an advocacy group within our respective countries.
  • 3 0
 The trek Y bike (aka the electric guitar bike) is their most iconic bike, IMO.

And he is right about their OCLV. I can only think of maybe one other big brand that sort of made a semi cabin bike back then: Raleigh?

Back in '92 it was all about Merlin and lite speed.
  • 4 1
 Trek is one of the great American bike companies who have stood the test of time. After owning bikes from almost every manufacturer over the years. I ended up sticking with Trek because they were always in the fore front of design and innovation. In that sense Trek was always way ahead of the competition. Good read!
  • 4 0
 Great article. Right on target. Let's focus on what we need to do to get more people riding. No need to focus on the mistakes of the past and the learnings from that.
  • 2 1
 Good interview, but they missed the point about how, unlike other companies, Trek doesn't give much attention to any trails outside their own trails. Those trails he mentions at the end? Those are private. I hear they're great, but it's an exclusive party on that front. And you almost never see Trek employees riding the other great dirt tracks around Madison, kind of sad really. And the Trek stores? What a joke. They're about as friendly as showroom floor if you don't own a Trek or aren't there to buy a (road)bike.
  • 2 0
 Gosh this is a great company! I am going to college for a Composite Materials Engineering degree in the hope of someday contributing towards Trek producing the world's best mountain bikes!
  • 1 0
 Trek customer service, at least in Czech Republic, Europe is a bad joke (Czech dealer company Bretton from Prague)! I´m hoping someone at Trek HQ will read this and make consequences.

True story:
Before this season my father´s 26" Gary Fisher Roscoe chainstay snapped while he was sitting at home on his bike setting up rebound for the shock.
We immediately contacted the LBS where the bike was purchased and wanted to claim the lifetime warranty for the frame.
First thing that suprised us (in a bad way) was that Trek use the word frame in a meaning of front triangle only (according to frame warranty). Than we found out that my dad lost his receipt.
We offered the Czech dealer a solution of buying the chainstay for full price because we don´t have the receipt and naively thought it would be OK this way, but it wasn´t at all...

Last week my father received an email from Bretton (Trek importer) representative stating that "If you don´t have the receipt then they will not do anything out-of-ordinary to solve your problem. I am not here to fix mistakes of others." Bretton didn´t offer us any optional solution like discounted frameset, test-bike to buy etc.

We started the solution in June, now it´s October and no sign of will to help the customer who wants to pay for the help! All because dad lost the recipe.
Is this standart way how to deal with paying customer at Trek?! Hope this post will finally make someone to pay attention.
  • 1 0
 This is not uncommon for most of the big companies. The warranties are sold to the original owners. Just one of the things they use as a selling tool to justify the huge sticker prices these days. The only way to prove you're the original owner is with a receipt. I bought a brand spanking new Session frame from a bike mechanic in a private sale and didnt get the sales receipt. I fear I will have thre same trouble that you're having.
  • 1 0
 In this case the owner of LBS where was the bike bought confirmed that my dad really is the owner of that bike.
  • 2 0
 Shame on Burke for asking LeMond to retract his statement about Armstrong. Feeling pretty crap about riding a Trek after reading about that, I won't be buying another Trek, not a cool brand.
  • 1 0
 Thank you for the email,

We have contacted the store, however the decision to return the bike remains with the retailer.

At this stage, we are unable to help you with your request.

Regards


Kane Piper | Trek Bicycle Corporation (Australia) |

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Bourrillon [mailto:jrbad@me.com]
Sent: Monday, 1 June 2015 9:14 AM
To: CustomerService, Australia
Subject: Re: WARRANTY TRANSFER

Hi I sent a reply to your last email..I was just wondering if there will be a positive outcome..


Kindest Regards
Richard Bourrillon

On 28 May 2015, at 12:39 pm, Richard Bourrillon jrbad@me.com> wrote:

Hi, thank you for the reply..I am very grateful to hear back from your company...
VELO BICYCLES ( BRISBANE QUEENSLAND )
122-124 KEDRON BROOK RD,WILSTON QLD
CONTACT NO..07 33523844

Kindest regards
Richard Bourrillon
0417484623



On 28 May 2015, at 12:34 pm, CustomerService, Australia CustomerService_Australia@trekbikes.com> wrote:

Thanks for the email,

Sorry to hear this has been the experience.

Are you able to let me know the store you have dealing with?

Regards


Kane Piper | Trek Bicycle Corporation (Australia) |


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Bourrillon [mailto:jrbad@me.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 27 May 2015 4:26 PM
To: CustomerService, Australia
Subject: WARRANTY TRANSFER

Hi I bought a new TREK EMONDA SL6 in July 2016....with in a short period of time I since had a serious car accident and which prevented me from riding any bike leave alone my trek..it is brand new...I have not even shifted a gear on the bike, yet I am told it is policy and because I have bought the bike it is considered used...this bike has not even left my house...All I want to do is sell it...and I know I will not get the same value but by granting maybe on compassionate grounds a transfer of warranty it would be most grateful..At the moment no one seems to want to help both your billion dollar company and the retailer I purchased the bike from..I still hold the original receipt...It seemed fine when I purchased the bike and paid in full for all including accessories the customer service was great..but now due to unforeseen circumstances stances were I need to sell this beautiful bike,no one want to really know about me or the bike..
THIS IS THE SUPPORT I GOT FROM TREK AND ITS AGENT.... VERY DISAPPOINTED..TO SAY THE LEAST THANKS TREK....AND TO ITS CEO I WILL NEVER BUY A TREK BIKE AGAIN...
Kindest regards
Richard bourrillon
0417484623
  • 1 0
 same unprofessional attitude of a trek dealer in Romania as well. and, same as in your case, nobody from the company wanted to listen to my story. they are too big. or, in order to attract their attention, you should buy 1,000 emonda Smile
  • 1 0
 Although this article is really old, I feel the need to say that many things changed since Mr. Burke founded the company...

In the article, it is said that Mr. Burke loved to listen to his customers. This is not the case of his employees anymore. Unfortunately. I have a complaint pending for almost 10 months and nobody wanted to listen to my story, even if several persons contacted me.

I think I will grab the bull by the horns, as they say in France, and will send a letter to John Burke itself. Maybe he will remember the good old days when he used to pay attention to what customers were saying.

Any other suggestions? Thanks a lot!
  • 4 1
 i want the headbadge that they used for 1976-83 for my bike! I think that was the coolest looking headbadge they ever had. Keep up the good work trek!
  • 4 0
 Great article - More stuff like this!
  • 2 0
 Great interview, thanks pinkbike! I'd love to see more of these in the future.
  • 7 4
 Somebody give the man some chapstick. Jesus!
  • 4 0
 I love my Trek!
  • 3 1
 Just three letters you need to know..... U S and A... Yeah I ride a Trek Session too.
  • 3 0
 Amazing part of the MTB history. Thanks PB!
  • 4 2
 I wonder if he's still proud to hang up that USPS Yellow Jersey?
  • 7 8
 I wonder why there was no mention of Lance Armstrong at all. I know it's not 60 minutes, but there hasn't been much said from their company about this previous, er, association.
  • 3 1
 Who??? That's who.
  • 5 3
 if you have one professional sport with money in it without doping please let me know......
  • 3 0
 Formula 1? that's just recreational drugs Wink
  • 4 0
 I'd be very curious what his thoughts on Lance are. He was arguably the single greatest bike salesman that ever lived, and most of those bikes were Trek road bikes, the company is stronger than ever because of what Lance did. In a sport where doping is so rampant, did the CEO of one of the largest bike manufacturers on the planet really believe their "golden boy" was clean, especially while he was beating dirty riders left and right? What about Lance's teammates who were busted long before Lance?

FWIW, I'm still a huge Lance fan, would have been much more surprised if he was clean than that he turned out to be dirty, but he still did more for cycling than just about anybody, and since his fellow riders were just as dirty as him, he still won all the Tours "fair" in my book.
  • 6 0
 @Verbl-Kint - Lance wasn't really on our list of questions simply because we wanted to focus on some history, advocacy, and mountain biking. Besides that, there has already been too many words about Armstrong - you won't see any on here =)
  • 2 0
 @ Clemson, F1 does have a little bit of history with drugs, in 2001 Tomas Enge got thrown out (and stripped of his F3000 title) for a positive test for weed, he tested positive for it again last year racing GTs! Drivers are subject to random drug testing too (all year, not just in season), although it's pretty much unheard of for one to fail, just don't ask Kimi's blood alcohol content...
  • 4 0
 everybody has to make a living, I'm sure he thought about it but turned a blind eye because it sold bikes, that's not really a bad thing in my opinion, it's growing the bike industry and helping people with cancer while providing Americans with inspiration to be fit, it was perfect for a while: a perfect rider selling bikes and the UCI turning a blind eye... but his team mates threw him under the bus on him to protect themselves from their own doping allegations so it all fell apart, I'm not a Lance fan but all the critics of him are ruining the sport int the same way, we're ready to move on and the UCI dumped McQuaid and Verbruggen but people just come back with "I've never helped anyone with cancer or inspired millions of people but Lance is a fraud!" and it stops progress, so huge thanks to Pinkbike for keeping Lance out of the picture, if you don't like him then stop giving him attention, it's like listening to a bunch of school girls bitch about Rebecca Black while watching her Youtube video over an over again
  • 2 0
 that project one shop has so many colors my eyes have gone funny
  • 2 1
 That would be "Helicomatic" by Maillard, the precursor to the modern cassette cog arrangement.
  • 1 0
 Can anyone enlighten me? What is a Heely Chromatic Hub?
  • 1 1
 Heely Chromatic > Heliomatic
  • 1 0
 Those colors on the frames are so sick
  • 2 2
 I'd also like to know about the patent battle with Dave Weagle over the ABP/Split Pivot Design...
  • 1 0
 wrong tree, that sort of thing.
  • 1 0
 I hear it got pretty heated! I believe that the patent office or court ruled that they were developed simultaneously. anyone know any more?
  • 1 1
 All I've found is that, as of a 2012 lawsuit, DW was claiming that he and Trek had met in 2007, and DW had shared details and diagrams of his then-patent-pending design. Allegedly, a month after that visit Trek applied for a patent for a concentric pivot design, which was eventually granted in 2010. Trek claims ABP was developed concurrently and independently of DW/Split Pivot, and that they had demonstrated this in order to get the 2010 patent. I haven't found more on the 2012 lawsuit.
  • 1 0
 No Gary Fisher shout out?
  • 1 1
 Heely Chromatic > Heliomatic
  • 4 5
 And what about Lance..... DOH, don't answer that.
  • 3 1
 everyone's had a ride on that trek elephant already.
  • 3 0
 why would they? it's something worth forgetting about
  • 4 1
 I'll never get it... that sport is sick because of too much, yet not enough money that has been pumped into it and Lance was only a symptom, the best symptom ever. They all take lots of shitty drugs, it's just that some of them are announced illegal, and it is more than certain he wasn't the only one taking illegal ones. For me Lance will always be a legend and one of the best cyclists in the history. Mainstream should smarten the fk up... That sport got big enough to provide incentives to dope hard, yet is too small so that sponsors are willing to bribe anti-doping agencies to close an eye on "cheating" sportsmen, as it happens in basketball or football. Hence there's so much dope drama in cycling, calling Lance a cheater is like trying to determine when can you call a politician a bullshitter and when an actual liar.
  • 4 0
 i don't think cheating became the issue with lance, waki. i think his ego was his worst enemy. at some point defiantly denying for years what is "common practice" can't be anything more than ego. i think he's a gifted athlete. we saw him tearing people's legs off as a teenager in texas against seasoned triathletes. the only lesson he might be learning or anyone for that matter is your ego is not your amigo. mainstream shoulda seen that comin but when you're on the hype train and it is pinned going thru a narrow tunnel, your're advised not to stick your head out the window. my2cents
  • 1 0
 @ willer - Lance wasn't really on our list of questions simply because we wanted to focus on some history, advocacy, and mountain biking. Besides that, there has already been too many words about Armstrong - you won't see any on here =)
  • 1 0
 i apologize for goin there myself, mike.
  • 1 0
 I know, Mike. Just a poor attempt to be funny. No point spending more time on Lance. BTW good interview.
  • 1 0
 Ok then Mike. Send RC to Operah instead!
  • 2 0
 RC goes to operas already I'm sure, did you mean Oprah?
  • 1 0
 Yea yea, Oprah. Damn! Stupid me...
  • 3 5
 Looks like customer service still sucks... too bad for Trek, because I really liked the interview.
  • 1 0
 the customer service suck big time. all over the world the same thing, if my understanding is correct.
  • 5 6
 Looks like a session
  • 1 3
 stop ruining the anthill movies please.







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