Trek Cycling: a Great Adventure

A trekking bike used in trek cycling is basically a touring bike with upright handlebars instead of drops. The word "trek" has African roots and means a long, painful journey on foot or by oxcart.

History

The history of trek cycling began in the late 1960s in Northern California when racing down mountain trails, also known as "Repack races," caught the imagination of biking enthusiasts. The race trail was called "Repack" because of the twisting, torturous route downhill on Pine Mountain, California.

The route forced the bikers to use the coaster brakes of their bikes to such an extent that the smoking hubs had to be repacked with grease after each run. These races also gave rise to the introduction of mountain trek bikes, or the kind of bicycles that were suitable for the rougher terrain involved in trek cycling.

In the late 1970s, manufactures of road bicycles started producing specialized trek cycles. The handlebars of trek cycles used for mountain biking have a different design compared to regular bikes. Unlike the curved, dropped handlebar of road bikes, the handlebars of trek cycles are traverse mounted and straight. The first mass-produced trek cycles meant for mountain biking were equipped with 18 gears.

The brake being mounted on the frame or hub was universally adopted in the early 1990s This was along with six bolts being used for bolting the rotor or disc to the hub, as well as the system of using two bolts to attach the brake pad assembly or piston to the frame.

Trek Bicycle Corporation

The Trek Bicycle Corporation is a major American trek cycle and component manufacturer. Trek cycling's high-end bicycles are built at Trek's world headquarters in the town of Waterloo, Wisconsin, while the price-competitive models are manufactured in Taiwan or mainland China.

More trek bicycles are used in trek cycling than any other brand. Trek manufactured the Madone road bike that was ridden in three of seven Tour de France victories by Lance Armstrong.

Trek is the largest U.S. manufacturer of bicycles and related aftermarket products. They formerly supplied the bicycles for the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team of the U.S.A. Trek owns several bicycle brand names in the U.S. including Klein, Lemond, and Gary Fisher, many of which are produced domestically in Waterloo.

In Europe, Trek manufactures the Villager, Diamant, and Arrow brands. Trek also owns Wrench Force, Bontrager which was a well known and well regarded manufacturer of high end bicycles in Santa Cruz, California. They are also the exclusive supplier of Nike bicycling products.

At the 2005 Dauphine Libere, Lance Armstrong unveiled the new Trek TTX time trial bike frame. Designed for maximum aerodynamic advantage and developed in just five weeks, the company used a cutting edge software program also used to design Ferrari racing cars.