What’s the difference between buying a $ 25,000 bike and a $ 2,000 bike? We travelled to the US to visit Trek Bicycles and find out how the billion-dollar company has brought a revolutionary concept of individualism and craftsmanship to the ultra high-end market. With an exclusive insight into the new superlative of luxury: The Trek Project One Ultimate program – the $ 25,000 bike.
Trek’s headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin are where our Project One experience begins. Walking around its factory and design facilities the messages that are imprinted on the walls make it all feel a bit Silicon Valley. Signs quoting Steve Jobs’ 10th commandment: “Prototype to the extreme”, are there encouraging employees to step out of everyday thinking and challenge average.
Raised on rocket science.
The building’s atrium is divided into sections which visually project the company principles. “Born in a barn”, an ode to where the very first Trek bikes were made; “raised on rocket science” which depicts how since Trek’s inception in 1976, co-founders Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg have been constantly looking for ways to innovate and revolutionise their products. An endeavour that’s ranged from the first introduction of carbon into their frames in 1991 with the Trek 2500, to the current Project One programme. A tour through the factory sheds light on Trek’s carbon manufacturing process, along with the painting, assembling, test labs and race shop giving insight into how high Trek’s standards are – especially when building bikes for cycling’s top elite athletes. At this high-tech facility painting robots busily hum away alongside artists that hand paint the finishing touches, a highlight graphic designer Micah Moran made sure wasn’t missed.
Eliminating the Industry Status Quo – Project One
When you’re a company whose revenue hits the $1bn mark, quite quickly you’re stereotyped as being enslaved by economies of scale. This is where Trek Project One goes against the grain. Why is it that in the cycling industry the more you spend on a bike the less choice you seem to have? For most other industries it’s the reverse. So why have we come to accept that if we pay €10,000 we have less options on colour, parts, and wheelsets than with a €2,000 bike? Project One represents Trek’s unwillingness to rest upon its laurels and let others trailblaze the way; it’s the brand’s way of honouring the unique individual. Tell the laws of mediocre this isn’t right – that a multinational company can still do customisation.
The Project One online system allows you to choose from a range of models, not only road but off-road too. Easy to navigate, Trek have made choosing a custom bike as uncomplicated as choosing a suit from your favourite online retailer. With hundreds of different preset paint designs that vary in price depending on complexity, Trek offer a choice that ranges from classic to idiosyncratic. From animal print to green tinged flames curling around top tubes, it’s obvious the designers have fun. So much so they’re willing to sign their names onto your frame just to let you know it was a job done with care.
Not prepared to stop at just giving you free rein on your paint job, Project One lets you decide on componentry such as wheels, groupset, saddle. Darn! They even let you become that awkward customer and dictate which cable housing you want your machine to have. Project One starts at € 500 more than the base price of the model you are customising, with the online calculator providing an easy guide of how much each bit of customisation is going to cost. The biggest surprise for us was that the current lead time is only two weeks. To Trek customisation shouldn’t mean having to wait a lifetime, as is often the case with other makers.
If you can dream it, we can make it reality — even if that means developing a new paint specifically for your frame.
Then after the Trek designers have collaboratively assembled your piece of art, if you really want to get all ceremonial about it, you can travel to the Wisconsin HQ for a grand unveiling and have your debut ride out with them on the Trek team lunchtime ride.
Trek Project One Ultimate – as unique as a fingerprint
If the Project One experience blows your mind we’ll give you some perspective. Say Project One is akin to fine dining at a Michelin starred restaurant, then Ultimate is that Michelin experience with a world-class chef, but joining them in their own kitchen. Starting at $ 25,000 Trek Project One Ultimate is the superlative of luxury.
Here this $ 25,000 dream adventure takes you on a journey of self-discovery. Starting in Wisconsin, you receive a bike fitting that details every conceivable body measurement to ensure your handmade, custom built frame fits you to perfection with the Trek Precision Fit.
Then your allocated personal designer sets out to know your story, what is it that makes you tick. Through a process of listening to everything you say – what you lust for, what you detest, what cycling means to you, a moodboard is created. This is the artist’s bloodline that helps them interpret and create the bike you want…even if they don’t have it. Well, within reason.
You still have to choose one of Trek’s models, but that’s really where the limitations on your creativity stop, as long as it complies with Trek’s safety standards – leopard print rocket boosters probably won’t make the cut.
With most frames taking a minimum of 13 hours for the paint job, Trek’s craftsmanship is market leading. Micah, the head graphic designer explained: “If you can dream it, we can make it reality — even if that means developing a new paint specifically for your frame.” One of the first Project One Ultimate clients, Boeing’s CEO, was set on having the Dreamliner aeroplane colours as a part of the design. This took Trek down a 20 hour colour mixing journey to perfectly match the pantones. It’s one of many stories that back up their self-confession of being obsessed to the point of absurdity.
Dreams Can Come True
A once-in-a-lifetime bike that conveys your story: the team at Trek live by their founder’s motto of ‘Raised on rocket science.’ The limits of possibility are continually being stretched. The descriptions of ‘fast and expensive’ don’t suffice these days when it comes to owning a premium bike. Trek’s Project One and Project One Ultimate approaches are able to instil a desire in the bike industry to shake up the status quo as well as meet – no, exceed – today’s ever increasing demand for custom bikes. Whether you’re in the market for a 2,000 euro or a 25,000 euro bike; your dream bike is about more than just performance, milligrams and rigidity. Your bike has to tell your story and disclose more about you than your passport does. If you’ve got enough money in the bank then Trek can definitely help you here.
For more information head to trekbikes.com
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Words: Photos: Robin Schmitt
