Will TREK survive TOTAL CHAOS in the global BICYCLE MARKETS? If they listen to me, you betcha hey! 

Golf said "I'm expensive, Cycling responded "Hold my CamelBak".

If the bike manufacturers want to survive then they need to invest in bicycle infrastructure in cities. A wise sales man once said, "Never sell a product, generate demand."

If RU-vid offers a "Best Monologue for Real S**t" category; you won it hands down. Well said.

Right-size the bicycle merchandise prices, while you're at it, Trek.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I love cycling in all forms. I love racing on carbon fiber spaceships, commuting, cruising, and touring on classic steel bikes, and so on. I love it all. I think the key is make sure that racing and race culture doesn't dominate the bike industry.

12 minutes of solid, interesting content. That's rare on RU-vid. Thank you.

Great recap of history. I volunteer at a local bike co-op that builds up practical bikes, mostly out of donated '80s-'00s MTBs and hybrids, go figure. I went into another local bike shop yesterday, and I immediately felt like I didn't belong in there at all. I felt like both my bike and my clothes we're too old and out of place compared to the new gravel bikes and appropriately dressed customers. I commute 8 miles to work everyday, I own ten bikes- how is it possible that I of all people feel alienated by a bike shop?? I can't even imagine how a customer who doesn't know anything about bikes feels.

I think the most powerful message was saved for the end where you offered a stand to laid off bike industry folks in your community. I know it's not much, but I'm sure it would mean the world to anyone who could use the opportunity.

I work part-time in a small shop that just happens to sell Trek and a few other brands. Comfort and sport hybrids are our bread and butter. I love the idea of an advertising campaign showing real people on practical bikes doing practical things.

I was a bike mechanic for about 10 years in the early 2000's and was talking to my brother in law about how wild all the parts are now. There's a ton of hub spacings, axle sizes, hanger mounts, bb specs, and I guess a few wheel sizes. People went mad with options, it almost made parts proprietary.

I agree. Here in the UK we have a shop selling 2nd hand bikes and doing repairs/servicing. Their most popular sales are 'work bikes' - bikes you can ride to work and back, no frills, bells or whistles. Which usually means flat bars and wider tyres.

So true! I'm a retired local racer. And I approve this video message. I'm currently only bicycling for fun and groceries now. No more for competition. And I'm rediscovering all the bike types and models that I disregarded as a racer only guy.😊

I parked my (older) top of the line road bike at a coffee shop and a guy pulled up on a Yamaha MT-07. It dawned on me that the replacement price of my bike was about 150% that of the motorcycle. Hard to reconcile that. I certainly won't be buying a new bike any time in the near future.

I like practical bikes: steel frame, step through, 7-speed hub gears, V-brakes, mudguards, luggage rack with basket, frame lock, battery light, suspension seat post and Dutch handlebars. I can repair everything myself... 😊

Love your content. Down to earth, straight forward kind of guy. We need more shops around like yours.

I was at the Beverly Twilight Criterium in the beautiful neighborhood of Beverly on Chicago's south side. My buddy Tom introduced me to one of the pro mechanics. I listened to him and Tom talk, as Trek had just sent him to China to see the bicycle manufacturing process which they were now outsourcing. He was amazed at how efficient and cost-effective it was to produce their carbon frames in those factories. There was very little effort to building a carbon frame as compared to other more traditional frame materials. I think back to that conversation and seeing how in about 26 years since I bought a Trek postal frame (for what really wasn't all that expensive) to what these frames and bicycles costs now, and I just shake my head. They have tricked us into a mass production scheme where carbon frames are easily produced in Chinese factories into believing we are buying something very special. It's bad enough that you are paying over $3000 now for a 105 equipped low-level carbon bike, $5000 to $6000 for Ultegra if not more, and over $12,000 for the top bikes--all built in just a couple factories around the world anymore.

I will leave this positive. The 1980s, a fantastic time to be to be a part of the cycling world.

The kind of bike or rather new frame set I purchased recently is a steel road bike frame, with external cable routing the manufacture would describe as beyond road. Just a fun bike to go on adventures with. I never even considered anything the Trek dealer, or Specialized dealer had to offer. Bring back external cable routing, mechanical shifting, steel, and titanium. Bring back retro designs, like Trek Multi Track, Specialized Crossroads, but with disc brakes. I want retro 80's or 90's flamboyant paint schemes. I want to see rim brakes improved and brought back on basic bikes, since bedding in and maintaining disc brakes are too much for most causal riders to understand, let alone hydraulics lol.

Bud, I really like your content. The two wheel world needs more folks like you.....organic and funny.... true to the cause! Keep up the good work BikeFarmer!

I've got 25 years as a mechanic, certified in all the mainstream brands "training", maintained a 100% S-tech completion rate since the program started, sram school, BBI, managed a dozen service depts. ,Several stores, and I've had enough, I walked away this year, I'm over it.

You hit this one right on the head Andy. All of the bikes in my stable are close to or over 20 years old, except the ebike (not a Trek) that I bought a few years ago to keep me riding more despite my asthma. I keep all of them well tuned (thanks to my LBS) and ready to ride. I get even more enjoyment from them now more than ever, especially my Ti bikes. The corporate bicycle industry lost my interest long ago. Thanks for being here to support the everyday bicycle enthusiasts! 🚴🚴🚴🙏❤️😎

In Nebraska, where l live the average population hates and loathes people who use bikes as actual transportation. Omaha is absolutely designed to make commuting as difficult and dangerous for riders as possible. Seriously. A whole new mindset for a huge swaths of Americans is needed for your vision to become reality.

Dude! This is the best episode you’ve done and it is the straight poop that the industry needs to hear. Like you, I am a mechanic first, rider second and gave up on the the “industry” because it felt like an abusive relationship. I hope this blip in the market is what will get bike manufacturers back into a better relationship with their customers and retailers.

Well said, Andy. The spandex tuxedos on old fat guys never did work. And yes, we got together for just the reasons you stated. I love the old stuff. Steel bikes, A gear set up that gets me where I need to go, and a pair of cargo shorts and hiking shoes to ride. I own two jerseys, one due to sentimental value, and the other because it is the brightest color of lime green I could find. I've been riding since I was 12 and from the beginning it was about transportation first, even though I was the only kid on the block who got Velo News. Here we are, 60 years later and my passion for the bikes is just as strong. It's about freedom for kids and a disconnect for adults. I love giving away bikes to kids who wouldn't otherwise have one. A bike is like a get out of jail free card.

Cool thoughts, man. Greg LeMond was the reason I fell in love with cycling when I was in middle school, and to this day there are times when I still pretend I am him on Alp d'Huez, but mostly I just love the feeling of being on two wheels on the kind of bikes that allow me to ride where I want to go.

As a bicycle commuter, practical bikes are good. Real world designed rack systems, and trailers, would be great, too.

Possibly your best video to date. Congrats for having the guts to say what many of us in the business won't.

Thanks for your perspective on the industry! I saw the news and was not surprised, but I think you made some good points, particularly the one about the splinterization of bikes as a product to the point of absurdity.

Best video on ANY topic I've seen all week. Immediately subscribed and liked. I have a 2013 Trek Madone with Tiagra components, external cables, and rim brakes. Best bike I've ever owned and still looks and rides like a new one. Heck, I even use it for light bikepacking. 11 years later Trek wants 3 times what I paid for a similar road bike.

"Practical bikes for practical people" - I kind of like that idea. "Form follows function" - Frank Lloyd Wright Yeh - A bicycle is a human powered tool to go from point A to point B. Maybe some of us don't need fancier bikes but roads friendlier to bikes. Thank you Bike Farmer for your very good rant.

Well said. It had to happen sooner or later. When Trek bought out the last remaining, independent bike shop in my community similar to yours, everyone flocked to the grand opening for a chance to spin the wheel and walk away with a Trek trinket. $15K for a new bike? Who were they kidding?

This right here. ❤ I am a weekend warrior racer but acknowledge this is all the real deal. I loved the equity message at the end because I was that kid that could barely afford the sport and knew peers who loved bikes but couldn’t afford what we were told was the only way to experience cycling. I hope this gets world wide views.

I don't like seeing anybody lose their jobs. The prices are out of control! I seen a father in our local shop spend 10k on new family bikes. The bike better wipe my ass for that kind of money. We're in our 60's and leisurely ride cheap old 3 speed bikes that prob cost me less to restore than the tires on those bikes.

I heard all the rumors. Thank you for telling the story. I appreciate your time❤ I understand and resonate with your passion .I’m just a dude likewise, who loves bikes, loves, riding, and working on bikes. simple practical bikes..❤

Wow, you read my mind about the Lance Era of cycling. I wrote a blog last night with some of the exact points you mentioned.

Excellent post! The other reason the bike market is on its back is the cost. Everything is priced out of sight for the average consumer. Even a hardened roadie like myself, I just can’t bring myself to pay what they’re asking for new road bikes. Who’s got a spare $10k burning a hole in their pocket. It’s basic economics, if demand is down prices need to reflect this and come down. However they seem to be going in the opposite direction. Thanks again.

I grew up as a one bike man; one bike for road, gravel, and woods trails. As an off school, part time pizza cook in 1978, I bought my first bike for $170 ($800+ today). Last year, at 60 years old, I bought a do it all bike for $1500 -moon rocket money!! I couldn't IMAGINE paying more for a bike. Thanks for the great video.

Well said! I am a bike mechanic for Trek and I would much rather a simple Marlin walk through the door for a service than an awful Speed Concept! Marlin customers are much better mannered and don’t expect the world just because they bought a way overpriced bike!

Completely agree. You said what me and many others think about this marketing trend that began in the 90s and then with Armstrong in the early 2000s. Seems as if Armstrong's popularity changed the marketing of biking industry in general. The prices on mountain bikes also went way up as well. And to realize it was driven by deceit of not just Armstrong but by those in the industry that were aware of his deceit.

All fantastic points. I run a (mostly) second-hand shop, and while the big shops are struggling, I'm still moving everything I have- because I build the bikes up to be great commuters for an any budget.

Excellent conversation. When my local bike shop (Trek dealer) blew up and started carrying 4 or 5 different component levels of the same models and so many models you'd need a sundial and a slide rule to make sense of them, it made it nearly impossible to make a simple selection. Result for me - I found Surly.

Wow, not only did you give us a history lesson, you provided corporate advise that I believe was spot on. When you finished up with the offer of employment I felt you nailed this video.

Amen brother. Well spoken. Totally agree.

Really well put, I couldn't agree more. I was in that trap of what the cycling industry marketed itself, I had all the gear and no idea, and I realised that I just didn't enjoy being a "cyclist". So I sold all my bike equipment and just walked everywhere for the past year. I've only recently picked up a cheap 90s (I think) mountain bike and though I won't say I've found a new love for cycling, I don't hate getting on the bike. I just get on and peddle from A to B and enjoy everything else in between.

THANK YOU! I got back on a bike last year after a number of years. And the cost of entry now for a bike of relatively decent quality almost prevented that. I did find one that I am really happy with but it took a while to search.

First off, I love your channel, and others like it. I can't stand the big corporate channels, just like I can't stand the local bike shops in my area. I'm 59 years old, and I've never paid a bike mechanic either... That being said, I'll admit to owning (and building) a bikepacking bike, a gravel bike (two, counting my wife's bike), and a couple of xc bikes. But here's the thing- I love riding all of them. I've built them all exactly to my own preferences; not what someone else deems I need. Amen brother, keep on servicing your community with what the people actually want, and may you enjoy all the success you deserve in the future!

I tried to help my LBS (who sells Trek) over quarantine, and from 2019-2022 we bought three midrange bikes from them (2 treks and a liv commuter). Frames on 2/3 of those have already failed (rear chainstay weld on one, seatstay on the other). From 2020-2023 we've bought four bikes from State (a Core Line, a 4130 Single Speed, and two All-Roads), and all of those bikes are still in service, for less money than we spent on the Treks.

Thank you sir…well said. I’m in Sydney Australia and this has to be heard down here.

Now that what I call a logical, common sense bicycle video. Little did I know, kudo's for putting it out there.

I just love your perspective. You are 100% correct. I picked up a Trek hybrid bike 2 weeks back - completely refurbished it - looked great and sold it within a day - made a ++.. Over a year ago I picked up a full suspension Gary Fisher (Trek) really cheap - refurbished it - looked and worked great , took a year + to sell and lost my shirt ------- big time but the teenager who bought it with his pocket money was so happy. The hybrids have always gone quickly at +. There have been a few notable exceptions - got a matching pair of specialized road bikes out of a barn for a mere $10 each - refurbed them - lots of cleaning and lube but only minor new stuff like chains and cables and tyres. Wow they went for ++++++ really quickly and subsidised several 90's steel Trek mtb rebuilds. Keep up the down to earth approach and I wish you continued success 👍😀

Oh man you nailed it!! I’m a bike guy to the core and I can’t stand going into a bike shop much anymore. I have 6 bikes in my garage and I ride most of them. I try to use the shop to help support them. Times are definitely tough for them. They worried about the bike boom over Covid and they were correct to worry about how things are today. Great video!!!

Wow 😮 you hit the nail on the head. Remember when the local schwinn shop was the go to for families. Way to go bike farmer! Kick ass!

I got a little trek Townie a few years ago and LOVE it. 🙂

Completely agree! Thanks!

love it. wish i lived near you because your shop sounds like the type i've always wanted to work at.

Love it, right on! I'm sticking with my rim brake road bike and tri bikes that are still fast and I can work on them myself.

first time at the bike farmer; you have some interesting insights into the bike world. I haven't bought a new bike since 1996. Still ride my steel bike, several times a week, that was built in '88.

And now you"re truing the BIG TREK wheel. 😉 I hope the TREK management looks at your youtube channel (big change they are) and maybe do something with that info to get them back on track. Sad to hear that these troubles will affect people in your area. I wish them who are, the best of luck,faith and patience.

10:53 🎤🫳 100% Invest in everyday bicycle life. Bicycle with rides in streets clothes at farmers markets. Just running everyday errands.

I’m seeing more bike trails in my RV travels. But as a former roadie, I rather just hit the streets and ride. Or go to the countryside and ride for the pure joy. True confession: I ride the Trek Dual Sport 4, single drive which is my tie to the carbon frame road bike of my past. Hope your business continues strong during Treks downsizing!

Kinda likin’ your style- good info, funny and true. Keep spinning my man

Hits the nail on the head dead center on the head (to the atomic scale). I was in a small college town independent bike store last week and the lowest price bike was $4,300 USD. They all looked too frail to ride but the biggest surprise was that all the frames had 4th tier (maybe lower) components. Glad I have collected tools over the years and learned how to build the bike I want fit to purpose for my needs because no ready to ride bicycle company has a clue my market exist.

Intelligent, weird thought out and spot on. "market to your audience ".

Great video. Right language for where we are now and how LA hurt so many.

Worked for 18 years in the industry from the late 70's to the mid 90's. Mechanic, sales, service manager, inside sales on the wholesale end and burned out. Now retired and living in Portland Or and work partime at a specialty recumbent trike shop and loving it again. Trek came into town and bought the local chain that really supported the community and filled those stores full of corporate only stock. What was local based unique idea stores became cookie cutter bland upper end roadie crap. Does't surprise me at all.

been waiting on the cull, and I guess we are at the beginning of it. regular bikes for regular people is exactly right, and is exactly what will keep shops in business. couple that with quality service and a welcoming and positive vibe, and you will make it through. that's what we are doing... and it is working.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I also know that people are inspired and influenced by the thrill of sports. Imagine if instead of a highschool football team, there was an XC MTB squad. It would make biking cool, people would want to look like cyclists. Just my 2 cents.

This was AWESOME! Thank you. I felt like I was listening to myself.

You know someone fcuked somewhere when used 20+ years old bikes sell like hot cakes and generate countless videos on RU-vid and hardly anyone is paying attention to new bikes.

Excellent video.Thank you for your honest opinions. Love Trek bikes own 2 (Madone/Domaine) .Hope Trek stays in business.

I think u hit on a point worth elaborating on…the industry shifted to advanced technology upgrades that were no longer consumer centric. As much as I love light weight composites, electronic shifting and disc brakes the industry’s exclusive shift to these technologies only made an already expensive product 2-3x more expensive including the ongoing maintenance. replacing rim brake pads at $25 a pair every few yrs became a $200 job w new rotors and pads every 6-8 months. Tires costing as much as car tires, standardized fittings shifted to exclusive and proprietary and ever dwindling into rapid obsolescence. What was itemizable and repairable now requires total replacement, durability eschewed for weight savings, and all in all performance over practicality.

Great video. I'm a long-time biker but I feel completely alienated by modern high end bikes and bike shops these days. I recently moved and found a new 1-person local bike shop that's small, friendly and informal and sells affordable everyday bikes, and after watching your video I now understand why I chose him. I'm not comfortable in a modern high end bike shop that feels like an Audi dealership or even a fancy art gallery.

I went to buy my first real bike last weekend (a gravel bike) I went to track and the cheapest one was $2,000 with out pedals . I went to a local bike shop and got a cannondale topside for $1,100 and love it .

Good rant. Subscribed!

Well said with just the right amount of passion

Preach! Youre right on the money here. Also at around 10.20 you forgot to mention Time Trial bikes…🤦‍♂️

Wheel reinventing sounds like a untamed market to me. (Wink) Great show Bro. You are my rosetta stone. Cheers - M

This was one excellent video. Subscribed.

Wow! First time at your site. You sound like Paul Harvey and Tucker Carlson combined for the bike industry and our economic times in general. Good business and common sense all in one! As an aging baby boomer who grew up riding real, Chicago made Schwinn bikes, you nailed it. We just want to ride and enjoy it, not become a professional cyclist. Don't worry though, Brandonomics is going to make bike riding a necessity for millions sooner than we think. Keep on brother! Thanks!

Great video. I feel like bike shops are terrifying, and you can't go in just to look at stuff like a department store. It feels more like a tailored suit store, like I should know everything about cycling just to step foot in the door.

Awesome well thought out and well spoken, 👍

Wow. Love your opinion about the bike market. I currently have an 11 year old RIE basic comfort bike I paid $400 for then. I thought I wanted a new bike. The Trek sales guy showed me a perfect replacement for $1,600. Yeah couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I put a partial new drivetrain i n mine for about $70. I’m 66 I ride recreationally 1,600 bucks, really?

Makes so much sense. I remember when my Dad was looking for a bike (he likes nice things) he was set on getting a Trek because Trek "is the best". I explained that, yea Trek is fine, but there are other brands out there that are good too. Even him, a construction worker, who could give a shit less about cycling, was under the Lance/Trek marketing spell of the late 90s/2000s and he didn't even realize it.

Excellent blog!

That ‘oh so true’ rant got you a new subscriber 👍

I love all kinds of bikes, even the gucci ones. But my favourite is whichever one replaces a car for it's owner, even if that's only one day a week.

I couldn't agree with you more. I bought a Trek Dual Sport 4 about six years ago and experienced the very feeling you described. When I purchased my bike I felt like I was bothersome to the staff. In my area (The Smokey Mountains of East Tennessee) mountain biking is the thing.

In 1998 I bought my first Porsche. Used, of course. Last year I bought a new bike (at significant end-of-year markdown), for the exact same dollar amount. That's part testimony to the effect of inflation on the dollar, and part highlights just how expensive bicycles are now.

Brilliant commentary. Stumbled across this vid and glad I watched until the end. Now subd. I'm a MAMIL, I train hard and love all things road cycling but the cost of bikes is getting way out of hand. It would be great to see all bikes return to a price point that normal people, whether they identify as " a cyclist" or simply "a bike rider" can afford and enjoy

I am glad you called this out, especially the several categories for bikes that exist. I started mountain biking in the early 90s when the stock hardtail was the everything bike from trials to dirt jumps. Now, there's "trail", "down country', and people talk about "geo(metry)" all the time just regurgitating what they read on PinkBike but the reality is, most people wouldn't feel the half degree difference in a headtube. I compete with a fancy XC bike or two but I harken back to the days of simplicity and not dozens of different "standards" for BBs and hubs, etc. I also agree on your NICA comment too.

Love your point of view man, well said

First, Andy, I completely agree with you about the number of the types of bikes out there. As a utilitarian person, I want one bike for everything I normally do. Thus, I have a main 29er that is mostly all aluminum with a suspension front fork. I use that bike to run errands, and more importantly, pull a garden trailer that is a direct-pull trailer, rather than a side-pull trailer. My 29 has a 3 x 7 system on it for a drivetrain. My other bike is a 26" Huffy mid-suspension bike I ended up converting to rigid forks in the front. It also has a 3 x 7 drivetrain, and the only thing it can't do is pull my wagon. That being said, both bikes are comfortable for me to ride. They each have low rolling resistance because of street tread on every tire. I also do all of my own maintainence and repairs. That being said, the biggest mistake I see most bike companies making is proprietary components. This drives up the cost of a bike across the board: MSRP, parts replacement, and servicing. Universal components are much better, because of interchangeability and parts replacement -- especially if you do bike-packing and something breaks. When you did that GT bike and put the Shimamo CUES components on that bike, my thought was, Shimano got that product line right, because everything is interchangeable. The cost becomes known, which, if the parts are reliable, makes for repeat customers. Which is why companies like Trek need to simplify. Simplify their products they sell, which in turn simplifies costs. Too often, bike companies try to act like car companies and sell a new model every year, when what needs to happen is, have a good desirable platform with several options, and make multi-use bikes that can be used for several purposes, rather than a 1-type/1-use kind of bike. Yeah, you might be able to charge higher prices, but your production costs are higher too. Anyways, them's my thoughts on this. Can't say I didn't see this coming, since car companies have been cutting back on both brands and number of models for roughly 15 years now. This was inevitable.

I felt a lot of this when looking for a new (gasp) forever road bike. That and insane complication and cost of the bikes themselves. I would have bought a new bike, but at least Craigslist exists and united me with a nice clean full carbon... LeMond. My next bike will be normal, I swear. Thanks for what you do. I'm teaching myself how to work on bikes, and this is invaluable to that end.

Nice video. I own a 13 year trek 4300 MTB. Just bought a gravel bicycle. The gravel bicycle does ride faster and is only a tad smoother! So your point is seen. I mean my old trek never gets pampering it has outdated tech but rides beautifully. If I knew how to clean it up once like you do, I bet it would ride as smooth or smoother than the gravel bicycle. May be not as fast. Plus my hands are killing me from riding on the hoods- the gravel is my first drop bar bike. So yes you do not need too much tech. I probably by a sturdy bicycle and spend on accessories as I go along. Thanks. Subscribed

‘Cycling was the new golf’ so true 😂

Hi l loved your rant on the bicycle industry it is sad that the scaling down at Trek will cause job loses but they only have themselves to blame.

100% agree with your analysis!! Too much hype. Needs a rethink in marketing like Honda did in the 60's. You meet the nicest people on a bicycle!.

I live in a 55+ community in Colorado. Residents are mostly from California, Texas and illinois. Many of the residents are unloading their 20 year old comfort bikes for e-bikes with wider tires. E-bikes are the growing market for the cycling industry.

So true! I past bike shops all the time because I know what they have. Things I seen, heard and don’t want to pay for, even if it’s a nice looking shop. I’m all about supporting local shop but there’s nothing to draw me in, if that makes sense.

Amen, brother! Preach!