Just a few months ago marked the beginning of my new existence as a bicycling-blogger. While this and the number of posts here may state otherwise, it was on an autumn trip to Whitewater, Wisconsin that the wheels began turning – so to speak. In order to delve into the world of bicycles, beyond my own riding/racing of them, I took a tour of the Trek factory to see their American-made bike operations first hand.
Upon entering the facility, I was not immediately impressed. I paged through product catalogs and noted bikes I liked. There was also a custom-painted Madone on the wall, but other than that I remained collected. I then met our tour guide, Juan Nava, put on some goggles and walked through the door.
I was not 15 feet onto the factory floor before the awe set in. I have never owned a Trek, but I do own a set of Bontrager Race Lite wheels. The production of these, and other models, was the first stop on the tour. Bontrager is the component brand of Trek and I was to learn that the wheels that carry that name were made, by hand, in-house. This explained why I’ve been able to race, train and commute on my Race Lites without the need for any major truing for thousands of miles.
The care taken and the precision of the manufacturing process was not only dedicated to wheels. The Whitewater plant is also where all the high-end Madone (road race bikes) and Fuel (mountain/cross country) bikes are assembled. It was abundantly clear to me at this point that Trek is dedicated to excellence in the United States. The bikes that Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador rode in and won the Tour of California and the Tour de France were assembled there. I got a few chills thinking about that.
I’ve always sought to ride American-made frames whenever possible, and the Bontrager parts I happened to own were just parts – until that day last fall. Upon taking this tour I gained a new perspective, as I thought about how Trek made their way from a small garage with a few people to the Whitewater facility and places beyond – including retail locations. I have had great experiences at their South Loop location when I needed to replace other Bontrager components. Even Juan, our guide, was an enthusiastic mountain bike racer, so it all began to fall into place – Trek cares about bikes as much as I do, so it was time for me to write about it.
