Baum, Mosaic, Peg, Trek? Above Category

[Tickdoc]

Meh.

[kgreene10]

I see the logic in it if AC can package the idea for its particular clientele in the way their write up tries to do. The risk is that customers come to think of AC as just another shop instead of the elite of the elite that it has been. I say that with all respect. I like the shop and Chad.

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by kgreene10

I see the logic in it if AC can package the idea for its particular clientele in the way their write up tries to do. The risk is that customers come to think of AC as just another shop instead of the elite of the elite that it has been. I say that with all respect. I like the shop and Chad.

Think of it like this though, are they AC, only going to sell those few top tier bikes from trek? I believe that is the plan, and it would bring in a separate level of clientele vs a regular trek dealer. I would say they hit it out of the park with those models in the article, and my bud has a new Emonda that made me look- it's sweet!Ac and trek - who'd a thought....

[saab2000]

I'm trying to figure out why Trek is less desirable than Pinarello or Colnago. They're still worshipped brands but really offer no more to today's customer than Trek or Specialized.

The boutique brands are fun and all, but don't really offer much beyond uniqueness that the big brands don't offer.

My biggest issue with the big bike brands is how they try to control the whole retail experience, from sock and computer purchases to tires and tubes and wheels and saddles and bar tape. Everything is Trek or Bontgager branded in their big box stores, and that's a shame. It makes business sense but turns off the individualist consumer, which most of us probably are. But their bikes are not undesirable from my perspective.

[kgreene10]

I know it's not a thread on Trek but I will say that they have been extremely generous to our middle aged club. I had an Emonda SLR 9. Amazing bike but sadly it didn't work for me. The rear end was to unforgiving and it's the first bike to bother my lower back. Now I have a Madone 9.2. It's fantastic in many ways though I'm still struggling with the fit and don't have the room I need to maneuver with the one-piece bar-stem deal.

[livingminimal]

The 2012ish and beyond Treks are really, really nice bikes. They're also kind of a pain in the ass to work on, apparently. I know of a shop that was putting an EPS kit on one of the Trek Segafredo team issue bikes (for public consumption it even had Shimano branding on it. Funny.) and said all the cockpit integration and **** was a nightmare to deal with for routing...they could use eTap, but that **** sucks

My guess is AC needs the bread and draw a brand like Trek can produce. No shop, I don't care what market you're in or how boutique you are is gonna survive off of Baum and Open Cycles.

I also wonder if Trek did something with them the minimize the 250k credit minimum Spesh/Trek/Cdale does to a lot of shops. Probably with the idea that it would spark conversations exactly like this, with a shop like AC giving Trek some boutique street-cred, because it flies in the face of the idea of direct-to-consumer sales. Basically my guess is this relationship goes beyond sales for Trek, and AC needs an anchor brand for revenue.

[eric01]

Makes sense to me. The other 3 brands don't have a carbon offering. Trek fills that gap nicely

Not to mention their high end bikes are quite nice.


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[sg8357]

Originally Posted by livingminimal

The 2012ish and beyond Treks are really, really nice bikes. They're also kind of a pain in the ass to work on, apparently. [snip]

There you have it, nice bikes that require dealer service, lots of creaky
proprietary parts you can't get from wiggle. How to fight the interbunny and win.

[CDM]

Maybe I be been out of the arms race too long but it seems sheep follow these well crafted scenarios no matter. I d put my cervelos and times up against these treks any day.

[velotrack]

Trek makes great bikes. Just wish I didn't have to pay so much for the H1 geometry (on the SLR models) - come on, not everyone needs a 17cm headtube on their 54cm top tube frame!

[adub]

Maserati, Lamborghini, Ford GT?

I believe it works.

[choke]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I'm trying to figure out why Trek is less desirable than Pinarello or Colnago. They're still worshipped brands but really offer no more to today's customer than Trek or Specialized.

They all have the same level of desirability to me.....zero.

But.......I can at least see why the two Italian\Taiwanese brands are more desirable for many people, they both have a long and glorified history in racing and for many that counts for something. Trek also has a racing history but, at least at the top level, it is much more recent and a lot of that was built on that guy from Texas.

[roguedog]

When I first started cycling more seriously, I tested a bike in a Trek shop a bit aways from me. I was really impressed with the shop. They took time for a newbie. Measured me up, found a size that fit me (and more importantly had one in stock) let me test drive 3-4 of their bikes. All without any pressure. It was totally cool and as a result I really wanted to buy my bike from them. But none of them felt quite right sadly.

I rented an Emonda a couple of years ago for ride out of state. I was toally looking forward to this given all the reviews I'd read. Minded it was not the top end specs and it was nice but I missed my bike. Maybe if I could upgrade the parts and fine tune the bike more I'd have enjoyed it more. Wasn't a bad bike.. just didn't really feel like anything .. special.

Much luck to AC. Yes when I saw that I did do a double take. I think it's a wise choice on both parties part.

[earlfoss]

I rode one of the new Madones for a few days in L.A. about a month ago, and it was way nicer than I had anticipated.

Currently I am on a Colnago C60, and have ridden quite a few nice bikes over the years. The Madone was on par with the best I have ridden. If I had one, I'd race the hell out of it.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by ltwtsculler91

Trek has been killing it lately with their top level models of the Emonda, Madone, and Domane. They're better than you'd think

No doubt but this isn't the Chad I know, who looks for exclusivity, not 'on every corner' type stuff. Very high tech and great product but we'll see if he likes being under the 'trek' microscope.

I agree with livingminimal above. A $/marketing decision.