Trek Bicycle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle, cycling product and electric motorcycle manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company,
Bontrager Keith Bontrager (; born December 18, 1954) is a motorcycle racer who became a pioneer in the development of the modern mountain bike. Between 1980 and 1995, he was president of his own Bontrager Company, which continues to develop components for ...
, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the
Gary Fisher Gary Christopher Fisher (born November 5, 1950) is considered one of the inventors of the modern mountain bike. Fisher started competing in road and track races at age 12. He was suspended in 1968 because race organizers cited a rule that his ...
, LeMond Racing Cycles,
Klein Klein may refer to: People *Klein (surname) *Klein (musician) Places * Klein (crater), a lunar feature *Klein, Montana, United States * Klein, Texas, United States * Klein (Ohm), a river of Hesse, Germany, tributary of the Ohm * Klein River, a r ...
, and Villiger Bikes brand names. With its headquarters in
Waterloo, Wisconsin Waterloo is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,628 at the 2020 census. The name Waterloo was suggested by a French resident who was one of Napoleon's soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo. Waterloo is located ...
, Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 independently owned bicycle shops across North America,
subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unl ...
in Europe, Asia, South Africa, as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide. Nearly all Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.


History


1976–1979 — The early years

In December 1975, Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg established Trek Bicycle as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roth Corporation, a
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
-based appliance distributor. In early 1976, with a payroll of five, Trek started manufacturing steel touring frames in Waterloo, Wisconsin, aiming at the mid to high-end market dominated by Japanese and Italian-made models. Trek built nearly 900 custom hand-brazed framesets that first year, each selling for under $200. Later that same year, Trek Bicycle was incorporated. In 1977, Penn Cycle in
Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. An inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, Richfield is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling to the east, Bloomington to the south, ...
became the first Trek retailer in the world. Within three years, Trek sales approached $2,000,000 in 1979.


1980–1984 — Trek becomes a business

Hampered without additional manufacturing capacity, Trek sales plateaued in the late 1970s. In just a few years, Trek had outgrown its original "red barn" manufacturing facility—a former carpet
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
. Recognizing the need for expansion, in 1980 Trek broke ground on a new corporate headquarters on the outskirts of Waterloo. Company co-founder Dick Burke would later recall that "it wasn’t until we built the new factory that we became a business." With more factory space available, Trek expanded its manufacturing to include complete bikes. In 1981, Trek entered the steel road racing bike market, introducing the "Pro" line, including the 750 and 950 models, and in 1983, Trek built its first
mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...
, the 850. In 1984, Trek ventured into the aftermarket parts and accessories business, launching its Trek Components Group (TCG) department.


1985–1991 — Technology frontier

In 1985, borrowing technology from the aerospace industry, (and bike companies such as Alan and Vitus), Trek introduced its first bonded aluminum bike frame, the 2000. The introduction of bonded aluminum to Trek's production line proved very problematic for a company that had built itself on hand-brazed steel frames. Manufacturing ground to a halt as Trek worked to figure out how to build bonded frames in a production environment. A year later, Trek followed up the success of the 2000 with a 3-tube
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
composite model, the 2500. Thus began Trek's foray into carbon fiber. That same year, to keep up with rapidly growing sales, Trek added another of manufacturing space to its Waterloo headquarters. In 1988, Trek introduced "Trek Wear," marking the company's entry into the cycling
apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
business. A year later, Trek expanded into foreign markets, opening subsidiary offices in the UK and in Germany. That same year, Trek introduced its Jazz brand of bicycles, a collection of entry-level and kids’ bikes designed by Trek but manufactured in Taiwan. Jazz bicycles were discontinued in 1993. 1989 was a pivotal year for Trek, marking the year that the company unveiled its first
molded Molding (American English) or moulding (British and Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the process of manufacturing by shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix. This itself may have ...
carbon fiber frame, the Trek 5000. The 5000 frameset (
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
carbon frame plus bonded aluminum fork) had an advertised weight of . Designed by Trek but built by Brent Trimble, an outside manufacturer, the 5000 suffered enough quality problems that it was discontinued after just one year. But the lessons learned from the 5000 would prove to be instrumental in driving Trek to develop its own carbon manufacturing capabilities in the coming years. In 1990, Trek developed a new category of bicycle that combined the comfort features of a mountain bike with the quick ride of a road bike: MultiTracks, Trek's first line of
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
bikes, were born. That same year, Trek also introduced its first line of kids’ bikes. In 1991, Trek opened its first company-owned
retail store The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...
in nearby
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. In addition to showcasing a full line of Trek products, the Trek Store served as a hands-on sales training center for employees from Trek's headquarters who lacked retail experience. The store also provided an outlet for Trek to test
merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...
and marketing ideas before expanding them to its network of independent bicycle retailers.


1992–1996 — OCLV and acquisitions

In the early 1990s, Trek's director of technology, Bob Read, attended an
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
industry trade show in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah, eventually meeting up with a closed mold tooling company called Radius Engineering. That visit convinced Read that Trek's future success depended on building frames from carbon fiber, a material he envisioned could be used to make light, strong frames. Having lived through the troubled introduction of the 5000, Trek invested heavily in in-house carbon fiber manufacturing capabilities. In 1992, Trek unveiled its first home-grown, full-carbon framed bicycles, the 5500 and 5200, featuring OCLV Carbon frames. OCLV stands for "Optimum Compaction, Low Void" and refers to Trek's proprietary process for creating carbon structures that exceed aerospace
standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...
. Weighing only , the 5500 frame was the world's lightest production road frame. To make room for its new OCLV manufacturing facility, Trek expanded its Waterloo headquarters again to a total of . 1992 marked another first for Trek: its first full suspension mountain bike, the 9000-series, which featured Trek's T3C (travel is three times
compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression * Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a ...
) suspension system. In 1993, Trek introduced its first OCLV Carbon mountain bike frames, the 9800 and the 9900, which at was the world's lightest production mountain bike frame. In 1993, Trek also acquired Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes, named after
Gary Fisher Gary Christopher Fisher (born November 5, 1950) is considered one of the inventors of the modern mountain bike. Fisher started competing in road and track races at age 12. He was suspended in 1968 because race organizers cited a rule that his ...
, one of the inventors of the mountain bike and one of the most popular names in off-road cycling. Fisher had founded Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes in 1983 and sold his company in 1991 to Taiwan's Anlen company, remaining on as President. In 1992, Howie Cohen, who had previously imported Nishiki, Azuki and Kuwahara bicycles, assisted Gary Fisher with his brand
/ref> — 18 months later brokering the acquisition of Fisher by Trek (in 1993). In 1994, Trek entered the growing home fitness arena, introducing Trek Fitness stationary bicycle, Exercycles. In 1996, Trek discontinued the Exercycle line, spinning off its fitness division into an independently-owned company, renamed Vision Fitness. In 1995, Trek introduced its full suspension Y bike, a departure from traditional bike design. The Y bike sold well, and won an "Outstanding Design and Engineering Award" from ''
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...
'' magazine. Also in 1995, Trek made a number of business moves in order to diversify its product offering and gain
market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...
, acquiring Klein Bicycles, a
Chehalis, WA Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is located in th ...
, manufacturer of premium aluminum-framed bicycles, as well as Bontrager Cycles, a
Santa Cruz, CA Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a ...
-based manufacturer of bicycle components and hand-built steel frames. Trek also signed a long-term licensing agreement with
Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...
, the 3-time Tour de France champion and the first American to win the Tour—to design, build, and distribute LeMond Racing Cycles. 1995 was also the year Trek opened a state-of-the-art assembly facility in Whitewater, Wisconsin, leaving the Waterloo location free to focus solely on frame production.


1997–2005 — The Armstrong years and further expansion

In 1997, Trek helped sign former world road race champion (1993)
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...
to the Trek-sponsored United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team. Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999 aboard a Trek 5500, becoming the first American to win the Tour on an American team riding an American made bicycle. Armstrong went on to win a record-setting seven-consecutive Tours de France, all of them aboard Trek bicycles aside from a few early time trial stages that he rode aboard a Litespeed bike, painted and badged as a Trek. In 1998, Trek established its Advanced Concepts Group (ACG), a collection of designers, engineers &
technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...
s dedicated to technologies development. The leading edge of Trek's design and engineering efforts, ACG is perhaps best known for a number of products introduced and used by Lance Armstrong during his historic Tour de France wins, including the original Trek Madone (2003)—named for the Col de la Madone, a 12K climb that starts in the French town of
Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...
and used by Armstrong to test his fitness—and TTX
time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
bike (2005). That same year, Trek opened its first European manufacturing facility, a frame and wheel assembly plant in
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...
, Ireland. The Carlow facility stayed open until late 2004, at which time Trek transferred its European production to a manufacturing facility in Hartmannsdorf, Germany. Responding to the unique needs of female cyclists, in 2000 Trek introduced Women's Specific Design (WSD) bicycle and accessories. WSD products are designed to fit female riders, and feature sizing and proportions appropriate for women. In October 2001, Trek introduced a custom bike program named Project One, which gave customers the opportunity to customize their Trek bike by selecting the bike's paint scheme and component mix. Hoping to expand into a new market segment, Trek introduced Trek Travel in December 2002, a provider of luxury cycling vacations in Europe and North America. Trek Travel operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Trek Bicycle until January 2007, when Trek spun off its interests in the company. Despite the split, Trek and Trek Travel enjoy a close working relationship. In 2003, Trek acquired Villiger, a Swiss bicycle company, and
Diamant The Diamant rocket (French for "diamond") was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key ...
, the oldest bicycle company in Germany. The acquisition gave Trek a foothold in the active-leisure bicycle market, an important segment in Europe. As part of the acquisition, Trek took over ownership of the Villiger-Diamant production facility in Hartmannsdorf, Germany. Trek's global expansion continued in 2005, when Trek expanded into the Chinese market by opening two stores in Beijing and signing deals with 20 Chinese distributors. For the third time in its history, in 2005 Trek again expanded its worldwide headquarters in Waterloo, adding another to house its burgeoning engineering, R&D, and marketing departments. As part of the expansion, Trek included an
atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...
exhibit to display a number of historically significant bikes from Trek's family of brands, including one of the first mountain bikes ever built by Gary Fisher, and seven bikes used by Lance during his historic Tour de France run (one from each year, 1999–2005).


2006–present

In 2008, after years of behind-the-scenes support for the
League of American Bicyclists League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
and the Bikes Belong Coalition (now PeopleForBikes), Trek announced its ''1 World 2 Wheels'' bicycle advocacy campaign at its annual Trek World dealer convention in Madison, Wisconsin. Central to 1 World 2 Wheels is its "Go By Bike" initiative, which urges Americans to ride their bikes instead of drive their cars for trips of two miles (3 km) or less. Through 1 World 2 Wheels Trek also pledged $1,000,000 to help fund the League of American Bicyclists’ "Bicycle Friendly Community" program and committed $600,000 to the
International Mountain Bicycling Association The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association that aims to create and preserve trails for mountain bikers worldwide. The IMBA promotes mountain biking, trail building, and trail maintenance. The IM ...
's (IMBA) Trail Solutions Services. On January 6, 2014, Trek announced the acquisition of the Electra Bicycle Company. In 2009, Trek created the Trek Women Triathlon Series. 2011, Trek sponsored three women's triathlon series; the Trek Women Triathlon Series, the Danskin Series and the Iron Girl Series. As from the 2014 season, Trek became the main sponsor of Pro Tour cycling team Trek Factory Racing, a continuation of its bike sponsorship of
Team RadioShack Team RadioShack was a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour ...
and co-sponsorship of Team Leopard-Trek. In 2017, Trek paid equal prize money to the male and female winners of the Cyclocross World Cup race hosted at their headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, which was, "the first time in the history of the sport that women would be paid as much as men for racing the same course at the World Cup level." In 2021, Trek announced the release of its professional level Madone.


2014 unified hour record

In 2014, the
UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...
unified the two classifications into a single classification in line with regulations for current track pursuit bikes. Following the change in the rules, German
Jens Voigt Jens Voigt (; born 17 September 1971) is a German former professional road bicycle racer and, upon retirement, became a cycling sports broadcast commentator. During his cycling career, Voigt raced for several teams, the last one being UCI ProTe ...
became the first rider to attempt the
hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...
, on 18 September 2014 at the
Velodrome Suisse The Velodrome Suisse is an indoor velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. The hall covers an area of 8000 square meters and has a capacity for 1800 spectators. The velodrome itself is meters long, made of Siberian spruce wood and is applied accord ...
,
Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
on a Trek bicycle. He set a new record of 51.110 km, beating the previous record set by Sosenka by 1.410 km.


In the media

Trek Y series bikes were used in the hit TV series ''Pacific Blue'' and outfitted with Spinergy wheels, NiteRider lights and Janned police bags making each bicycle worth $5,000.


Production

In early days Trek manufactured bikes 'in house' in Wisconsin and in the mid-90's acquired the brands: Bontrager, Gary Fisher, LeMond Racing Cycles, Klein, and Villiger Bikes, bringing some of that manufacturing in-house as well. Nearly all Trek bicycles frames are currently produced in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Some of the high-end frames made in Taiwan are painted and have parts installed in Wisconsin as per the Project One custom bike program, but no 'production' Trek bikes are made in America at this time. An important supplier is the Chinese company ''Quest Composite Technology'', which also produces frames for the German brand "
Canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...
".


Products


Eco-friendly products

For the year 2010, Trek teamed with multiple suppliers to provide
eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
products. This includes brand new bikes that are economically priced and are made out of steel, it being an easier material to obtain and recycle. Also, Trek is starting to provide bike shops with funds to start recycling old tubes to be sent to Alchemy Goods in Seattle, Washington, to be made into bags, seat bags, and panniers.


Bontrager

Bontrager branded products include
helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the Human head, head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a Custodian helmet, policeman's helmet in the Unite ...
,
tires A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over w ...
,
wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axl ...
, handlebars, stems,
seatpost A bicycle seatpost, seatpin, saddlepole, saddle pillar, or saddle pin is a tube that extends upwards from the bicycle frame to the saddle. The amount that it extends out of the frame can usually be adjusted, and there is usually a mark that indic ...
s,
saddles A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to Mammal#Anatomy, an animal's back by a girth (tack), girth. The most common type is List of equestrian sports, equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created ...
,
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
and
cycling shoe Cycling shoes are shoes purpose-built for cycling. There are a variety of designs depending on the type and intensity of the cycling for which they are intended. Key features include rigidity, for more-efficient transfer of power from the cyclist ...
s, water bottles, cycling clothing and other accessories. The Bontrager brand name is being phased out and replaced with Trek branded products, adding the Bontrager name to Klein, Gary Fisher and LeMond as American companies that Trek has acquired and then dissolved.


LeMond brand

The relationship between Trek and Tour-de-France winner
Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...
went back to at least 1995 when LeMond licensed Trek to produce LeMond branded bicycles. According to Trek, "In 1999, the LeMond line was one of the fastest growing road bike brands and one of the top five largest road bike brands in the United States". In March 2008, LeMond Cycling Inc prepared a suit against Trek, accusing it of bowing to pressure from "third parties" to "wind down" his brand through lack of distribution and promotion, especially in the European market. The complaint also says that "Since 2001, Trek has systematically sought to silence Mr. LeMond's right to make comments that constitute an informed and honest opinion on matters of legitimate public interest – the problems associated with the use of performance enhancing substances". The complaint includes examples of Trek threatening its ties with LeMond in 2001 and 2004 after he made public statements against doping,
Michele Ferrari Michele Ferrari (born 26 March 1953) is an Italian physician, cycling coach and author, who is mostly known for his role in supplying bicycle racers with performance-enhancing drugs, notably EPO. His most famous client was Lance Armstrong. Biog ...
, and
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...
Complaint, LeMond Cycling Inc, vs Trek Bicycle Corporation
, 2008 3 20, retr 2012 10 13. from trekbikes.com.
Trek announces an end to deal with Greg LeMond
Steve Frothingham, Velo News, Published Apr. 8, 2008, Updated Apr. 9, 2008, retrieved 2012 10 13
Trek responded in April 2008 by suing to sever business ties with LeMond. Trek's press release said that "LeMond's suit was characterized by Burke as containing false and irresponsible allegations". Burke also said "for years, Greg LeMond has done and said things that have damaged the LeMond brand and the Trek brand as a whole". . . . "His actions are inconsistent with our values—values we believe in and live everyday. And after years of trying to make it work, we are done."TREK TO IMMEDIATELY SEVER RELATIONSHIP WITH GREG LEMOND
, Media Release, trekbikes.com, 2008 4 8, retr 2012 10 13.
The suit was settled out of court in 2010. As of 2021 LeMond remains the only American
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
champion and was eventually awarded a congressional gold medal for his career long commitment to cycling.


Brands

The Trek Bicycle Corporation consists of several brands: * Trek Bikes * Electra Bicycle Company *
Klein Bikes Klein was a bicycle company founded by Gary Klein that pioneered the use of large diameter aluminium alloy tubes for greater stiffness and lower weight. Klein produced his first bicycle frames while a student at the Massachusetts Institute of ...
(discontinued) * LeMond Racing Cycles (discontinued) *
Gary Fisher Gary Christopher Fisher (born November 5, 1950) is considered one of the inventors of the modern mountain bike. Fisher started competing in road and track races at age 12. He was suspended in 1968 because race organizers cited a rule that his ...
Bikes (discontinued) * Diamant Bikes (Germany) * Villiger Bikes (discontinued) * Bontrager parts — Trek's in-house parts and accessories * Trek Travel — Provider of cycling vacations and tours


Notes and references


External links

* {{Authority control Cycle parts manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Wisconsin Jefferson County, Wisconsin American companies established in 1975 1975 establishments in Wisconsin Mountain bike manufacturers