Trek was never just a name. From the beginning, it was a summation of values.

The History of Trek!

The Driving Park

Eighty years before Trek's founders would make Waterloo, Wisconsin, the home of their new venture, the Waterloo Driving Park Association was formed in the town’s southwest corner. Preceding Henry Ford’s introduction of his first automobile by two years, “driving” held a different meaning— namely, racing horses and bicycles.

Here, Waterloo residents gathered around a dirt track to commune, cheer, and test themselves against one another in competition. Humans race for fun, for excitement, for the challenge. Competition is intrinsic to our nature. As long as there have been bicycles there has been bicycle racing. 84 years after the first intrepid cyclists battled on that oval of dirt, Trek broke ground on a new headquarters across the street. Today, Trek overlooks that storied land. The track is no longer there, but human nature remains. Racing has always been what we do.

Over a Few Beers

Fast forward to the winter of 1975, two gentlemen met at a dimly lit bar in a classic Wisconsin supper club called The Pine Knoll. As far as Trek's founders, Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg, were concerned, they were simply performing a time-honored ritual of business in Wisconsin where friends and partners met over drinks to hash out the day’s events, plan the future, and debate ideas good and bad. Over a few beers, the men engaged in a deep debate over what to call their fledgling bicycle company. Hogg favored Kestrel, after the bird of prey. Burke preferred Trek because it called forth images of travel and adventure. He must have known there was something remarkable about the word, something that held the promise of longevity and freedom and exploration and quality.

Born in a Barn

Months later, spring of 1976, in a southern Wisconsin barn located halfway between their homes in Madison and Milwaukee, this pair of visionaries set out to make a business of building bikes of extraordinary artistry. Here, in the geographically convenient town of Waterloo, their dream sparked to life.

There were five employees on the payroll when the barn doors opened in 1976. In its first year, Trek produced 904 touring frames. Steel tubing, lugged and silver-brazed, handcrafted and hand-painted with care.

A culture of craftsmanship and rebellion was fostered in the young American upstart. Every bend and every weld was charged with purpose, as each meticulously constructed frame broke the convention that all great bikes must come from Europe. Trek was out to change minds.

Today, Trek's headquarters is a mile up the road from the original barn, in a much larger facility. Although Trek has outgrown the barn, every bike we make is a testament to Trek's founding principles.

Relentless Progression

The four decades following our inception have witnessed greater innovation than the previous four hundred. Bicycles have not been immune to this explosion in technological advancement, and Trek has been at the forefront of the movement, continually challenging the limits of the bicycle's capability. Our commitment to relentless innovation while honoring our founding principles to build bikes people love that we are proud to stand behind has led us to where we are today. But we know that there is so much more that we can do. This world needs the bicycle more today than ever before. And Trek is building a better world through this simple, elegant machine. Come ride with us.