trek mountain bikes company

Trek Bikes Brand Review: A Close Look at the Iconic USA Bike Brand

T rek Bikes is one of the most popular and the most respected USA-based bike brands right now, and for a good reason. They offer models in all categories and all price points, for all types of cyclists. Let’s learn more in our in-depth overview!

No matter if you are an absolute beginner who can’t even ride, or you’re a pro cyclist with years of experience in the legs, Trek Bikes has a bike for you.

With more than 40 unique models, it’s both very easy and very challenging to find exactly what you’re looking for. Our in-depth overview teaches you all you need to know about each model series and many other things related to Trek.

Technologies

Trek’s range of models, trek mountain bikes, trek bikes – road, trek hybrid & city bikes, trek gravel & cyclocross bikes, trek adventure & touring bikes, trek tt/triathlon bikes, trek electric bikes, electra bikes, trek women’s bikes, kids’ trek bikes, new or used trek bikes.

The first bikes Trek made were touring steel frames , but as the business evolved, so did the selection of models. Soon enough, Trek began producing road racing bikes, and then mountain bikes from both aluminum and carbon.

The first Trek-branded all-aluminum bike left the production lines in 1985 and the first full-carbon model came out in 1989.

Today, Trek offers high-profile road bikes such as Domane, Madone, and Emonda; hardtail and full-suspension models like Marlin , X-Caliber, or Slash; Checkpoint and Boone gravel and CX bikes; and dozens of other popular model names in a wide range of categories.

Related:  Trek vs. Giant Bikes Comparison: Which Brand Is Better?

Over the years, Trek has pioneered or perfected many of the best technological solutions used in the top-level cycling sport.

Over the years, many of these advanced technologies have been passed down from best Trek bikes to mid-range and entry-level classes, improving the cycling experience for beginner and intermediate cyclists as well.

Here are some of the most ground-breaking technologies developed by Trek so far:

• OCLV Carbon:  Optimum Compaction Low Void carbon frames developed in 1991 — some of the lightest and stiffest in the world.
• Alpha Aluminum: Trek’s refined aluminum frames that rival carbon frames in terms of strength and overall weight.
• Active Braking Pivot: A revolutionary patented system developed to keep the rear suspension working while braking.
• RE:aktiv: Advanced suspension system that provides dynamic flow that automatically adapts its performance to the rider and the type of the terrain.
• Full Floater: Trek’s rear suspension system that allows for extremely supple and responsive rear suspension action, giving you the impression of bottomless travel.
• IsoSpeed Suspension: Road bike suspension that decouples the seat tube from the top tube, diminishing the fatiguing impacts of the road.

One of the secrets to Trek Bikes’ long-lasting success is that they make bicycles for EVERYONE. No matter what kind of riding you wish to do or how much you can stretch your budget, you can find a suitable model in Trek’s lineup.

Their beginner bikes such as FX, 820, or Marlin start at around $400; whereas their elite road models such as Domane or Madone cost upward of $12,000.

Below is a full list of ALL Trek model lines available at the moment of writing this article, organized into logical categories.

This is intended as an informative resource for people looking into Trek bikes , trying to decide which one suits their needs the best.

820 is the most affordable mountain bike in the Trek line. It consists of one men’s and one women’s model, both of which cost around $500. They are equipped with rim brakes, Shimano Tourney components, and 26″ tires, which makes them perfect for beginners.

Best for: 820 bikes are good for short daily recreational and fitness rides, as well as short commutes.

See On Trek Bikes

Marlin is one of Trek’s most popular entry-level MTB lines. It consists of several aluminum hardtail models that cost between $620 and $1,400, so they’re ideal for first-timers and experienced hobby cyclists. Marlin bikes feature front suspension, disc brakes, 2x or 3x drivetrains, and wide 27.5″ or 29″ tires.

Best for: Marlin series can be used for on and off-road riding, commuting, and all-around daily cycling.

Our review s of Marlin 4 –  5 –  6 –  7

Mountain biking enthusiasts who don’t have thousands of dollars but want quality trail bikes can choose the Roscoe line. These are fun aluminum hardtail bicycles with massive 27.5+ tires and specs that are ready to party. These models cost between $1,200 and $2,800 , so they are quite affordable as well.

Best for: If you want to ride trails more seriously with RockShox suspensions and SRAM or Shimano components, check out Trek Roscoe.

X-Caliber is Trek’s lineup of quality, yet affordable aluminum 29ers ideal for beginners and riders with some experience on the trails. They’re characterized by 120 mm of travel in the fork, light and efficient 1x drivetrains, and prices that remain between $1,500 and $2,000 . All models also feature powerful hydraulic disc brakes and size-specific tires.

Best for: Aspiring trail riders who aim to challenge themselves more, explore more technical trails, and do it all on a tight budget.

Farley is a collection of Trek’s super-capable fat bikes built around aluminum or carbon frames, depending on the model. They’re characterized by awe-inspiring 27.5″ x 4.5″ tires and mud-ready 1x drivetrains. Most models have rigid forks, but there are options with a suspension fork as well.

Best for:  Trek Farley showcases its abilities best when put against snow, mud, rocks, roots, and other extreme conditions.

Trek Procaliber is a group of race-ready aluminum and carbon cross-country hardtail bikes. They feature 100 mm of front suspension as well as IsoSpeed rear decouplers that improve control and comfort further. All Procaliber models also come with 29″ wheels, modern 1x drivetrains, and strong hydraulic disc brakes.

Best for: Cyclists interested in doing cross country racing or simply having fun and improving their skills on high-quality, yet reasonably-priced XC machines.

If you have more money than you know what to do with, why not spend it on the mouth-wateringly good Trek’s full-suspension Fuel EX line? These bikes are built with 140mm/130mm front and rear suspension, 29″ wheels, and efficient 1x drivetrains. The prices start at around $2,500 and cap at around $10,600  for the flagship Fuel EX 9.9.

Best for:  Expert trail riders (or those who practice becoming so) with money to spare, who want to ride a wide range of terrains, climb, descent, and race.

Top Fuel is a line of high-end , full-suspension bikes that are suitable for elite XC racing competitions. Every model features 120 mm of travel in the fork and 115 mm in the rear shock. All models are also equipped with super-capable 29″ wheels and tires that go up to 2.4″. If you want to own a Top Fuel bike, you’ll need to pay between $2,700  and $11,500.

Best for:  All-around fun on challenging and technical singletracks and top-level XC racing events. 

Stache offers a high level of performance in a simple and easy to maintain hardtail package. These are mid-range trail bikes built around carbon or aluminum frames, with prices between $2,500 and $4,000. They feature 120 mm of front suspension travel coupled with 29+ wheels and tires that are 3.0″ wide. They’re capable of some serious damage.

Best for:  Stache bikes are best for trail enthusiasts who want to have maximum fun on the most challenging terrain available in their area, but not worry much about upkeep costs. 

Remedy is one of Trek’s best-selling full-suspension bikes because of phenomenal money to value ratio and well-balanced components. It comes with 160/150 mm of front and rear travel, zippy 27.5″ wheels, wide-range 1×12 drivetrains, and dropper posts. The frames are aluminum or carbon, depending on the price. It’s the most trail aficionados can ask for!

Best for:  Remedy models are best suited for riders who enjoy fast and dynamic descents, jumps, drops, and other challenging on-trail stuff.

Slash is a capable long-travel enduro bike built to… well, slash the trails. Right now, this series numbers around seven models valued between $3,500 and $12,500. Therefore, these bikes are great for pro riders and those who feel that way. They have premium carbon frames, 160/150mm of front and rear travel, and huge 29″ wheels.

Best for:  Professionals and enduro enthusiasts who enjoy the thrill of fast-paced downhill sections and challenging rocky trails. 

If you want the best of the best in the DH world, Session is the type of bike you should be looking at. Session models boast premium carbon frames, 190 mm of deluxe RockShox travel, 29″ wheels, and high-end SRAM and Shimano components. They’re ready to win races.

Best for:  Making the best results and winning World Cup Championships on the most brutal downhill courses.

Supercaliber

Supercaliber is a series of unique cross-country racing bikes with Trek’s premium IsoStrut rear suspension. The rear shock is integrated into the frame with unique pivotless seatstays. In addition, it also features 100 mm of front travel, 29″ wheels, 1×12 drivetrains, and progressive racing geometry. Supercaliberline consists of some of the most expensive Trek bikes that cost up to $12,000.

Best for:  Cross-country races that require maximum speed and technical terrain that requires the best possible components and geometry. 

The Domane series is Trek’s selection of fast, versatile, and technologically advanced endurance road bikes. It’s one of Trek’s best-known lineups, featuring IsoSpeed frame suspension, aluminum or carbon frames, and different levels of SRAM and Shimano components. Domane models cost anywhere between $1,100 and $12,600, so they’re suitable for everyone.

Best for:  Beginner, intermediate, and professional road cyclists looking for all-around good performance on a quality road bike that can do it all. 

Our review s on Domane  2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 .

The Émonda line consists of some of the lightest and best-performing road bikes in the world. It’s built around three frame options – 700 OCLV Carbon, 500 OCLV Carbon, and lightweight aluminum. The most expensive Émonda bike costs $13,000, whereas the cheapest can be bought for just $2,300. They’re race-ready, good-looking, and suitable for all rider profiles.

Best for:  Beginner, intermediate, and elite cyclists who want the lightest available road setup suitable for racing, fitness, and leisure riding.

Trek Madone is a top-of-the-line aero road bike developed in the wind tunnel. These bikes are super-light, super-fast, but super-expensive as well. If you want to own one, you’ll have to spend between $4.8K and $13K. For that money, you’ll get a carbon aero frame, aero wheels, high-end components, and supreme integration.

Best for:  Seasoned road riders in search of capital and marginal gains that would make them as fast and as efficient as possible. 

Related: Best Road Bike Brands

If you want an aluminum bike that costs between $600 and $2,000 and that can truly do it all, Trek FX is one of the best choices around. These are efficient and affordable hybrid bikes with entry-level or mid-range components, skinny 700c wheels, and comfortable upright geometries. Around 15 models are available, which includes men’s and women’s bikes.

Best for:  Recreational or fitness riders wanting to commute, run errands, get fit, or train on a daily basis without spending too much money.

Trek Verve is a lineup of comfortable, high-quality, yet accessible hybrid and fitness bikes that can serve as all-around workhorses to urban riders. They cost between around $700 and $1,000, which makes them very cost-efficient. Verve bikes are made from aluminum, roll on 700c wheels, and feature disc brakes coupled with entry-level components.

Best for:  Trek Verve is best for entry-level riders who need a dependable two-wheeler to use and abuse every day or just enjoy riding on the weekends. 

As its name tells you, Trek Dual Sport is a versatile series that can be used for on and off-road rides. These bikes are built around affordable aluminum frames, generally cost around $1,000 , and roll on wide 700c wheels. All models have disc brakes and 63 mm of front suspension. Riders can choose between step-over and step-though frame designs.

Best for:  Versatile riders who want one affordable bicycle that can be used for urban commutes and weekend out-of-town excursions on dirt and forest roads. 

Trek jumped on the gravel bandwagon with the Checkpoint series. These are versatile and efficient gravel and adventure bikes built around aluminum frames. Therefore, they don’t cost much — as little as $2,400 . The prices can get up to $12,000 for high-spec models. Checkpoint bikes feature wide 700c tires, 1x or 2x drivetrains, and disc brakes on all models. They look pretty cool as well!

Best for:  Trek Checkpoint can be used by beginner or seasoned cyclists for gravel races, bike touring adventures, daily commutes, or anything else that comes to mind. 

Trek Crockett is a capable aluminum cyclocross bike that can navigate the urban jungle or take you through a real jungle. These models ride on lightweight aluminum frames, knobby 700c tires, and dependable and efficient 1x drivetrains. At the moment, Crockett numbers three affordable models with price tags between $1,500 and $3,000.

Best for:  Trek Crockett works equally well as a fast CX racing machine and a rugged daily commuter. Use it to commute on workdays and go crazy on the weekends.

Trek Boone is the lightest, fastest, and best-looking cyclocross bike around. Boone frames are built with lightweight carbon fiber material and feature IsoSpeed front and rear decouplers that improve comfort and off-road riding efficiency. Boone also has performance-oriented racing geometry, race-ready components, and 1x drivetrains.

Best for:  Cyclocross racing for beginner riders and amateur or experienced athletes. 

The well-known 520 is one of Trek’s bikes with the longest tradition. Its classic touring steel frame was developed back in the 1970s when the company was established. Today, it’s equipped with front and rear racks, disc brakes, 700c tires, 27 speeds , and comfort-based geometry. It’s the best expedition tourer for the money.

Best for:  Trek 520 is a dependable touring bike that you can take around the world, ride over mountain passes, or use it as a day-to-day bike and commute on a regular basis.

If there is one bike that almost every bikepacker dreams about, it has to be Trek 1120. This is the ultimate bikepacking setup thanks to a lightweight aluminum frame, stiff carbon fork , well-designed front and rear racks, and fearless 29×3.0″ tires. Its 1×11 Shimano SLX drivetrain can get you up any hill and over any off-road section.

Best for:  Bikepacking and off-road touring that requires dependable components that can take daily abuse for months, years, and thousands of dusty miles.

Speed Concept

Speed Concept is the only TT bike Trek makes, if we don’t count in the Madone aero road bikes. This speed machine is made around a super-lightweight carbon frame developed after years of testing in wind tunnels. It offers total aerodynamic integration, minimal drag, and a 2×11 Shimano Ultegra drivetrain.

Best for:  Trek Speed Concept is most suitable for Time Trial events or Triathlon races where speed, aerodynamics, and power efficiency is all that matters. 

Trek Verve+ series is an electric version of the regular verve series. These are versatile electric hybrid and city bikes with step-over and step-through frames, making them suitable for men and women. They can assist your pedaling up to 20 mph thanks to Bosch electronics. They also feature lights, fenders, and a rear rack for easier commutes.

Best for:  Daily urban commuters and fitness riders who want to maintain an upright riding position and enjoy the comfort and extra boost Verve+ offers.

Trek Allant+ is series of mid-range and high-end electric hybrids with flat bars and premium Shimano components. They are capable of replacing your car thanks to powerful and reliable Bosch electronics that will support your pedaling up to 28 mph. Allant+ bikes are made with aluminum and carbon frames and feature fenders, racks, and lights.

Best for:  Urban riders who want to ditch their cars and do long daily commutes through busy city traffic that require utmost speed, reliability, and comfort. 

Trek Powerfly is a range of high-performing electric hardtail mountain bikes. The series numbers just two bikes at the moment — one men’s and one women’s. They’re built around lightweight aluminum frames and come equipped with high-end Bosch electronics that assist up to 20 mph. You also get 120 mm of travel and 1×12 SRAM drivetrain for around $4,200.

Best for:  Trail mountain biking enthusiasts who want to conquer hills more easily and focus more on descents and speedy flat sections. 

The Trek Rail series presents the best of the best one can get in the e-MTB world . Rail bikes cost between $5K and $12.5K, but they are worth the money. They have extremely long 160mm travel, 29″ wheels and tires, Bosch electronics (20 mph max speed), and high-end Shimano and SRAM components.

Best for:  Mountain bikers with high expectations and deep pockets who want to stay fresh when climbing and preserve the energy for aggressive descents. 

Domane+ HP/LT

One thing cannot be argued — Domane+ LT and HP are the best electric road bikes in the world. The HP series (28 mph max speed) provides maximum power, whereas the LT series (20 mph max) offers a good balance between power and weight. These bikes cost up to $12,500 , but they have the best groupsets you can find, the lightest and stiffest carbon, and the highest-end Bosch electronic parts.

Best for: Road riders with money to spare, who want the speed, weight, and performance of a standard road bike, coupled with electronics that will assist them along hilly sections.

In 2014, Trek acquired the Electra Bicycle Company , which is now part of Trek’s brand. That is why you can see many Electra bikes on Trek’s official website.

The Electra brand offers a wide range of city, cruiser, and hybrid bikes built around aluminum or steel frames and intended for daily recreational and fitness riding.

Electra’s lineup also includes electric models (“Go!” in the model name) and numerous kids’ bikes with a wide range of wheel sizes. These are quality and affordable bicycles, even though they don’t have “Trek” written all over them.

Below is a full list of Electra model series available on Trek’s website:

• Cafe Moto Go!

Trek advertises all of their bikes as unisex, although the smaller models are more suitable for women.

In previous years, Trek came out with two kinds of models, but pretty much all of the 2024 range is unisex.

The trick is, smaller models come with a curved top tube to make mounting the bike easier, but for bigger models, the top tube is straight.

See All Women's Bikes

Electra Kids Bikes 16″, 20″, 24″

At the moment, Trek offers a wide range of kids’ bikes under the Electra brand. These bikes are available with 16″, 20″, and 24″ wheels, so they are suitable for different ages. Electra does not have any balance bikes, but there are many 16″ and 20′ models with training wheels. There are also single-speed and multi-gear models for younger and older kids. The best thing about them is fun and colorful designs!

Best for:  Kids and teenagers of all ages, for riding around the block, commutes to school, or family weekend rides on bike paths.

Kickster is the only balance bike Trek offers. It costs around $160 and it comes with 12″ wheels, so it’s suitable for kids who are roughly 34″-40″ tall. It’s the best bike for very young riders to learn how to ride, practice balance, and progress on their own terms.

Best for:  Toddlers who need to learn how to maintain balance on two wheels. 

Precaliber, Wahoo & Roscoe

Precaliber, Wahoo, and Roscoe are Kids’ MTB series with wider tires, rim or disc brakes, and rigid or suspended forks. Trek Roscoe is available only with 24″ wheels, whereas Precaliber and Wahoo can be bought with 16″, 20″, 24″, and even 26″ wheels. These kids’ bikes are excellent for both on and off-road riding , trips to school, family rides, and any other fun cycling activities.

Best for: Children of all ages who need versatile bikes that they can ride on paved and unpaved roads, as well as on bike paths.

The MT-201 pedal trailer can be attached to the parent’s bike in front and allows the child to tag along and practice balancing while pedaling. The saddle is fully adjustable and the trailer comes with a 20″ wheel that makes it suitable for children between 45″-52″ tall.

Best for:  Toddlers and preschoolers who still need to perfect their balancing skills but want to follow their parents anywhere they go.

See All Kids Bikes on Trek

That means that you can probably easily sell them when you decide to upgrade and get a decent part of your investment back. Of course, assuming the bike is still in good condition.

If you have the money to spare, we recommend going for a new Trek bike that you will be able to sell for a decent chunk of the original price in the future, if you decide to do so.

Whenever possible, new is always better. It’s true that you can buy a bike with better specs for the same amount of money if you look for used, but you should only do it if you have enough experience to determine whether the bike is in good shape.

One of the benefits of buying a Trek bicycle is that you can usually choose from a large number of sizes. Most Trek bikes are usually available in 6 to 7 sizes , but some series come in up to 8 sizes (Domane).

Trek also offers size-specific wheels on many of their MTB models, such as the Marlin series. That means that the smallest frame sizes come with 27.5″ wheels, whereas larger frame sizes are 29ers. This ensures the best possible fit for riders of all heights.

One big plus is that Trek also offers height and inseam-based bike size charts , which is something that many other brands avoid. Therefore, to find the right size, just compare your height and inseam to the chart provided for every single bike.

Check out our favorite TREK bikes

What is a Trek bike?

These are bicycles made by Trek Bikes, one of the most popular USA-based cycling companies. Electra bikes can also be considered as Trek bikes because they are part of the same enterprise.

Are Trek Bikes Any Good?

Yes, Trek bikes are very good. Trek has a long history of making quality bikes that are used by beginner, hobby, and elite cyclists around the world. Trek bikes last for a long time and have excellent reselling value years after purchase.

Why are Trek Bikes so expensive?

Trek bikes are not expensive if you compare the price to the components. The price might be steeper compared to some other low-profile brands; however, the value you get is much higher as well.

Is Trek owned by Giant?

No, Trek is not owned by Giant. Giant makes some of Trek’s bikes in Taiwan, but they also do it as a paid service to for other major brands such as Scott or Colnago.

Is Cannondale owned by Trek?

No, Cannondale is not owned by Trek. Cannondale is owned by Dorel Industries.

What is the most expensive Trek bike?

Some of Trek’s most expensive bikes include Supercaliber, Domane, Madone, Emonda, Domane+, and Rail series. The highest-priced models cost around $12,500.

Is Trek worth the money?

Yes, Trek bikes are worth the money. Trek packs high-end technologies into their bikes, build their bikes around high-quality aluminum and carbon frames, and use only reliable Shimano and SRAM components.

Where are Trek bikes made?

Most Trek Bikes are made in the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, and China. Trek also has two manufacturing facilities in USA, Wisconsin – one in Waterloo and one in Whitewater.

Why are Trek bikes so popular?

Trek bikes are very popular because they offer excellent value for the money, they look good, they’re jam-packed with modern technologies, and they retain value for a long time. Their bikes are also ridden by many elite cycling athletes, which makes them even more desirable.

How much is a used Trek bike worth?

It depends on the model, age, and condition, but used Trek bikes have one of the best re-selling values of all bike brands.

See All Models On Trek Bikes

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5 thoughts on “ trek bikes brand review: a close look at the iconic usa bike brand ”.

The Trek Powerfly 5 Review may be an extremely advanced electrical off-roader that comes with spectacular specs to deliver unmatched skillfulness.

It offers the sort of power you’ll have to be compelled to tackle difficult cross-country terrains, however still feels natural on a leisurely weekend cruise round the neighborhood!

I was interested in buying a used xcalibur 7 and it’s a woman’s model. I can’t find any differences in the mens and woman’s besides the seat and coil spring. Is the frame and everything else the same? Thanks

Hi Jack, Good question. Unlike other mountain bikes with the top tube curving down for women’s bikes, there is not much difference except the frame size and the things you mentioned perhaps?

What’s the difference sl series. I’m confused, can you please explain.

Hi Antonio, It’s just an acronym: AL: Aluminium. CF: Carbon Fibre. CF SL: Carbon Fibre Super Light. CF SLX: Carbon Fibre Super Light Extreme etc 😉

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• off.road.cc
• Dealclincher
• Fantasy Cycling

off-road.cc

Your complete guide to the 2021 trek mountain bike range.

Trek has had a long-standing presence in the mountain bike world with a vast range of bikes to back it up. The brands offering ranges from featherweight cross country bikes right through to downhill thoroughbreds. If you're in the market for a Trek bike and wondering which will suit you best, read on for our complete guide to their 2021 range.

• Your complete guide to the 2021 Canyon mountain bike range
• Your complete guide to the RockShox rear shock range - Deluxe, Super Deluxe, SID, Monarch and Vivid air and coil
• Buyer's guide to mountain bikes - get the best MTB for you

2021 Trek mountain bikes

• Full Stache
• Supercaliber

Understanding Trek's naming system

Trek's naming system follows a similar style to how Canyon names its bikes. Each bike's name is suffixed with a number, with higher value numbers corresponding to pricier and better-kitted bikes. Once we get to 9, Trek adds decimals to the suffix to denote changes in the bike's suspension package. All bikes with a 9 in the name get carbon frames but a 9.7 might get its suspension from Fox's Rhythm range for example, while a 9.8 will get better something from higher in the range. Also, you'll see that a lot of kit on the bikes come from Bontrager, for the uninitiated that's Trek's in-house component brand.

At the '9' level, we also see XT, XO1, and GX finding their way into the names. Yep, you've guessed it, that's the drivetrain the bike comes kitted with.

Another thing that's definitely worth mentioning is that a small selection of Trek's bike range is available through what the brand calls Project One. Project One offers the opportunity to have your bike personalised and custom painted with special, exclusive colours. This will mean you have to part ways with a heap of cash but in return, you'll get a bike that's unique to you.

As with the brand's range of bikes, the price range is vast with bikes starting from £440, right up to £9,200 and that's not even considering the Project One options. There's also a comprehensive range of gravel bikes and e-bikes.

Let's kick things off with the Slash. It's Trek's enduro bike which rolls on 29" wheels and gets 160mm of travel at the rear, paired with 170mm at the front. For 2021 it gets both an aluminium and carbon frame option all of which benefit from Trek's proprietary Knock Block system which saves your top and down tube if your front end spins during a crash. This bike also gets the Mino Link which is a geometry adjusting flip-chip, down tube guards threaded bottom brackets, an Active Braking Pivot, and storage in the downtube. As for the geometry, in the low setting, the Slash sees a 75.6° effective seat tube angle, a 64.1° head tube angle, and a 435mm chainstay. A large frame gets a 486mm reach. If you're after something a little more special, the Slash is available through Project One.

Slash 9.9 XTR

Topping the Slash range is the Slash 9.9 XTR. It gets Trek's OCLV carbon frame with the all-new RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock with an updated ThruShaft damper. At the front, you'll find the RockShox ZEB Ultimate RC2 which features chunky 38mm stanchions. As its name suggests there's a full Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain with an e*thirteen LG1 Race Carbon crank. The brakes here also come from the XTR lineup and they come with 4-pot calipers for extra stopping power. This bike rolls on a pair of Bontrager Line Pro 30 which are wrapped with a Bontrager SE5 Team Issue 2.6" Tubeless Ready, Core Strength sidewall, aramid bead tyre at the front and an SE5 Team Issue with the same spec in 2.4" at the rear. It also gets a Bontrager Line Elite Dropper with Bontrager supplying the 820mm wide carbon bar, 35mm stem along with the rest of the build kit.

Slash 9.9 XO1

The Slash 9.9 XO1 gets all of the same trimmings as the 9.9 XTR but benefits from a SRAM XO1 Eagle drivetrain and SRAM Code RSC Brakes, along with a slightly friendlier price tag.

Slash 9.8 GX

Shaving a few thousand pounds of the range-topper is the 9.8 GX. This one is still built around Trek's carbon frame but this one gets a slightly downgraded RockShox ZEB Select+ RC with a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate. Here we get a SRAM GX drivetrain with a matching crankset and SRAM Code R brakes. As for the rest of the bike, it's the same as the 9.9 XTR.

Slash 9.8 XT

As its name suggests, the Slash 9.8 XT gets a very similar built kit to the 9.8 GX. However, this bike sees a Shimano XT drivetrain with SLX M7120 four-piston brakes.

Dropping a full £1.8k off of the 9.8 models, the Slash 9.7 is still built around a carbon frame and it swaps the RockShox suspension with a Fox Rhythm 36 fork and a Fox Performance DPX2 EVOL shock. The drivetrain is a mix of SRAM GX and NX Eagle and the wheels here are the alloy Bontrager Line Comp 30's. Those come shod with a Bontrager XR5 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready, Inner Strength sidewall, aramid bead 2.6" tyre at the front with a Bontrager XR4 with the same spec and a 2.4" width at the rear. Trek has also swapped the dropper post for a TransX post and there's Bontrager's own alloy finishing kit.

With the Slash 8, we no longer get a carbon frame but we do get a RockShox Lyric Select+ RC fork with a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate at the rear. This bike is driven by a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain and there's a pair of SRAM Code R brakes. Everything else is the same as what you would get on the 9.7 model.

The Slash 7 rounds of the range with its alloy frame, RockShox Yari RC fork, RockShox Deluxe Select+ shock, and SRAM NX drivetrain. Here we get a pair of SRAM Guide T brakes and the rest of the bike follows suit with the 8.

Trek Remedy

The Remedy is Trek's long-legged trail bike which comes with four models for 2021. It rolls on 650b wheels and gets 160mm of travel at the front, with 150mm at the rear. Much like the Slash, the Remedy benefits from the Knock Block, the Active Braking Pivot, and the Mino Link. Geometry-wise, it gets a 65.6° head angle, a 74.2° effective seat tube angle, and 435mm chainstays in the low position. A large frame gets a 455mm reach, again in that low setting.

The Remedy 9.8 is the only bike in the 2021 line up that gets a carbon frame. It also gets a burly Fox Performance 38 paired with a Fox Performance Float DPX2 EVOL shock at the rear. This bike benefits from a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain matched with SRAM Code R brakes. As for the wheels, they're a pair of carbon Bontrager Line Elite 30's and they're wrapped with a Bontrager SE5 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready, Core Strength sidewalls with an aramid bead in 2.6" with a Bontrager SE4 Team Issue with the same specs in the 2.4" width. Bontrager also supplies the dropper post with the Line Elite and the 820mm handlebar along with the 35mm stem.

As suggested by the lack of a '9' in its name, the Slash 8 comes kitted with an alloy frame. As for the fork, it's a RockShox Lyrik Select+ RC and that's paired with a RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ shock. This bike is also driven by a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain and it gets the same brakes as the 9.8 rig. Differing from the range-topper, this build sees in a pair of Bontrager Line Comp 30 alloy wheels which get an XR5 Team Issue tyre that's tubeless-ready with Inner Strength sidewalls and an aramid bead in 2.6", also from Bontrager. At the rear, there's an XR4 with the very same specification. The rest of the bike follows suit with the 9.8 model.

Remedy 8 XT

Rather unsurprisingly, the Remedy 8 XT comes with a very similar build to the 8 but gets an XT drivetrain and Deore M6120 four-pot brakes. Everything else on this build matches the Remedy 8.

The Remedy 7 is the cheapest 2021 Remedy on offer. It gets a RockShox Gold RL fork and a RockShox Deluxe Select+ shock. There's a SRAM NX drivetrain with SRAM Guide T brakes. Apart from that, everything else is the same as what you'll get on the Remedy 8's.

Trek Fuel EX

The Fuel EX is Trek's do it all trail bike. It gets 130mm of rear travel and 140mm at the front. Just like the Slash, the Fuel EX gets built-in downtube storage and the Active Braking Pivot. It comes with a RE:aktiv shock with Thru Shaft, something that you'll only find on Trek bikes. It promises more grip and control with a shock the reacts to the ground faster than anything else on the market, says Trek. This bike also gets the Mino Link, Knock Block, and Straight Shot downtube. The Fuel EX comes in five sizes with XS getting 650b hoops and M upwards getting 29" wheels. However, size S comes with a choice of either wheel size. As for the geometry in the low setting, the bike gets a 66° head angle, a 75° effective seat tube angle, and a 437mm chain stay. A large frame benefits from a 470mm reach.

Fuel EX 9.9 AXS

Topping the range with a pretty hefty pricetag is the 9.9 AXS. On this model, you'll get a Fox Factory 36 with a GRIP 2 damper, paired with a Fox Factory Float EVOL RE:aktiv shock. Of course, we then get wireless shifting from SRAM and the AXS range along with a wireless RockShox Reverb AXS dropper. It rolls on a pair of Bontrager Line 30 carbon wheels and they're wrapped with two Bontrager XR4 Team Issue tyres with Inner Strength sidewalls and aramid beads, measuring in with a 2.6" width at the front and a 2.4" at the rear. Bontrager supplies the finishing kit with a Knock Block stem and a 780mm OCLV carbon handlebar.

Fuel EX 9.9 XTR & XO1

Next up, the Fuel EX 9.9 XTR gets all of the bling. It's built around Trek's OCLV carbon frame and gets a Fox Factory 36 fork with a GRIP2 damper. At the back, there's a Fox Factory Float EVOL, RE:aktiv. As its name hints, this bike comes with a Shimano XTR 12-speed drivetrain with matching XTR M9120 four-piston brakes. There's also an option with a SRAM XO1 drivetrain with SRAM G2 RSC brakes. This one rolls on a pair of Bontrager Line Pro 30 OCLV carbon wheels which are wrapped in a pair of Bontrager XR4 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready tyres with the brand's Inner Strength sidewalls and aramid bead. At the front, there's a 2.6" tyre with a 2.4" at the rear on both wheel sizes. Then the bike comes kitted with a Bontrager Line Elite Dropper and the rest of the kit comes from the same brand.

Fuel EX 9.8 XT & GX

Offering a saving of over £2,000 over the top of the range bike is the 9.8 GX and XT. This bike comes with the same carbon frame as the most expensive bike but sees a downgrade in suspension and drivetrain. Here we get a Fox Performance 36 with a GRIP damper and a Fox Performance Float EVOL, RE:aktiv shock. This rig comes with a choice of drivetrain with either SRAM's GX groupset or Shimano's XT. The GX build comes with SRAM G2 RS brakes whereas the XT model is stopped with a pair of Shimano SLX M7120 four-piston brakes. Everything else on these builds is the same as what you'll find on the 9.9 XTR model.

Fuel EX 9.7

The 9.7 is Trek's most affordable carbon-framed Fuel EX. It comes kitted with a Fox Rhythm 36 with a GRIP damper and a Fox Performance Float EVOL shock. The drivetrain here is a mix of SRAM NX and GX with the former making up the shifter and the latter handing the mech. Gone are the carbon wheels, unfortunately, but instead we get a set of Bontrager Line Comp 30 wheels wrapped in the very same tyres like the rest of the range. The rest of the bike follows suit with the pricier models but there's an alloy bar and stem.

Fuel EX 8 XT & GX

At the sub £3k mark Trek does away with the carbon frames and replaces them with cheaper alloy alternatives. On the priciest alloy option, we get a Fox Rythm 34 Float with a GRIP damper and a Fox Performance Float EVOL RE:aktiv shock. On this build, there's a choice of either a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain or a Shimano XT with the former benefitting from SRAM G2 R brakes and the latter receiving a pair of Shimano MT4100 levers mated to MT420 four-piston callipers. This bike gets a pair of Bontrager Line Comp 30 alloy wheels and the rest of the build is the same as what you'll get on the 9.7 bike.

Fuel EX 7 NX

On the Fuel EX 7 NX we find a RockShox 35 Gold RL fork and a Fox Performance Float EVOL shock, note that this shock doesn't come with that special RE:aktiv tech. You've guessed it, this one comes equipped with a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain it gets its brakes from Shimano with a pair of MT4100 levers and MT410 callipers. The rest of the bike, including the wheels and tyres on this bike, is the same as the rest of the alloy range but we see a TransX dropper on this model.

Fuel EX 5 Deore

Rounding off the fairly extensive range is the reasonably priced Fuel EX Deore. It gets a RockShox Recon Silver fork with an X-Fusion Pro 2 shock. Then there's the Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano brakes made up of MT201 levers and MT200 callipers. The wheels see a downgrade from the rest of the range with an Alex MD35 rim laced to Bontrager hubs. They're wrapped in a pair of Bontrager XR4 tyres and there's a TransX dropper post. The rest of the finishing kit comes from Bontrager.

Trek Top Fuel

Like it or not, but down-country bikes are becoming more and more prolific. Luckily for those who are on board with the trend Trek has a bike for you. It comes kitted with 120mm travel up front and 115mm at the rear with 29" wheels. In keeping with the rest of Trek's bikes so far the Top Fuel also gets a Straight Shot downtube and Trek's Active Braking Pivot. It's also kitted with the Mino Link and Control Freak cable management system. Moving onto the geometry, the Top Fuel sees a 68° head tube angle, a 75.7° effective seat tube angle and a 434mm chainstay. A large frame gets a 470mm reach and those numbers have been taken with the bike in its low setting. As for frame sizes, there's a choice from XS right up to XXL.

Top Fuel 9.9 XX1 AXS

A few hundred pounds shy of the 10k mark, this bike comes with all of the top tech. It's made around a carbon frame with a RockShox SID Ultimate fork with a Race Day Charger damper and a RockShox SID Luxe Ultimate shock. There's a RockShox TwistLoc Full Sprint lockout remote too. As for the drivetrain, here we get a SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS 12-speed wireless set up with SRAM G2 Ultimate brakes. The wheels on this bike area pair of Bontrager Kovee Pro 30 Carbon hoops and they're kitted with a pair of Bontrager XR3 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready tyres with Inner Strength sidewalls and aramid beads in a 2.4" width. Finally, there's a RockShox Reverb AXS wireless dropper post, Bontrager OCLV carbon bar with a 750mm width and 35mm clamp and a Bontrager stem.

Top Fuel 9.9 XTR & XO1

Next up, the Top Fuel XTR and XO1 models get the same carbon frame but this time there's a Fox Factory 34 Step Cast with a FIT4 damper paired with a Fox Factory Float shock. This bike also gets the RockShox Twistloc remote lockout. With this model, there's a choice of either a SRAM XO1 drivetrain or the Shimano XTR set up. The XO1 model gets SRAM G2 RSC four-piston brakes while the XTR gets XTR M9100 brakes. Everything else on the bike is the same as the AXS model but the dropper, which is a Bontrager Line Elite.

Top Fuel 9.8 XT & GX

The Top Fuel 9.8 sees a saving of £2.4k and gets its suspension from RockShox with the SID Select+ RL fork and RockShox SID Ultimate RL shock. There's a choice of drivetrain on this bike too between either a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed with SRAM G2 RSC brakes or a Shimano XT drivetrain with SLX M7000 brakes. Everything else on this bike is the same as its pricier brethren.

Top Fuel 9.7

The 9.7 model is the cheapest with a carbon frame and it comes with a RockShox Reba RL fork and a Fox Performance Float DPS shock. There's a SRAM NX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano brakes consisting of MT501 levers and MT500 calipers. This bike makes a move to Bontrager Kovee Comp 23 alloy wheels and they get the same tyres as the rest of the range. We get an alloy cockpit and a Bontrager Line Dropper.

Top Fuel 8 NX

At this price point, Trek introduces alloy frames into the mix. With the 8 NX there's a RockShox Recon Gold RL Solo Air with a Fox Performance Float DPS. There's still a remote lockout here but it comes from Bontrager in the form of the Drop Lock. As its name suggests, this bike is driven by a SRAM NX drivetrain and it's stopped with a pair of SRAM Level T brakes. The rest of the bike is the same as what you'll find on the 9.7 model.

Top Fuel 7 SX

The Top Fuel 7 SX is the most affordable bike in the range featuring suspension from RockShox with the Judy SL Solo Air fork and the X-Fusion Pro 2 shock. There's a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano MT200 brakes. This one rolls on the same alloy wheels as the rest of the range with the same tyres. In fact, apart from the TransX dropper post, everything else matches the Top Fuel 8 NX.

Trek Full Stache

While the Full Stache hasn't had an update for 2021, it seems rude not to include it as there aren't an awful lot of full suspension 29+ bikes on the market. Of course, it rolls on 29" wheels with chunky 3" tyres. It also has 130mm of travel at both ends but the frame is compatible with up to a 140mm fork if you fancy some extra lairy riding. There's also the Mino Link, Control Freak cable management and the Knock Block. It's built around an aluminium frame and gets a 67° head tube angle, a 75.5° effective seat tube and a 430mm chainstay in the low setting. A large gets a 480mm reach, again in the low setting.

Full Stache 8

With its aluminium frame, you'll find a RockShox Pike Select Plus RC fork with a Fox Performance Float EVOL RE:aktiv shock. There's a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, aTruvativ Descendant 6k crank and SRAM Guide R brakes. This bike gets a pair of SUNringlé Duroc 40 SL wheels and they're shod with a pair of Bontrager XR4 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready tyres with Inner Strength sidewalls and aramid beads. We get a Bontrager Line Dropper on this bike with a 780mm wide alloy bar, also from Bontrager.

Trek Supercaliber

Filling the role of the full suspension cross country bike is the rather unique looking Supercaliber. The standout feature of this bike is its IsoStrut suspension platform. It offers 60mm of fully tunable travel and what makes it special is that it does away with a rocker link thus saving a chunk of weight. The IsoStrut is also a structural feature of the frame which Trek says prevents twisting, flex and deflection which the brand claims offers a more direct power transfer. The whole range of Supercalibers feature carbon frames rolling on 29" hoops, Straight Shot downtube and the Knock Block. The geometry on this bike sees a 69° head angle, 74° seat tube angle and a 430mm chainstay. The reach of a large frame measures in at 455mm. There are six sizes from S to XXL and an ML size which gets a longer top tube than the M. Up front there's 100mm of travel.

Supercaliber 9.9 XX1 AXS

The Supercaliber 9.9 XX1 AXS takes the crown as Trek's most expensive mountain bike. It comes dripping with top-shelf kit such as the RockShox SID SL Ultimate with a Charger Race Day damper and a Fox Factory IsoStrut shock. This bike gets SRAMs XX1 Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain with the carbon crank and SRAM Level Ultimate brakes. It rolls on a pair of Bontrager Kovee XXX OCLV carbon wheels and they're wrapped with a set of 2.2" Bontrager XR2 Team Issue, tubeless ready tyres with Inner Strength Sidewalls and aramid beads. Then the finishing kit also comes from Bontrager and the line of carbon components, including a 720mm wide handlebar.

Supercaliber XX1 & XTR

Next up the Supercaliber 9.9 XX1 and XTR get all of the same kit as the priciest model but they drop the fancy wireless shifting. Instead, there's a choice of either a SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain with SRAM Level Ultimate brakes or a Shimano XTR drivetrain with XTR M9100 brakes.

Supercaliber XT & GX

Seeing a considerable saving from the rest of the range, the Supercaliber 9.8 GX and XT models get a downgraded Fox Performance 32 Step-Cast fork with a GRIP2 damper. There's also that IsoStrut suspension also provided by Fox but this model doesn't get that sleek Kashima coating, coming from the brands Performance line-up. These models come with a choice of either a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed groupset with both choices coming kitted with Shimano Deore XT M8100 brakes. Here we get a pair of Bontrager Kovee Pro 30 carbon wheels, then the rest of the kit is the same as what you would get on the other bikes.

Supercaliber 9.7

The Supercaliber 9.7 is the most budget-friendly option in the range. It's still built around that OCLV carbon frame and the Performance level IsoStrut shock but gets a RockShox Reba RL fork. This one is driven by a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain and it's stopped by brakes from Shimano with the MT501 levers and MT500 calipers. This model gets slightly narrower Bontrager Kovee Elite 23 carbon wheels with the same XR2 tyres but the rest of the bike comes from Bontrager's alloy line of kit.

Trek Procaliber

The Procaliber is Trek's lightweight cross country hardtail. Compared to the Supercaliber it presents a mighty cash saving if you're looking for a race-ready XC bike. That doesn't mean that it's not without some cool tech, however. The Supercaliber benefits from what Trek calls the IsoSpeed decoupler which allows the set tube to rotate independently from the top tube to seatstay junction which Trek says offers some vertical compliance without sacrificing pedalling efficiency. As with the rest of the range, this bike gets the Straight Shot downtube and Knock Block too. Each bike in the Supercaliber line up comes with a carbon frame which rolls on 29" wheels and can fit up to 2.4" rubber. Here we see a 68.8° head angle, a 73.8° seat tube angle and 432mm a chainstay. A large frame benefits from a 450mm reach and there are six sizes, from S up to XL, including an ML size which gets a longer top tube than the M. The Procaliber gets 100mm of suspension.

Procaliber 9.8

Built around an OCLV carbon frame the Procaliber 9.8 comes with a Fox Performance 32 Step-Cast fork with a GRIP damper. It's driven by a Shimano XT drivetrain with Deore XT M8100 brakes but this one gets an e*thirteen TRS Race Carbon crank. The wheels here are a pair of Bontrager Kovee Elite 30 carbon wheels and there's a pair of Bontrager 2.2" XR2 Team Issue, tubeless-ready tyres with Inner Strength sidewalls and aramid beads. The rest of the kit comes from Bontrager too, with a 720mm wide carbon handlebar.

Procaliber 9.7

This model comes equipped with a RockShox Reba RL Solo Air and a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano MT501 brake levers hosed to MT500 calipers. This bike gets Bontrager's Kovee Elite 23 wheels, then the rest of the bike matches the 9.8 model.

Procaliber 9.6

On the 9.6 model of the Procaliber you'll get a RockShox Recon Gold RL and a mixture of Shimano kit making up the drivetrain. There's an SLX M7100 shifter and an XT M8100 derailleur. With this model there's the move over to alloy wheels, they come from Bontrager and the Kovee's. Then there are the same tyres as the rest of the range and an all-alloy finishing kit from Bontrager.

Procaliber 9.5

Finally the Procaliber line-up is rounded off with the 9.5. Even as the cheapest bike, it still gets that OCLV carbon frame but sees a RockShox Judy SL fork. There's a full Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano MT200 brakes. Then the rest of the bike features the same kit that you'll find on the 9.6 model.

Trek X-Caliber

If you're looking for a race-ready cross country bike but you're on a budget, the X-Caliber is the bike for you. Accommodating for its affordable price point is an aluminium frame rather than the carbon you'll find on its pricier sibling, the Procaliber. The X-Caliber comes kitted with rack mounts, so it's bike-packing ready, along with a mount for a kickstand. All frames feature internal routing and they all come kitted with Trek's Blendr stem. The X-Caliber comes with either 650b wheels on sizes XS and S with all larger bikes (up to XXL) roll on 29" hoops. As for the geometry, there's a 73° effective seat tube angle on sizes M and up while the smaller two sizes get a 73.5° effective seat tube angle. Then there's a 69.5° head tube angle (S and XSs get a 69.3° HA) and a 438mm chainstay on M and up, and a 425mm chainstay on the smaller bikes. Sizes S to XL get 100mm of travel leaving XS with just 80mm. Although, the frame will accept a maximum of a 120mm fork while the XS can accept a 100mm fork.

X-Caliber 9

Heading up the range, the X-Caliber 9 gets a RockShox Judy Silver Solo Air with a TurnKey remote lockout. This bike gets a Shimano SLX M7100 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano brakes made up of an MT401 lever and an MT400 caliper. The wheels on this one are a pair of Bontrager Kovees and they're wrapped with a pair of Bontrager XR3s in the 2.3" width on all sizes. The finishing kit comes from Bontrager too with an alloy bar, stem, and seat post.

X-Caliber 8

The middle of the range X-Caliber 8 comes with a RockShox Judy SL Solo Air fork with a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain. Stopping the bike is a pair of MT200 brakes from Shimano. As for the wheels, the rims come from Bontrager with a pair of kovees and they're laced to Formula DCL-141Q hubs. Then the rest of the bike is the same as the X-Caliber 9.

X-Caliber 7

The X-Caliber 7 gets much of the same kit as the X-Caliber 8 with the only difference in spec being its Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain.

Trek Roscoe

If you're looking for a trail orientated hardtail, the Roscoe fits the bill. Each build comes properly sorted with dropper posts, 120mm of travel (size S gets 100mm), 1x drivetrains and alloy frames. The bike also rolls on 650b+ wheels and tyres. They all feature internal cable routing, rack and kickstand mounts too. Onto the geometry, the Roscoe sees a 67.3° head angle, a 70.8° effective seat tube angle (with the medium frame getting a 70.7° effective seat angle and the S and XS getting 71.2° and 71.1° angles respectively), and a large frame gets a 428mm reach. As a 650b+ bike, it can run either 27.5x2.8" or 29x2.4" rubber.

On the Roscoe 8, you'll find a RockShox 35 Gold RL fork with a SRAM NX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with Shimano brakes in the form of the MT501 lever paired with an MT500 caliper. It's worth noting that the fork comes with a flexy QR axle. The wheels here are made of rims from Bontrager and the Line 40s with a Bontrager hub at the front and a Formula hub at the rear. This bike gets a pair of Maxxis Rekon tubeless tyres with a 2.8" width and then the rest of the kit comes from Bontrager and the alloy range apart from the dropper post, which comes from TranzX with the JD-YSP18.

The Roscoe 7 benefits from most of the same kit as the 8, but this one gets a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain and Shimano MT200 brakes.

On the cheapest Roscoe 6 you'll get an SR Suntour XCM 32 coil sprung fork with a Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain and MT200 brakes. This bike then rolls on Alex MD35 rims and Formula DC hubs which get a pair of Kenda Havok, wire beaded, 2.8" tyres. As for the rest of the build, that's just the same as the rest of the range.

Trek Marlin

If a sub £1k cross country, everyday bike is more your speed then it's worth checking out the Trek Marlin. Each bike in the range comes with an alloy frame and a fork with 100mm of travel (XS frames get 80mm). There are also rack and stand mounts, the Blendr stem, and internal cable routing. XS and S sizes roll on 650b wheels while sizes M to XXL get 29" hoops. On the Marlin, you'll get an effective seat tube angle of 73.5° on the XS and S frame while everything else benefits from a 71.9° effective seat tube angle. As for the head angle, on the smaller sizes it'll measure in at 69.3° and from M upwards it's a couple of degrees steeper at 69.5°. All frame sizes share a 438mm chainstay length and a large frame gets a 451mm reach.

The Marlin 7 comes kitted with a RockShox Judy coil sprung fork with a Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain and Shimano MT200 disc brakes. The wheels are made of Bontrager Kovee rims laced to Formula DC hubs and they're wrapped with a pair of Bontrager XR2 Comp 2.2" tyres with wire beads. The rest of the bike comes with Bontrager's own finishing kit.

Trek Farley

Perhaps fat bikes are more your things. Allow me to introduce the Farley. There are two in the 2021 range with an alloy and a carbon option which, of course, roll on 4.5" tyres. Both bikes come with a dropper post, horizontal sliding dropouts, ideal for single speed setups and tubeless-ready tyres. As for the geometry, the Farley gets a 69° head angle, a 73° effective seat tube angle and a 455mm chainstay. The reach on a large is 441mm and there are four sizes available, from S to XL. 

The Farley 9.6 gets an OCLV carbon frame with a Bontrager Haru OCLV fork. The drivetrain on this bike comes from SRAM and the GX Eagle 12-speed shifting. As for wheels, they're Sunringle Mulefut 80 SL rims laced to Bontrager alloy hubs. Those are wrapped in a pair of Bontrager Barbegazi Team Issue, tubeless-ready tyres with inner strength sidewalls and aramid beads. The dropper kitted here is a TransX JD-YSP18 and the rest of the kit comes from Bontrager with a 750mm wide bar.

The Farley 5 is Trek's best value fat bike and it's built around an alloy frame. It gets a Shimano Deore M4100 10-speed drivetrain with SRAM Level brakes and there's a Race Face crank. It gets the same wheels as the 9.6 but the tyres here are a pair of Bontrager Gnarwhals. The rest of the kit is the same as the 9.6. It's worth mentioning that while the Farley 5 comes with a rigid fork, it'll happily accommodate a 100mm travel suspension fork.

Trek Session

The Session needs no introduction, but it's the brand's 650b downhill bike. There's only one model in the 2021 range which is built around an alloy frame. It gets Trek's Active Braking Pivot and the geometry adjusting Mino-Link. Up front, there's 200mm of travel and at the rear, there's 210mm. In the low setting, the Session gets a 63.6° head angle, a 445mm chainstay and a large frame gets a 426mm reach. There are four sizes, from S to XL and the 8 27.5 model will set you back £4,200

Trek Ticket

Finally, rounding off the Trek range of mountain bike is the Ticket. It's available as the full suspension, Ticket S (pictured) with 100mm of travel and the Ticket DJ, which is the hardtail version. Both come as a frame only with prices starting from £725, up to £1,400.

• www.trekbikes.com

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Liam Mercer

Tech Editor here at off.road.cc Liam can also be found photographing bikes as well as revelling in cycling's intricacies. Whether it's gravel, mountain, or e-MTB as long as it's a bike on dirt, he's happy.

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The Best Trek Bikes You Can Buy Right Now

The Wisconsin-headquartered company has local values and a global impact.

Trek’s founding story is out of a Hollywood director’s mind and a non-fiction writer’s wish list: In 1976, Bevill Hogg and Dick Burke drank beers at the Pine Knoll Supper Club in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, and debated over the name of their would-be cycling company. They settled on Trek and soon went to work in a barn between Madison and Milwaukee, where a total of five employees built the brand’s first bikes out of steel. The company is still based near the barn that facilitated its first years—its modern headquarters are in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Fat and grippy tires mated to a light aluminum frame

Émonda ALR 5 Disc

A smooth-riding frame paired with Shimano’s terrific 105 group

Sturdy steel in an approachable package

Madone SLR 9

Every feature imaginable and a slippery aero frame

Top Fuel 9.9 X01

A super-efficient bike that shreds down hills

“We’re a uniquely American success story from small-town USA,” said brand manager Eric Bjorling. “So many of the values that have led to Trek’s success—hard work, craftsmanship, responsibility, commitment to our customers—are Wisconsin values.”

Its values may be hyper-local and American, but it’s now a company at the center of a globalized cycling market that has made industry-leading technological advances.

A recent example of Trek’s “industry-leading technological advances” mentioned above is IsoSpeed, which is available at the front and rear on certain Trek models. The rear decoupler is at the junction of the seat and top tube, and the front decoupler is located at the top of the headset.

The front IsoSpeed decoupler allows the fork steerer tube to flex more than it would with a fixed upper headset cup, which helps damp some impacts. The rear IsoSpeed decoupler provides increased vertical seat tube deflection (compared to a traditional fixed seat tube design) for a smoother ride. The rear IsoSpeed system is adjustable on the latest Madone and Domane models, which lets the rider adjust the compliance level for terrain and or personal preference. You might not even need to adjust the rear slider to experience the road-smoothing effects of the two decouplers—our test team found that the all-over effect was fast and smooth performance equally suited to asphalt and cobbles.

Famed Classics specialist Fabian Cancellara, who retired from racing as a member of World Tour team Trek-Segafredo, worked with Trek engineers to develop the final version of IsoSpeed, which is especially useful on the cobbles and other rough surfaces that riders encounter on most Classics courses. Since the tech’s 2012 release on the Domane, Trek has claimed that IsoSpeed doesn’t sacrifice power transfer at the cost of more compliance.

Along with bolstering its ride-smoothing technologies, Trek has also begun implementing internal-storage compartments in the downtube of some of its road and mountain bikes. These handy “trap doors” debuted in the new Domane and Fuel EX, where an included organizer roll has pockets for a tube, CO2 cartridge, inflator head, and tire lever.

Trek has also started moving away from women’s specific bikes and adopting a “more bikes for everyone” ethos, where all bikes are offered in unisex sizing. The idea is that this will ensure that no matter your gender, you’ll have access to the full array of paint colors, build kits, and sizes.

And of course, Trek continues to roll out exciting new bikes. This year’s slate includes the third generation of the popular Domane roadster (now with even more ride-smoothing technology) and fully revamped versions of the Fuel EX and Top Fuel mountain bikes, which are both more capable than ever.

If you’re in the market for a road, mountain, or city bike (or any other style), Trek likely has something made for you.

How We Chose

Trek is among the most popular bike brands and has one of the most extensive bike lines in the world. Because it makes a lot of bikes—and a lot of bikes that our readers want to know about—our test team evaluates, rides, and reviews many Trek models throughout the year. This is not a complete overview of all of Trek’s models, but a focused list of the best. These are the Trek bikes that offer exceptional performance, value, technology, or features (or some combination of all four).

.css-1hhr1pq{text-align:center;font-size:1.1875rem;line-height:1.6;font-family:Charter,Charter-roboto,Charter-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;}.css-1hhr1pq em{font-style:italic;font-family:Charter,Charter-styleitalic-roboto,Charter-styleitalic-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;}.css-1hhr1pq strong{font-family:Charter,Charter-weightbold-roboto,Charter-weightbold-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:bold;} —BEST ALL-AROUND ROAD BIKE—

Domane slr 7, trek domane slr 7.

The third-generation of the Domane isn’t just the best Domane; it’s Trek’s best-ever road bike. And it’s one of the best road bikes on the market right now thanks to an equal blend of performance, comfort, practicality, and versatility. The Domane got more aerodynamic than the previous iteration (saving 12 watts at 40Kph), it takes at least a 38mm tire, and has hidden fender mounts and sleek internal storage. It also features compliance-enhancing decouplers front and rear that improve rider comfort and control without detracting from the bike’s pedaling efficiency or handling. The Domane’s steering is light and its handling precise, but with a mellower edge and more stability than a traditional road racing bike.

READ FULL REVIEW VIEW 23 IMAGES

―best new road bike―, émonda slr 9 etap, trek émonda slr 9 etap.

READ FULL REVIEW VIEW 35 IMAGES

―best women’s trail bike―, $1,259.99 trek roscoe 7.

There’s so much to love about this bike. The SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain, with a 30t chainring and 10-50t cassette, gives a massive range of gears and plenty of low-range options for easing the pain of climbing steep hills. Its 27.5-inch wheels are maneuverable in tight, technical terrain, and the 2.8-inch tubeless-ready tires offer great traction and a plush ride. The RockShox Judy Silver fork has plenty of travel for getting rowdy (1oomm for size the extra-small frame size, 120mm for small through large) and can be locked out for more efficient off-trail riding. And speaking of rowdy, a 100mm dropper post is a very cool addition to a bike at this price.

—BEST FIRST “REAL” MOUNTAIN BIKE―

Trek marlin 7.

The Marlin 7, which also comes in a women’s version , is ideal for aspiring racers, everyday trail riders, and casual commuters alike. Riders who like to pedal fast will appreciate its steep, aggressive head and seat angles, and a high bottom bracket that offers decent pedal clearance on the trail. Its cables are internally routed, too, which isn’t common on bikes at this price. It has a 2x9-speed Shimano drivetrain, which strays from the single-chainring trend that’s popular on off-road bikes at the moment but also provides plenty of gearing options. And even though the RockShox XC30 100mm coil-spring fork is heavier than some comparable air-spring models, it does a surprisingly good job on super-rocky trails. Add to that the 2.2-inch-wide Bontrager tires on 29-inch Bontrager Connection rims, which never squirmed too much on sketchy terrain, and you have a bike that not only looks fast but offers the kind of sharp handling and precise steering you’d expect from higher-priced racing models.

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―BEST ELECTRIC ROAD BIKE―

Trek domane+ hp.

The Domane+ e-road bike is the electric version of, naturally, the popular Domane. It’s designed for riders who appreciate that bike’s reliable comfort and IsoSpeed technology but want the added fun and function of e-assist. It’s also the ideal companion for anyone coming back from injury, slower riders who want to mix it up with a speedy group, and couples with different fitness levels. A Bosch Performance Speed motor provides a very welcome 28 mph of pedal assist, and the 500Wh Powertube battery sleekly integrates into the down tube. You also get massive tire clearance, fender and rack compatibility, and Trek’s Blendr stem for cleanly mounting accessories such as lights and computers to your handlebar.

―BEST NEW XC BIKE―

Supercaliber 9.9, trek supercaliber 9.9 xx1 axs.

The new Supercaliber is the brand’s latest attempt to create the ultimate XC race bike by merging the best attributes of a hardtail (stiffness, low weight) and full-suspension (traction, comfort, control) frame into one. And based on our rides, it’s the closest yet to that best-of-both-worlds machine with 60mm of rear travel. Trek’s IsoStrut design places a Fox Float shock into a tube—both ends of that tube are bolted to the underside of the SuperCal’s top tube. At the top of the seat stays is a sleeve (Trek calls it a carriage) that slides over the bolted-in tube. Cutouts in the tube allow a cross bolt to pass through the sleeve, the tube, and the rear shock eyelet. Trek says this design eliminates rotation around the shock shaft and prevents side-loading the shaft so the bike has the stiffness and feel of a hardtail, but with real full suspension for better comfort and control. And based on back to back testing with a hardail, the Supercaliber is everything it was designed to be.

READ FULL REVIEW VIEW 48 IMAGES

―BEST VALUE HARDTAIL―

Procaliber 9.7, trek procaliber 9.7.

Trek did a masterful job with this bike, skimping in the right places to save money and splurging in the areas that count for performance. The carbon frame is extremely lightweight; our size XL test bike weighed in at only 21.6 pounds. The IsoSpeed decoupler at the junction of the seat tube and top tube offers so much vertical compliance you can actually see the seat tube moving if you bounce on the saddle. Tubeless-ready Bontrager Kovee Elite 23 carbon wheels also keep weight in check and roll very quickly when wrapped in (stock) 2.2-inch Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tires. Be warned, though, these are race-day tires for dry conditions and not well suited to daily trail riding or muddy courses. SRAM’s GX Eagle drivetrain and alloy SRAM X1 Eagle crank keep cost in check and can stand up to plenty of hard riding and abuse. They do add significant weight, though, which makes this bike’s overall lightness all the more impressive. Our tester was surprised, however, to find a narrow 720mm handlebar. He said it felt strange at first but didn’t notice it anymore after a few minutes of riding.

―BEST ENTRY-LEVEL RACER―

Domane al 2, trek domane al 2 disc.

The good looks of the Domane AL 2 are the first indication that Trek didn’t mess around with this bike. Start digging deeper and you’ll find even more to like. The shaped aluminum frame is nicely made and has a vibration-damping carbon fork. The rims are tubeless-ready so you can upgrade to smoother-rolling tires filled with puncture sealant. And new for 2021, the Domane AL 2 is outfitted with disc brakes. That does come with a bump in price—the previous version with rim brakes was only $860. But if you ride in variable weather conditions, the more reliable performance from disc brakes may save your bacon. The shifters snick-snick the drivetrain through the gears lightly and crisply. There are other little surprising nuggets, like the pocket in the frame for a speed sensor and the included light and computer mount that cleanly integrates into the stem. Best of all, the bike is a joy to ride. Handling is stable, precise, and attentive to pedal strokes so you feel like you’re flying over the road, not pushing across it.

—BEST MARATHON BIKE—

Top fuel 9.9, trek top fuel 9.9 x01.

While the 2019 Top Fuel featured 100mm of travel in the front and back, the new top-of-the-line Top Fuel 9.9 has 120mm of front suspension and 115mm in the rear. Trek also did away with the floating mount that compressed the shock from both ends. Instead, the lower eyelet is fixed to the downtube, a change that reduces weight and improves stiffness. Tires are also beefed up. Instead of skinny race-oriented ones, this model comes with 29x2.40-inch Bontrager XR3 Team Issue rubber designed for a variety of riding conditions. Gnar capability is further enhanced thanks to a frame that’s slacker and longer. And it’s spec’d with a shorter stem and wider bars.

READ FULL REVIEW VIEW 47 IMAGES

—BEST ROAD RACE BIKE—

Madone slr 9 disc, trek madone slr 9.

It’s no longer debatable that “disc brakes aren’t aero enough to race on.” Tell that to the now numerous Tour de France stage winners who’ve won highly contested sprints on disc-brake-equipped bikes. And try telling that to Mads Pedersen , who rode to the World Championship title on this bike. The Madone SLR 9 Disc is the premier aerodynamic offering from Trek. The SLR 9 Disc’s frame is made from 700 Series OCLV carbon and features an adjustable IsoSpeed, which can be set to create more or less frame compliance. This technology gives the bike versatility to suit the rider and the route. Pro-level components include a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset (50/34 crankset, 11-28 cassette), flat-mount hydraulic disc brakes, Bontrager Aeolus XXX 6 carbon wheels (tubeless-ready), and a Madone-specific seatpost, headset, and handlebar. Models range from $6,000 to $12,000.

—BEST FOR GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL—

The 1120 is a bikepacking beast, ready for your next days-long adventure as soon as you leave the shop. Complete with an aluminum frame, carbon fork, 1x11-speed Shimano SLX groupset, and bulbous Bontrager Chupacabra 29x3-inch tires, the bike’s components are capable of helping you ride through challenging terrain deep in the backcountry. What’s more, the 1120 comes stock with front and rear racks that will hold plenty of gear.

—BEST KID’S MOUNTAIN BIKE—

Trek roscoe 24.

The Roscoe 24 is a great bike for older children who want to take their riding skills off road. Designed to accommodate riders between 4-foot-2 and 5-foot-3, this bike comes with 24-inch wheels, 2.8-inch tires, a 1x8-speed Shimano groupset, and Tektro mechanical disc brakes, making it a well-equipped bike for younger riders as they learn how to navigate trails.

—BEST COLLEGE BIKE—

The 820 is Trek’s answer to people who just a want solid, reliable, and affordable bike to ride. With a steel frame, a fork with 75mm of travel, and 26 by 2-inch-wide tires, the 820 is labeled as an entry-level hardtail mountain bike. This steed would be great for college students looking for a reliable commuter and way to explore local trails or a family looking to buy a bike that can be used by several people for a variety of purposes. A 7-speed Shimano Tourney groupset, with a 42/34/24 crank and a 14-28 cassette, will enable almost any level of rider to get where they’re going.

—BEST FITNESS BIKE—

Trek fx 3 disc.

The name “ hybrid bike ” mean different things to different people. To some, it indicates a ride good as both a way to habitually exercise and explore. To others, it may only be a tool for good-weather fun. With an aluminum frame, carbon fork, and 32mm Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite tires, the Trek FX 3 Disc can be enjoyed by, and comfortable for, almost any sort of rider. The 9-speed Shimano Acera groupset features a 46/30 crank, 11-36 cassette, and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes.

—BEST BUDGET ROAD RACER—

Emonda alr 5 disc, trek émonda alr 5.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the new Émonda ALR 5 Disc is full carbon. But it’s not. It’s an aluminum race bike with the same geometry as Trek’s carbon Émonda frames. The ALR 5 Disc comes stock with a full Shimano 105 drivetrain, a compact 50/34 crankset, an 11-28 cassette, and hydraulic flat-mount disc brakes.

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Trek Bikes Review — History, Models, and FAQ

Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling products manufacturer whose headquarters are located in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 dealers across North America . They have distributors in more than 90 nations across the world with subsidiaries in Asia and Europe.

Only a small percentage of their bikes are manufactured in the USA while the remaining 99% are manufactured in other parts of the world including Germany, China, and the Netherlands.

Over the years, this manufacturer has distributed bikes under brand names like:

• Diamant Bikes
• Klein and LeMond Racing Cycles
• Trek, Villiger Bikes
• Gary Fisher
• Electra Bicycle Company

Trek Bikes History

Over the last 42 years, this company has continually worked to refine and improve its products and persuaded the world to join in and take the journey towards better health and fitness.

The Early Years

• Trek’s story began in December 1975 in a barn when Dick Burke invested a sum of $25,000 to manufacture steel touring frames to battle those produced in Japan and Italy.
• Initially, the idea was to make the world’s best bikes but it was not until 1982 that they managed to actually manufacture their first complete bike as a company after acquiring more space and building a factory. In 1983 , they made their first mountain bike.
• Later in 1984 , they launched aftermarket parts and accessories line, Trek Components Group (TCG) .
• The period between 1985 and 1991 could be described as the technology frontier for Trek. In 1985, they borrowed from aircraft and other bike companies’ technology and introduced their first bonded aluminum bike frame in 2000.
• Later in 1986 Trek followed up the success of 2000 with a 3-tube carbon composite model, The Trek 2500.

This was Trek’s entry into the world of carbon fiber. That same year, to keep up with rapidly growing sales, they added another 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m 2 ) of manufacturing space to its Waterloo headquarters.

• In 1988 , Trek bikes introduced “ Trek Wear ,” which strongly indicated the company’s entry into the cycling apparel business. A year later, Trek ventured 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.

The famous Trek 2500

• In 1992 , They launched their first bikes built with a full-carbon frame, the 5500 and 5200 which featured Optimum Compaction Low Void ( OCLV ) frames. These went on to become the world’s lightest production bikes with a frame weighing around 1.11kg.

The company further expanded its space to accommodate the new OCLV manufacturing facility.

• In 1992 , Trek also introduced their first full-suspension mountain bike, the 900 series which featured the T3C suspension system. In 1993, Trek also acquired Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes, named after Gary Fisher , 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.

The Later Years

• From there it has been all systems go for Trek bikes with a various event marking their success such as introducing a full suspension Y bike in 1995 and signing three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond to get LeMond Racing Cycles on its feet (1995), although the relationship with LeMond soured in 2008 as both sides alleged breach of contract.

In 2006 Trek launched the “ 1 World 2 Wheels ” campaign. The idea was to encourage Americans to swap their cars for bikes on trips of two miles or less.

Today their mission is to “Help the world use the bicycle as a simple solution to complex problems” such as easing traffic congestion, improving health, seeing the world, and combating climate change.

They’ve cut their coal emissions to nil and parking spaces at their headquarters are allocated for carpoolers only.

Trek Bikes Model Range

Today, Trek produces everything from high-end road, mountain, and triathlon bikes to hybrid, comfort, cruiser, and kids’ bikes. These products are available at a range of prices; the high-performance bikes will require you to dig deeper into your pocket while other bikes are more affordable.

They have also designed bikes and accessories to fit female riders since 2000 and they have a custom bike program called Project One, where customers can choose their own paint scheme and component mix.

Trek Mountain Bikes

Trek’s mountain bikes are made for off-road adventure, fun, and competition. Among their extensive range of 13 models, you can find something to take on any off-road conditions and fit every budget and rider preference.

They categorize the bikes into four groups: six cross-country models, four trail models, two downhill models, and one fat bike model. Additionally, there are electric mountain bikes which we discuss below.

Among the styles, you can find hardtails, full-suspension gravity bikes; 29″, 27.5″, mulleted wheels; aluminum, steel, and carbon frames; and a range of options from a beginner hardtail to a World Championship-winning beast.

The Trek Slash 9.9 XX1 enduro is the most expensive in the range, with an RRP of over $12,500; at the other end of their range, you have the sub-$500 steel-framed Trek 820 cross-country bike.

Interesting design technologies include Trek’s  advanced OCLV Mountain Carbon frame and progressive sizing geometry. Other innovative MTB technologies from the company include Active Braking Pivot, IsoStrut shock—structural suspension, IsoSpeed frame-integrated suspension, and Mono Link adjustable geometry.

Read Our Reviews

• Trek Marlin 4 Gen 2 Review
• Review of Trek Marlin 5 Gen 2
• Trek Marlin 6 Gen 2 Review
• Trek Marlin 7 Gen 2 Review
• Trek Marlin 8 Gen 2 Review
• Trek Supercaliber Review 

Trek Road Bikes

Trek is most widely recognized for its exceptional road bicycles, used by the World Tour team Trek Segafredo. Their road bikes are made for speed and efficiency on paved surfaces and gravel.

The company makes four distinct styles of road bikes in a range of builds:

• Aero (Madone) – Most popular racing bike for its aerodynamic tubing
• Lightweight all-rounder (Emonda) – The all-rounder lightweight climbing choice
• Endurance (Domane) – Built for comfort over long distances, with more relaxed, stable geometry and 38mm tire clearance
• Gravel – A fast off-roader with mounts for accessories and more tire clearance

You can find Trek road bikes with OCLV Carbon or Alpha Aluminum frames and SRAM or Shimano groupsets, depending on the price, which ranges from just over $1,000 for the cheapest Domane AL 2 to over $12,500 for the highest spec version of each.

Some exciting technologies used on Trek’s road bikes include invisible cabling design, IsoCore vibration dampening, and adjustable IsoSpeed micro-suspension.

Trek also mentions its aim to make each bike as effective as possible for both sexes, eliminating the need to find a women-specific model.

Trek Hybrid Bikes

Urban & Commuter / Fitness / Dual-sport / Recreation / Women’s / Kids’

Aluminum / Carbon

Trek hybrids are another hugely popular range of bikes among casual cyclists. These urban bikes are designed for versatility and benefit from the trickle-down of technology from the brand’s most innovative models. These hybrids include:

• FX 1-6 – This is a speedy fitness bike with a rigid fork
• Dual Sport 1-4 – A suspension fork hybrid built to tackle off-road terrain or function as a fully-equipped commuter
• Verve 1-3 – This is the ultimate comfortable hybrid bike with upright geometry and a low-step option available

These bikes come in various builds, including OCLV Carbon or Alpha Aluminum for the frames; step-over, step-thru, or low-step designs; IsoZone handlebar-integrated suspension, IsoSpeed Decoupler for endurance comfort, and mounts for a rack and fenders.

These bikes range from around $500 for the cheapest FX 1 to over $2,000 for the most expensive FX 6 Carbon and can be paired with various accessories to customize the bikes for your diverse urban or commuter needs.

Trek Electric Bikes

Each of Trek’s traditional bike ranges has a selection of e-bikes to complement it. This includes eHybrid, eMTB, and eRoad.

• Allant+ and Verve+ – Two fully equipped urban hybrid electric bikes, the Allant being the more sporty of the two
• E-Caliber, Rail, and Powerfly – Three full-suspension e-mountain bike options. The Rail is a long-travel MTB, and the E-caliber is a super lightweight XC bike
• Domane+ – Trek’s endurance road model goes electric with a lightweight and comfortable design that makes all-day riding a breeze

All of their bicycles use Bosch e-bike systems. Bosch produces some of the most innovative systems on the market with stylish integration, powerful mid-drive motors, and large-capacity batteries.

Trek uses the design technology found on their traditional bikes on many of their electric ranges, such as the IsoZone, IsoSpeed suspension, and premium frame engineering.

In addition, Trek’s subsidiary brand Electra has two comfort-focused “Recreation” electric models, the Townie Path Go and Attitude Go, and one hybrid, the Vale Go.

These e-bikes cover a wide price range, comparable to the standard bikes, beginning at around $1,600 for the entry-level Electra Townie up to $12,500 and $13,500 for the top-end road and MTB models.

Shop Trek E-Bikes

Where are Trek bikes made?

Trek bikes are made in China, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Germany. Most of the manufacturing of Trek’s bikes and accessories takes place in China and Taiwan, as with most major bicycle brands. However, very select models are still produced at their Wisconsin factory.

Are Trek bikes good?

Yes, Trek bikes are good. They have worldwide recognition for high-quality, long-lasting bicycles across the whole price range. Trek also sponsors and manufactures bikes for the highest level of professional cycling, including Trek Segafredo road cycling and Trek Factory Racing mountain biking.

Where to buy Trek bikes?

You can buy Trek’s bikes at physical and online retailers worldwide, both online and in-store. Trek has its own physical stores and ambassador bike shops that mostly stock or only Trek bikes. You can find a list of all their online and physical retailers through the Trek.com website.

How much is a Trek bike?

A Trek bike can cost as little as $450 to $13,500. Each Trek model has various spec levels which change the price incrementally, meaning you can find a Trek bike in any price range. The company’s most popular models like the FX, Domane, and Powerfly have many pricing levels.

What size Trek bike do I need?

The size Trek bike you need depends on the model you buy, your body measurements, and preferences. Each of Trek’s products has a corresponding sizing chart on its web page to help you find the correct size. You can also use Trek’s network of Precision Fit technicians professional fit.

When did Trek stop making bikes in the USA?

Trek stopped making bikes in the USA in 2017. According to sources inside the company, they then moved the final 1% of US production to their overseas factories. However, 99% of the production was already in China, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Germany.

How do I tell what year my Trek bike is?

You can tell what year your Trek bike is by finding the serial number on the underside of the bike’s frame, next to the bottom bracket. Then, contact your local Trek dealer or get in touch with the company’s customer service and provide them with this number to find out.

Who owns Trek bikes?

Trek Bikes is a privately owned company. Initially, the parent company was called Intrepid Corporation. However, Intrepid changed its name to Trek Bicycle Corporation in the 1990s and stopped its non-bicycle-related business due to the incredible success of the biking giant.

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About the Author

Sam Millers

4 thoughts on “ trek bikes review — history, models, and faq ”.

Got a 1989 Trek 1400 road bike, I love that thing, it was converted to STI brifters, and the bike itself even for today’s standards is so light!

I haven’t had the privilege to ride it, but the bike looks great! I’m sure it rides like the wind 🙂

Please doble check when you buy a Trek bike! For self experience, I bought one 10 month ago (all stock) and the chainring start touching the frame. I thought it was normal because I think they put correct components. But that was not the case they put a 36t and 26t xt crankset. My frame is completely damaged and I was worry because I do not want to get a accident. I went to the shop and they tell me was my fault they don’t give me any guaranty so that what I think this bike it’s worst do not buy repeat.

Oh man, sad to hear. What model was it?

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Leave your bike with us, and we'll do the rest! You'll receive an email and/or text when your repairs have been completed, and we'll be sure to give you a call if anything pops up along the way. Plus, if our turnaround time exceeds 24 hours, we'll set you up with a complimentary demo bike.

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For many mountain bikers, understanding the background, history, and ethos of a company has a major impact on the purchase of a new rig. However, with so many brands to choose from, it can be difficult to navigate the landscape and find a good match. From value-oriented companies like Co-op Cycles to high-end, carbon-only players like Yeti, the brands below stand out to us as the top in the business—after all, we’ve spent a lot of time on the trails testing bikes and soliciting input from fellow riders. Below we break down some of the most well-known mountain biking brands, including a brief history on each brand, each company’s most popular models, and what sets them apart from the competition. For more, see our mountain biking gear reviews .

Specialized

Location: Morgan Hill, California Popular models: Stumpjumper and Turbo Levo What we like: Quality, proven bikes for every type of rider at nearly every price point. What we don't: A bit more cutthroat than other bike companies we’ve seen.

Yeti bikes are typically known for at least one of three things: the company’s vibrant “Yeti Teal” frame color, the unique rear suspension platform known as Switch Infinity, and high cost. While their bikes undoubtedly are well made and I appreciate the company’s clear focus on riders, there’s a reason I’ve never owned a Yeti bike: They're just so darn expensive. Comparing just the prices of bike frames (not complete bikes), Yeti typically comes in hundreds of dollars more than most other brands. For instance, the SB160 frame will set you back a whopping $5,000, while Ibis’s similarly capable Ripmo comes in at $3,699. However, if you can stomach the steep cost, you’ll have one of the most enviable setups on the trail.

Ibis Cycles

Location: Santa Cruz, California Popular models: Ripmo and Ripley What we like: Quality, responsive bikes with relatively reasonable pricing. What we don't: Currently only seven total models to choose from; relatively short seven-year warranty.

Ibis Cycles, a boutique brand that tends to fly under the radar, is well-regarded within the MTB community for producing top-notch bikes. Founder Scot Nicol started Ibis in his garage in 1981 and the brand was privately owned until 2000, at which point Nicol sold it to an investment company. Less than two years later, Ibis went bankrupt and closed its doors. However, in 2005, the company reemerged and launched their popular Mojo carbon full-suspension mountain bike, which remains a staple in their lineup to this day. Late last year, Ibis went through a rebrand with a new logo—and refreshed their popular Ripmo and Ripley models while they were at it, mainly updating the swingarms of both bikes. Another interesting tidbit: The Ripmo is designed to fit riders as short as 5’0”, which isn’t common among bikes with 29-inch wheels.

Location: Wilton, Connecticut Popular models: Trail and Scalpel What we like: Not afraid to do things a bit differently; lightweight aluminum frames. What we don't: The quirkiness can be polarizing.

While getting a great deal on a bike is always a plus, there are inherent sacrifices that come with buying from a consumer-direct brand. We haven't had any personal negative experiences, but we’ve heard reports of subpar customer service and long turnaround and wait times for warranty claims. Plus, you lose the convenience and satisfaction of walking into your local bike shop and buying replacement parts directly off the shelf. Nevertheless, if you’re simply looking to get the most bang for your buck, then going consumer-direct is an intriguing option.  

Location: Petaluma, California Popular models: Rift Zone , San Quentin What we like: Fun, well-made bikes for reasonable prices; fairly available online. What we don’t: Doesn’t compete at the premium end of the market. 

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The 15 Best Mountain Bike Brands of 2021

From behemoth to boutique, here are the companies providing the most innovative, consistent off-road bikes in the world.

Circa 1974, a renegade movement took place with freethinkers riding clunkers off road. This wild idea sparked in Crested Butte, Colo., and Marin County, Calif. Folks rode Schwinn paper-delivery bikes with balloon tires on the cow trails, up fire and mining roads in the mountains, and through the woods. Others Frankensteined bikes with parts pulled off single-speed junkers and 10-speed road bikes.

Those salvaged two-wheel creations were the earliest iteration of the modern mountain bike. Nearly 5 decades later, some mountain bike pioneers are still creating bikes today — but there are also so many more companies. Whether you’re just getting started or have been riding for a while, it can be overwhelming to narrow down the type of bike you need and the brand that’s a good match.

To help you get to know the products, mission, and background of the industry’s leading companies, we highlighted the top 15 in this guide. Beyond our passion for shredding trails and extensive product testing, we’ve chatted with countless peers, researched, and interviewed many of these companies firsthand. These brands are delivering a huge spectrum of the highest-quality, most affordable, and most progressive bikes for adventure today.

If you need a refresher on the types of mountain bikes that exist and how to pick the best one for you, jump to the bottom for our How To Buy a Mountain Bike guide.

The Best Mountain Bike Brands of 2021

Specialized.

Specialized manages to push big innovation while continuing to deliver some of the longest-standing classic mountain bike models in the industry. Founded half a century ago, the brand created the Stumpjumper in 1981, the globe’s first mass-produced mountain bike.

Most recently, the brand pioneered the Turbo Levo SL , an ultralight electric mountain bike that blends the Stumpjumper with the Turbo Levo e-bike — and is 10 pounds lighter. The trimmed weight is thanks to the new SL motor battery system the team invented. Regardless of being electric, the bike is maneuverable and capable on the trails.

The brand also delivers gravel, road, and entry-level mountain bikes.

• Year founded: Early ’70s
• Headquarters: Morgan Hill, CA
• Company size: 1,350
• Popular models: Stumpjumper , Rockhopper (both of which we’ve owned)

Known for top-tier, full-suspension mountain bikes, Santa Cruz has been an innovator for several decades. Founded by skateboard legend Rob Roskopp, the brand started when trail bikes with rear suspension were still a rare gem.

The company specializes in lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum models with a variety of suspension ranges. Its focus is trail-style models, but the lineup includes designs for gravel and jumps as well as an electric mountain bike.

The brand even has a downhill race team, the Santa Cruz Syndicate. If you’re looking for a longer-travel bike, check out the V10 , Nomad , or Bullit .

• Year founded: 1993
• Headquarters: Santa Cruz, CA
• Company size: Unavailable
• Popular models: Hightower , 5010 , Tallboy

Check Price at Backcountry Check Price at Evo

Juliana exclusively sells high-quality women’s mountain bikes. The geometry of each model is developed by the brand’s sibling company, Santa Cruz . The brand was spearheaded and named after professional rider and Olympian Juliana Furtado.

For each build-out, the shocks are tailored to lightweight riders, and the frame sizes run down to XS. The bikes also have women-specific grips and saddles, which many leaders in the industry say is the most important piece to be anatomically designed. If you have a smaller stature and are looking for a comfortable mountain bike, give one of its six models a test ride.

• Year founded: 1999
• Popular models: Roubion , Furtado

Ibis Cycles

Ibis has been at the forefront of mountain bike design since the rise of the sport. Founder Scot Nicol dove into frame construction under the tutelage of pioneers Joe Breeze and Charlie Cunningham, which ultimately led to the company’s launch circa 1980.

Roxy Lo, one of the only female frame builders in the entire bike industry, works for Ibis too. The brand focuses on making a batch of well-crafted, tailored designs — it doesn’t try to please every type of rider. The carbon Mojo is one of its six full-suspension mountain bikes, and the Ripmo is a long-travel 29er, a match for enduro racers.

Bonus: Lo helped to design the Ripmo with frame sizes that can fit 5-foot-tall riders.

• Year founded: Late ’70s
• Company size: 127
• Popular models: Ripmo , Mojo

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GT Bicycles

Like several foundational companies in the mountain bike world, GT Bicycles started with BMX frames. The company was co-founded by Gary Turner, who spearheaded modern BMX bikes, and Richard Long. Today, GT Bicycles is a mega-company able to provide economic price tags across a myriad of bikes.

The brand launched the industry’s first-ever carbon gravel bike in 2015. Dubbed the Grade Carbon Pro , the bike was named Bike Radar’s 2020 Gravel Bike of the Year. The bike is as light as a road bike, has disc brakes, and features the brand’s triple triangle design.

The seat stays overlap the seat tube and top tube, and the stays are not bonded to the seat tube. The result? Efficiency and flex for a smooth ride on bumpy terrain. GT also offers full-suspension, hardtail, and electric mountain bikes.

• Year founded: 1972
• Headquarters: Santa Ana, CA
• Company size: 1,200
• Popular models: Grade Carbon Pro

Four decades ago, Trek Bikes entered the industry with touring bikes, and it has consistently delivered dependable models ever since. Today the brand has a reputation for entry-level hardtail mountain bikes made for handling easy, smoother trails. But Trek builds a variety of designs across nearly all price points.

The industry-leading brand delivers cross-country, full-suspension downhill, and electric mountain bike models as well as higher-end trail bikes and lightweight racing bikes. It provides a lifetime warranty on its frames.

If you’re not fixated on snagging a bike with groundbreaking innovation and simply looking for a dependable bike, check out Trek’s lineup.

Trek has an online bike-builder software that allows you to customize your dream bike from the ground up.

• Year founded: 1975
• Headquarters: Waterloo, WI
• Company size: 2,000
• Popular models: Marlin 5 , Roscoe 8

Diamondback

Back in the ’70s, Diamondback’s first bikes fed the BMX crowd. The brand evolved into a mountain bike company, and today its goal is to offer comfortable, approachable off-road bikes for newcomers.

The company launched a lineup of hardtail bikes with 1x drivetrain starting at $700: the Hook , Line , and Sync’R . The brand also builds high-end offerings like the Mission 1 Carbon ($4,000) and still aims to provide a modest price for the materials.

Diamondback offers road, gravel, fat, and e-bikes in addition to its all-mountain, trail, and hardtail mountain bikes.

• Year founded: 1977
• Headquarters: Kent, WA
• Popular models: Release 5C , Atroz 2

Check Price at Diamondback Check Price at Backcountry

Giant Bicycles

Giant is a mammoth-size company delivering a huge range of bicycle models at a moderate price point. In fact, Giant is the world’s largest bike manufacturer by revenue. Giant even manufactures bike frames for several other brands including Trek and Scott.

Founder King Liu started the company as a frame manufacturer and then launched Giant bicycles a decade later. After leading the company for 4 decades, Liu resigned as chairman in 2016 at 82 years old.

Giant’s designs include everything from a lightweight cross-country race bike to a long-suspension enduro bike. You can also find trail bikes and an electric mountain bike.

The brand’s most time-honored trail and all-mountain bike is the Trance, first introduced 15 years ago. If you’re looking for a dependable mountain bike at a lower price point and don’t need all the newest tech or aggressive frame engineering, Giant is a classic household choice.

• Headquarters: Taichung, Taiwan
• Company size: 11,000
• Popular models: Talon , XTC Advanced

Salsa Cycles

Delivering top-shelf gravel grinder, bikepacking, and fat bikes, Salsa Cycles has carved a niche for itself with adventure-focused rides. More recently, the brand has worked to develop trail-centric mountain bikes for a broader appeal.

Its bikes support the rider experience rather than aiming to be the lightest or speediest build. The Horsethief and Spearfish models both have space for two water bottle holders, a rarity on full-suspension trail bikes.

If you’re looking for an efficient hardtail or playful full suspension, check out Salsa.

• Year founded: 1994
• Headquarters: Bloomington, MN
• Company size : Unavailable
• Popular models: Horsethief , Warbird

Check Price at REI Check Price at Salsa Cycles

Pivot Cycles

Pivot has quickly grown a following as a detail-oriented brand, emphasizing technology and geometry. That translates into bikes that ride smoothly and efficiently — and have a higher price tag. Given the company was founded by top-dog mountain biker Chris Cocalis, the brand’s rise in popularity shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Its queue of bikes is led by trail and enduro bikes with ample travel for rocky, technical trails. You’ll also find models made for gravel, cross-country, and downhill as well as an e-bike.

• Year founded: 2007
• Headquarters: Tempe, AZ
• Company size: 97
• Popular models: Firebird , Mach 4 SL

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Yeti Cycles

Yeti’s M.O. is high-performance mountain bikes with a premium price tag. The lineup of seven models includes enduro builds, hence the support of Enduro World Series Champion Richie Rude.

Among its successes, Yeti created a unique rear suspension design that provides supreme support mid-stroke and effective pedaling power, dubbed the Switch Infinity, in 2014. We’ve tested several recent models with the technology, including the SB100 and SB130 , and they performed super well.

• Year founded: 1985
• Headquarters: Golden, CO
• Company size: 32
• Popular models: SB130 , SB150

Check Price at Backcountry Check Price at Jenson USA

Cannondale has been building mountain bikes since 1984. The brand isn’t as popular today as it was in its heyday, but still has a foothold in pushing new designs.

The brand recently developed one of the lightest full-suspension frames on the market: the carbon Scalpel SE . Historically, the company has been an innovator in using lightweight alloy to construct frames.

Its bikes typically incorporate steeper geometry than a trail or enduro bike, meaning the front tire is tucked under the headset for increased power transfer. It has steered away from the norm at times, like when it introduced an ultralight single-sided suspension fork, the Lefty Ocho , for cross-country racing.

In an effort to be more inclusive, the brand also requires its athlete pool to be comproed of an equal number of males and females.

• Year founded: 1971 (initially building the first-ever bicycle-towed trailer)
• Headquarters: Wilton, CT
• Company size: 207
• Popular models: Scalpel SE , Cujo 1

Check Price at REI Check Price at Cannondale

Liv Cycling

If you’re a woman looking for a bike specifically made for you, here’s a good starting point. The bike world is divided on gender-specific design, but Liv Cycling has made a huge stand.

The brand pioneers female-specific frames based on anatomical and physiological data. And each bike frame size has unique proportions to match that research. One of the biggest differences is that even for a taller woman, her torso is shorter than a man’s.

Liv, which was spearheaded by Giant CFO Bonnie Tu, also offers gear and apparel for women and employs an entirely female team.

The brand recently debuted the Pique Advanced 29er with XS and small frames, a challenging combo and rare in a lineup. The bike received a nod from the 2020 Bicycling Bike Awards.

• Company size: 200
• Popular models: Pique Advanced Pro 29

Revel Bikes

At age 11, Revel Bikes founder Adam Miller started swooping bikes at garage sales and deconstructing them to sell parts or build his own bicycles. His obsession with bikes never waned. He started Borealis Fat Bikes — introducing the industry’s first-ever carbon fiber model — while racing collegiately.

Then he debuted Why Cycles hardtail gravel and road bikes before starting Revel. The back-to-back momentum fared well.

Right away, the company received accolades for the Revel Rascal 29er , which was named Outside Magazine’s Best Mountain Bike of 2020. The bike features a patented suspension system called the Canfield Balance Formula (CBF) that remains unlocked and neutralizes the rider in variable terrain.

The result is a super comfortable ride across a wide variety of conditions. Beyond Canfield Bikes, Revel is the only company with a license to use the technology.

Revel also cares about sustainability. It’s no secret the manufacturing process for carbon fiber, an important material used to build bicycles, is extremely toxic to the environment and human health. To combat carbon fiber waste, which is not biodegradable and largely ends up in landfills, Revel also made a leap by developing wheels with recyclable carbon.

• Year founded: 2019
• Headquarters: Carbondale, CO
• Company size: 11
• Popular models: Rascal 29er

Check Price at Evo Check Price at Revel Bikes

Guerrilla Gravity

Guerrilla Gravity is one of the nation’s only bike brands with localized manufacturing — the team constructs all bike parts in-house. It’s able to lower the company’s overall carbon footprint by reducing steps in the supply chain. It’s also more nimble and can reduce inventory, reducing waste while increasing overall quality control.

A big goal with this brand is to help slow down consumerism by providing rider customization so the bike can grow with you versus being replaced. Enter the Modular Frame Platform . Each bike has a universal front triangle, seat stay that can be switched out, and adjustable reach and wheelbase.

The brand is also tackling dirty carbon waste through a patented manufacturing process called Revved Carbon Technology (RCT) : an eco-friendly carbon fiber blend that’s recyclable and 300% more impact-resistant than traditional carbon.

• Year founded : 2011
• Headquarters: Denver, CO
• Company size: 50
• Popular models: Trail Pistol , Gnarvana

Check Price at Guerrilla Gravity

How to Buy a Mountain Bike

The No. 1 thing to consider when you start looking to buy a mountain bike is what terrain you’ll ride in most of the time. Where you ride will inform the type of bike that you need.

If you’re dabbling on easy, packed trails and commuting, you might do well with a hybrid bike. Gravel bikes are good for pedaling gravel roads, and touring bikes support long bikepacking trips.

Types of Mountain Bikes

These are general guidelines for the bike frame and suspension to help you consider the type of bike you need where you ride:

Cross-Country

• Smoother singletrack
• Low technicality
• 80-120mm suspension
• 69-degree (or more) head-tube angle
• Uphill and downhill beginner singletrack, dirt roads
• Some roots, small drops
• 120-150mm suspension
• 66- to 68-degree head-tube angle

All-Mountain, Enduro

• Singletrack with uphill and downhill terrain
• Supports technical terrain like rocks and moderate landings
• 140-180mm suspension
• 65- to 67-degree head-tube angle
• Descents on steep trails and riding bike parks
• Supports hitting jumps, sizable drops
• 170-250mm suspension
• Less than 65-degree head-tube angle

Electric Mountain Bike

• Includes electric assistance to amplify pedal power
• Allowed on designated trails only

After you choose the type of bike you’d like, determine your budget. Prices widely vary based on a bike’s specific features, including the frame material, brakes, wheels, seat, dropper seatpost, and suspension package. You can also swap out components and accessories for higher-grade options down the road.

Consider your preferred tire width and wheel diameter, which are generally 27.5 or 29 inches. Tire width for mountain bikes ranges from about 2.3 to 2.5 inches. A larger wheel can feel more stable and has more surface contact and traction that easily rolls over rocks, roots, obstacles, choppy ground, and snow. It’s also heavier.

A smaller wheel is lighter and better for higher speeds on smoother trails. It provides great maneuverability. Some shorter riders feel more comfortable closer to the ground and opt for a 27.5-inch wheel. Ultimately, the choice in wheel diameter and tire width hinges on personal preference.

It’s a stellar idea to research bikes a bit, and then head to your local bike shop and demo a few models. Some shops even offer a demo-to-buy program.

The Best Mountain Bikes of 2022

From hardtails to all-mountain rides, we found the best mountain bikes for every riding style and budget. Read more…

The Best Mountain Bike Helmets of 2022

Our experts put the best mountain bike helmets of 2022 to the test. Whether you need a budget pick or overall winner, we've got you covered. Read more…

Based among the awe-inspiring peaks of Crested Butte, Colorado, Morgan Tilton is a Senior Editor for GearJunkie honing the SnowSports Buyer’s Guides alongside warmer coverage. More broadly, she’s an adventure journalist specializing in outdoor industry news and adventure travel stories, which she’s produced for more than a decade and more than 80 publications to date. A recipient of 14 North American Travel Journalists Association awards, when she’s not recovering from high alpine or jungle expeditions she’s usually trail running, mountain biking, or splitboarding in Southwest Colorado, where she grew up and lives today. From resort to backcountry and human-powered to motorized travel, she loves sliding across snow.

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Where Are Trek Bikes Made? 2024 Overview

As the largest bicycle company in the United States, Trek manufactures nearly 50 percent of all the bikes sold in the USA. They make all styles of bikes, including mountain bikes, road bikes, professional-grade bikes, and bikes for kids. Understanding the scale of its operations, you may wonder where they make Trek bikes and if they produce them in the United States.

In the rest of this guide, we’ll explain exactly where Trek bikes are made and other interesting information about the company.

Trek bikes are made in China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and other countries. Trek Bikes are no longer fully produced in the USA; however, they do assemble some of their bikes in the United States.

Which Trek Bikes Are Made in the USA?

Despite having an awesome American legacy, less than 1 percent of all Trek Bikes today comes from the United States. In 2014, they made somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 bikes in the US , but in 2013, they made around 50,000. We have continued to see a steady decline in the number of bikes that they make in the United States. Let’s have a look at the bikes made in the US:

• Madone 6 series
• Trek Madone 5.2
• Trek Emonda SLR 8
• Project ONE

Even these bikes, we would exercise caution in thinking that they fully make them in the United States because we get the feeling that they only assemble them here. Every bike that they make in the US will come from its sole factory in Waterloo, and it will have a label on it that says, “Handbuilt in the USA.”

Unfortunately, due to the lack of manufacturing that this company now does in the US, you have reason to exercise caution. For example, they say that only the red and white bike frames for the Trek Madone 5.2 were made in the USA.

Made in Waterloo

At the manufacturing facility in Waterloo, Wisconsin, they continue to build Trek bikes, but we would advise caution about believing in this too much. Unfortunately, we believe it is quite little in comparison to the past.

Believe it or not, like many American-made companies, Trek started from humble beginnings in a big red barn. They chose an operation that sat in the middle between Madison and Milwaukee. One of the funny things about this company comes from how they will occasionally put the face of their employees on coffee mugs as they did with their road bike manager .

When you buy the more quality Trek bikes, that would show you where you get the American-made bikes from Trek. For example, look for custom-built bikes as well to receive the ones made in Waterloo.

Some of the things that they do at the factory in Waterloo include sanding, bonding, and painting bicycle frames. They also assemble the chains and tires on the bicycles. Many of their US-made bikes will consist of carbon fiber since these are more high-end materials.

All of the carbon fiber frames come from Hexcel, a company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, so as long as you buy a carbon fiber framed bike, you will have an American-made frame. Hexcel has provided its services to Trek for over 25 years.

Along with the original factory in Waterloo, Trek also has its headquarters in Waterloo, where they hire 1,000 employees. Anyone interested in the history of this brand may want to tour its headquarters in Waterloo. You can learn more about their visitor tours here , where you will learn about their history.

Here is a cool video showing just how passionate Trek is about their bikes.

Why Did Trek Bikes Stop Making in the US?

We saw the manufacturing numbers halve from 2013 to 2014. It dropped from 50,000 bikes per year down to 25,000. Today, only around 10,000 Trek bikes get produced in the United States. Once upon a time, all Treks came from the United States, but you can’t say that anymore.

Trek first began building its bikes in 1976, but over the years, as the bicycle industry has outsourced its manufacturing more and more, we saw Trek do the same.

The increased labor costs and lower profit margins meant that they sent the jobs overseas to stay competitive with other companies. We do like that this brand appears to have held out longer than most. The first bicycle brand to start manufacturing overseas was Schwinn in the 1980s, and we saw a gradual slide from there where all the other companies followed.

Gradual Decline in US Manufacturing

Instead of an instant halt to production at Trek, we have seen a slow and gradual decay of its US manufacturing. Trek continues to this slow decline, and we don’t know where it will end and if all bikes will eventually be made overseas.

In either 1994 or 1995, we started to see them making most of their welded frames, such as the aluminum frames in Taiwan. The only exception to this was their tandem bikes. We believe that the real transition started in 2007 to 2008 because this was when their bikes stopped showing the “Made in X” stickers. Still, we think they held out longer than some of the other biking companies.

Be Careful About “Made in the USA” with Bikes

Don’t be taken in at the first sight of “Made in the USA.” Now, we’re not necessarily talking about Trek Bikes but the biking industry in general. Many times, they made put “Made in the USA,” but if you look closer, you will see the fine print that says, “Frame designed in the USA.”

Another trick that companies will sometimes use is to import the frame unpainted, and once they have painted them, they can claim that they were made there. Every country will have different laws on what is and is not acceptable for things like this.

One of the recent tricks that they use is to say, “Manufactured in America,” which means the same thing as “Assembled in the USA with Domestic and Foreign Parts.” You want to stay hip to the games that companies will play if you want a true American-made product, rather than some company padding its pockets of well-intentioned patriots—it’s more unacceptable than stating the true origin upfront, in our opinion.

Popular Related Article: What Air Compressors Are Made in the USA?

Made in the USA – Getting the Custom Bike Experience

Custom-made Trek bikes offer a one-of-a-kind bicycle that differs from all the rest. You have two options, but both of them involve American made bikes. First, you can head to the headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, to meet the individuals who brought your bike idea to life. Before that, you order it from your local Trek retailer.

Upon buying a custom bike in this way, you receive the VIP tour of the Trek headquarters and have a look at the design and manufacturing of your bicycle. You take a group lunch ride with the employees, which has become a personalized and favored experience unlike anything the competition offers. The Trek Race Shop will also provide you with tips on how to race better.

For the second custom-made option, you order the bike from the factory by visiting it onsite to discuss how you would like it built. After you order it, they will ship it to your retailer for pickup. You receive a personal design and spec consultation with this choice and a factory tour. In many ways, they’re kind of the same, but the second option offers you one-on-one support when ordering. Whatever option you choose, they will handle assembling the bike, but they don’t do this with a mass assembly line.

Here is a cool video showing custom Trek bikes being made:

Touring the Factory in Waterloo

You don’t necessarily need to buy a custom-built bike to tour the factory in Waterloo. You can schedule a tour on Wednesdays if interested in better understanding what they do at the facility there. For example, you will learn how they don’t manufacture the frame at that location, but you see the painting booths, the wheel manufacturing, and the design area.

The tour doesn’t cost anything, and the guides are incredibly knowledgeable about the facility and willing to answer questions. You will see every phase of the bike manufacturing process that they control in Waterloo. It’s also a fascinating way to learn the history of Trek and how it began. We wouldn’t recommend taking this tour in groups larger than 12 since it can be difficult to move around.

Made in Taiwan

In the last couple of decades, Taichung, Taiwan, has exploded into the bicycle manufacturing scene. The whole of Taiwan has become a major producer of bikes, including Trek Bikes, usually through Giant, a biking company that produces parts for most bicycle brands. Giant has the world’s largest bike manufacturing facility in Taichung.

Trek does its manufacturing in Taichung. Many would award this city with the title, “Bike manufacturing capital of the world.”

Let’s have a look at what Trek Bikes does in Taichung. At this factory, under the label Giant, they produce one million bikes, and in total, they produce 6.3 million every year at all nine of their factories. This shows you the deplorable state of US manufacturing, where they only now produce an estimated 10,000 bikes per year.

We would say that Taiwan and China produce lower-tier to mid-tier bikes. Giant produces more of their low-level bikes in China. We did hear that Giant shuttered a factory in China in 2019 due to the 25 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. The production rate in Taiwan doubled as soon as this happened.

Giant went on to blame former President Donald Trump—as if everyone should be outraged about a Chinese factory closing—since it was no longer profitable to produce the bikes in China. While there are plenty of legitimate reasons that someone could pick a bone with any US president, the only people upset about a Chinese factory closing down are the ones profiting off it.

Since the late 1980s, Giant has produced bikes for Trek as it has for many other biking companies, and today, they build many of the Trek bikes. Follow where Giant produces its bikes, and you will often find that they make Trek bikes there. Despite some of the negative connotations about foreign manufacturing, we wouldn’t necessarily say that bikes made in Taiwan would be the worst thing ever. You have many specialists here that understand how to build a quality bicycle. While it may not be American-made, it does have its advantages.

Made in China: Trek Bikes

All of the big bicycle brands have a manufacturing presence in either China or Taiwan—Trek manufactures in both. The lower-end Treks will often come from China since it costs less to produce them here, and they use lower-quality materials. Some of the locations where we believe that they manufacture Trek in China include:

• Jiangsu, China
• Guangdong, China
• Heibei, China
• Zheijiang, China

Most of the Trek bikes come from Taiwan, not China, but you still have some that come from this country. In the past, they produced more in China, but because of US tariffs, they now produce bikes in Taiwan. They have six factories in China where they produce bikes .

Trek Bikes does have a manufacturing presence in China, but they don’t make all of their bikes there.

Most of the Components are Made in China or Taiwan

Trek commonly produce the components for their bikes in countries like China or Taiwan. Even if you have a bike that says, “Made in the USA,” we would advise caution on thinking of it as fully American-made since that rarely happens with this brand anymore. The only exception to this would be their carbon frame bicycles, but many of the components will come from China and Taiwan.

Trek Bikes Go to Cambodia

In 2018, Trek Bikes announced plans to move the production of 200,000 of its bicycles from China over to Cambodia. We believe this decision came at the heels of the US tariffs against China. Many of the bikes with aluminum frames now come from Cambodia. They make them at the A&J Factory, which first opened in 2006. This is, in fact, a Taiwanese-owned factory.

Along with Trek Bikes, they make Kona, Norco, and Kent there as well. The choice to move production from China marked a deliberate action to take production from Giant in China and put it elsewhere due to the Trade War.

This is a 500,000-square-foot facility in Cambodia, and it sits near the nation’s capital of Phnom Penh. We found this an interesting choice because most bike manufacturing in the country happens closer to Vietnam in the north.

Behind Taiwan and China, Cambodia remains a popular manufacturing spot for bikes, but it struggles with the infrastructure. Because of that, many of the components must be imported to build them. That could be one of the reasons that we don’t see more manufacturing of bikes here.

Like with China, you can expect more entry-level and lower-priced Trek bikes to come from here. The one issue that has come up often with manufacturing in Cambodia comes from its poor treatment of factory workers.

Trek Bikes and Manufacturing in Germany

When we say that Trek makes its bikes in Germany, we mean their subsidiary Diamont Bicycles, a German brand of bikes. Trek first acquired the brand in 2002, and they make a stylish city bicycle. The brand has a history in Germany that goes back to the late 19th century. They manufacture in Hartsmanndorf, Germany, where they employ an estimated 250 workers.

Unfortunately, like with the US, we have seen Trek gradually lower the amount of production in Germany. They once employed 600 workers, but they now only employ 250 in the country.

The facility in Hartsmanndorf shows you the only directly owned factory under the Trek Bikes label. All of the other manufacturing comes from third-party factories like Giant. Diamont gives you an example of one of the oldest bike manufacturers in Germany. The factory does appear to have a decent output of 150,000 bikes.

Made in Hungary

Along with its manufacturing switch to Cambodia, Giant, Trek Bikes’s manufacturer, announced plans in 2018 to switch over to Gyongos, Hungary. This decision came during the US Trade War with China, and they lobbed high tariffs on goods. Giant has said that it will construct a $72 million facility with the aim of better serving the European market and reducing its dependence on Chinese manufacturing.

The choice to manufacture nearby will reduce the cost of taxes and transport. Building the new factory in Hungary will allow them to produce one million more bikes next to its market.

Are Trek Bikes Made in India?

While Trek does sell its bikes to the Indian market, they do not produce bicycles in the country. They have also said that they have no plans to produce in India. It first entered the market there in 2018, and they have said that they plan to sell to over 125 cities in India.

Favoring Countries with Cheap Labor

Unfortunately, we don’t see Trek Bikes bringing back manufacturing to the United States any time soon because it appears to favor the countries with cheap labor the most. For example, China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Hungary pay lower wages than countries like the USA or Germany.

We were even surprised that they have kept as much manufacturing in Germany as they have because outsourcing to countries with cheaper labor appears to be the norm. We believe that even their manufacturing in Germany could change with Hungary 494 miles away.

For those who want American-made products, as Americans, we can only blame ourselves that the manufacturing has gone to places like this because of how we often go for the cheaper products despite them being made elsewhere. If we want American manufacturing to return, we must make it clear that we support American-made products rather than those made in other countries. Your money is a vote for American manufacturing.

Considering how Trek Bikes receives 60 percent of its business from the United States, we think that they should do a lot more manufacturing in the United States, but we can only fairly ask that of them by supporting the American-made bikes that they produce.

What Trek Does Do in the US

While they don’t have a great record of manufacturing in the US, especially in the last decade, we wouldn’t write them off completely. The brand hires American workers for its engineering, testing, and design. We respect that the brand has at least kept that much in the United States over choosing to send it elsewhere.

Don’t See a Barn, See Something Bigger

Trek has a saying at their factory in Waterloo that we find inspiring. The American heritage of this company has separated it from the other choices because it all started in something so humble as a big red barn and grew from there. Over time, the company expanded to become a billion-dollar business that has a presence around the world. Trek has since outgrown the barn that it started in, but the founding principles of “Don’t see a barn, see something bigger” have always guided the mission of the brand.

Conclusion:

That does it for this guide, if you have further questions about where Trek bikes are made or if you know any information we should add to this guide, let us know in the comments below. Like some of the other brands in the biking industry, Trek doesn’t do much production in the United States, but they do have a history in the United States. You can still buy bikes from Trek that were made in the United States, but we would advise heavy research in advance to make sure that you bought one made here. Beware as well of how a higher cost on the bikes doesn’t always mean that they made them in the United States.

Hi, my name is Kevin and I’m from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Choosing products made in America is important to me because it supports local economies, creates jobs, helps the environment, and ensures ethical labor practices. I also find that American made products are usually of higher quality so although they’re a little more expensive, you save money in the long run. Before starting this website I was in the USMC infantry and nowadays I work on this website as a hobby.

2 thoughts on “Where Are Trek Bikes Made? 2024 Overview”

I’ve been looking for an American made bike but can’t seem to find any that meet my needs. What would you recommend for someone who is an intermediate mountain biker?

Hey Matt, there are a lot of good alternatives to Trek. We have a full article on bikes and there are plenty of mountain bikes on that list that would be suitable for an intermediate lever rider. After checking it out if you have any questions just let me know.

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Are Trek Bikes Good Quality? (Must Read Before Buying)

Have you ever asked yourself or your friend if Trek bikes are good or Trek bikes worth the money? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.

For more than 30 years now, Trek bicycles have had an almost legendary reputation in the cycling world.

Particularly well known for their mountain bikes, their road and racing bikes, and (more recently) there hybrid electric bicycles, you know that when you get your hands on a Trek bicycle you’re getting something really special.

At the same time, there isn’t a bicycle brand on the planet that doesn’t promise the moon and the stars about the caliber and quality of the bicycles they put out.

More bicycle options are available today their maybe ever before, with new brands popping up left and right. Trying to find the right bicycle – especially when you’re looking to spend a decent amount of money on something of real quality – is a lot harder today than it used to be.

But that’s why we have put together this detailed guide.

By the time you’re done with the inside information below you’ll know whether or not Trek bicycles are worth their premium price tag and what makes them so special.

Let’s dive right in!

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Table of Contents

Quick History of Trek Bikes

The history of Trek Bikes as a company is similar to a lot of other amazing American businesses that began in the 1970s.

Cooked up in 1976 by close friends Bevill Hogg and Dick Burke while drinking beer at a favorite bar in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, the two company cofounders fondly remember the moment that they came upon the new name for their budding company.

A few weeks after that they opened up shop in a barn situated between Madison and Milwaukee, and almost immediately hired on five employees (plus themselves) to start making amazing bikes with rock solid steel frames.

The company moved its headquarters to Waterloo, Wisconsin along the line but this early history and renegade founding of the company cemented its DNA.

The company has always been about forging a path forward with a lot of fun and a lot of freedom and they’ve never forgotten about the steel frame backbone that runs through each and every one of their bikes, too.

Today, Trek is considered one of the most wildly successful small business stories in America.

This company produces some of the very best bicycles made anywhere on the planet and while it has a true global reach (with customers all over the world) it still maintains its hyper local focus, it’s small-town and small business DNA, and a commitment to excellence rather than pure bottom line profits.

Related reading: Where Are Surly Bikes Made? What You Need To Know

Some of the manufacturing of Trek bicycles as moved overseas ( with the exception of the top-of-the-line Trek carbon fiber frames that are 100% made in the USA ), but all designing, engineering, and assembly happens in America still today.

Are Trek Bikes Any Good?

To put it bluntly, Trek bicycles are anything but budget focused options which is why so many people want to know whether or not they are worthwhile in the first place.

We can tell you that Trek bicycles are unequivocally considered to be some of the very best bicycles money can buy , regardless of whether or not you are getting your hands on a mountain bike, road or race bike, or one of the electric hybrid bikes that Trek is putting out now.

Sure, these bicycles command a pretty penny (especially if you bump up to those carbon fiber frames we mentioned a moment ago).

But a lot of that has to do with the “special sauce” of Trek bicycles that remains a big part of the company’s success, a focus on producing only the best and highest performing bicycles money can buy.

If you’ve got the budget for a Trek bicycle you’ll never regret the purchase.

Incredibly well-designed, impeccably manufactured, and fined tuned straight from the factory and the assembly floor, there’s really nothing quite as capable “right out of the box” in the cycling world as a Trek bicycle.

Related reading: Is Specialized Overpriced? (FACTS You Should Consider)

What are the key features and specifications of each electric bike model mentioned in their page?

various electric bike models are described, each catering to different purposes and preferences. Here is a summary of the key features and specifications of each model:

1. **Trek Domane+** – Best for: Electric road – Wheel size: 700x32c (fits up to 38c) – Features: 250Wh battery, Fazua Evation Motor, rear IsoSpeed decoupler – Description: A top-notch road bike with an extra boost designed to get you to your destination faster.

2. **Trek Powerfly** – Best for: Trail – Wheel size: 29 or 27.5 inch – Travel: 120mm fork – Description: A versatile e-mountain bike with a powerful motor and battery, perfect for multiple laps around the trails.

3. **Trek Rail** – Best for: Enduro – Wheel size: 29ers – Travel: 150mm shock / 170mm fork – Features: Removable integrated battery system – Description: A long-travel trail mountain bike that excels in both descending and ascending, equipped with advanced technology and a powerful battery system.

4. **Trek E-Caliber** – Best for: XC – Wheel size: 29ers – Travel: 60mm shock / 120mm fork – Description: Ideal for long-distance cross country adventures, offering speed, suspension, and power for epic rides.

5. **Trek Verve+** – Best for: Electric city – Wheel size: 700x50c – Features: 9-speed Shimano drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, suspension seatpost – Description: An ultra-comfortable and intuitive e-commuter bike for city riding, available in two different styles.

6. **Trek Allant+** – Best for: Electric city – Wheel size: 27.5×2.4″ – Features: Built-in lights, rear rack and fenders, up to 80-mile range – Description: A versatile electric city bike designed for urban commuting, offering convenience, range, and practical features for everyday use.

Are there specific recommendations for kids’ bikes by Trek and what are the features and sizes available for those models?

Trek offers a range of kids’ bikes designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable introduction to cycling for children. Some of the recommended models include the Precaliber, a bike that allows kids to learn and grow their biking skills with four different wheel sizes available.

For younger children, the balance bike is a lightweight option that aids in teaching and learning balance. The Kickster is another choice, designed to build confidence on a bike with its simplicity and practicality. The Wahoo model is versatile and easy to use on different surfaces, catering to kids exploring further on their bikes.

Additionally, the mid-fat mountain bike is perfect for building confidence, skills, and adding more fun to trail riding experiences. These varied models cater to different age groups and skill levels, ensuring there’s a suitable option for every child’s cycling journey.

What are the size options available for Trek bikes and how can one determine the right size based on the size charts provided in the passage?

The size options available for Trek bikes encompass a variety of models, each tailored to different types of riders. Trek provides Mountain Bike, Road Bike, Hybrid Bike, and Kids Bike size charts to assist customers in determining the right fit for their needs.

For Mountain Bikes, sizes range from XS to XXL, with corresponding rider height specifications provided in the size chart. Road Bikes come in sizes from 47 to 62, while Hybrid Bikes offer sizes from XS to XXL. The Kids Bike selection includes wheel sizes of 12″ to 26″ Youth/XS, catering to riders ranging from 2’9″ to 5’2″ in height.

To determine the appropriate size for a Trek bike, individuals can refer to the respective size chart that aligns with their intended bike category. By matching their height to the corresponding rider height range provided in the size chart, customers can confidently select a Trek bike size that offers optimal comfort and performance.

Exploring the size charts below is the key to finding the perfect size Trek bike for a personalized and enjoyable riding experience.

Which Trek mountain bike models are available for different types of riding such as XC racing, trail, enduro, and more?

Detailed information about the various Trek mountain bike models designed for different types of riding, including XC racing, trail riding, enduro, and more.

Trek’s range of electric bikes caters to a diverse group of riders and cycling needs, ensuring that these e-bikes enhance your cycling experiences and provide the necessary support for any terrain or adventure.

The available models encompass Trek Electric Road Bikes, among others.

What Makes Trek Bikes So Special?

In the early days, the focus on only super high quality (yet ridiculously lightweight) tubular steel frames gave Trek a distinct advantage compared to the competition.

In the middle 1970s (right on through to the early 1990s, really) there just weren’t a lot of companies making high-quality tubular steel framed bicycles capable of going pretty much anywhere imaginable off-road.

Company started to catch on to the things that Trek was doing well around 2000 and that’s when high-end cycling really started to see a new wave of top-flight options.

It was about here that Trek started to pivot towards carbon fiber frames, embracing this (still at the time) incredibly expensive material that dropped even more weight than a tubular steel frame while offering almost the same strength benefits.

At the same time, Trek started to fool around with other technological advances like their patented IsoSpeed decouplers.

This proprietary technology is featured at the front and the back of most Trek bicycles, with the front unit working to dampen impacts and allowing a little more steer tube flex than what would have been possible with a standard upper headset cup.

The rear unit provides a little more vertical seat tube deflection for improved comfort while riding on rough and rocky terrain.

This immediately translates into better handling and more control, too.

Recently Trek has also been playing around with internal storage compartments hidden throughout a lot of their road and mountain bikes.

Many of these “popout” compartments are engineered specifically to offer on and off road racers access to tools they need to make quick fixes, adjustments, or repairs on the go.

All of this is made possible without adding a lot of extra weight to the bicycles or throwing off the otherwise aerodynamically (near) perfect frames themselves.

Related reading: How Much Weight Can a Bike Rack Hold? [Real FACTS]

The last thing we want to touch on that Trek does a little differently than everyone else is an approach that breaks down the barriers between men’s and women’s bikes specifically.

Trek has in the last 10 years began to move completely away from separating their bike options into men’s bikes and women’s bikes and instead have aims to create “bikes for everyone”.

Unisex sizing options have helped to streamline operations for sure, but this approach has also compelled their designers and engineers to find smarter ways to build great bikes for everyone – bikes that fit your body in the type of riding you are going to do as opposed to your gender alone.

Read also: Are Touring Bikes Fast? (The TRUTH)

This feels like a seachange and radical shift in the high-end bicycle world but it’s one that more and more companies are getting ready to embrace because of how well it’s worked out for Trek.

What Kind of Bikes Does Trek Build?

As we mentioned earlier, Trek offers a variety of different bikes in a number of different configurations, shapes, and sizes.

You’ll never have to worry about struggling to find a Trek bike built for you in the kind of cycling you are interested in.

Mountain Bikes

Mountain bikes have always been the “bread and butter” of the Trek product range.

Certainly the main focus of the Trek company when it was first created (and still today), Trek currently offers more than a dozen different models of mountain bike to pick and choose from – all available in unisex sizing – for beginners, novices, and professional cyclists alike.

Road and Race Bikes

Trek also has a full range of road and race bikes to pick and choose from, all featuring a lot of that iconic Trek DNA that has made their mountain bikes so spectacular.

These bikes are (obviously) a little slimmer, little stiffer, and not as well optimized for taking off-road – but once you get them on a stretch of pavement they show exactly why they are so beloved by amateurs and serious professionals alike.

Super lightweight, superstrong, and eminently capable, a lot of the high-end carbon fiber frames made by Trek are designed with road and race cycling in mind.

Electric/Hybrid Bikes

Relatively recently Trek started to rollout a brand-new lineup of electric and hybrid bicycles, commuter style bicycles that are fun, look aggressive, and our super comfortable to pilot on city streets, suburban sidewalks, and country roads alike.

Not a dedicated electric or hybrid icicle company by any stretch of the imagination that these Trek options feel like Trek bikes that feature electric or hybrid components more than anything else.

Stylish, fun, and (relatively) affordable these are well worth a closer look for sure.

TREK Bikes and why I’d never buy one >> Check out the video below:

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, if you’re worried about the premium price tag that Trek bicycles have attached to them you certainly aren’t alone.

These are not the kinds of bicycles you’ll find filling out a bicycle rack somewhere in the sporting goods section of a local department store. They are also not (usually) the kinds of bicycles you’ll find at a secondhand or consignment shop in your community, either.

No, these bikes are precision engineered pieces of technology that are unanimously considered to be right up there with the top options in the cycling world anywhere on the planet.

Sure, you usually have to spend a pretty penny to get your hands on a Trek bike – but everyone that owns one agrees they are worth every cent. Combine that with legendary craftsmanship and engineering (as well as customer support) that guarantees they will work well for decades to come and getting a Trek is a no-brainer if you really want something special.

Are Trek bikes really any good?

You bet they are!

https://electricbikereview.com/brand/trek/

https://www.trekbikes.com

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John Muranko

John is Founder and Senior Bike Editor at ProBikeCorner. John is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 17+ countries and doesn't really have any plans of stopping. He´s passionate about helping others by creating technical resources, in-depth reviews and more…

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Are Trek Bikes Worth It? (BRAND ANALYSIS)

By Kevin Glenton

Updated Sep 29, 2023

This post may contain affiliate links, which help to keep Discerning Cyclist rolling. Learn more .

Choosing which bicycle brand you wish to follow, if any, will come down to a number of personal choices and factors. Heritage, lifestyle, impact on society, ethics, values, environmental and economic factors are part of the decision-making process in signing on to any company’s goods or services.

Bicycles are a consumer product and manufacturers compete for your attention and cash. They have proven to be capable of fulfilling many needs from essential means of transportation, through to a commuting tool, leisure vehicle and source of sporting competition.

With such a wide range of uses and budgets working from a wonderfully simple design process, manufacturers need to create and furnish values and meanings to distinguish one from another.

This is especially true as many of the component parts are made by third-party providers. The bicycle manufacturer can partner with these companies who are brands in their own right.

PICTURED: Bicycle Anatomy 101 Mug (Limited Edition)

Not Sure What Bike You Need?

Trek is a bicycle manufacturer which has been active since 1976. They are a family-owned business from the USA who started out from a small red barn, producing 900 machines in their first year. That barn is still around, just along from their HQ.

They have had revenues reported to exceed over $1 billion per annum from sales of over a million machines and are established as a global cycling brand with main dealerships, authorised repairers and licensed outlets across the world. 

The company offers a huge range of different styles of bicycle and were early adopters of the e-bike model too. They are focused on always thinking about the next phase of their development. They offer clothing, helmets, lighting, accessories, mudguards / fenders, all through their in-house ranges.

We’ll have a little look into the journey the Trek brand has taken, some of the ups and downs and examine some of the values, qualities, messages and principles it brings to the production and sale of its bicycles in particular.

Is Trek a Good Bike Brand?

The aspects of a brand are what sets it apart from others. They provide stability, foundation and direction. Trek focuses on maintaining quality, they make their employees feel critical to the business and reward them with bonuses and incentives. Brand values help workers put in longer hours. 

A rewarded and well-compensated workforce makes fewer compromises. More of their products meet the high standards demanded from the brand. Their retail stores contain happier people to greet you. They feel invested in the company.

Once you have happy employees, you get more ideas about products, more of the right decisions are made and more people get on board with them and time and effort are saved in the production. Trek spends time caring about its employees. 

According to US business magazines, its minimum wage is above the usual amount in the USA and they have regular ‘pulse’ surveys to check in with teams. There are deliveries of gift boxes and packages to employees.

The company feels that this reflects back into the pride and love that each employee has for the finished products that are designed and made. Customers feel happy and cared about too.

As a global company, Trek needs to ensure that its responsibilities and concerns are in sync with the world around them. The company has taken steps to deliver good messages around the world although there have been rocky roads it has needed to negotiate through as well.

Trek provided the bicycles for Lance Armstrong at times when he was winning the Tour de France. No doubt they saw increased demand during his moments of victory. The fallen hero saw his personal brand take a blow in subsequent years and it is likely that the company had to rebuild its reputation too.

During a time of heightened civil-rights tensions in the US, the company responded to scenes of their bicycles being used by police to control crowds of demonstrators. 

It made a commitment to creating jobs and investing in training and scholarship programmes and funding in underserved areas of the community. It also granted employees paid time off to volunteer in non-profit areas designed to build local communities.

The company has invested over the years in technology to help with the design of frames, geometry, suspension and components too.

They have acquired companies over the years and utilised the expertise and knowledge of similarly motivated pioneers like their own founders.

Gary Fisher and Keith Bontrager are two such radicals who lit up the early mountain biking scene in the USA whose companies have and now sit under the Trek umbrella.

Who Owns Trek Bike Company?

All research done indicates that it is Intrepid Corporation. When Trek was established, an investment of start-up money came via them. The key decisions and passions stem from the co-founders, Richard Burke and Bevill Hogg. Members of the Burke family hold senior positions today.

Are Trek Bikes British?

Trek is a US company which distributes its bicycles, components and accessories all over the world. It has offices across the globe including in the United Kingdom. 

Are Trek Bikes Made by Giant?

Design and manufacture are separate elements of the process and we know that components often come from other parties. Trek designs its own bicycles and some components. Like other manufacturers, frames can be supplied from factories around the world and some of those produce frames for Giant.

Where Are Trek Bikes Manufactured?

Although Trek’s headquarters are based in Wisconsin, USA, their components and bikes are manufactured across the world, primarily in the Netherlands, China, Taiwan and Germany.

Are Trek Bikes Expensive?

Entry-level adult bikes from Trek start at £475 ($500) but can reach as high as £13,600 ($13,549) for premium models. Of the 329 bikes available to buy on Trek’s website, the average price of a Trek bike was £4414.80 ($5840), while the median price was £3,600 ($4,762).

Trek bicycles are more expensive than those you might purchase from bicycle supermarkets and less so than handmade machines designed and manufactured in Italian artisan workshops.

Why is Trek So Expensive?

It is a fact of commercial life that sometimes the best brands have a price tag attached to the values they highlight.

Rather than specialising in niche areas, Trek offers machines for all riders. This costs more than putting all your eggs in one basket. It invests in quality materials, new technologies and design methods. It runs hundreds of retail outlets around the world. Research and marketing come at a price.

Their trust in the products is the catalyst for their lifetime warranty on newer frame sets (frame and rigid fork), main frame and full suspension swing arms for the lifetime of the original owner and for their in house carbon wheels with carbon rims. Manufacturers have introduced part-carbon, part-alloy wheels so the distinction is necessary.

Clothing, parts and accessories, rear suspension linkage components, including bearings, rocker link and accompanying hardware and components, Bontrager wheels with alloy rims and paint and transfers have a two-year warranty package. Some of their kit made before 2019 also benefits from a warranty package.

They have aftercare for carbon materials and their customer service also supports good relationships and a culture of listening to you when you bring your bicycle in. 

Trek Bikes: Cheapest vs Most Expensive Model

Are trek bikes overpriced.

Trek bicycles are trusted and well thought of in their own country and worldwide. Negative views tend to be limited to brand decisions or sales decisions unrelated to manufacture or design. There are so many competitors to take sales away from Trek but this does not seem to affect them.

Their lowest full-price bicycle for Discerning Cyclists is the 2021 FX 1 Disc Hybrid bike , which retails for £475 ($500). The disc brakes inspire more confidence, it has internal cable routing for cleanliness and reduces the risk of damage.

The Trek Alpha Aluminum frame it uses is regularly reviewed and updated for strength and as an entry-level bicycle offers full mudguard / fender and rack compatibility,

Do Trek Bikes Keep Their Value?

With a good level of support via the warranty scheme which extends to secondary owners and a brand-leading reputation, Trek represents a good win for owners and prospective owners. 

Trek invests in frame geometry design and is innovative. They have a reputation for quality and comfort. Trusted around the world, they support pro teams to enhance the value of their products and they have a wide support network. This helps build confidence in their offer and supporting value.

A 2019 Trek Domane SL7 Disc Women’s road bike would cost £4,178 ($5,780) new. In good condition, the value would be up to £2,351 ($3,252). This model retains more value than the average equivalent bicycle . Other examples are available with a search on second-hand sites.

Do Trek Bikes Go On Sale?

Like most manufacturers, when a specific line comes to an end, their prices will be reduced in order to help sales and move the inventory on. Trek has distribution licensing deals with independent bicycle retail outlets and these shops sell them at discounted prices too. 

Is a Trek Bike Worth the Money?

The long-standing nature of Trek in a competitive marketplace is a good sign of value for money.  Reviews and feedback about quality, lifespan and service build the whole package. Decisions made about downshifting to less expensive machines might be linked to other factors like use or budget. 

If your employer is signed up to any one of the many Cycle to Work schemes which operate in the UK, a Trek bicycle could be acquired and the cost can be spread over a couple of years.

How Long Does a Trek Bike Last?

The build quality of the frame and components made by Trek give them a good reputation for being long lasting. As always, use and care play a part and mechanical components on a bicycle wear out through use. I have ridden one Trek frame since 2013 and one since 2019 and each performs well for me.

Trek Bikes Pros + Cons

Is a trek bike good for commuting to work.

With the reputation for quality and range of bicycles on offer, Trek would be considered a good bicycle for commuting to work. Many of the products in their range of commuting bicycles come ready made for accepting racks and mudguards / fenders and lighting accessories too.

Best Trek Bikes for Commuting 

Best electric trek bike: verve +1.

As city-living and dwelling increases in the 21st Century, transportation by bicycle is becoming legitimised again as it once was in the early and mid 20th century without shame or embarrassment. 

Road networks are diversifying to accept designated cycle lanes and not just in city centres. The bicycle is sharing space safely, albeit slowly, with other forms of transport and not being shunted to canal towpaths or side streets.

This electric bicycle is intended to work with you and for you to do whatever your life in the city demands. Sure, it’s not designed for trails but it has suspension forks because we know that potholes come around as soon as they are mended.

It comes with your choice of a Bosch Active Line pedal assist battery, is equipped with mudguards, a built in lock and a rack so you are ready to go as soon as it leaves the shop. 

It has wide tyres for stability and disc brakes to help you stop resolutely and assuredly. It has a sit up Dutch-bike style and is available with a standard top tube or walk through top tube. It comes with a chain guard.

As road traffic snarls up congested streets, this is a £2,000 investment that has what it takes, to take you anywhere you want to go in the urban environment and on the country roads each day.

Trek Verve +1 Electric Bike

The ideal commuter e-bike. Powered by a Bosch Active Line battery that has a massive range of up to 88km. Prices from: 🇬🇧 UK: £2000 🇪🇺 EU: €2200 🇺🇸 US: $2500

Best Trek Bike: Domane AL 3 Disc

This bicycle can give you access to many different moods, landscapes and adventure but if and when you need it cor commuting, it will be stable, dependable and laid-back.

It’s a real all-rounder at this price and combines road racing handlebars, aspects of gravel racing geometry and technology, plus a weight and gearing to give you confidence to try longer rides. 

Tyre clearance is wide enough to allow for all-action weekend work on the light trails, racks and mudguard / fenders can easily be fitted, disc brakes are standard for when you need to slow down and the main components come from Shimano. The Domane concept is taken forward into Trek’s most comfortable endurance road-riding 

Trek Domane Al 3 Disc Bike

A simply stunning road bike that can also handle light gravel trails. Light and fast. Prices from: 🇬🇧 UK: £1100 🇪🇺 EU: €1150 🇺🇸 US: $1380

Best Value Trek Bike: FX 1 Disc 2022

Without being the lightest, or most technologically-advanced bicycle in the range, the FX 1 Disc is a boon for beginners. 

This hybrid is designed with a lightweight frame specially machined to save weight and offer a comfortable ride, it comes with a wide 16-speed gear ratio, solid if unspectacular wheels with a wide clearance as required. There is a chain guard fitted as standard. It will be a friendly and reliable workhorse and companion. It won’t show up as glowing hot if you need to lock it up in the open and won’t encourage you to take risks on the city streets.

Trek FX 1 Disc Bike

Trek's best value commuter bike. The lightweight aluminium frame ensures this is a nippy ride, while also boasting powerful disc brakes. Prices from: 🇬🇧 UK: £550 🇪🇺 EU: €514 🇺🇸 US: $650

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Trek is slashing the number of bikes it offers by 40%. This is what that means for your favorite brands in the future

This week's Bespoken Word is a part one of a ‘What Happens Next?’ series. In it, Guy Kesteven has some dark warnings about what’s going to happen to a lot of bike brands in the next few years

The Taipei show is the biggest trade bike show in the world. You can go there as a punter but its primary purpose is for far eastern vendors to sell their stuff to the biggest bike brands . Unsurprisingly, given that anyone who is anyone is probably there, it’s also the biggest place for bike industry gossip. 

'Right sizing'

Right now, what everyone is talking about is Trek reporting that they’ll be reducing their bike range by 40 percent and the size of their overall business by 10 percent going forward. Yes, that Trek! The solid, dependable, privately owned Wisconsin-based brand has been rock solid since it started selling touring bikes in the 1970s. The Trek who most industry people were saying pulled a blinder by allegedly using their scale and cash reserves to guarantee the supply of parts when production and delivery choked during Covid. That meant Trek was the first to get big shipments of bikes after everyone had sold out and the sheer amount of Marlin hardtails they dropped into dealers has achieved mythical status.

Unfortunately, while they sold a huge amount of bikes to people wearing face masks, there are still a lot of Marlins in shops – and there are probably more in warehouses all over the world. So Trek is doing the smart thing and making fewer bikes going forward. Because otherwise that backlog of Marlins is never going to get sold and Trek will hemorrhage even more money storing them or selling them for less than a profit. And while their use of the phrase ‘Right sizing’ is definitely corporate ‘posi–speak’, the decision to downsize even based on pre-Covid levels is almost certainly correct.

The news that old dependable Trek is making big changes to stop future oversupply is a big deal, but they are far from being alone in this. From the sound of the rumor drums there are other very big companies, as well as many mid-sized and mini brands that are totally constipated with stock. And in many cases that’s not just because they ordered too much, but because they have a whole ton of very closely spaced products. Orange's multitude of visually near-identical, single pivot hand-made monocoque bikes made it hard for customers to pick an obvious winner and nearly put them out of business. I can’t help wondering if the reason Santa Cruz are running very big discounts on some bikes right now is because there are so many to choose from the confusion is enough to put people off. 

In contrast, Yeti has a pretty clear and clean product lineup and is still currently selling bikes full price. Other brands like Whyte and Norco have also massively reduced their product portfolio to help them leapfrog ahead of brands buried in out-of-date stock. In the case of Whyte, it has even sidelined projects they’ve been working on for years to put nearly all their eggs in the E-Lyte basket. After speaking to Jason Schiers and Clive Gosling from GT at Core bike show , it’s clear they’ve done the same. Canceling whole bike lines just before launch so they can concentrate on a few really strong new offerings.

Brands on the run

While figures like a 40 percent reduction in bike range sound dramatic, it doesn’t have to mean a loss of family favorites. Trek in particular produces a huge size range of bikes and generally makes each model in multiple colors. So it could be that every bike stays, but only in the best-selling color or with fewer options spanning the sizing spread. Not great if you're an odd size or like a choice of aesthetic, but not a disaster.

But for brands that have already slimmed downsizing and hacked the options back to a minimum, things will be a lot harder in the months and years ahead. There’s less room to maneuver too as geometry is now basically all the same and while internal storage is a nice feature, I’ve never heard anyone chopping in their perfectly good old bike just to get a snack hatch on the new one. Unless you’ve got a genuinely different suspension technology that people actually want (buyers are traditionally very averse to new tech until it’s multi-proven), then realistically how many almost identical 4-bar or twin-link carbon bikes with a 64 to 66-degree head tube do we need to choose from?

And while brand loyalty or re-polishing faded memories of past glory days will work with us old gits who’ve been hanging around the sport for decades, we aren’t the people brands need to attract to stay alive.

Power rangers

The people brands need to attract are the new mountain bikers, who may have dusted off an old bike during Covid or who just found MTB from fresh and are now encouraging their mates to join them. These riders are a very different breed with different brand and buying values. While old schoolers are used to glitches and bodges being part of biking and were prepared to put up with random customer service and extensive research to find the right next bike, the new breed isn’t. They don’t want a confusing sea, as far as they can tell, of identical bikes. They want stuff that works rather than needing to be nursed and they want it presented, sold and serviced professionally. And we might kid ourselves that this is the case in the bike industry, we all know that for every slick showroom and logo polo shirt, there’s a bargain bin in the corner and an ordering process that’s still based on paper stuck on spikes. But the whole chat about retail is for another time.  

The big thing that these new buyers mean is a total change in brand recognition and that’s also tied very heavily into the rise of the e-bike. 

E-bikes are not the miracle cure

What I mean is that while some of these new buyers might recognize the big brands like Specialized , Santa Cruz, Canyon , Shimano , or Trek, they’ll definitely spot Bosch as a brand name to go towards because their power tools, domestic appliances, auto parts, etc. are recognized as costing a bit more but return great reliability. Some outsiders might know Giant bikes, but the smartest move of the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer is to team up with Yamaha for their motors. With a lot of e-MTBers coming from an off-road motorbike background, brands like GasGas and Husqvarna are going to stand out a lot more than Haibike or Cube . Even if you get a better spec for a lower price by going for the latter. I can’t help feeling that brands like Bosch and Yamaha are going to get sick of having to deal with hundreds of relatively tiny bike company intermediaries to access the cycling market and will just make their own bikes.

There are other big players poised too. As soon as Porsche is confident that their investment in Fazua motors is a sound one, why wouldn’t they go direct through their existing dealers with all the upsell and aspirations they bring? Honda is already starting to show concept bikes again too and it’s clear that this personal mobility part of the market is becoming increasingly interesting to the auto industry. Hell, why wouldn’t Apple go for a quick positive spin on their entry to personal urban mobility by following up their failed ‘self-driving car’ project with an ‘Apple Bike’? They recently added a ton of cycling-friendly features to their Apple Watch and regardless of its actual performance, you can guarantee it would sync with all your other devices instantly and look brilliant. Not something you can say about every e-bike from current manufacturers. 

But then maybe that’s a good thing. Talking to managers at bike brands, they’re certainly beginning to realize that as the e-bike market matures, it’s not the fairy tale, fortune-creating cash cow it looked like at the start. Whatever the brand or design, e-bikes have a far higher return/warranty rate, up to 100 percent in some instances. Nobody ever had their house or warehousing destroyed and insurance companies get startled by a conventional bike catching fire either. 

They also require far more parts to order, stock, integrate, and wait for delivery on. That's after going through a whole extra level of explosive category shipping headaches and costs and being hamstrung if they don’t turn up. While it’s a pain if SRAM changes its transmission and makes your existing stock look dated overnight, if a motor brand makes your entire inventory electrically extinct that’s a huge issue. Because while the higher ticket price of an e-bike is a win at the till, when those units aren’t shifting then they’re sucking up a whole lot more cash. Which is of course the whole issue we started with in the first place.

Know your business

Finally, what the pandemic and subsequent sh*t show have clearly demonstrated is that bike and component brands know as much about their customers, demand and sales trends as a triathlete knows about suspension setup. In fact, the spike, rebound and sag in sales we’ve seen recently is almost certainly worse than the back-end performance of a bike set up by someone in Speedos.

While the amount of talk around inclusivity, diversity and lowering entry barriers is definitely increasing and that’s a brilliant thing, I can’t help feeling it’s not really gaining traction yet either. That losing a hundred grams, changing head angle by a degree, or increasing tire space still gets more high fives in boardrooms and marketing agencies than something that will engage with hundreds of thousands of new riders, change their headspace, or genuinely open up cycling to whole new communities and demographics. 

And these topics of advocacy, retail, racing, riding and media are all things I’m going to dig deeper into in this series. So for now, go enjoy the fact that there are way more bikes and brands than we need, and often being sold at bargain prices. Because one thing I’m sure of is that the situation isn’t going to last forever and if you end up buying bikes from the same place as your washing machine, then don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Guy has been working on Bike Perfect since we launched in 2019. Hatched in Yorkshire he's been hardened by riding round it in all weathers since he was a kid. He spent a few years working in bike shops and warehouses before starting writing and testing for bike mags in 1996. Since then he’s written several million words about several thousand test bikes and a ridiculous amount of riding gear. To make sure he rarely sleeps and to fund his custom tandem habit, he’s also penned a handful of bike-related books and talks to a GoPro for YouTube, too.

Current rides: Cervelo ZFS-5, Forbidden Druid V2, Specialized Chisel, custom Nicolai enduro tandem, Landescape/Swallow custom gravel tandem

Height: 180cm

Weight: 69kg

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