Please "Like" and also " Share" to keep the conversation going. More insights from my perspective with 30 years of experience in the cycling Industry in the playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLdfUXv0-z1u42bZpCLWmT2VtNW-7AIf2A.html
Looks like years of copying other brands designs, no innovation , buying up mom and pop shops and turning them into soulless corporate locations is finally catching up to them.
Trek have been very innovative in recent years, much more than they were like 30 years ago. Sounds like they’ve overextended themselves with the retail locations like you said. And the general state of us business practices.
In the New England area, Goodales was a bike dealer that existed for 100 years and Trek bought them out a couple years ago. Every store except one changed from the Goodales name to a "Trek" store in name and now only sell Trek and Bontrager products. The original store location kept the name "Goodales" but also like all the other stores, only stocks Trek and Bontrager products now.
I reside in NH and you're 100% correct 👍 I just ordered an Esker Hayduke frame as I'm tired of the big brand bikes as its much better to support small business and its also much cooler to have a bike that's not a dime a dozen Trek , Specialized , Giant etc..
@manchesterexplorer8519 Absolutely👍 I found a "new in box" road bike frame & fork on eBay for $250 (including shipping). It's hydroformed aluminium, light and the welds are above spec (says my professional welder friend). I'm looking at an additional $250 for quality components and a few hours to assemble and I'll have something better than what the bike shops wanted $3,000+ for. Paying $3k for a name brand bike that was made in China for $300 seems a bit ridiculous, because it is. That being said, I'm sure there's people out there with more money than sense who will gladly fork over the cash to have Cannondale, Giant, BMC or Specialized plastered on their bike frames. Perfect advertising to let thieves know which bikes to steal.
I’ve worked at 3 companies that WERE independently owned. When the economy changed and they were over extended these companies did exactly what Trek has done before going public. The family can keep controlling interests (51% of the stock). This will put a bunch of money in their pockets for a time.
400+ corporate stores and counting....think about that for a minute. The financial drag of that in this market has to be pretty crazy. All those different leases, roofs, carpets, employees, security systems, inventory, points of sale etc would be like wrangling tornados of spinning cash The strong-arming of the service component is interesting, too. How many times is a rube in a market going to pump $400 into a 10 year-old $500 bike before that thing wind up in the shed permanently? For the record, the Burke family will never sell unless they absolutely have no other choice. There's some JB ego at play
The potentially interesting part of the discussion for me of Trek being on the market for a sale/takeover is that they are a privately held company. Even the most dedicated owner will have a price where they will be interested. Given the uncertain state of the cycling industry, the Trek ownership may be looking at any offering coming their way as a great opportunity to cash-out. The organizational and financial clean-up they have been doing can be looked at in a couple of different ways, 1) they are interested in looking for a buyer and are trying to clean things up to be more attractive or 2) they have an active buyer they are working with and part of the conditions from that buyer are that they want some structural changes to happen before they move forward. As you were running through your list, what I kept thinking was that Option 2, there is a buyer driving this is what kept sticking in my mind. As far as who would buy them, I would think that they most likely candidate would be an external private equity firm, perhaps one that has other sports related holdings. Given the state of the cycling industry, I don't see many cycling specific companies that would be in a position to make a move that would be this big. The one company name that did pop to mind as you were talking was Decathlon. I would love to see them enter the North American market in a big way and buying into the establishment of Trek would certainly be a bold move for them. I have no idea if Decathlon as the resources to pull-off that kind of a purchase/expansion. From a consumer stand-point, I would love to see Trek/Bontrager reduce their product lines. Where I live (Omaha, NE), our biggest local shop was recently bought-out by Trek and is now a Trek store. I love the service staff at that shop and continue to use them, they are now doing the 24-hour service turn-around which is fantastic, however the one thing that I do not like about the store is that the breadth of product offerings that the shop used to have (pre-Trek takeover) has significantly decreased. Simple things like a limited selection of bar tape being available, since the Bontrager brand makes bar tape is annoying.
Which shop are you talking about? We lived in Columbus NE in the 90's and I knew every bike shop in Omaha and Lincoln. I nearly cried when I found out Olympic Cycles closed their stores. Did anyone pick up the Bianchi line?
Overpriced for what you get. I live in Madison and I go to a bike shop that mostly does repairs and really expensive one off bikes If I wanted something new since I have no hills or off-road riding around here I would just order another Surly from them. Heavy but good for camping
@@madtownangler"overpriced for what you get". yeah but my guess is Trek is paying for many more lawyers than most bike companies. For protecting their name or defending product liability lawsuits or writing dealer contracts or researching patents, etc. And there is an extra cost of buying a bike with a warranty. More money for pro racer sponsorships, does that ever pay off for any bike company?
My understanding is the 40% SKU reduction is the bikes Giant won't send them because Trek is behind in their payments. Not sure how true it is but that is what I heard.
If that is true, then they are in enormous trouble. But I highly doubt it given the reports from more reliable sources that they have 4-5 years of stock on hand. The two don't seem to be mutually compatible.
Yeah, seems like too many single owned stores are selling out to Trek which, I think, must have offered a good price. I wonder if the sellers are opening new stores elsewhere or retiring or what.
Typically, they have a non-compete agreement. I know of a shop that sold, and the former owner can not be involved in the bicycle industry for a period of time..
It is a matter of time before they will be closing some of their Mc Trek stores.. They purchased great stores with personality and made it into an all Trek store.. QBP is on the ropes as well.. rumor has it that they are dropping close to 100 vendors.. getting a QBP account is an act of congress. Ask me how I know?
@notanomad9320 I have been in the bicycle industry since 1982..mechanic, store manager, worked for a bicycle factory in Europe, have had my own shop and even managed to get a Q account..presently I am an independent sales rep for many well known brands..and have a few Trek owned stores in my territory..
@@sprocketandwheel good for you, I started in the bike industry in the 70's when the French dominated the industry. My son works for Q so he keeps me informed. Yea times are tough for everyone but hopefully everyone survives. Good luck. I should say I have friends over at Park, I even worked a couple months for them but they didn't pay me enough to buy the company😀😀😀
Voluntary sale, or administration and essentially forced sale / breakup & asset sale? Some people seem to think they could be in the latter boat by the end of the year if they don't quickly cut the fat and get their house in order.
Would anyone really miss Trek? Their bikes are made in China, so maybe the 9yo kids there who make them might. Nothing like charging $3,000 for a bike that only cost about $300 to make, huh Trek?
Stupid purchasing of lots of LBS. reality is how much revenue did those stores even generate? Most were marginally profitable and the owners ran them for the love of the sport. Trek overpaid, it became soulless and customers do not like the shops. Money drain. Also way too many bike models. Have thee in each like. Beginner, medium and high end. The down side for customers is lack of options with all the LBS gone. Each bike I have ever purchased (which is 8 or so of medium to high end bikes) has been purchased at a LBS’s which were great to deal with. They are all now gone
I don't personally, but I do know the Trek Stores ship them to the Reb Barn facility in WI. It doesn't seem they have a big selection like TPC, but we'll see where this goes over time.
Damn I bought a Trek 9.8 XT a week or so ago. I hope I didn’t get robbed. Local bike shop is awesome. I wonder if he knew this and sold me a bill of goods. I got it for 5.5k. I hope I didn’t get robbed. 😅
JB will not sell, it’s his baby. He’s going to slim down the company and close more stores/layoff personnel. Here in Memphis they bought out two local shops and then opened a third store. They ended up closing two stores due to low sales and consolidated personnel into one store. We’ll see how long that lasts.
i was wondering if you could give me some direction in how i can figure out when my bob jackson bike was made and exactly what it is - any help is appricieated
There's only 2 brands that I ride now. Giant is number one and Cannondale is number 2. I used to ride Specialized bikes, until I ran into bad quality control bikes, twice the seat broke on 2 separate bikes, another I had a problem with the wheel, spokes kept snapping. I no longer trust Specialized. I have never ridden a Trek bike.
I had a problem once with spokes they kept on breaking over and over. The bike shop finally just swapped it out with a warranty wheel. Ever since then I make sure my spokes are silver and have not been painted or anodized or whatever they did to make them grey
I know 5 people that had their Specialized crank spindles crack at exactly the same spot. I also had a Roval wheel that would pop spokes just riding along on flat ground. Specialized refused to warranty the wheel...
I am not too fond of the Bontrager and Trek is good but way overpriced. They have direct to consumer shops but very high pricing. They need to right size and bring some value to the market
I recently bought a Domane AL5, and it clearly stated on the frame, "Made in China." It's a nice bike, but it does bother me that it isn't at least made in Taiwan. Taiwan is where most frames are made, and they are of high quality. China... I'm not so sure.
The thing is that you don't need to buy a brand or logo.... the frames looks the same...on almost all the major bike brands... what to to do. Buy same or similar frames from China....then assembly ar home.. cheaply. No overheads. Repairs do at home. 😮
The bicycle manufacturers are joining the 'disruptors'. Disruptors aren't geniuses to be admired. No, what they do is to take massive amounts of investor start-up money, and create large operations that destroy small, independently-owned local businesses. They take the profits that used to provide careers for many, and divide it between themselves and those fortunate enough to own stock in their company. Oh, and yes, they do poorly pay the warehouse workers who bust their a$$es at these dead-end jobs. Careers are now low-wage jobs, you lose your individual and community influence over that business's practices, and your community is now poorer. It's a lose-lose for the 99%.
At my local shop they have cut prices big time and the inventory is gigantic. The owner made a comment that the warehouse is full and they want to send me more. I’ve been cycling for 45 years, this seems to be a great time buy if someone is looking for a super deal.
Well , they need to make bikes, not try and put small bike shops out of business. Really dont like them , I liked the vintage made in USA ones..that's about it....
Overheated/oversaturated market with companies spreading themselves too thin in the pursuit of capturing revenue & market share. Blame the geniuses in the board room. Gotta say ... owning a Canyon, and just getting a new Specialized Roubaix for the wife via their website - 100% satisfied. The other 2 bikes we got from Jenson USA - same deal, 100% satisfied.
TREK is deep in debt to GIANT ... the reason they cutting back on SKUS is because GIANT refuses to send them any more frames until they pat up on their past due bills
Please "Like" and also " Share" to keep the conversation going. More insights from my perspective with 30 years of experience in the cycling Industry in the playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLdfUXv0-z1u42bZpCLWmT2VtNW-7AIf2A.html
Looks like years of copying other brands designs, no innovation , buying up mom and pop shops and turning them into soulless corporate locations is finally catching up to them.
They have coming, for years, Soulless, corporate, Business Model . Not Hip or FUN. 😊 F### EM''
Exactly!
What designs have they copied?
@@dobsok84DW link for one
Trek have been very innovative in recent years, much more than they were like 30 years ago.
Sounds like they’ve overextended themselves with the retail locations like you said. And the general state of us business practices.
In the New England area, Goodales was a bike dealer that existed for 100 years and Trek bought them out a couple years ago. Every store except one changed from the Goodales name to a "Trek" store in name and now only sell Trek and Bontrager products. The original store location kept the name "Goodales" but also like all the other stores, only stocks Trek and Bontrager products now.
Thank you for your insights; you can count Bontrager out; Trek is phasing that product name out.
I reside in NH and you're 100% correct 👍 I just ordered an Esker Hayduke frame as I'm tired of the big brand bikes as its much better to support small business and its also much cooler to have a bike that's not a dime a dozen Trek , Specialized , Giant etc..
@@manchesterexplorer8519That was a shock to me also. Goodales used to be one of my favorite bike shops. Now, I’m not so sure.
@manchesterexplorer8519
Absolutely👍
I found a "new in box" road bike frame & fork on eBay for $250 (including shipping).
It's hydroformed aluminium, light and the welds are above spec (says my professional welder friend).
I'm looking at an additional $250 for quality components and a few hours to assemble and I'll have something better than what the bike shops wanted $3,000+ for.
Paying $3k for a name brand bike that was made in China for $300 seems a bit ridiculous, because it is.
That being said, I'm sure there's people out there with more money than sense who will gladly fork over the cash to have Cannondale, Giant, BMC or Specialized plastered on their bike frames.
Perfect advertising to let thieves know which bikes to steal.
I’ve worked at 3 companies that WERE independently owned. When the economy changed and they were over extended these companies did exactly what Trek has done before going public. The family can keep controlling interests (51% of the stock). This will put a bunch of money in their pockets for a time.
400+ corporate stores and counting....think about that for a minute. The financial drag of that in this market has to be pretty crazy. All those different leases, roofs, carpets, employees, security systems, inventory, points of sale etc would be like wrangling tornados of spinning cash
The strong-arming of the service component is interesting, too. How many times is a rube in a market going to pump $400 into a 10 year-old $500 bike before that thing wind up in the shed permanently?
For the record, the Burke family will never sell unless they absolutely have no other choice. There's some JB ego at play
Sounds like you have meet the guy. I have and that is spot on...
Carpet in a bike shop? Eww
The potentially interesting part of the discussion for me of Trek being on the market for a sale/takeover is that they are a privately held company. Even the most dedicated owner will have a price where they will be interested. Given the uncertain state of the cycling industry, the Trek ownership may be looking at any offering coming their way as a great opportunity to cash-out. The organizational and financial clean-up they have been doing can be looked at in a couple of different ways, 1) they are interested in looking for a buyer and are trying to clean things up to be more attractive or 2) they have an active buyer they are working with and part of the conditions from that buyer are that they want some structural changes to happen before they move forward. As you were running through your list, what I kept thinking was that Option 2, there is a buyer driving this is what kept sticking in my mind. As far as who would buy them, I would think that they most likely candidate would be an external private equity firm, perhaps one that has other sports related holdings. Given the state of the cycling industry, I don't see many cycling specific companies that would be in a position to make a move that would be this big. The one company name that did pop to mind as you were talking was Decathlon. I would love to see them enter the North American market in a big way and buying into the establishment of Trek would certainly be a bold move for them. I have no idea if Decathlon as the resources to pull-off that kind of a purchase/expansion.
From a consumer stand-point, I would love to see Trek/Bontrager reduce their product lines. Where I live (Omaha, NE), our biggest local shop was recently bought-out by Trek and is now a Trek store. I love the service staff at that shop and continue to use them, they are now doing the 24-hour service turn-around which is fantastic, however the one thing that I do not like about the store is that the breadth of product offerings that the shop used to have (pre-Trek takeover) has significantly decreased. Simple things like a limited selection of bar tape being available, since the Bontrager brand makes bar tape is annoying.
Which shop are you talking about? We lived in Columbus NE in the 90's and I knew every bike shop in Omaha and Lincoln. I nearly cried when I found out Olympic Cycles closed their stores. Did anyone pick up the Bianchi line?
@@karmabomberger4410 The former Bike Rack in Omaha is now a Trek Store. Fortunately they retained much of the original staff.
Thank for sharing!
I live in Wisconsin where Trek is based and I ride Giant. Not a fan of the Burk family or their politics.
Overpriced for what you get. I live in Madison and I go to a bike shop that mostly does repairs and really expensive one off bikes
If I wanted something new since I have no hills or off-road riding around here I would just order another Surly from them. Heavy but good for camping
@@madtownangler"overpriced for what you get". yeah but my guess is Trek is paying for many more lawyers than most bike companies. For protecting their name or defending product liability lawsuits or writing dealer contracts or researching patents, etc. And there is an extra cost of buying a bike with a warranty. More money for pro racer sponsorships, does that ever pay off for any bike company?
I’ve rode Giant for years and feel they spec’s their bikes out well for the price.
Glad to hear you are riding still! What do you find wrong with Trek’s politics?
That’s basically how I am with local to me. Boyd
My understanding is the 40% SKU reduction is the bikes Giant won't send them because Trek is behind in their payments. Not sure how true it is but that is what I heard.
We will see where those reductions will land over time.
If that is true, then they are in enormous trouble. But I highly doubt it given the reports from more reliable sources that they have 4-5 years of stock on hand. The two don't seem to be mutually compatible.
That sounds like a good suspicion.
100% FACT
I bought a brand new Trek Rail 7 yesterday!!! 😊
I just bought a Marlin 6 with the decent TrekFest discount. Good quality, yes. Worth the price? So far I think yes!
Yay for new bikes
Yeah, seems like too many single owned stores are selling out to Trek which, I think, must have offered a good price. I wonder if the sellers are opening new stores elsewhere or retiring or what.
Typically, they have a non-compete agreement. I know of a shop that sold, and the former owner can not be involved in the bicycle industry for a period of time..
It is a matter of time before they will be closing some of their Mc Trek stores.. They purchased great stores with personality and made it into an all Trek store.. QBP is on the ropes as well.. rumor has it that they are dropping close to 100 vendors.. getting a QBP account is an act of congress. Ask me how I know?
How do you know?
@notanomad9320 I have been in the bicycle industry since 1982..mechanic, store manager, worked for a bicycle factory in Europe, have had my own shop and even managed to get a Q account..presently I am an independent sales rep for many well known brands..and have a few Trek owned stores in my territory..
@@sprocketandwheel good for you, I started in the bike industry in the 70's when the French dominated the industry. My son works for Q so he keeps me informed. Yea times are tough for everyone but hopefully everyone survives. Good luck. I should say I have friends over at Park, I even worked a couple months for them but they didn't pay me enough to buy the company😀😀😀
Thank you for your insights. Being a garage shop guy, Q will not sell to me. I'm okay with that.
Just a customer, but with All City Bikes disappearing, it's a pretty good indication everything is not rosy.
Starts at 1:08
Voluntary sale, or administration and essentially forced sale / breakup & asset sale? Some people seem to think they could be in the latter boat by the end of the year if they don't quickly cut the fat and get their house in order.
Would anyone really miss Trek?
Their bikes are made in China, so maybe the 9yo kids there who make them might.
Nothing like charging $3,000 for a bike that only cost about $300 to make, huh Trek?
Stupid purchasing of lots of LBS. reality is how much revenue did those stores even generate? Most were marginally profitable and the owners ran them for the love of the sport. Trek overpaid, it became soulless and customers do not like the shops. Money drain. Also way too many bike models. Have thee in each like. Beginner, medium and high end. The down side for customers is lack of options with all the LBS gone. Each bike I have ever purchased (which is 8 or so of medium to high end bikes) has been purchased at a LBS’s which were great to deal with. They are all now gone
Right on- good insight
Hey men, could you talk to about Giant brand? They seem pretty quiet about the changes in the industry.
I'll see what I can bring to light.
Do you know any of the wrenches working at that Red Barn thing? how does that gig compare to wrenching for the Pro's Closet?
I don't personally, but I do know the Trek Stores ship them to the Reb Barn facility in WI. It doesn't seem they have a big selection like TPC, but we'll see where this goes over time.
Damn I bought a Trek 9.8 XT a week or so ago. I hope I didn’t get robbed. Local bike shop is awesome. I wonder if he knew this and sold me a bill of goods. I got it for 5.5k. I hope I didn’t get robbed. 😅
JB will not sell, it’s his baby. He’s going to slim down the company and close more stores/layoff personnel. Here in Memphis they bought out two local shops and then opened a third store. They ended up closing two stores due to low sales and consolidated personnel into one store.
We’ll see how long that lasts.
They reduced 3 locations to 2 smaller buildings in my area last summer. This may become a common trend until they dig out of their hole.
i was wondering if you could give me some direction in how i can figure out when my bob jackson bike was made and exactly what it is - any help is appricieated
I would start by contacting them directly through their Instagram page: instagram.com/bobjacksoncycles/
thanks for the help much appriciated@@IKnowAGuyBicycles
There's only 2 brands that I ride now. Giant is number one and Cannondale is number 2. I used to ride Specialized bikes, until I ran into bad quality control bikes, twice the seat broke on 2 separate bikes, another I had a problem with the wheel, spokes kept snapping. I no longer trust Specialized. I have never ridden a Trek bike.
I had a problem once with spokes they kept on breaking over and over. The bike shop finally just swapped it out with a warranty wheel. Ever since then I make sure my spokes are silver and have not been painted or anodized or whatever they did to make them grey
@@madtownanglerBlack spokes are like mystery meat day at the school cafeteria. You never know whats in there.
The only brands I own are the ones that I can call the company and talk directly to the owner.
I know 5 people that had their Specialized crank spindles crack at exactly the same spot. I also had a Roval wheel that would pop spokes just riding along on flat ground. Specialized refused to warranty the wheel...
Trek is over priced.
Treks is. They and Lance Armstrong can take a hike.
I am not too fond of the Bontrager and Trek is good but way overpriced. They have direct to consumer shops but very high pricing. They need to right size and bring some value to the market
Trek's are made overseas! I think Trek told me about 5 years ago they switched everything over to Taiwan?
It was in 2007-2008 was the switch.
I recently bought a Domane AL5, and it clearly stated on the frame, "Made in China." It's a nice bike, but it does bother me that it isn't at least made in Taiwan. Taiwan is where most frames are made, and they are of high quality. China... I'm not so sure.
If they are made in Taiwan by Giant they have top quality.
Wish i never sold my usa made fuel
nice info budd
Thanks 👍
Yeah, Mercier got sold to Bikes Direct. Ciöcc got sold to Giulio Guidetti and his business partner.
Elon will purchase Trek and make it an all e-bike company. Then implant neurolinks in customers to keep them brand loyal.
So, when will I see more discounts?! 😅
The thing is that you don't need to buy a brand or logo.... the frames looks the same...on almost all the major bike brands... what to to do. Buy same or similar frames from China....then assembly ar home.. cheaply. No overheads. Repairs do at home. 😮
Trek is overpriced compared to Giant and don’t really offer anything better for the $$$. Unless you somehow value sexy marketing.
Why should consumers care about the state of Trek corperate?
Good point, warranties and recalls if you bought any Trek product.
Greed caught up to them....
Hey let's all pull our money and buy Trek together. 😂😂😂
Well if they price the sale of the company like they price their bikes, they would price it at $55 Trillion.
Who in their right mind would pay over $500 for a freak'n Trek?!?!
That's like buying a Chinese made John Deere sports car at Ferrari prices.
Winspace and Farsport.
The bicycle manufacturers are joining the 'disruptors'. Disruptors aren't geniuses to be admired. No, what they do is to take massive amounts of investor start-up money, and create large operations that destroy small, independently-owned local businesses. They take the profits that used to provide careers for many, and divide it between themselves and those fortunate enough to own stock in their company. Oh, and yes, they do poorly pay the warehouse workers who bust their a$$es at these dead-end jobs. Careers are now low-wage jobs, you lose your individual and community influence over that business's practices, and your community is now poorer. It's a lose-lose for the 99%.
Time for Giant to rescue Trek. Giant manufactures bikes for Trek anyways.
I wouldn't miss Trek for a second.
Will they keep sponsoring a ProTour cycling team? Probably...how else could they market the $12,000+ bikes.
That was a long video holding a cup without a drink….
lol, out takes.
He did take one sip...(lol, it's true)
Kinda crazy to think. $$$$$$$$.
Right!?!?!
At my local shop they have cut prices big time and the inventory is gigantic. The owner made a comment that the warehouse is full and they want to send me more. I’ve been cycling for 45 years, this seems to be a great time buy if someone is looking for a super deal.
Well , they need to make bikes, not try and put small bike shops out of business. Really dont like them , I liked the vintage made in USA ones..that's about it....
Trek's 'lifetime' warranty is BS. I had a small crack in carbon fiber seat stay and they said it was due to collision and wouldn't honor it.
Trek overspent on marketing.
Overheated/oversaturated market with companies spreading themselves too thin in the pursuit of capturing revenue & market share. Blame the geniuses in the board room. Gotta say ... owning a Canyon, and just getting a new Specialized Roubaix for the wife via their website - 100% satisfied. The other 2 bikes we got from Jenson USA - same deal, 100% satisfied.
Yea me too. Tell someone who cares. Personally I couldn't give a rat's arse about Trek.
Not the best time to buy a bike imo
actually it is a very good time to buy a bike
TREK is deep in debt to GIANT ... the reason they cutting back on SKUS is because GIANT refuses to send them any more frames until they pat up on their past due bills
Good insights.
Trek overpriced