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Trek bicycle corporation.

Trek Bicycle Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of bicycles sold by specialty retailers. Founded in 1976, the company sells close to a million bikes a year, as well as full lines of bicycle accessories and clothing. In addition to bicycles bearing the Trek brand name, the company also markets a line of mountain bikes named after Gary Fisher, one of the inventors of the mountain bike, and a line of bikes named for racing star Greg LeMond. Trek has several European subsidiaries, and its equipment is distributed in over 60 countries across the globe. In the United States, Trek maintains five Wisconsin manufacturing plants and four distribution centers. In addition to its manufacturing operations, Trek sponsors a number of racing teams, an on-site repair program, and an annual fund-raising ride for Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer.

Early History

Trek was established in 1976, at the peak of the 1970s bicycle boom. Its founders were Dick Burke, president of Milwaukee-based appliance and electronics distributor Roth Co., and Bevill Hogg, the proprietor of a chain of bike stores, one of which was located in nearby Madison. With financial backing from Roth's parent company, the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based Intrepid Corporation, Burke and Hogg launched Trek in an old warehouse in Waterloo, Wisconsin, located halfway between Milwaukee and Madison. With a work force of about five, the company began making high-quality, lightweight steel bicycle frames by hand.

From the outset, Trek committed itself to selling bicycles primarily through specialty bicycle stores, rather than through general retail outlets. This decision helped the company to maintain its image as a supplier of equipment for serious bicycling enthusiasts. Trek quickly became a favorite brand among that connoisseur market, and independent bicycle shops have remained Trek's most important outlet.

Competing primarily against European and Japanese manufacturers, Trek began to have an impact quickly, gaining industry attention both for the quality of its bikes and for being an American company. Trek bicycles were especially popular in the Midwest, the company's own backyard. By 1978, however, Trek was distributing to both coasts, as well as to other bicycling hotspots, such as Colorado. After only three years in business, the company's annual sales had grown to $750,000.

By 1980, Trek had outgrown its original plant. The company moved to a new facility in Waterloo, and there it began mass-producing bicycles. Sales were so brisk that Trek also contracted a Taiwanese firm to produce some of the company's bikes. Among bicycling enthusiasts, Trek was quickly gaining a reputation as a producer of the very highest caliber of bicycles available, and its sales reflected that reputation. During the early 1980s, sales virtually doubled each year.

The Age of Mountain Bikes

In 1983 Trek became a fairly early entrant into the mountain bike market, with the introduction of its 850 model. Developed in California in the late 1970s, mountain bikes featured more comfortable seats, fatter tires, and more gears than the ten-speed road bikes that dominated the market at the time. Fueled largely by the surging popularity of mountain bikes, Trek sold more than 45,000 bikes in 1984. The company also launched its Trek Components Group that year.

During the 1980s, Trek was one of the very few American companies that stood in the way of an all-out takeover of bicycle manufacturing by Taiwanese factories. Although even Trek continued to import some of its bikes from Taiwan, the company found that it was able to offset the somewhat higher costs associated with manufacturing in America by saving on ocean shipping and cutting out other middlemen. Even labor costs proved to be a relatively minor problem, since making bikes was seen by young employees, many of them avid bicycling hobbyists themselves, as a fairly glamorous job, and those employees were therefore willing to work for rather modest wages. As Trek expanded its facilities over the next several years, it was able to rely less and less on imports.

After a conflict with cofounder Burke, Hogg left Trek in 1985 to start his own bicycle company in California. In spite of the changes, Trek continued to grow at an impressive rate. In 1985 the company introduced its first aluminum road bike, Model 2000. Its first carbon composite road bike, Model 2500, hit the market the following year. By 1986 sales had soared to $16 million, and surging demand led to the addition of 75,000 square feet to the company's Waterloo manufacturing facility.

A New Philosophy for the Late 1980s

Ten years of startling growth did not come without problems, however. As Burke explained in a 1996 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) interview, "In all fairness, Bevill [Hogg, company cofounder] was more of a dreamer than a manager." Although sales remained solid, Trek began to experience difficulties in a number of areas. Unsold inventory began to pile up, and as a result the company was losing money. With morale nearing rock bottom, Burke decided to take over the day-to-day management of the company. He instituted a "back to basics" approach, emphasizing sensible business practices and quality service. His new mission statement had four components: "Produce a quality product at a competitive price, deliver it on time in a positive environment."

Burke's new approach began to pay off quickly. Improved efficiency and marketing, combined with Trek's ongoing reputation for turning out quality products, breathed new life into the company's sagging bottom line. Sales doubled in each of the next three years. In 1987 Trek successfully introduced a new line of mountain bikes, and their popularity helped the company sell a total of about 100,000 bicycles in 1988.

Trek continued to find innovative ways to make money during the last years of the 1980s. In 1988 the company introduced a line of bicycling apparel. The following year, Trek entered the stationary bicycle market with Trek Fitness bikes. In 1989 the Jazz line of children's bicycles were introduced, and the company opened subsidiaries in Great Britain and Germany. Within five years, international sales accounted for about 35 percent of the company's business. By 1990 mountain bikes made up nearly half the bicycles sold in the United States, and Trek was prepared to claim a strong share of those sales. The company sold 350,000 bikes altogether that year. Trek's sales grew to about $175 million for fiscal 1991, and the company had about 700 employees by that time.

The High-Tech 1990s

During the first part of the 1990s, Trek remained at the technological forefront among bicycle manufacturers. Throughout the 1980s, the company had succeeded in developing advanced materials that enabled it to maximize the lightness and strength of its bicycle frames. These breakthroughs led to the 1992 development of the Optimum Compaction Low Void (OCLV) carbon fiber lamination process. Using the OCLV process, Trek was able to make the lightest production frames in the world, weighing in at a mere 2.44 pounds. Trek's first OCLV carbon road bike, Model 5500, was introduced in 1992, and its first OCLV carbon mountain bikes, Models 9800 and 9900, were unveiled a year later.

Meanwhile, another expansion project took place at Trek's Waterloo plant, which now measured 140,000 square feet. During the early 1990s, the bicycle industry in the United States experienced a bit of a sales slump. To compensate, Trek looked to boost its sales in other areas. The company continued to emphasize international growth during this period. Sales in Japan, for example grew by about 40 percent per year from 1991 through 1993. Trek also concentrated more on sales in Europe, where it was gaining a solid reputation among bicycle buyers who had long thought of American bikes as heavy, clunky monsters built for kids.

In addition, the company began to focus more on the sale of bicycling accessories. Beginning in 1992, Trek assembled helmets at a new plant in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, out of parts purchased from other companies. By 1993 the plant was making helmets at a rate of about half a million a year, double its total from 1992. Trek also launched a small line of tandem bikes in 1992. Although a relatively small market, the tandem bikes proved popular among family fitness buffs.

In 1993 Trek acquired the Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Company, the company founded by and named for the originator of the mountain bike. Gary Fisher's sales increased tenfold in its first year as part of the growing Trek empire, from $2 million to $20 million. Altogether, company sales reached $230 million for 1993, a $20 million increase from the previous year. That modest increase was impressive considering that it came during a period so difficult for bike makers that it saw longtime industry giant Schwinn sink into bankruptcy. Having passed competitors Specialized and Cannondale, Trek was now the clear market leader in specialty bike shop sales. By this time, exports generated $80 million of Trek's sales, and the company maintained seven overseas distribution operations--one in Japan and the other six in Europe.

Trek passed the $250 million mark in sales in 1994. By that time, the company was manufacturing 65 different models in its Wisconsin plants, including road bike, mountain bike, hybrid, and tandem styles. Trek expanded its children's bicycle business that year with the introduction of a line called Trek Kids. A number of major developments took place at Trek in 1995. That year, the company opened a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The Whitewater plant, capable of producing 3,000 bicycles a day, dwarfed the company's other factories.

Acquisitions in the Mid-1990s

Trek also bought out two smaller niche-market competitors in 1995--Bontrager Bicycles, based in Santa Cruz, California; and Klein Bicycles of Chehalis, Washington. Those companies' plants remained in operation after the purchases. On top of those additions, Trek also signed a ten-year licensing deal with bicycle-racing superstar Greg LeMond to use his name on a line of road bikes. Additionally, the company introduced a new line of mountain bikes featuring an innovative Y-shaped frame. Trek's Y-frame received an "Outstanding Design and Engineering Award" from Popular Mechanics magazine, and the U.S. Secret Service even bought a few Y-frame bikes for patrolling the grounds of the White House.

Largely on the continuing strength of mountain bike sales, Trek's revenue grew to $327 million in 1995, a jump of nearly 19 percent. In early 1996, the company announced plans to add another 45,000 square feet to its Oconomowoc distribution center. It also announced its intention to build a distribution center in Atlanta to go with its existing centers in New Jersey and Southern California. Around the same time, Trek revealed that it was joining forces with Volkswagen of America to form a professional mountain bike team. The Trek/Volkswagen alliance went further yet, with the introduction of the Volkswagen Jetta Trek, a car that comes equipped with a mountain bike and rack.

In 1996, Trek also began planning a retail "superstore" on the west side of Madison, Wisconsin. The announcement did not sit particularly well with the specialty retailers already selling Trek bikes in the area. Although the company had dabbled in retail operations before--Trek has another retail store already operating in Madison, and flirted briefly with part ownership of a chain of stores in northern California--Burke insisted that it was not about to plunge into retail as a major part of their operation.

Meanwhile, Trek continued to beat out much of the competition in terms of quality and service, as it sought to solidify its position at the front of the high-end bicycle pack. Its ability to thrive during a period in which the bicycle industry as a whole was more or less stagnant suggests that Trek is poised to maintain its dominant position.

Principal Subsidiaries: Fahrradhandel Gesellschaft GmbH (Austria); Bikeurope BV (Netherlands); Trek Denmark; Trek Bicycle GmbH (Germany); Trek Japan; Bike USA S.L. (Spain); Trek Fahrrad AG (Switzerland); Trek UK.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories , Vol. 16. St. James Press, 1997.

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Trek grew out of one man’s belief that he could build a different kind of company. In a barn in southern Wisconsin, Dick Burke instilled the simple principles that continue to guide us today: Build things that last—memories, relationships, bicycles, a brand—and leave a legacy of positive change. Today, Trek remains a family company, owned by the employees and the founding family. We take the longview of relationships and doing the right thing, and we put people and our planet first. The bicycle is an extraordinary agent for change. This simple machine can be a solution to many of the world’s most complicated problems. The bicycle is capable of combating climate change, creating wellness, and instilling happiness the world over. That is the business we are in. The journey is long but the way we traverse it is simple: share joy, build thoughtfully, treat people as family, and inspire others to join in the quest to build a better world through bikes. Believe in bikes.

Born in a Barn

Raised on rocket science, racing to make bikes better, warrantied for life, loved the world over, work at trek, what it's like here in waterloo.

Why the guy who helped take Trek Bicycle from a Wisconsin barn to a billion-dollar company says he never sweats over sales figures or competitors

Pedaling a bike is one of John Burke 's favorite things to do, and it plays an important role in creating "the world's best bikes and cycling gear," which is how his company, Trek Bicycle , brands itself.

Richard Burke, John's father, cofounded Trek in 1976 in a barn in Waterloo, Wisconsin. John Burke joined his father's company in 1984 and became president of the privately owned corporation in 1997.

Today, Trek is a billion-dollar company with 2,000 employees, half of whom work in Wisconsin, and it still makes custom road bikes by hand in the US. Trek owns several brands , and it sponsors or owns eight racing programs, including the Trek-Segafredo team, which competes in the Tour de France . Trek is also an industry leader in bicycling advocacy.

The company has racked up many awards over the years. Recently VeloNews and Cycling Weekly called the company's top bike, the Tour-proven Madone , the king of race bikes.

Things haven't always been so rosy. Lance Armstrong made Trek a richer company in the 2000s, but Trek officially terminated its relationship with the disgraced sports icon in 2012 after it was found that he had doped during his Tour victories . Around that time there was also a bitter legal dispute between Trek and partner Greg LeMond , the former American cycling champion, but that was eventually resolved. The company has moved on, and it appears to be at the top of its game again with renewed energy and purpose.

In a Business Insider interview at Trek headquarters in Waterloo — " the Silicon Valley of high-end and custom-built bicycles " — Burke talked about Steve Jobs' influence on Trek, " the Lance effect ," making bicycling safer, and President Trump 's tax plan.

Daniel McMahon: Trek started back in '76 in a barn with five people. Today it's a billion-dollar company with 2,000 employees. Did you ever imagine it would grow this big?

John Burke: My dad was always focused on the sales number and I never really was, even though I was the sales guy. To me the size doesn't matter. What matters is your body of work. How good are the products? How incredible is the service? How are we taking care of our customers? If we do an amazing job on the product side and we do an amazing job taking care of our customers, the business will grow, and that's what I like to focus on.

McMahon: Does that become more challenging as you grow bigger and bigger?

Burke: It becomes more interesting.

In one way it becomes more challenging because there's so much turmoil in the market. And as companies get bigger, the natural tendency is to become slower and to not change. And in other ways it's incredibly interesting because we've never had more opportunities and we've never moved faster as a company. There isn't a day that I don't get up and I'm not fired up to come to work. There's a lot going on here.

McMahon: So getting better is what motivates you?

Burke: Somebody once said that a successful life is living up to your potential and giving back to others, and I think that from a business standpoint, I always want us to live up to our potential. And you're always chasing your potential. The more you improve, the more potential there is. It's just a game. And we have a massive amount of potential.

McMahon: Trek has been around for about 40 years now. What does success look like for Trek today?

Burke: I would define success for Trek as living up to its potential and giving back to others. One of the things we do at Trek that I'm really proud of is how we use the bicycle company for other people. My mother and my father were huge believers in "To whom much is given, much is required," and neither one of them started off with a lot of money. We've been able to take that philosophy and move it into the business.

Take a look at Dream Bikes , which we've had for 10 years now. We did that in Madison and it became successful, and then added a second location there. We've got one in Milwaukee. We just added one in New Orleans and two or three others, including one in Chicago . That's a big thing for us. Look at NICA [National Interscholastic Cycling Association]. They got 7,000 kids and it's been growing like a weed. We got a guy here, Aaron Mock, and his wife, and they do an amazing job volunteering for NICA, and they really made the Wisconsin NICA happen. There are 450 kids in Wisconsin in NICA, and so I became more interested in this, and we said, "We're going to put the full force of Trek behind NICA." Last year we gave them a million dollars , and we're giving them our time and energy.

We did research. We asked, "How many golfers are there in the United States?" Well, there are 400,000 golfers in the United States. Mountain biking should be able to exceed golf by 2030. Get your kid outside, get your kid exercise. The family can get involved, and it's a no-drop sport. There's a high school in Utah that has 300 kids in high-school mountain biking.

Another program we're working on is PlacesForBikes . In June we're having a conference here in Madison, and we're going to take leaders in bicycle advocacy and say, "How can we move faster to make America more bicycle-friendly in cities?" And the only way that program could happen is because of Trek. We put a bunch of resources in it, we worked with a bunch of companies, and now we're getting our competitors involved in supporting that program. We love to do great things with the bike company.

McMahon: Do you ever feel as if Trek is growing too fast and going in too many directions? You talk about focusing on making great products and providing great customer service, and you've spoken elsewhere about how you admired Steve Jobs and his passion for quality.

Burke: I tell you, one of our failings is that we do too many things. And you're right, I'm a huge fan of Steve Jobs and what he did at Apple , and we've used those lessons very well here. But we do bite off a lot of different things. We have an appetite for change and we want to play. There are a lot of companies who've seen this advocacy stuff, and most of the bike industry sees it and they go, "That's not me — somebody else does that." And we see that and we say, "No, that's part of our reason for being." And so we do that kind of stuff. We do a lot of different things.

McMahon: Describe your decision-making process. You come off as a no-nonsense guy who makes decisions quickly.

Burke: Yeah. [Laughs] You know, my decision-making process happens in this room. There are these two whiteboards, and the reason there are two is that one usually gets filled up and we go on to the other. But my decision-making process is really simple: I get the best people in the room, I get a whiteboard and a bunch of markers, and I listen to what everybody has to say, and I write it all up on the board, and then we figure it out, and we go. I love getting people's input — that's why you have people. And we have so many smart people around here.

We have an appetite for change and we want to play.

When you can put stuff up on a board you can visualize it; it just helps me think the problem through and it becomes clearer. I thought I was weird that I always had to have this whiteboard. Then I Googled "Steve Jobs whiteboard" and he was a huge fan of it. So in all the Trek offices around the world there's a big whiteboard.

McMahon: How do you pick the right people? And what's an "awesome bus"?

Burke: We have this thing where we say, "Get the right people, in the right seats, in the awesome bus." The whole philosophy of the awesome bus is a great place to work. We do everything we can to make Trek a great place to work.

If you look outside the door here, we've got the best 15 miles of mountain-bike trails. They're not in Whistler, they're not in Colorado — they're right across the street here in Waterloo. And you see people go over by the hundreds every day to go ride their mountain bikes. We have this amazing café — it's frickin phenomenal. And the largest ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] in the state of Wisconsin is Trek. Employees own a good piece of the business here. And if you take a look at our health program, we do everything to make this a great awesome bus.

So what we look for and who that's up to are our great individual leaders who are tasked with hiring their teams. I hire my team, but those people go and hire their teams.

If you take a look at the guy in charge of legal at Trek, he's been here for 22 years. The guy in charge of our international business, he's been here 28 years. Guy in charge of product, 29 years. Guy in charge of US sales, 31 years. If you take the woman in charge of global customer service, she's been here 28 years. The woman in charge of the international distributor market, 28 years. We've got a core group of people who have been here a long time.

And when you go down in the organization, people spend a lot of time here, and they do so for a good reason. I always thought, if you take a look at the ballplayer who plays for the same team his whole career, that's something special. People move around in companies more today than they ever have, but when you just take a look at some of these people who have worked at Trek for a long time, I look at that and I say, that's really cool. And you won't find that anywhere else in the bike business.

McMahon: How do you feel these days about Specialized , one of your fiercest rivals?

Burke: I think Specialized is a great competitor. They make us better.

McMahon: You've been candid about wanting to beat them.

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Burke: I respect all the brands we compete with. Specialized does some good stuff. We have a great competition with Specialized and with other companies. The one thing I like the most about Trek is we're not focused on Specialized; we're focused on Trek. If we do what Trek needs to do, we're doing great. We have so many great plans on the drawing board; we have so many platforms to execute on.

Let's focus on what we're doing. That was one of the keys at Apple: They stopped focusing on Microsoft and they did their deal. What Trek needs to do is focus on Trek.

McMahon: It's been over decade since the beginning of the end of " the Lance effect ." Armstrong's influence was clearly a critical chapter of Trek's business and history. Now that you've had that distance, how do you look back on the Lance effect today?

Burke: The best thing about the Lance effect is probably two things. One, it got a lot of people riding their bikes. Not just riding around the neighborhood — I mean, it got a lot of people into serious riding. Marathon riders picked up cycling. It got a lot of people into the serious side of the sport. That had a huge impact, not just on the business but on the sport itself.

And then what he did for the Tour de France and the way that brought bike racing to the masses. I mean, I frickin love bike racing. Bike racing is an amazing sport. People would not have seen as much bike racing if Lance wouldn't have raced in the Tour de France. He got a lot of people to tune in and see what racing was about.

McMahon: There are many examples of successful and unsuccessful business relationships — Armstrong and Tiger Woods spring to mind. What business lessons did you learn after working with Armstrong ?

Burke: Lance did for cycling what Tiger Woods did for golf. When the sea rises so do all the boats. That's what Lance did. And it wasn't just Trek: It was anybody who was doing road bikes. Before Lance started riding there were really only two companies selling road bikes — Trek and Cannondale . Then all of a sudden everybody and their brother was selling road bikes in the United States. So it definitely grew the market and brought a lot people into the game.

The thing that excites me is, I've been lucky enough to ride my bike in some amazing places and to really enjoy cycling. It got people into the sport who I thought would never ride.

McMahon: Last year, your second book, " 12 Simple Solutions to Save America ," was well received. It "challenges Americans to resist the status quo and change what elected officials are unwilling or unable to change." Trump is now president , and he promised to bring about great change. What do you think so far?

Burke: We're 100 days in and he finally comes out with a tax plan — and it was 250 words? And there was no bad news. Here's this huge opportunity to simplify everything and to have massive change, and you get 250 words. Look, I don't need a tax break — Trek doesn't need a tax break. We're going to succeed and fail in the market based on how good our products are and how good our services are. But as a member of the community, we have a moral duty to be a good corporate citizen, and one way you're a good corporate citizen is you pay your taxes.

You have General Electric, a great American company, which made a profit of $12 billion. They filed a 57,000-page tax return and paid zero in taxes. So if you want to reduce corporate taxes, that's fine, reduce them, but Trump wants to reduce them from 35% to 15%, and I think that's too big a decline. But then he doesn't want to get rid of any of the deductions? Why do oil companies get deductions and bicycle companies don't? Why do certain industries get deductions and shoemakers don't? The brewer doesn't get a deduction. It doesn't make sense. You're leaving in place this super-complicated tax system.

So it's treats for everybody. For corporate America, you get a lower rate, and you get to keep your deductions. And for all the individual taxpayers, you get a lower rate. We're 19 trillion frickin dollars in debt and everybody got a treat. And I just go, "You're kidding me." You call that leadership? I don't.

When you're the president of the United States and you come out with this "American First" theory, what are you saying to the rest of the world? I've been so fortunate here in growing the business. When I started here, we were doing $16 million and now we do over a billion dollars, and I've worked with an incredible team to do that. We took the business from just being in the US to right now — 60% of our business is around the world.

And one of the reasons why American is as strong as it is, is there are a lot of great American companies who have access to markets all around the world — General Electric, Coca-Cola, Apple, Trek, Harley-Davidson. The whole American First thing ... I just don't find that conducive to America's future or anyone else in the world.

The best definition I ever heard of leadership is, leadership is the ability to make the dream a reality at the grassroots level. But leadership is also, "Here's the vision, and I'm going to convince people where we need to go." And what we've come to in American politics is saying, "Well, I need to get elected, so I'm going to tell all these people whatever they want to hear." If you're the richest person on the playground and you're the biggest person on the playground ... we usually lead like, "Talk softly and carry a big stick," and when we're walking around with a blow horn, that's not the way we roll.

We're a leader in the world, but to maintain that status over the long haul, you actually need a leader who can look at the people and say, "You know, we've got problems here," and whether your talking about tax codes, gun control, nuclear proliferation, big issues, "Here are the problems, and here are the solutions, and this is why we need to do it." And more than just a sound bite, we've got to educate people and say, "This is why we need to move here." And I think we lack that right now, and I think we've lacked it for a while.

McMahon: Going back to advocacy, it's obviously good for business, but what specifically got you interested in it?

Burke: I got involved when [Minnesota congressman] Jim Oberstar called me in 1997. There was a transportation bill and they said they needed some industry help. And I was like, "What?!" He said, "I really want you to come down to Washington." So I went down there and he's like, "You need to get involved." I had been to Europe, and I had seen what cycling could do — it's amazing. And the more I got into it, I'm like, "This just makes sense for the country — it makes sense for the people." And it's not going to happen unless you get people involved.

When you have good bike infrastructure, people ride their bikes.

So I got involved in advocacy and I got other people involved. You went from the federal government spending $20 million a year to spending over a billion dollars a year on cycling infrastructure. And it happened because of Oberstar and the support he got, and it's made an incredible difference. That goes back to the bicycle's been really good to me, and it's like, what can I do? I can do many things. There's NICA, for example. We're doing PlacesForBikes, and that stems from the advocacy.

McMahon: One product I really like is the Flare R taillight . How did it come about?

Burke: I was out in San Diego about five years ago, and I was driving along Highway 1. There was a guy riding a road bike and he had a light on the back of his bike, and it was the first light I'd ever seen on the back of a road bike. And yet you really couldn't see it at all — the light it was emitting, you just couldn't see it. And I go, "That's a great idea."

I came back and I said to the guys, "We need light on the back of road bikes that do this." So we came up with the Flare R. I think that is the most awesome product. I have a sketchy stretch on my way to work here, and as soon as I put that thing one, I could tell that I was getting more space. Whenever I have to drive my car in to work here, I have so much pride when, all of a sudden, you can see, from a mile and a half away, this lineup of lights going into Trek.

McMahon: How optimistic are you for the future of bicycling? There's lots of hype about autonomous cars, ride-sharing, and the rest. You once talked about how in the US only something like 1% or so of all trips are made by bicycle, and that the goal should be 5% by 2025.

Burke: I'm still optimistic . You see this in places like New York, where they put in the infrastructure and a ton of people ride their bikes. You see it in DC. Whoever thought there would be a bike lane from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue? If you would've told people that 10 years ago they would have said you're crazy, and that happened. You see places like Portland and here in Madison. When you have good bike infrastructure, people ride their bikes.

I just take a look at the bike's impact on the environment — people just don't understand how big a problem we have with the environment. It's a really big deal. And the No. 1 choice a consumer can make is what kind of gas mileage their car gets. I ride my bike to work and back every day in the summer. That's what kind of gas mileage my car gets in the summer. And you look at 40% of car trips being less than 2 miles, and you just go — bikes can have a huge impact. And I still think all of that can happen.

The next 20 years are going to be really kind to the bicycle.

McMahon: What assumptions do people have about you or Trek?

Burke: One thing about Trek is, some people see it as this big bike company. I had an ex-competitor walk up to me last week, and he said, "John, you have the most amazing company." He goes, "The values you guys have are just unbelievable." And I was like, "Wow, that was really cool." This place has an amazing heart and an amazing soul.

So when you buy a Trek you get an owner's manual. If you open it up there's a note from me. Usually when you open up an owner's manual there's this sh-- you can't even understand, and ours used to be like that. I said, I want to write our owner's manual. You got all these legal people writing the frickin owner's manual, and I was like, I want to write it.

My manual says: Thank you for buying a Trek. Welcome to the Trek family. If you ever have a problem with your Trek, see your Trek retailer and they'll take care of you. And if they don't, call Trek and we'll take care of you. If Trek's not taking care of you, send me an email and I will take care of you. And I signed it.

So every year I can tell you when the bike season kind of kicks off because I start getting emails. I just think it's kind of interesting that you can send an email to the CEO of Trek and you'll get a response that day, that if you got a problem, you're always going to be taken care of — always.

I got an email from a guy last night, and he got a response in 30 seconds. I replied — I do that stuff all the time. One customer at a time, because that's how we roll. I don't care how big we are. I'm more concerned about how great our products are and how great our service is. If we nail that, we'll do really well.

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Trek Bicycles – A Brief History

Image Courtesy of Trek Bicycles

The Birth of the Trek Bicycle Brand

It began in a barn….

The story of Trek bicycles began in 1976 when Richard “Dick” Burke and Bevil Hogg founded the company in a small red barn in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

With a mission to build the best bikes in the world, they chose the name “Trek” to evoke the spirit of adventure and exploration that cycling represents.

In the early months of 1976, fueled by ambition and armed with a team of just five dedicated individuals, Trek embarked on its journey of crafting steel touring frames.

With a clear vision and a mission to challenge the dominance of Japanese and Italian models in the mid to high-end market, Trek set out to create exceptional bicycles.

The inaugural year proved to be a testament to their craftsmanship as nearly 900 meticulously hand-brazed framesets were crafted. Each frame found its way into the hands of eager cyclists for just under $200.

As the year drew to a close, the success and recognition of Trek’s work led to the incorporation of Trek Bicycle.

A significant milestone arrived in 1977 when Penn Cycle in Richfield, Minnesota became the first authorized Trek retailer in the world. This paved the way for future partnerships.

The ensuing years witnessed an incredible surge in sales, with Trek’s revenue approaching a staggering $2,000,000 by 1979! This was the start of the brand’s relentless pursuit of excellence.

Global Reach and Recognition

From its roots in Wisconsin, Trek has expanded its reach to become a globally recognized brand.

Trek bicycles are now available in over 90 countries, with a vast network of dealers and distributors worldwide. The brand’s dedication to excellence has been acknowledged through numerous industry awards and accolades, further solidifying its position as a leader in the cycling industry.

Innovations that Transformed the Industry

Trek quickly established itself as a pioneer in bicycle technology, introducing groundbreaking innovations that revolutionized the cycling world. Some notable milestones include:

• The introduction of the first lightweight steel touring bike, the 720, in the early 1980s, providing riders with a versatile and durable option for long-distance adventures.
• The development of the Trek 2000, one of the first affordable carbon fiber road bikes, in the late 1980s, marking a significant leap in performance and weight reduction.
• The iconic OCLV (Optimum Compaction Low Void) carbon fiber manufacturing process, debuted in 1992, setting new standards for strength, weight, and ride quality.
• The invention of the IsoSpeed decoupler in 2012, a suspension system that provided increased comfort and performance on rough roads, making Trek bikes more versatile and enjoyable.

Expanding Product Range and Technology

Trek has continually expanded its product range to cater to a wide variety of cycling disciplines and rider preferences. From road bikes and mountain bikes to electric bikes and gravel bikes, Trek offers a diverse lineup designed to meet the needs of every rider.

The brand has embraced cutting-edge technologies, including electronic shifting, advanced suspension systems, and integration of smart features, ensuring that riders can experience the latest advancements in cycling technology.

Racing Success and Partnerships

Trek’s commitment to performance has been reflected in its successful partnerships with world-class athletes and teams. The brand has witnessed remarkable victories in various disciplines, including road racing, mountain biking, and cyclocross.

Trek’s partnerships have included collaborations with top athletes and teams who have showcased the brand’s capabilities on the global stage. From thrilling road races to exhilarating off-road challenges, Trek has been a formidable presence in the racing world.

Trek’s collaborations with professional cycling teams have seen them achieve outstanding results across a range of competitions. These partnerships have showcased Trek’s dedication to developing bikes that excel in demanding racing environments.

Community and Philanthropy

Trek understands the importance of giving back to the community. Through initiatives like the Trek Foundation, the brand has supported numerous charitable organizations and causes, including youth cycling programs, environmental conservation, and healthcare access.

Trek’s commitment to making a positive impact extends beyond their products and into the communities they serve.

Commitment to Sustainability

Trek has long been dedicated to environmental stewardship and sustainability. In 2007, the brand launched its “One World, Two Wheels” campaign, pledging to help create a more bicycle-friendly world. Trek has also made significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint through initiatives such as recycling programs, responsible manufacturing practices, and support for bicycle advocacy organizations.

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The History and Evolution of Trek Bicycles: A Legacy of Innovation

In the world of biking, Trek is a name that stands out. With its innovative designs and advanced technologies, Trek has been revolutionizing cycling since 1976. It was founded by Richard Burke and Bevil Hogg, who combined their engineering expertise with a desire to create the best bicycles in the world. Since then, Trek Bicycles has steadily risen to become one of the most well-known and respected bike brands around.

Trek’s story began in Waterloo, Wisconsin in 1976. Richard Burke had been working as an engineer at a local bike shop when he was approached by Bevil Hogg with the idea of starting their own company. After prototyping and testing their first model, they began production in 1977. The bikes were an immediate success, with customers praising them for their light weight, performance, and comfort.

As Trek grew, it quickly became known for its pioneering spirit. In 1983, it released the first mountain bike ever made from aluminum alloy—the Trek 980. This was followed by other early innovations such as carbon fiber forks (1987), full suspension frames (1988), cantilever brakes (1989), and disc brakes (1994). With each new product release, Trek further cemented its reputation as an industry leader.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Trek continued to innovate and develop even more cutting-edge technologies to enhance performance and safety on the roads and trails. Electronic shifting systems such as Di2 (2004) allowed cyclists to shift gears instantly; active suspension systems like IsoSpeed (2012) provided a smoother ride; wireless connectivity systems like ANT+ (2003) allowed riders to track their progress in real time.

Today, Trek is still pushing boundaries with its latest lineup of bikes that feature groundbreaking designs and technologies. From full-suspension downhill rigs to ultra-lightweight road machines to comfortable commuting hybrids—there’s something for everyone at Trek. Whether you’re an avid competitive cyclist or a casual weekend rider looking for some fun on two wheels, there’s no doubt that you can find something perfect for you.

For over four decades now, Trek has been redefining what it means to be a top-of-the-line bicycle company. By continually striving to produce top-notch products and implementing cutting-edge technologies into all its models, Trek has become one of the most well-recognized names in cycling today—a true legacy of innovation.

To explore more on Trek Bicycles , visit official website today!

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Richard Burke, Founder of Trek Bicycle Company, Is Dead at 73

By Dennis Hevesi

• March 13, 2008

Correction Appended

Richard Burke, a founder of the Trek Bicycle Corporation, which capitalized on the luster of Lance Armstrong’s victories in the Tour de France to reshape the way top-of-the-line bikes are manufactured, died Monday in Milwaukee. He was 73 and lived in Milwaukee.

The cause was complications of heart surgery, said his son, John, who is now president of the company.

It was on a $6,500 carbon-fiber Model 5500 bike built by Trek that Mr. Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999, the first of his seven straight Tour titles.

“With that, Trek became the first American bike company to win the Tour and the first to build a carbon-fiber bike that won the Tour,” John Bradley, a senior editor and the cycling expert at Outside magazine, said Wednesday. “It was a watershed moment.”

Racing bikes must be as light and stiff as possible. Before they were made of carbon fiber, which has the best stiffness-to-weight ratio, the bikes were made of steel, titanium or aluminum. “Now you can’t find a high-end bike, or even a high-end bike component, that isn’t made out of carbon fiber,” Mr. Bradley said.

With his friend Bevil Hogg, Mr. Burke started the Trek company in 1976, in a barn in Waterloo, Wis. The company now has 1,600 employees and sells through more than 5,000 dealers in 75 countries. It makes more than 300 models, from a single-speed $140 bike for youngsters to the $8,500 Madone.

Mr. Burke was the owner of an appliance distributorship in Milwaukee before turning to making bicycles. At the time, European models dominated the market, and there were few luxury American brands. But in the mid-’70s, as American biking boomed beyond the tricycle and the single-speed Schwinn, Mr. Burke saw potential profit in the high-end bike.

That first year in the barn, the Trek company produced 805 handmade, finely detailed road bikes and earned $161,000. Last year, the company manufactured 1.5 million bikes and had revenue of $670 million.

In 2001, the company got a bit of a publicity lift when Mr. Armstrong went to the White House and presented President Bush with a Trek. Soon after, Mr. Bush was riding at least an hour a day on most weekends at his Texas ranch.

In May 2004, when the president took a spill and scraped his face, his Trek Fuel 90 mountain bike became temporary fodder for his opponent in his re-election campaign. The Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, made what he believed was an off-the-record remark that drew wide coverage: “Did the training wheels fall off?”

Richard Alexander Burke Jr., who preferred to be called Dick, was born in Chicago on June 4, 1934. His father died when he was 2. His mother, the former Helen McWeeny, later married Edwin Trizil.

Mr. Burke’s first marriage, to Elaine Sachs, ended in divorce. Besides his son, of Madison, Wis., Mr. Burke is survived by his wife, Camille; four daughters, Mary Burke of Madison; Kathleen Seiberlich of Pewaukee, Wis.; Michele Deubel of Hartland, Wis.; and Sharon Jonas of Park City, Utah; a stepbrother, Mike Trizil of Chicago; and nine grandchildren.

Perhaps surprisingly, Mr. Burke was not an avid biker. He did, however, run in five New York City Marathons and three Boston Marathons, his son said.

Category : Trek bicycles

Subcategories.

This category has the following 5 subcategories, out of 5 total.

• Bicycles of Trek Factory Racing in 2015 ‎ (10 F)
• Bicycles of Trek-Segafredo in 2016 ‎ (2 F)
• Bicycles of Verva ActiveJet in 2016 ‎ (1 F)
• Toyota Corolla Trek ‎ (18 F)
• Trek-Segafredo ‎ (16 C, 2 F)

Media in category "Trek bicycles"

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