if lance didn't ride a trek?

Sure. I think Trek makes a good bike, and some people will like the fit and feel. Personally, I think Specialized and Giant have bikes with better specs for the money. That is the economic power Lance brings to Trek, but even without him Treks are still nice bikes.

gary.ray said:

Sure. I think Trek makes a good bike, and some people will like the fit and feel. Personally, I think Specialized and Giant have bikes with better specs for the money. That is the economic power Lance brings to Trek, but even without him Treks are still nice bikes.

I agree - Trek makes very good bikes. Lance is meticulous about his gear and I don't believe he would ride a Trek if they didn't make a top notch product. Having said that, I just bought a Giant TCR Composite. The geometry and the value were there. Trek still makes great bikes and I have owned them int he past. The Giant just seemed to add up to a better overall package for my needs.

Trek's do cost more than other bikes with the same components but that is because the frames have more money put into their production which makes them more expensive.

frenchcycling said:

if lance and the discovery team didn't ride trek bikes, would anyone buy their road bikes simply on quality?

Sure. Trek was a growing force in bikes in the US long before Lance came along. Maybe they'd have felt more pressure to compete with Specialized and Giant than they do with Lance but they could do it.

frenchcycling said:

if lance and the discovery team didn't ride trek bikes, would anyone buy their road bikes simply on quality?

I bought my OCLV frame back in 1993 based on how it rode.

frenchcycling said:

if lance and the discovery team didn't ride trek bikes, would anyone buy their road bikes simply on quality?

Here is my opinion... I dont think anyone would have bought a Trek road bike if it weren't for Lance. And I'll tell you why...

Before Lance won his first Tour, no one really cared about cycling. The main thing was mountain biking, that was the huge bicycling trend of that time. If it didn't have front shocks, no one wanted it.

After Lance won his first Tour, people noticed. But when he won his second, consumers wanted to be Lance Armstrong. And since Lance is an American riding an American bike, well Trek started selling, big. Basically, when people started to shop for their first bike, they had never heard of any of the other brands and knew the name Trek because of Lance.

This still happens today. I've had many people come into a bike shop and ask specifically for Trek because "Lance rides it". People go crazy for Lance products, take for example this new "10/2" craze. In my opinion who cares, why doesnt he have a shirt with the date he divorced his wife to be with Sheryl Crow (I know, low blow but funny, haha.)

Now that Lance is gone from cycling, unless another American wins, I don't think cycling in the States will be as popular as before. Sales will go down, and Trek will lose money.

frenchcycling said:

if lance and the discovery team didn't ride trek bikes, would anyone buy their road bikes simply on quality?

I think you've got it backwards. If Trek didn't build quality road bikes would Lance be riding one? Trek has been around since 1976, and they wouldn't have had the money to jump in and sponsor a pro team if they hadn't been doing something right all those years.

artmichalek said:

I think you've got it backwards. If Trek didn't build quality road bikes would Lance be riding one? Trek has been around since 1976, and they wouldn't have had the money to jump in and sponsor a pro team if they hadn't been doing something right all those years.

I love my Trek. I bought it because my friends had it and liked the ride and I hadn't even known much about the tour de france. Of course if you watch the coverage they barely even show what bikes anyone is riding. I had to look on the internet to find out the different makes. This year at least it seemed to be more important to show Lance's face.

TKOS said:

I love my Trek. I bought it because my friends had it and liked the ride and I hadn't even known much about the tour de france. Of course if you watch the coverage they barely even show what bikes anyone is riding. I had to look on the internet to find out the different makes. This year at least it seemed to be more important to show Lance's face.

I have absolute proof that consumers would buy Trek. I have a Trek 460. I don't ride it anymore and only have Trek MTB's now,but I bought it when Lance was around 12 or 13 years old.
They are overpriced in my opinion but are good bikes. I have been riding a Look frame for the past few years.
You must consider they make the frames and the rest is mostly components from other manufacturers.

"If Trek didn't build quality road bikes would Lance be riding one?"

I think this is not a good comparison. when you have an entire company (trek) building bikes for you (lance) of course the bike is gonna work well for you.

what i am saying is that below the madone's the sl's and the team time trial's, the bikes are very poor quality as opposed to other brands.

When it comes to the frame, giant makes a one piece carbon frame for the same price that trek makes a multiple piece carbon frame ( for example the top tube is a serperate piece attached to the frame at a later time).

Fortunatly, this is not the process for the madone, the sl and the TT bike, or in other words, the team issue bikes. the top of the line bikes are strong, the bikes that us mortals ride are not (compaired to other brands).🙂

Granted, lance is a very meticulous person. however, it is very easy to be meticulous and more importantly, scrupulous when trek is behind you completely.

frenchcycling said:

When it comes to the frame, giant makes a one piece carbon frame for the same price that trek makes a multiple piece carbon frame ( for example the top tube is a serperate piece attached to the frame at a later time).

Fortunatly, this is not the process for the madone, the sl and the TT bike, or in other words, the team issue bikes. the top of the line bikes are strong, the bikes that us mortals ride are not (compaired to other brands).🙂

The Colnago C50 and Look 585 also utilize bonded carbon construction. Those things must be [censored].

StartTday said:

I dont think anyone would have bought a Trek road bike if it weren't for Lance.

Interesting thing to say after I just mentioned that I bought my Trek in 93, long before Lance rode one in the Tour. 🙄

Trek's been selling bikes for ages.

cydewaze said:

Interesting thing to say after I just mentioned that I bought my Trek in 93, long before Lance rode one in the Tour. 🙄

Trek's been selling bikes for ages.

Did I mention when I bought my Trek 460 in the 80's that Trek was the #1 selling bike. Sun Tour 6 gear cassette, Veta tires,Rigida Rims and Greg Lemond was skinny.
And yes I am old.

If there was no Lance I don't think there would be great Trek bikes.

gary.ray said:

Sure. I think Trek makes a good bike, and some people will like the fit and feel. Personally, I think Specialized and Giant have bikes with better specs for the money. That is the economic power Lance brings to Trek, but even without him Treks are still nice bikes.

Ironically, I always rode Trek bikes and switched away from Trek as they got really popular.

I do like their TTX time trial bike.

cydewaze said:

Interesting thing to say after I just mentioned that I bought my Trek in 93, long before Lance rode one in the Tour. 🙄

Trek's been selling bikes for ages.

IronDonut said:

Ironically, I always rode Trek bikes and switched away from Trek as they got really popular.

Ironically, I might be getting a Hab Team Ti soon. :eek:

Trek makes good bikes. It didn't get to be as big as it is by making junk, despite what the forum blowhards may say. They aren't selling thousands of bikes, and Trek is.

I've been out shopping with a friend for his first decent road bike in many years. The Trek 1000-1500 are cost competitive with the equivalent Giant, Specialized, or Cannondale. And they're all good bikes. You might get a bit of variance in equipment here and there, but for the most part, all of the major US makers put out a competitive product. Having Lance on board has doubtless boosted sales quite a bit, but they had to start with a decent product.

I bought my Trek Y-Foil frameset three years ago, partially because at $600 new/never built, it was a bargain for a carbon frame. And partially because it looked wild. And it has lived up to it's promise. Stiff, comfortable, and definitely different.

FrenchCycling, you are a tool.

I am not a "Lance Fan" per se, but am happy that he won 7, and his story is definitely amazing. He is amazing....

Anyhow, I over the past few years I have ridden (owned) a Lemond (old SL, pre-trek), Raleigh, Felt F1R scandium, Trek 5500, Klein Q-Pro Carbon, Cannondale and a few others. Thinking back (sold the Trek), the 5500 had the best mix of ride quality. Stiff yet killed rode buzz, super light, stable handling, great climber. Their OCLV bikes are probably some of the best bikes around for the majority of riders out there, and are backed by a great warranty.

Your comparison between a Giant and a Trek is idiotic. There are plenty of ways to build a frame......

StartTday, you are an idiot too, just like Frenchcycling.

"nobody care about cycling.." before Lance?

Uh, hello? How long have people been racing bikes? For at least the past 150 years or so.....so somebody must have cared.

What about Lemond? What about all those makers (in the US) that were around before Lance? Raleigh, Schwinn, Paramount, Cannondale, Trek (yes Trek existed before Lance), Calfee, Sachs, Waterford, Litespeed, Spectrum, etc etc etc etc etc. Surely......SOMEBODY must have cared about what they were riding before Lance came along.

There is no doubt that Trek DEFINITELY has benefited from Lance. RD has taken a big step up. However, OCLV was around before Lance, and was popular before......to say that nobody cared is absurd.

Pull you head out of your....