POLL : Broken Trek Frames
- Thread starter StillRiding5500
- Start date
The low-end Treks are made in China, the mid-range in Taiwan, and only the all-CF bikes are made in the US. Last time I looked, the Chinese and Taiwanese models had a country of origin decal on the bottom front of headtube, so it's easy to tell what's from where. Believe Trek made a tough business decision here; but had little choice if they wanted to stay in the high-volume part of the bike business.Postie said:
dhk said:
Huh. Thanks for that info. I've read so much "only bike company that creates 'entirely made in the USA'", that I've never spent a minute looking into this.
In business, I'm always a proprietor in ensuring that you stick with your 'core principles'. I always understood Trek to be a 100% US company with it's suppliers even being in the US (I admit that I may have naively thought this all along). In my mind, that was a strong statement for it's North American sales. However, if they had to do it, I'll believe they had to do it. It should be interesting to see how that goes for them.
Cheers.
Thanks for the update. I was basing my info on a discussion with my friendly Trek dealer last summer. Appears the trend is continuing in '06.cydewaze said:
Believe it will be hard for Trek to continue to compete with "Made in the USA" vs the high-quality, low cost CF products coming from Asia. Seems there are only a few of us old-timers willing to pay more for the US-made products.
Of course, change isn't anything new in the global bicycle business. Going back to the '70s, didn't Raleigh UK and Schwinn make similar moves in the face of the arrival of high-quality lower-cost bikes from Japan?
Trek Factory Tour Tonight on the Travel Channel. Maybe shed some light on the subject. http://travel.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=6&cpi=116314&gid=0&channel=TRV
As I understood from the guy at my local shop the frames have a lifetime guarantee, doesn't that mean a free replacement?
As I understood from the guy at my local shop the frames have a lifetime guarantee, doesn't that mean a free replacement?
I had a 98 7500. Started hearing a click when i pedeled. Went back to lbs and they tighted everything and checked everything and i road it around the parking lot and it still did it. They said leave the bike so the Trek rep could look at it. 3 months latter Terk said its a cracked frame so give me a 99. Well my 98 was a great ice blue{best color i've seen} and the 99 was the worst forest geen i've ever seen. I said no,i dont want that color. Well all we have are a couple of 2000 that just came in,i said that will work and thats what i got in a grey.
This probably doesn't count toward the objective of the original post, but I have 2 TREK 720's that I bought in 1985. Both are going strong. These have Reynolds 531 frames, which have been discontinued by TREK on the 520. One has about 10,000 miles on it, and each time I tune it up I question my sanity in contemplating the purchase of a $2,000 Bruce Gordon.
I have had 6 Trek frames break in the last 10 years. As a matterStillRiding5500 said:
of fact I just sent another frame back for a broken bottom bracket and this is the
third time this has happened. They are great frames but I don't think they
can take the punishment.
I just thought I would take this opportunity to tell yall about the 5 bonded carbon fiber frames that have failed under me at the seat tube/ bottom bracket shell junction. I bought a 2300 about 1988, it failed. Trek warrantied it. The replacement failed. I paid extra this time to upgrade to the 2500 frame. It failed. Trek warrantied it again. The replacement failed. Trek again warrantied it. I put the replacement frame in a box and rode my steel frame from 1995 to 2004. Ive been riding the replacement since 2004 and it is failing at the same place. Hopefull Trek will make it right and give me a 5200 in its place, but 5 broken frames is a sorry track record. You would think I am a pro rider having broken that many frames, but no, just a club rider, and only 170 lbs.
Nope. My 2002, bought in December 2001, TREK 1000 is still going strong. Went over the bars in summer of '02 and have fallen a few times since then, mostly dumb mistakes on my part, but it's still in great shape minus the various scratches to the paint here and there. Frame was made in China. I usually take it to the LBS where I originally bought it and have the mechanics check it over every December.
Back in 2001 I had a Trek that produced a hairline crank between the BB and Downtube. It took 2 months and various hoops to jump thru to get a new frame. I sold the frame immediately and have never ridden a Trek since. I'm sure the frames are much stronger these days. Heck, if Lance and the boys can get thru a season without breaking a bike, that says a whole lot about Treks' quality. 
StillRiding5500 said:
what u ride and what lance rides are not the same... look at schwinn, trying to stay in america is one of the things that killed them.
Rode with two guys over last weekend who were discussing failures of their OCLV frames. Both frames were from the late 90's. One cracked at the right rear dropout, the other at the right chainstay/bb junction. In both cases, the riders heard the creaking noises and had plenty of time to get home before total failure. Trek replaced both frames, even though their written warranty clearly states they don't cover fatigue damage.
Neither rider is heavy or said they abused or crashed the bikes. Not sure how many miles the frames had on them when they failed, but these guys are just club riders, not racers or randonneur types putting on 10-15K miles a year.
Neither rider is heavy or said they abused or crashed the bikes. Not sure how many miles the frames had on them when they failed, but these guys are just club riders, not racers or randonneur types putting on 10-15K miles a year.
My Equinox 7 says it is made in the USA with domestic and foreign parts. I have had no problems. I know it was shipped from Wisconsin also.
[/QUOTE]
Yes!! My Trek frame cracked around the BB...It had about 12,000 miles on it.
I took it back to my LBS and it was replaced by Trek for free.
Since Trek no longer made the model that I had they upgraded the replacement frame...It took about 4 weeks to get the new frame.
So from this thread most of the broken TREK frames refer to product coming out of the US factory & not those bikes coming out of the GIANT factory etc in Taiwan .
Pretty ironic really that TREK Australia chucked a pretty major hissy fit when Bicycling Australia published their Taiwan factory tour which wrote about TREK's Taiwanese connections.
Pretty ironic really that TREK Australia chucked a pretty major hissy fit when Bicycling Australia published their Taiwan factory tour which wrote about TREK's Taiwanese connections.
2003TREK5500 model.
Still going strong. Have had 2 major high speed crashes that hurt me pretty badly.
A few chips on the paint work....
I'm surprised it hasn't split or cracked or snapped so far. I way 90kgs as well...ride 100 to 200kms a week...
I don't ride off gutters or slam it around... It is my baby... I do ride it as hard as my body can push it....
Still going strong. Have had 2 major high speed crashes that hurt me pretty badly.
A few chips on the paint work....
I'm surprised it hasn't split or cracked or snapped so far. I way 90kgs as well...ride 100 to 200kms a week...
I don't ride off gutters or slam it around... It is my baby... I do ride it as hard as my body can push it....
Yes!! My Trek frame cracked around the BB...It had about 12,000 miles on it.
I took it back to my LBS and it was replaced by Trek for free.
Since Trek no longer made the model that I had they upgraded the replacement frame...It took about 4 weeks to get the new frame.[/QUOTE]
The Trek dealer here told me Trek has been good about replacing frames that fatigue on recreational riders, even though their warranty clearly says they don't cover fatigue damage (wearout).
Exception is the local racer who broke his original mid-90's and a replacement Trek CF frame. Trek replaced it again (second warranty replacement), but then told him in writing that this was it; they weren't in business to furnish racers free frames for life; "read the warranty". He accepted that this is a reasonable customer support policy, and is still a big fan of Trek as a result.
As a comparison point, I'm riding a custom frame from a local builder which has a specific 3 year warranty against fatigue damage, in addition to the usual lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects that Trek and the other major brands offer. Believe this specific "performance guaranty" period is an honest approach for any builder of race frames to take.
I took it back to my LBS and it was replaced by Trek for free.
Since Trek no longer made the model that I had they upgraded the replacement frame...It took about 4 weeks to get the new frame.
[/QUOTE]The Trek dealer here told me Trek has been good about replacing frames that fatigue on recreational riders, even though their warranty clearly says they don't cover fatigue damage (wearout).
Exception is the local racer who broke his original mid-90's and a replacement Trek CF frame. Trek replaced it again (second warranty replacement), but then told him in writing that this was it; they weren't in business to furnish racers free frames for life; "read the warranty". He accepted that this is a reasonable customer support policy, and is still a big fan of Trek as a result.
As a comparison point, I'm riding a custom frame from a local builder which has a specific 3 year warranty against fatigue damage, in addition to the usual lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects that Trek and the other major brands offer. Believe this specific "performance guaranty" period is an honest approach for any builder of race frames to take.
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