Trek annnounces and end to deal with Greg LeMondNice scoop Steve.
By Steve Frothingham
Posted Apr. 8, 2008
Trek Bicycle president John Burke told employees this morning that the company was ending its business relationship with Tour de France champion Greg LeMond.
Burke cited LeMond's comments regarding Lance Armstrong, his decision to offer a mass merchant accessory line in 2000, and his "inconsistent" commitment to the brand.
Damn. So, is that the end of the LeMond brand as we know it? Time will tell eh? Seems LeMond has had more different builders make bikes with his "name" on them than most.
9 comments:
Think it's a coincidence that the announcement came shortly after the old man died?
See alot on LeMonds under gumbies at club rides. LeMond didn't have different builders I don't think. He would sell the business and when it folded he's start up again.
My guess it that it will go away for a year or so and may be absorbed into LeMond Fitness.
he had at least 3 different builders including trek IIRC.
i could certainly be wrong, none overlapped in the time line of his 'brand' tho...
"The move by Trek has come on the heels of LeMond serving Trek with a 41-page suit on
March 20, 2008, to be filed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. LeMond’s suit was characterized by
Burke as containing false and irresponsible allegations which “forced us to immediately end
our relationship with Greg.”"
I just read over most of the document that Lemond filed against trek...
It will be interesting to see how that 'case' winds up.
Now, if Gary Klein or Keith Bontrager had gotten as pissed as lemond about stuff... well, we'll never know...
A big part of me wished Gary and Keith hadn't joined the conglomeration. But it probably was better for them than lemond (the selling out to Trek).
*shrug*
My wife has an old Lemond Zurich (hard to call it 'old' but I guess it is, Ultegra 8 speed STI is sort of old now - but wicked damn functional)...
Hmmm
kinda funny
we own a handful of 'trek Kleins' a 'trek bontrager (race)' and a 'trek lemond'
weird... kinda says something about the last shop i worked at don't it ;)
I agree that a few different folks built the bikes. Starting with Della Santa IIRC.
HE has sold the "LeMond" company a couple times. It was idle for some time before the Trek aquisition I think.
He is a smart guy and his dad is a very smart guy. My guess is that the company as a brand will be sold again, probably in China.
reading all the press material i am struck by the trek presentation being 100% pro trek and 100% filtered, ie propaganda.
Even with lance's wins the Trek brand just seems so wonderbread to me. Always has. Bontrager, Lemonds, Kleins, Fisher, those were/are the dynamic, distinctive brands. Even after acquisition they retained a distinctive element to the geometry something unique, almost putting a strong stamp on the bland flavorlessness that trek seemed to have. Don't get me wrong the Treks are great bikes, the OCLV stuff was/is wicked popular, light, and the brand had a strong foothold as being american made and built for a while... good company but like G-ride said before - i can't see myself ever riding a trek
An old friend, Chis Huggins (the redheaded guy in the Safety Bike video) once told a fellow BNBer not to get the Trek she was looking at. "Why", she asked. No soul was Chris' answer. She got a Waterford.
i would be one of those gumbies with a lemond under my ass on group rides
lemond was a great sponsor of team snow valley for many years, and after the pro folks had beaten them up and laid them down, the gumbies in the club could buy them at, oh, say $800 for a ti lemond with battered DA. the bike has served me well for quite some time.
maybe trek is soulless, but its brand acceptance and affordable entry-level bikes have gotten many people into the sport at a time when most companies only offered one road in their line-ups.
just a thought from a ex-Trek bike shop employee on the blog that usually advocates inexpensive, but functional bikes.
Meow!
BR, Roger R. Swize
um... megA - you ain't the only one who worked in a Trek shop.
That said unlike some metal laden dude back in 2001, i've never raced on any trek. Sold buckets of them (when i was pretending to be a sales guy between fixing flats and building wheels). They are a great product for lots of people. But Soul?
They had a few bikes with soul. That 990. That had soul. The venerable 520. That beast had soul. Esp in that dark green with the gold trim. Mmmm, sexy for a touring bike.
But both of those were departures from the norm.
Glued tubed aluminum or carbon frames? Even the Technium line had more soul (ATMO - more mass as well though).
Trek ain't a bad company. Their dealer support is amazing. They believe in the LBS.
I just think they kinda suck without the brands they acquired in terms of bikes.
They good, they just ain't got that 'soul' for lack of better word living in the bikes. No matter how many TdFs were won on their bikes...
I used to sell Treks too. Never liked them. The OCLV bike my wife had rode like crap.
Burke the younger seems to be a prick. Today's "employee meeting" was open to the press by confrence call.
I fail to see how Trek is any better at bikes for the masses than Giant or Specialized. Certainly they don't walk the walk like Kona.http://www.konaworld.com/konaafricabike.htm
This is corporate pissing match, LeMond is in a couple of them right now.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aqYoXSWaLx_M&refer=us
Greg poked the corporate Golden Cow and St. Lance won. He rolled Greg like he rolled Andreu, and anybody else who stood in his way.
Do you really think the brand suffered because LeMond dissed Armstrong? My touring club pals couldn't tell you dick about LeMond let alone what he had to say about il Patrone.
Trek wasn't making the money and Greg wouldn't fall in line. They are not going to cut out LeMOnd if it was a money maker. Theya recompeteing against them selves with Trek, LeMond, Klein, BOntrager and Fisher all being in house. Too many brands. Which one is the next to fall? My guess is Klein is waiting for the final coffin nail. Has anybody seen a 2008 Klein catalog?
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