Hi
(carbon, and then, later, on-topic steel discussion.)
I and, I am sure, several other listers have toured the Trek factory in Waterloo, Wisconsin, many times since the 80s. I have seen hundreds if not thousands of carbon frames in different stages of building and painting there in the factory. I did see lugged steel in the early years. They have even been letting us (visiting Trek dealers) in the carbon lug and rim layup rooms the last few years. Even their destructive testing lab have been part of the tour, where they test frames and forks with machines that flex and distort and count the cycles to failure.
At least a few listers have been employed at Trek over the years.
Trek does has some carbon bikes made in Taiwan, they are called TCT.
Otherwise all Trek carbon have been made stateside. Including early prototypes made in Maine, I believe.
I started selling Trek frames at a shop I worked at in Missoula, Montana, in 1976, the year Trek started building steel frames. (this is the on-topic part.) I was working with (in their shops, or later mine) more than one lugged steel framebuilder at about that time, and they mostly saw the writing on the wall for small builders inability to be cost competitive at about that time. I did a small paint operation for a couple years. I was pretty amateurish, although I still have some examples of bikes we painted in the 70s that do n't look too bad.
I had a definite Keeper of the Flame stop by the shop on Saturday while he was in town with MS150 ride. He builds and rides beautiful lugged ste el touring bikes. Don't know if he builds for sale, as his occupation is in a machin e shop in Sioux Falls, SD, where he is president of the Sioux Empire Bike Club.
oh, oh, my topic is wandering.
Wet and humid, in eastern South Dakota.
Robb Rasmussen Sioux River Bicycles & Fitness , since 1977 501 Main Ave Brookings, SD 57006 http://www.501main.com
> Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 02:35:22 +0100> From: cherrycycle1@yahoo.co.uk> To:
classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Subject: [CR]Trek,USA> > LISTERS,> Garth.
MIAMI,> Plastic Fantastic,> Trek,..... i was under the perhaps wrong impres
sion that Trek carbons were made Stateside.. thats what they have claimed f
or some time,.. to my knowledge,> even though according to Specialized and
Ridley their technology is 10 years behind current carbon tec...> . i have
only one carbon an O/T french made RBE early 90'S..> > willie carton.... to
o heavy for plastic?? > coleraine n.ireland > > > -------------------------
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