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What would we cut from Trek’s bloated range.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มี.ค. 2024
- When Trek Bicycles announced they are aiming to reduce their Stock Keeping Units (SKU) by 40% by 2026 in order to 'right size' the business, we immediately started thinking... but how?!
Simon, Jake and I sit down for a bit of banter and some imaginative thinking on what would we do if we were on the board of Trek Bikes.
The Trek range is certainly bloated, the accessory range is gigantic, with some ridiculous items. The shoes, accessories and clothing lines are bigger than some specialist apparel brands.
I was within a hair of buying a madone gen 7 (slr), but ended up going with the tarmac from Specialized. While considering the Trek, i was astounded at the granularity they offer colors, especially the proj 1 options. I just was never sure of my buying decision with them.
Interesting. I hope someone at trek reads this comment.
Choice overload is a real thing. Thats's why custom builds are ideal right, all terms will be met. And also the best way to spend your day with as a mechanic
We sell a huge amount of the SL8 more than the Madone for this very reason, the same with the Aethos.
What helped is that having a small selection of model mean we can order a lots of model knowing we can sell them all rather than left with some model that we have to discounted after a year
Trek is known for their paint and color options. They see it as a sign of quality. I believe that many of the high end paints are made locally in Wisconsin.
@@petesjk correct on both. The problem with fun paint options is that not EVERYBODY likes them. Personally I love it. But not everyone likes that dark Jade green with that gold lettering and decals.
I suppose that Trek, and all the other major bike brands for the average folk, offer so many different bikes and versions because that is what customers want. That said an awful lot of those models and versions, listed on their websites, are just not available to buy unless you are happy to wait for ages to have your new bike delivered. Slimming things down makes sense, and getting rid of old an obsolete models and versions would certainly make good sense in my opinion.
On the Domane comments I can only say that I have one and am very happy with it. That said I am 59 this year and want a recliner on wheels, which is great for us more senior riders, but obviously not what the young guns want. Horses for courses and I like that Trek has an eye for the older group of riders.
I think those shoes and helmets make them more money than we realize. Those are high margin items no doubt, and Trek's ability to put them in stores in every little niche around the world helps a ton. I'm in Canada in a decently sized metro (half a million people) but shoe availability even hours away from me is really poor. I have zero opportunity to try on Lake, Bonts, Quoc, DMT, Nimbl, or any of the other high end brands. I am exclusively limited to Fizik, Shimano, Specialized, Trek, and Giro. Those new Trek shoes are the only ones that fit my feet, so I'm either stuck with paying a lot of money for niche shoes that fit me, or trying to import stuff with no/limited ability to return. I just wish they were cheaper.
On the entry level side, get rid of everything that still has QR wheel mounts, a frame or fork with through axles doesn't cost anything more production wise.
Agreed. It’s crazy they produce the low end MTBs with 135QR or 141QR.
@@TheThedynamitekid Right? It puts starters on shit bikes with no upgrade path. It's technically a throwaway bike.
Agreed, get rid of thru axles. QR nowt wrong them
The actual science behind quick releases shows the 135qr provides just as much, if not more clamping force than thru axles. In fact, the industry initially got thru axle design wrong because they assumed the beefier threaded axle automatically meant it was a stronger and more secure system. It wasn’t. The main reason for a thru axle is to deal with and try to limit all the flex in suspension forks and to a lesser extent rear suspension. An entry level hardtail mtb doesn’t automatically need a thru axle.
Threads will eventually wear out, and they can also get damaged. Talk about throw away bikes.
can't agree with the session, remedy, slash, and fuel being the same. I'll grant you that the remedy is absolutely redundant (and they haven't updated it for a reason) but there's a huge difference between a session (downhill bike) and either of the others as well as (to an albeit lesser extent) a proper difference between the fuel ex and the slash. IMO they fill their respective niches well enough to stay and I think lumping them in together is a tad short sighted.
the trail-capable bikes i'd take out of their range would be the x-caliber (unless they updated it to use a thru axle on the rear wheel, then it'd be a great option for youth XC racing), e-caliber, farley, remedy, powerfly, powerfly FS, powerfly equipped, all but the higher specs of the supercaliber and procaliber.
Also as a mechanic for a trek dealer I can't agree more with the domane hate, the whole isospeed concept is bonkers, there's no reason you should have to service suspension pivots on a rigid bike and it's not too uncommon a thing for the metal insert to rust out, expand, and crack the carbon frame of a rider who doesn't take care of their bike. i would like to flatten whoever thought up isospeed with a cartoonishly large anvil :)
Well said.
Yeah, saying all the mountain bikes are the same really showed their hand in what side of riding they're most familiar with. It's like if I said get rid of speed concept, emonda, boone, madone etc and just keep checkpoint and domaine. You're literally deleting multiple disciplines without even thinking about it
I just hope they won't cut the many different sizes! This is a major major point for us. So if they cut the redundant models (so many XC bikes for exemple), well why not. Good talk. Thanks
I want a good all-around Ultegra level road bike with a sane geometry (not for a pro rider) and at a reasonable weight, and without a bunch of dumb stuff added to reduce vibration, like iso speed, etc. And a gravel bike is not really a substitute.
Emonda on the H2 Geo.
@@Mapdec yep. The h2 geometry concept was good.
@@MapdecI have 2 2018 Crocketts and the geo is very similar to the H2 geo. I'm not a "roadie", but is set up for road duties and the other CX/gravel/or whatever. Stranglehold dropouts and clearance for 40's make it a very versatile bike. I'm a steel guy, but it rides surprisingly well!
As a trek dealer - I would say that I completely agree with what you have said about the road bikes.
My issue is with the MTB comments, without being rude I feel like with more research on the models you would see that actually they have been trying to reduce the range down.
Supercaliber is XC race
Top fuel is short travel (130/120mm)
Fuel ex Gen 6 (150/140mm)
Slash Gen 6 (170/170mm)
Session (DH)
Remedy is no more, fuel ex gen 5 is no more, slash gen 5 is no more.
Hardtails and hybrid sell in such large numbers that they will be left. (X-Caliber has been replaced with Procaliber Alloy and roscoe has been beefed up).
Same as the electric bikes, 99.99% sell through incredibly well.
Crocket is alloy cyclocross and only frame only, Boone is carbon cyclocross and a frame in 2 colours, and one single full build.
So only 1 bike and 3 frames.
Regards to the random crap from Bontrager, most of the bits are rebranded abus locks, multi tools were rebranded crank bros, but all better margin to the shop than buying from the original brands.. so makes a lot of sense and also Trek in the states distribute lots of other brands and they have been slowing bringing that to the UK too.
For example, reducing Bontrager tyres options but starting to sell Pirelli. Reducing Bontrager clothing options but starting to sell Fox, 100% and Rapha.
Which also brings me to my final point of… Trek (as a company) have said they will be reducing SKUs by 40%, not necessarily Trek as the brand. So this could be reducing P&A offering, reducing colour options (2 colours if a model rather than 3. Thus reducing by 30%)
Sorry to ramble but as a trek dealer we probably see more behind than what is shown, but really they (and every other big brand) needs to get rid of the leftover old stock and models and the bikes that are left have been thought through properly.
🤘🤘
This👆
Good info. Thanks for sharing.
Trek’s insane product line is one factor why I don’t ride a Trek. When I was getting my first road bike I went instantly to Trek, couldn’t figure out what was best and their stores at the time didn’t offer a ton of help either. I stumbled into the high end bike shop where I discovered Orbea and I really haven’t looked back. I own two Orbea’s now and Gain e-bike (which is my love) and an OMR Orca, both are MyO bikes and I’m probably going to end up buying an Occam or Rise in the future. I love the innovation that Trek does, even if it is gimmicky at times, I got into cycling because I saw an older Madone with the integrated rim brake and fell in love, they just didn’t have the support for a new rider which hopefully with a slimmed down product line that’ll change.
Totally agree the Checkpoint is a far better bike than the Domane. I just wish they’d drop the iso speed gimmick as I really can’t see why it’s needed on a bike with 40 mm tyres.
Really good podcast guys, its great to hear your insights.
Thanks for listening
The Checkpoint and Domane are probably so comparable now they might as well get rid of one. Same with the Crockett - although it would be another manufacturer not making an “affordable” alloy CX bike for enthusiast racers.
But the Crockett also comes in insanely beautiful colorways. Would be a shame to lose those.
They could atleast leave Crockett frameset and maybe lower it's price slightly. There really is very little brands selling proper alloy CX frames nowadays and not everybody want to buy carbon for throwing it around cx courses
Good points. The Emonda ALR is comparable to Emonda SL. Between same specs there is not much weight difference. In Vietnam I have seen so many project one Madone's. A guy in my city ordered the most expensive project one recently but had to wait months. I'm guessing the SKU reduction would mostly come from the hybrid sector as that what's had the biggest grown during covid.
Fat biking is huge in Wisconsin... Where they are located.
True, but we had a terrible winter, and I bet sales are pretty slow.
@@GHinWII love that a terrible winter in Wisconsin means it was too warm and hardly any snow.
Regarding the Domane family you are so far of that you can get.
99% of riders should be riding the Domane because they can’t ride the checkpoint.
The checkpoint is too aggressive for the 99% of the riders.
99% of the Should, probably shouldn’t.
Trek is way to confusing. SL 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 then SLR 5, 6, 7 and so on. What am I buying? If I pull up to a cafe in a Trek, are the guys going to know what model of bike I have? All they see is a Trek logo.
Trek should copy Specialized and just have a Comp, Expert, Pro and then a top dog SWorks. Easy.
Pretty hard to see where Trek could trim the fat on their full suspension mtb selection. Top fuel = down country, fuel ex = trail/all mountain, slash = enduro race machine (Remedy has already been culled). They pretty much have the modern mtb landscape pinned perfectly. Much more streamlined than other brands such as transition, norco, or yeti (even the big S). Roscoe would be the one to cull as most customers seem to go for a budget full sus from a cheaper brand instead of a mid range Hardtail from Trek.
I certainly hope Trek watches this. As a Checkpoint owner and and employee of a Trek retailer in Canada, totally agree with your comments and recommendations.
Trek's goal like all large cycling companies (Specialized too) is to offer so many models and sku's (even products they have no business offering that they private label tires, computers, helmets etc.) is to dominate your store, drive out independent brands (which make better accessories/products at higher margins) It's all tied into discounts and the price of the bikes you order. They want to control your open to buy dollars and turn you into a Trek corporate store. Ask me how I know. This has been going on since the 80's btw..
The Remedy should be cut from the range, the Fuel EX is massively capable and the Slash is versatile enough to be a trail bike.
As someone who works at a bike shop who retails Trek, a lot of our sales are marlins and Dual Sports. I absolutely despise the bikes with cable discs e.g. the marlin 4. Us here in NZ, a Marlin 5 is $999 normally which to me is way too much and a marlin 4 is $800, they should take out the 4 and bring the price of the Marlin 5, as well as doing the same with Domane, Dual Sport etc. a different note, I would never buy a trek normally, the checkpoint to me is completely set up wrong and is way too upright. In the time of me being in the shop, we’ve only sold 1 Madone which is a special order.
Owner of two domanes here... so thanks 😉. I love my 2015 Domane 5.2, one with the 'simple' isospeed and my AL 2 disc is a great winter / gravel bike. The reason my 'normal' roadbikes are Domanes is because of the fit and the reach of the checkpoint is quite a bit longer (3cm in the 56 model, even the new Emonda is shorter).
Trek will need an endurance bike, but the Domane is about a cm shorter than the old H2 Emonda and with modern bigger tyres you don't really need isospeed, so if they bring back the H2 fit for Emonda it's fine, just call it 'Emonda Endurance'. Or heck, switch the whole series back to H2 with the SLR being H1 only.
What I would do:
- Get rid of half the city- and ebikes. They've got a lot of them, series that really overlap.
- Stop with the seperate brand (Electra).
- Overall: 2 colors per model max. Want more? Go P1.
- Keep the Domane, but only 1 carbon model, market it as endurance / light gravel.
- Make the Domane AL an ALR and as good as the Emonda ALR, market it as endurance / 'my first gravel bike'.
- Emonda: SLR model H1, other models H2.
- Madone: keep SLR model, ditch others.
- 1 gravel-model, 1 cx-model.
- Quit the fast ebikes or make them competitive.
- Add the option of a suspension fork to the FX, ditch Dual Sport.
good comment. thanks.
Appreciate the ALR is nice looking, I rode the AL5 rim brake for 3 years and my upgrade was the SL5, at a stupid sale price. The ride was so much more of an upgrade I was gobsmacked. So doing away with the cheap Carbon I think would be a crime as I am never going to buy the SL6 or higher. Anyway, loving my SL5 and can’t wait for Spring Summer. Wouldn’t like to be Trek, but then they’ll have the numbers so Ai will do the deleting😁😉
Excellent ideas. The Board would be stupid not to listen.
Domane AL can die as well. With the success of the Emonda ALR it shouldn’t be necessary. I work at my local dealer, and while the reliability of the Domane AL has been good enough, they are just vastly overweight. I own an AL 4 as my rainy day bike and every hill is a challenge (I’m 18 years old in cat 1 shape). My size 58 is 26 pounds. If the point of an endurance bike is to keep the riding fun even when you’re exhausted, then Domane just fails. Folks in this price point are better served by an Allez or even a used CAAD.
Good comment.
I have an Emonda. Tbh it’s more of an all rounder than a climbing bike imo.
Agree with a lot of this, but disagree on colour options. One thing that is infuriating about bikes is trying to find a colour you like. If you're spending hundreds or thousands on a bike i want more options than black, red, blue. Specialized have better colours than most but often the non-boring colour is on a spec you don't want.
But then you are forced to upgrade to get the nice colour.
I like my 2017 Domane SL8. It's rim brake and mechanical and quite light especially after I added their XXX2 wheels. Its a great long distance bike. After that model year they got heavy with the disc etc
Agree with most of your thoughts and reducing models. Regards expanding Project 1 IMO create two levels - an expanded basic color pallete at a medium price ~ $500, then the full customization they have now. In years past Trek have put out so many good bikes in frankly ugly colors (some combo of black / grey) which is a non starter for me ( though I like matt black…).
This is basically how it works already
The Farley fatbike is outstanding. So is the last of the Remedies.
When gravel took off from CX, endurance road bikes are sort not needed as race gravel/CX (pick what you call it) bikes are made for the wider tires and all day comfort with being responsive. Endurance road bikes is just that with smaller tire limits now. How much before gravel bikes with tarmac tires are used commonly in some rougher classics (PR or stardra) as they do not have issues the endurance road does with tire limits. But UCI will extend the CX tire width rule of 33c max to road at some point based how on they work as many road bikes now are mirroring CX bikes of old in many areas. Domane gone, then just checkpoint is the way to go with minor pro race only no fender/bag mounts frme at top level. Madone goes aero; while emoda is the climbing/classics bike. It is funny how the old CX bikes predated so much of what is out there now, minus the cantis. Narrow the MTBs selection down. Reduced number of stock paint jobs and build levels. Then get rid of special trek only BBs with other junk not needed for new frames back on more common standard parts and there solves alot the problems. Or ckeckpoint goes adventure gravel bike all the way and domonae is endurance/race gravel with limiting stock colors and builds levels and no trek special parts.
In terms of colour, I think they should offer a couple of base colours and if the customer wants a different one, he can have it for an extra 50 dollars.
In the past years, I wanted to buy a new bike several times but I didn't do it because I simply did not like the colour options... If I pay 2k for a bike, I would like to be able to select the colour.
At slr frame level trek generally don’t keep stock, they keep the frames and groupsets and stick the right groupset on the size/colour you order, this makes a massive difference to how many high end bikes they have to clear out at the end of the year but I don’t think it’s cost effective to do on the less expensive bikes as these are all assembled in the east as opposed to the USA… will be interesting to see what stays and what goes!!!
Bike companies had a good time during the covid period with a sell,sell,mentality with highly overpriced bikes and components now with financial constraints of the world consumers are taking back control!
Hell yeah
As a cheapskate, I like walking into the trek stores to buy little Bontrager goodies to help me keep going on my day. Bottle cages, lights, clothing when I haven’t packed right for the day.
I don’t think there’s anything cheap about repeat buying things you already have at home just because you forgot to bring them on your ride. 🤔
Part 2... "how well did we predict Trek's decisions?"
I liked the H2 fit on the old Emonda as it suited my need for Endurance geometry, but on a lighter and racier bike. H1.5 doesn't work for me.........and dont get me started on Treks wholesale introduction of full front end integration!
Trek's verve low step disc brake series is beneficial for us older riders---- but we're such a small percentage of the market..how about condense into one model from three!!!!!!!?????
@stevebarnes9345 You may occupy a larger portion of the market than you think! My store sells lots of Verve. To your point though, I think we could ditch the 3. It’s more than most want to spend.
I have a verve one and two.,... low step.disc brake. There is not enough difference to worry about-.same frame.,keep the hydraulic brakes and either drive train works- the seat post suspension could get tossed. And call it a day... maybe one model with more color options?
Where is your shop? The low step through makes life for us older riders a breeze! I described to my dealer what I wanted --- I had researched/ love the bike!! I have a rear mik rack for errands to the store--- it's truly great gear.
@stevebarnes9345 My shop is in Middle Tennessee. The low step is a hit. If I had to consolidate the line into one I’d basically make the Lowstep 2. Basic Tektro hydraulics with similar drivetrains. Pretty much what you suggested.
Blimey! I had no idea there were that many bikes. The crossover is insane! The Project One build is a good idea - Ribble used to do this really well, where you could choose the frame, groupset (even different size cassette), wheels, etc. Much more limited now, but that's got to be the way to go. Like you say, if the tyres are out of stock, just choose another set and replace later.
They have quite a few that need to go but what they need is to sell a basic spec and upper spec of each. I would rather have choice of multiple colors than 15 different specs.
There are some models like the Emondas i think they should offer like 4 colors of each frame, and on the ALR have a full bike. But some of the SLR stuff? Just have the frame and go through P1 for all of it. Nobody wants to spend 12k on a bike and have it be stock. Same thing with the Boone. 4 paint options, then have a full build through P1. Thats a bike most people customize anyways. Same with Supercaliber, have the SL as full builds, and all SLR models with P1. So easy. Honestly it would be better for everyone including myself. And I am the one riding a lot of these bikes! I HAVE 4 Boones, Fuel EX, Top Fuel, Checkpoint, and a few other Trek bikes..... like I own a ton of bikes. But all my Boones are custom, even the one i bought as a stock build i swapped every single component that came on it, out for something else. Even the stem and handlebar. I have a perfect picture of what they should do because i worked in the industry for a Trek direct owned store for a while. I know what sells well and what doesnt. Most SL models should have a low end build and a higher end build, like the Supercaliber have SLX with aluminum wheels(3.5k), and the high end build be low end carbon wheels with GX transmission shifting, and send it with a UDH derailleur hangar(specced at about 5k). Because some people want it. Emonda SL be like 105 12 speed, with aluminum wheels,(specced at 2,500) and high end be the Pro level wheels with Ultegra Di2 or Force AXS(specced at around 4-5k). Those Elite wheels are pure crap. I understand they are good for some people but not for the person spending 5k on a bike. Thats the person spending 3k or LESS. Not more than that. This is what i see needing to happen. This is the BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIO for ALL TREK DEALERS. LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE. WE SEE IT FIRST HAND.
Great subject and very tough job for Trek to align the range of bikes with panoramic customer demand. Road bikes used to be just road bikes and in the last few years there are light weight climbers, fast aeros, comfortable endurance, off road gravel subsections. Aside from Tour and national competition riders most buyers are a one-bike owner (maybe plus old one for winter use) and an all rounder - i.e. quite light. aero and capacity for wider tyres (e.g. Cervelo Soloist) has got to cover most of the demand. I agree that mid to high range should go all custom build (Project One) say £4,500/£5000 +. At this level the choice of components is much more relevant to buyers. Love the idea of more custom paint jobs as it far more interesting than are you running Force or Di2 which on most reviews seem to be the same.
You bagged the domane in part because of the isospeed, but like the checkpoint and made no mention of its two isospeeds? What did I miss?
I have only seen the iso on the seat post of the checkpoint. Fair one. If the checkpoint has an iso front then it defo needs to die too.
Will Trek make their culling decisions based solely on sales numbers? Or do they brainstorm, as done here, and objectively assess the logic and features of each range? Surely a bit of both. I have a glimmer of confidence in Trek's decision making. They did not bow down to bean counters when hookless was all the rage, as Zipp and Enve have disgustingly done. Bontrager years ago have gone back to hooked rims on their better wheels.
It makes sense to me if Trek was just a bicycle manufacturer but recently they began opening Trek Retail stores in the big cities across America. It makes sense to sell everything from the bikes to the clothes as Trek products. I worry the Trek retail stores will be missing key items for riders or they will have to add back in other companies products into the trek stores to compete. Then is it really a trek store? On a separate note I have a few bontrager items and I have been impressed with the quality. I’ve had a charger pump for over 12 years now and it’s going strong and I recently got a bontrager mini ti torque wrench set that I believe is rebranded Silca product. Top notch stuff, not cheap Chinese. Hope they don’t get rid of the good quality items I’ve become accustomed to.
Clearly fat bikes are not a thing in your part of the world. I own a Farley and love it; they're among the top selling fat bikes here in Canada... agree that 3 variants are probably too many... perhaps settle on one or two (ally&carbon) and kit them out standard.
Agreed! At least 5 months of snow in Edmonton, something the UK doesn't have to contend with. One frame in carbon, one in alloy.
So!
Trek University, we are paid by Trek to attend their online university website to go through thousand of modules and quiz to learn about each bicycles.
In some respect, I do find it useful, but felt overwhelming, when it come to the MTB range, I to no surprise kept messing up the quiz because the difference between each full suspension MTB is quite small beside the obvious XC variant.
The other thing is that in Trek Uni; they gave us quite a lots of modules on how to help customer select their ideas bicycles, and that's quite a big module by the way, and looking at the Trek line-up, it make sense; we are "trained" to find the right bike for the customer to save them from figuring it out through the massive library and variation of bicycles
Thanks for the comment. Yes. I have seen the Trek uni. It’s very comprehensive for sure.
For MTB one topic point would be the changes in geometry you would get by changing components. I think this is one way the bloat around the models as they are building these specifically for various travel lengths to then try and optimise the geometry and suspension kinematics for those very specific cases. Perhaps if they could engineer the adjustability with recommended suspension matched to those settings then this might be a way to cover more options with less actual SKU's
All i want is an Domane ALR 4 in white or black and white (Carbon n'white???) with 105, 38-40mm carbon wheels and not get ripped off over the price of it. 😭😭
Maybe align bike prices with competition. Comparing cheapest carbon endurance road bikes from: giant vs merida vs canyon with 105 12 speed mechanical. The Trek is over 20% more expensive.
The Edmonds SL5is on sale with 105 Di2 and carbon wheels for 5 k in Australia currently. The Domane is $6700 for 105 di2 and alloy wheels. Taking the piss a bit. They are also selling the checkpoint with 12 speed GRX for $3500 and the older 11 speed version is $4000. They need to just make more bikes custom. You pick the frame and colour plus components. Most people would be happy to wait a bit and do that than have to select something and compromise. Colour options in Australia suck on a good day for most brands as well.
Custom models will kill Trek.
Why ? They have so many parts and models it would probably save them money by working out the stuff that people actually want. They have project one already
@@Squizzy05No. Just no. Try to learn something about economics. volume means decreasing costs and low volume means exploding costs. Hence "custom build" bikes are horrible expensive and low volume. E.g. a carbon mold runs for about 100.000$ thats why custom carbon frames fitted to a specific rider are rare. Even doing custom colors is hard. Trek needs to focus on models that most people want and can afford. Of course upselling to higher groups/models is a requirement to make a profit, but the low end is also required to keep the market alife for newbies and casual riders.
@@FuchsHorst I agree. I don’t mean custom geometry or paint. Think like Ribble or Orbea where you can select things like stem length, bar size, colour, groupset, wheels from a selected range. You don’t need to have so many models that way. You just get what you actually want/ need instead of having to compromise. It takes longer to get the bike but it is better for the consumer. If you have a better experience and outcome you end up with more sales. Even if the price is slightly higher it would be better. Less waste all round as well.
@@Squizzy05 I get your point but IMHO the local bike shop should adjust and swap parts for free (well, for a cut of the sale price). But eg Canyon and other direct to consumer brands are eating the market and they really don't care.
Guess we'll find out tomorrow (6/27) what Trek is up to.
The E-bikes are the best for companies. E-bikes are the most expensive and they wear out most. They are most expensive for a customer in the long run. Also in 5 years companies will make a new line with new motor, new battery compartment, new controller, new whatever... And you will not be able to get spares for your old (5 year) bike or spares will be so expensive that it will be better to get a new one. And that is the worst. A bike should be sustainable, you should fix it pretty much everywhere and everything. A bike should be freedom, feel the wind, nature, fun. But companies are just about the business only. Customers should know that before getting their new E-bike.
Domane was the biggest selling bike in 2023. Not just Trek’s biggest seller. Your suggestion is just bias.
Oh for sure. Superb marketing. A bike made to adhere to market research and marketed as a magic carpet ride. Is it a good durable and reliable bike fit for purpose? Nope. I am really glad they finally relented and stripped out that iso speed nonsense. Must have cost a fortune in warranty claims.
@@Mapdec: if customers want an over priced, over complicated, bike-seems a good arrangement for bike shops to me.
15:52 Now you're describing advatntages for Atherton bikes. You can size the bike specifically to you. So easy for the to do with their manufacturing processes. Add that to big data/AI plugging in body specifics, riding style, riding locations etc.
You are so wrong about the Domane, I think the front isospeed was in response to the Specialized Future shock on the Roubaix. The bike rides incredibly well and is the best selling endurance road bike in the UK and possibly globally. Bikes becoming more complicated isn't a valid reason to not like them, do you drive a car without traction control and powered steering?
i would probably cull every endurance bike from every brand at this point. are they not obsolete now that disc brakes allow us wider tires? a gravel point can have their geometry PLUS the bigger tires options and mounting points
The problem is geometry. Most race bikes look crap with heaps of spacers and most people can’t bend enough to fit them. You could argue that just get a gravel bike instead with road wheels which is what I run currently and it’s fine.
No. Most people should not be riding bikes with geometries designed for pro riders. And they need to be making bikes for their customers. But the Domane is awful.
Just so you know.
A lot of the bikes featured on the website are not available.
The reason why it is on the website is that it functions as a catalog for B2B.
It’s a bit confusing for people looking at the website especially if you don’t have access to the b2b site.
Bet customers love that.
Think with Domane they have a good name in the bike world. Would keep this. But I don’t think the have a lot of turnover with project one…this is not where they make their Money. I would stop the Madone…merge it with emonda. And reduce heavy for each Road bike the different colours and specs
Checkpoint+PO is all they need in road side nowadays. Give buyers the option to name the "bike model" that sounds foreign.
Hopefully Trek doesn't eliminate the SKUs for the Project One carbon fibre monogrammed valve stem caps 😮
Session a trail bike? 😅
Checkpoint has IsoSpeed as well.
Yeah. True. Thank god they have reduced it to just a useless piece at the seatpost now.
Has the slipping seatpost finally been fixed on the Domane?
Depends on the QC of your frame. Did you warranty it?
@@Mapdec i was only asking, i dont have this bike. It's incredible that in 2024 some brand cant make a simple seatpost binder...
As for the $400 new shoes released, they are definitely a fail, as they no longer have the replaceable heel lugs. In the past they were around that price but will become heavily discounted before long. I have a pair 2 model generations old and they’re good shoes. One of the few that have REPLACEABLE heel lugs. The heels on these and other shoes wear out otherwise, ruining the shoe. No way I’m buying any shoe that expensive without that when the heel pad is so minuscule. I’ll actually be going to my local trek store soon to see if they have any remaining stock of that high end shoe from the prior model generation, then I’m done with that model and brand.
You make a good point. Its details lime this that matter at those prices.
Is there 3 models of boone? I def wouldn't cut it, it has nearly identical geometry to the H2 2022 emonda ALR, light carbon frame, 40mm clearance. I've myself nearly convinced to sell my gravel and road bike and build a boone 2x for the one do it all bike. Its doesn't have the mounting points of a checkpoint granted but I don't bike pack
Your logo reminds me of the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Good trek is sizing down their range, they had way too many models, absurdly tiny price ranges, without any real benefit especially on low end to mid range bikes. Would be nice with better value bikes too, less models but better spec'd lower price. Their current bikes are better value than few years ago, but still not optimal. Still redundant models.
They also need to fix the quality issues, face brake mounts, bottom brackets, make sure all is to spec and straight. Reduce snapping carbon frames. I've owned several Trek bikes, and won't get a Trek again. I might as well go for a direct to consumer brand and save money. My main bike is a Geometron/Nicolai G1, it's in a different league. At least mine is perfect it seems.
11:55 I'm keen to try a fat bike for the difficult snow conditions where a regular bike gets stuck. So I want to try it purely as winter bike, purely for harsh conditions. Where a regular bike simply can't be used. Otherwise a fat bike is pointless unless you ride on sand. But ironically in Norway there are no decent geo fat bikes. But I've not bought one yet, nor tried one in snow.
They’re great fun on a groomed snow trail. Pretty slow going if the trail isn’t groomed.
Fat bikes are quite popular here in Wisconsin, but we had a terrible winter this year.
@@GHinWI have you tried them in stiff snow tyres sink and stick in, basically become a bike parking rack, or deep snow, powder, wet snow. I use my enduro bike, and have to walk where can't ride until I can ride, so end up riding in the city centre and paths a lot, until trails get packed down by hikers.
@@mtbboy1993 : again, my experience is it’s best to ride on groomed trails or trails packed down by snowshoes.
You can use wide 5” tires and low pressure to float on unprepared snow, but it takes so many watts to push through the snow it doesn’t really work.
I do also use my fat bike as an around-town bike, but a fat bike is more a good workout rather than fast, haha.
@@GHinWI so basically regular bike on groomed or packed trails is best. Unless hopeless..
Treks needs to cull it's range, but also need to reduce their outright focus on prosumer/enthusiast to focus more on the lower end segment. Comments like every store having a Marlin - well they would where in the US they account for the bulk of their sales and the lowest entry point to the brand in terms of price.
High end ££££ bikes can't support their size, and so they need to accept that they've spent too long marketing to the prosumer/experienced enthusiast at the expense of the larger entry point market. They need to simplify and go back to basics; appeal to first time riders, parents of first time riders first. Yeah a lower profit but arguably a less fussy and more forgiving customer.
Umm. There is just no profit in entry level bikes. Take an £800 Marlin. £133 is Vat, a mechanic still has to unbox it and PDI it, dispose of all the packaging (which is a lot), a sales assistant still has to be paid to serve the customer, do the free 6 week tune etc. Loose another 10% from cycle to work scheme. I would be surprised if a retailer makes £100. Selling entry bikes is very labour intensive compared to the return.
They used to have something like 1 engineer to 4 marketing staff ratio in the early 2000's, now it's probably 1 engineer for a 100 marketing position 😂
Lol
Love this chatter! Worked in Trek dealers for over 3 decades, the SKU’s are out of control. Can’t say more at this time is to support your locally owned bike shops!
Let’s be serious, most people should be riding the endurance frame. They will be more comfortable and have an overall better experience.
Nothing wrong with a high spec endurance bike. Only people being elitist make that an issue.
It's a comfortable frame, not an endurance frame. The Domane is so relaxed and comfortable, it is better described as a touring bike,
Again, That would then suit more people. Im all for a Madone Race bike but it's so aggressive. Most people would be suited to that Relaxed Geo. @@Mapdec
@@Mapdec I will take a comfortable frame over any other without hesitation. It doesn’t stop me doing reasonably fast club rides and long challenging fondos.
I completed a 170km ride with just under 3000m of up last month and couldn’t ask for a better bike (agree about the iso speed though, 32c tyres soak up the vibrations when not overinflated). I am also someone who has never had an interest in racing, just enjoy riding. Understand that I am probably in a minority. I guess it depends on your preferred riding style. If I only rode 100km a week with 3 club rides I would probably have a different bike. However I like to go long and ride 6 days a week and do about 250 - 300km a week, comfort is king……. I am also not young lol, so not going to hold stretched out position for hours on end
You mentioned the awful ISO speed on the Domane - then praised the Checkpoint as being the ‘go to’ bike.. doesn’t the Checkpoint have the same ISO speed system..?
It does now. It just has a little version on the seat post. The Domane had this monster thing that ran the length of the seatpost and pivot at the headset that just knocked away at the carbon making it oval.
Shimano also has too many models, sometimes prices are marginally different. I've seen SLX for barely higher than Deore, why not have top model and low budget model maybe keep XT as the work horse non racing model.Less different models to manufacture, simpler.
They are working on this with CUES
@@seansvadlenak Hopefully it's good.
@@mtbboy1993 so far the reports are it is fine. As long as the road levers are good, I think people will be happy.
I don't see that they will be removing 40% the families, but 40% of each family.... Also you are a small shop in the uk, we are a small population of bike enthusiast compared with the USA for example.
For sure. I hope you found the fun side.
I LOVE MY DOMANE AND YOU CAN'T TAKE MY ARMCHAIR AWAY FROM ME
🤣🤣🤣🤣
edit: I should clarify I have a 2023 without the front suspension
Fun fact: the guy on the left plays guitar in the rock group Garbage
Really? Amazing. Two great hobbies (music and cycling).
madone? mad one!
So long as they keep and honour their lifetime frame warranty…
The $10k Ultegra Madone...
Joke. Even LOOK are under 9k for that spec and that has some of finest engineering I’ve seen on a race bike.
@@Mapdec But LOOK doesn't have the wank name that keeps the POC helmet, Rapha jersey, Assos shorts know it all coming back
12:40 Tell me you know nothing about mountain bikes without telling me you know nothing about mountain bikes!!
lol tell me you believe all the hype and nonsense. MTB should be custom built for rider and terrain. Not trying to make up random categories to pigeonhole a genre.
@@Mapdec u could say the same for road bikes!! They all look the same and ride the same!! This is an endurance bike...this is a TT bike...this is a comfort bike and now there's gravel bikes!!
@@TheDiablosix6six yes. I do. Regularly.
Maybe you should do some research on mtb geo and kinematics, you’ll then go, now I understand why trek has so many trail bikes and why they are engineered for different trail types
You’ll enjoy some of our other vids. 👍
I understand how we got here, but it isn’t ideal that we expect people to do some research on mtb geo and kinematics to choose the correct Goldilocks trail bike for them.
Actually lecturing a bike shop owner
There is no “h” in “h”.
Ok
I think the English language might disagree
So many ways to go. Domane has rear drop out troubles, period. Thats before you get to the obvious. That being said, its a window bike, into another world, so to speak. Yeah, id scrap it probably
All companies are just as bad
Don't know and don't care. Trek has always left me cold. Ditto for Giant.
Plus the Domane weighs more than I do
1. Send away the X caliber range
2. the hybrids are wack
3. Who needs a domane anyways
4. Bring the 29+ staches back
5. Procaliber is sooooo 2016 with some messy mess again
6. TopFuel or FuelEx - pick one!
7. Rim braked aluminium entry lvl bikes… yuck
8. Bring Trek Navigator back!
Love this list.
Fuel and Top Fuel fit different segments. I live in the Midwest of the United States. Fuel EX is too long and slack with too much travel for our area. Top Fuel is perfect unless you want a XC bike. Have to think globally.
Domane and 90% of the MTBs, they're all the same anyway
Get rid of TT bikes. Pointless. And stop selling Botranger stuff. Pointless.
The bonty stuff for sure. Why bother
Lol tons of people ride the TT bikes for triathlons. Pro riders ride time trials, the sponsor pro riders, they will always make a TT bike.
Can't see any point in Trek. Ugly bikes