Trek's 50th brings out retailers' memories

WATERLOO, Wis. (BRAIN) — Trek Bicycles' 50th anniversary gathering took place over three days in mid-June in Madison and Waterloo, Wisconsin. About 1,500 attendees representing Trek retailers, current staff, alumni employees, media, advocates and international partners all enjoyed a Trek history movie titled “The Journey” in downtown Madison on opening night.

The film is a 45-minute insightful and light-hearted dialogue between John Burke and Trek co-founder Bevil Hogg, who partnered with John's father Dick, to launch the brand in 1976.

The movie was followed by addresses from Burke, Hogg, and internationally renowned business and leadership expert Jim Collins, who spoke to where Trek fits into the big picture in the world of commerce.

As has been true in the half-dozen industry events I've attended since COVID, never was heard a discouraging word. The mood was upbeat, old friendships were re-kindled, with Trek's story of growth and success over five decades fueling the fires of optimism.

Friday began with a press conference with Hogg and Burke. Food, drink and conversation continued until dark, with displays of the 50 most important bicycles in Trek's history scattered about the Waterloo factory, trips to the red barn where the company launched 50 years back, and product presentations for the retailers.

Burke and others told justifiably proud stories about Trek's success in building women's racing and helping NICA succeed. Some aspects of the company history were overlooked: While retired racer Jens “Shut Up Legs!” Voigt was in attendance, Lance Armstrong and Gary Fisher each got about five seconds' oblique mention in the movie Thursday night. Greg LeMond's name was never spoken from the podium.

Saturday was the Trek 100 ride, with about 1,700 participants enjoying 20-, 33-, 66- and 100-mile sojourns around the hot and humid rural Wisconsin countryside.

What follows are retailer stories from Trek's early adopters. The mix of OG shop owners included some who had sold their stores, and some who are still moving Treks out the door every day.

Jay Wolff - Helen’s Cycles (Two Southern California stores)

"We started selling Trek in the late '90s. It's been an incredible ride. Trek has been our best supplier over the last 15 years. They've got the most sophisticated and friendly people, they've got the best services and the most current technology.

"It’s really hard for Trek to hit home runs in all categories. It’s been a challenge trying to keep market share in the e-MTB bike category when other brands are lighter and more exciting. Trek was a little late to the e-market and it sometimes feels like we are playing catch-up, especially in the e-full suspension category.

"Because we rely on them at popular price points, our expectations are pretty high on availability of stock. Like kids' bikes and hybrids, you just can't get those all the time.

"Being a IBD retailer we have been very blessed with our relationship with Trek. I have always said relationships first and business second. The Trek team, JB, Paul Moran and Jon Rogers have been so awesome to work with and I look forward to the next decade."

Pat Sorenson - Penn Cycle, Minneapolis, Minn. (Sold five stores to Freewheel Bike in 2019)

"My history as a Trek retailer started on a cold, blustery February day in 1976. Bevil Hogg came walking in the door of the bike shop. He had a frame over his shoulder, and told us, 'I'd love to show you a bike that we're starting to build in Waterloo, Wisconsin.'

"At the time, we were selling the dreaded Schwinn “heavy bikes” and we were looking for more alternatives. After 20 years as a Schwinn dealer, it was hard to imagine doing something else. However, Trek had so much unique appeal, so we signed up and became Trek’s first official retailer.

"I spent 52 years of my life putting butts on bikes. I worked 49 Christmas Eves in a row. When the opportunity presented itself to sell, I was ready. I do miss my real friends from the industry. We all worked together and grew our businesses. It was like a brotherhood.

"What I don't miss is dealing with employees. I don't miss working, actually. My wife Chrissy and I, we always have the next Trek Travel trip on books."

Mike Jacoubowsky, Chain Reaction Bicycles, Redwood City, Calif.

"We opened the store on February 1, 1980 and started selling Trek in 1982. We became Trek, Trek, and more Trek way before it was fashionable. It gave us a story to tell. An American company that started small, literally started in a barn.

"Things have changed in 50 years. IBD brands spend so much effort emphasizing their DTC options they water down the advantages of buying from their local bike shop. They don't feel safe marketing the "Why it's better buying a bike in an LBS" even though the majority of their business is through local retailers.

"Most, not all, consumers find the LBS adds a sense of safety and security to buying and riding a bike. Dumbing down that messaging so you don't offend those who prefer to buy D2C, a market that's far more price sensitive,  doesn't make sense. It's the worst of both worlds. Play to your strengths. If you're going to sell through the LBS, tell people why."

Jay Graves - The Bike Gallery, Portland, Ore. (sold six stores to Mike Olson in 2012)

"We opened The Bike Gallery in 1974, and for the first few years, I was a teenager working in the shop for my father Bob. Dad went to the New York trade show, and he came home and told us, 'I'm picking up this new line of handmade silver-brazed frames.' So our single store became a Trek retailer in 1977.

"I so appreciate being associated with the Trek brand. Even though I've been retired for 14 years, I still tell people that ask me about bikes that Trek is the company you need to look at. They are a company with solid Midwest values and it's not just a marketing pitch.

"That’s not to say there was never any friction. Trek opened up one of my competitors in the mid-1990s, and at the time, I was very upset. My brother-in-law Jerry Norquist was pretty high up at Trek and he had just left there for Specialized. I called him and he said, 'Jay, I'd love to sell you Specialized, but dropping Trek would be the biggest mistake you ever made.'

David Sanborn, David’s World Cycle, 21 stores in Florida. Sold the stores to Trek in 2021

"I started working at bike shops in 1985 when I was 15 years old. I was a mechanic, part-time on the weekends while I was going to high school. I enjoyed it so much that I asked my father if I could quit school and work at the bike shop full- time. Which, surprisingly enough, he endorsed.

"Fast forward, I started working for Mike Spratt who owned World Cycle. That's where the name David's World Cycle comes from. So Spratt went out of business, and I ended up with four stores worth of repair stands, Park Tools, all the stuff I needed to expand to my “own” first store in College Park, Florida in 1989.

"The whole operation just kind of snowballed. So 33 years later, 21 locations, 165 employees, and we’re feeling very blessed. We weren’t looking to sell, then the Specialized acquisition team came around. Then PON called. My very wise wife said, “You need to call Trek,” and we had a deal pretty quickly.

"I'm still in the stores two to three days a week. I enjoy seeing my old team, who I consider personal friends. And I enjoy seeing my old customer base as well. So glad my dad encouraged me to follow my passion!"

Noel Kegel - Wheel & Sprocket. 10 stores in Wisconsin and Illinois

"Here’s the Wheel & Sprocket folklore around our relationship with Trek: When Trek was first starting out, Dick Burke and the team were going out to open dealers. And in our market in Milwaukee, there was another shop down the road that was bigger and more powerful.

"They had agreed to buy like 100 bikes. And Frank Tamel and my dad Chris said, 'All we can do now is 10 bikes. We know we can’t be your biggest customer, but we want to be your best customer. We really believe in the product and what you're trying to do.' And through some combination of charm and charisma and business logic, Dick Burke decided to do business with Wheel & Sprocket.

"Trek is the gold standard among companies in our industry. The 'say-to-do ratio' is very high. Trek says that they support retailers and it’s more than talk, we feel that support in a myriad of ways. There's been ups and downs, but over the course of time their commitment to us is a part of our success."