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Trek Bicycle Portland Slabtown | Trek Bicycle Portland Slabtown

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Bike repair and service made simple Regular bicycle maintenance is key to keeping your trusty steed running smoothly ride after ride. That's why we offer 24-hour service turnaround on bikes of any brand* — no appointment needed. Stop by today and our expert in-store technicians will have your ride rolling like new in no time at all. *Excludes certain e-bike models. Call or visit your local retailer for more information. Here’s how we’ll do it:

We want to know about your concerns, learn about your riding habits, and understand your goals. That way, we can provide exactly what you need to get the most out of your bike.

One of our service advisors will put your bike in the stand and run it through our professional inspection process. They’ll describe what they’re noticing and address any concerns.

From there, we'll discuss how we can get your bike back up to speed with a service package, on-the-spot adjustments, or replacement parts. We’ll also create an itemized receipt to make sure you’re comfortable with repair costs before we get to work.

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Leave your bike with us, and we'll do the rest! You'll receive an email and/or text when your repairs have been completed, and we'll be sure to give you a call if anything pops up along the way. Plus, if our turnaround time exceeds 24 hours, we'll set you up with a complimentary demo bike.

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After 47 years, Bike Gallery stores are now Trek Bicycle stores

I knew it was going to happen, but it still felt like a shock.

Last week I scrolled through Instagram and a big red “Trek” logo and trekbicyclepdx appeared where bikegallerypdx to be. Then I typed BikeGallery.com into my browser and it auto-forwarded to trekbikes.com/us/en_US/stores/pdx/ .

It was the end of an era.

Bike Gallery was founded in 1974 by Bob Graves, who passed the stores onto his son Jay Graves in 1995. Jay built the business into one of the best retail bike shop chains in America and a mainstay of Portland’s dynamic bike culture before he sold the stores and retired in 2012 . Since then the shops have been owned by San Diego, California resident Mike Olson (who initially partnered with former Bike Gallery employee Kelly Aicher, but Aicher moved on several years ago), who owned six stores of his own in California and New Mexico and had a long history as a top Trek retailer. Earlier this year Olson decided to “take the Trexit ramp” and sell all his stores — including six in the Portland area — to Trek Bicycle Corporation.

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This commitment is a big move for Trek. One source said they’ve amassed about 180 locations which would certainly make them owners of what Bicycle Retailer & Industry News reported yesterday as , “the largest chain of bike shops in the United States currently, if not in all of industry history.”

“Trek gives us another level of professionalism and a lot of resources for getting things done.” — Shannon Skerritt, Hollywood store manager

Shannon Skerritt manages the Trek Bicycle Store in Hollywood and has worked for Bike Gallery/Trek for 23 years. “Overall it’s a positive change,” he said when I talked with him a few days ago as he feverishly prepped for the big grand re-opening. Skerritt said the biggest change he’s noticed is how professional and supportive Trek has been thus far. They’ve flown in scores of top-level staff from their headquarters in Waterloo Wisconsin to oversee the transition and train employees on their retail and service vision. “Trek gives us another level of professionalism and a lot of resources for getting things done,” Skerritt said. “As opposed to how things were before which sometimes felt like we were trying to build the plane while flying it.”

Will customers notice any other changes? Skerritt said you’ll still see your favorite employees: All but two or three Bike Gallery employees in the Portland area took Trek’s offer to stick around (with at least one deciding to move to the corporate office in Waterloo, a step in the career ladder not possible prior to the sale). And Skerritt thinks you’ll appreciate a more structured and thorough approach to repairs and customer service.

Part of that boost in professionalism is a new 24-hour turnaround for all service jobs. If you drop your bike off to get fixed and they can’t meet that timeframe, you’ll be given a free loaner bike.

Owning stores directly gives Trek complete control over their brands (which include Electra and Bontrager). That means everything from marketing and merchandising to sales software and apparel offerings — all reflect Trek’s vision.

A visit to the downtown store on Monday gave me a taste of Trek’s new vision. The displays were on-point and very organized. The showroom floor felt sparse. Part of that was by design (a clean and uncluttered aesthetic is what Trek wants), but part of that was because not all the new bikes and products had arrived.

You’ll see Trek’s commitment to help local nonprofits at each store. From now until April 4th, they’re encouraging customers to drop a coin in one of three boxes labeled with either Northwest Trail Alliance, The Street Trust, or Community Cycling Center. The one with the most donations will receive a $5,000 grant, second place will get $3,000 and third will get $2,000.

It will take more than better service and nonprofit donations for Trek to be wholly embraced in Portland, a city famous for our devotion to small, locally-owned businesses. In the past week I’ve seen criticisms leveled at the company for their role in supplying bicycles to police agencies across the country. Trek was urged to break those contracts during the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer , but they refused to do so and their statements have not satisfied activists.

I expect more skepticism to come. As the biggest bike brand in America, Trek is used to it. And they’re banking on the fact that even if you don’t like their politics, you’ll appreciate having a quality shop nearby that will fix your bike overnight and sell you a new set of tires with top-notch customer service and a smile to go with it.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and [email protected] — Get our headlines delivered to your inbox . — Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription .

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at [email protected], or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter .

Still remember my very first bicycle piece of clothing was a red Trek hat. My buddies in high school had no clue about cycling and thought I was being a trekkie. Not that I’m not, but it was for wearing on my head while out riding my 10 speed Centurion Le Mans.

There are lots of bike shops nationwide that are selling out – it’s a good time to sell for those owners wanting to retire or cash in, plus it’s hard to satisfy your customer base when your parts suppliers are telling you that even your basic summer parts won’t be available until August or maybe even 2022.

I’m glad to hear Trek donates their unwanted parts to charities – when Performance bowed out, most of their stores sold parts well below cost and donated the rest, while many of the larger chains simply sold their inventory to the bottom-dwelling distributors like JBI or Midway.

I’ll be interested in service. Under original ownership my experience wasn’t good so I didn’t go. After it changed ownership in 2012 I gave it a new try and liked it.

If they try to help me solve little problems cheaply and quickly before pushing expensive service, I’ll keep going. If they won’t lend me an allen wrench or screwdriver to just tighten/adjust something simple, or do it quickly for free, I won’t come in for real service needs.

While this is definitely a change for Bike Gallery to solely focus on Trek, I’ve been impressed with the Trek brand for a long time. In the 1970s, my first quality road bike was a Trek 10-speed when the company only offered one frameset design with a choice of 4 types of steel tubing and 4 or 5 colors! I had mine built with an eclectic mix of now extinct components (remember Suntour or Zeus?). Loved it for over 25 years and finally donated it to Community Cycling Center. My household has had several Treks since.

I’ll miss the variety of other brands in the shop, but Bike Gallery is certainly aligning itself with a solid bike company.

Like the Apple Store, except without spyware.

And like ^that^ decades of brand equity vanish. Not a smart move on Trek’s part. When brick and mortar retailers play the game of buying up local brands and standardizing them in a vain quest for synergy, they invariably loose.

You can never beat the price, convenience or selection of online-only retailers. It’s a fools errand. They should have gone the other direction.

You know, that was Bike Gallery’s business model too, right? They started out with one shop and proceeded to buy out their competitors. Beckwith Cycles became Bike Gallery Woodstock (subsequently moved to Westmoreland). Bob’s Bicycles became Bike Gallery Division (subsequently moved to Happy Valley).

If Trek can sell their own products directly, they can either A) cut prices to eliminate the profit margin the shop owner used to make, or B) take advantage of current insane demand and print money for the time being. In either case, I don’t necessarily believe this is a fools errand.

As many premium brands have proven, you can beat price, convenience and selection with service and a great product. If the service is great and it doesn’t take 3 weeks for a tune-up and the products continue to be what they are (they seem good, though I haven’t owned one), then they could be onto something.

Unfortunately it looks like they will only be carrying Bontrager tires from now on. Tried to get some Schwalbe tires there this week and they no longer carry them like they did before. Not sure if Bontrager tires are up for “Portland” bike lane conditions given my experience with them in the past.

obvious change, sale a competitor’s tire; why would I do that?

Oh wow. Just carrying Bontager tires really makes me sad. Are they only carrying Bontrager for touch points as well?

Thanks for the tip on biketiresdirect! Cat 6 cycles on NE 42nd was able to hook me up with what I needed this time.

Same here in ATX, Trek bought bicycle sport shop. A sad day

I’m curious how they can guarantee 24 hour turnaround times. Are they hiring more mechanics? Though TBH, I’d be happy to wait more than 24 hours if I got a fun loaner.

To put a more cynical spin on it, it leaves every incentive to upsell the maximum service, and let you borrow a brand new Trek which you might just decide to buy instead of, or in addition to, the service.

I’ve had many a Trek over the years and respect the quality but I think I’ll be supporting my local Independent Bicycle Dealer instead.

I can’t possibly do business with all of them and make a complete list of recommendations, but as a rule of thumb you really do have to choose between style and substance.

What are Trek’s politics? The article mentions if I don’t like them I may still appreciate good service, but I don’t know Trek’s politics. Trek donates to non-profits and sells products to police. Neither action should be seen as political.

The demand for bike brands to refuse to sell to police is completely ridiculous. Should clothing brands, footwear brands, etc all refuse to do business with police accounts?

This is similar to boycotting Giro since the company that ultimately owns Giro also owned a firearms brand.

That was a reference to Trek’s responses to the police bike issue. I’m aware that many people don’t feel like they’ve gone far enough on that issue.

Not sure what Trek could do other than get out of the police bike business altogether. The bikes are purchased on contract as a block. That means by the time you see Officer McProtesterWacker with a bike, it was requisitioned, paid for and delivered months (if not years) ago. Anyone can understand how seeing a Trek bike being used to assault a peaceful protester is galling. But that isn’t Trek’s fault, nor are they responsible. Nor is complaining to Trek going to have any meaningful effect on changing police behavior.

People ask themselves, “Why is this (whatever this is) still a problem?” Because too many people conflate complaining & simplistic action with hard work. Writing about Trek bikes being used by Officer McProtesterWacker is easy. Working for years to get police immunity or training guidelines changed is hard.

Hi Cyclekrieg,

Thanks for this information. Please understand I’m just the messenger here. Just trying to give folks information to figure stuff out on their own. Not taking a position on this either way here.

can’t imagine all the companies who we as consumers buy products from might be in bed with bigger conglomerates who prop them up? what’s a person to do?”go with out”??? NOT!

I think it was Trek’s dishonesty about selling bikes to police that was the problem.

Kelly didn’t “move on” he was fired along with Jason Engel…who didn’t get any mention of his 26 year tenure at BG in this article. They were both fired on the spot by Mike Olsen without any warning. The author also stated only “two or three” employees didn’t opt to hire on with Trek..this is completely false. After Kelly “left” the large majority of senior staff split during that following year. We’ve had numerous former BG employees apply for a position at our shop. I’m happy they didn’t close the stores. There are a lot of great people still working there. It will be very interesting to see what happens moving forward. Looks like we will be fixing a lot more Treks this year.

Good riddance to Mike Olsen and his boot licking middle managers who had nobody’s best interest in mind but their own. Removing bonuses to employees going into the pandemic while they continued to bring in millions of dollars throughout last summer was not a good look. Some remained hopeful that their jobs would be secure and that they could continue their careers at a professional local bike shop. Once the shops were closed for the transition period, it became clear this was not the case. Employees have been fired and many others felt cornered into quitting and looking for other options. At least without Mikes blue pills and hair loss medicine on the company card there should be some money freed up for payroll.

Bike Gallery was a keystone supporter of Cycle Oregon. Anyone know if they will continue in the same capacity?

If you want to know the politics of Trek, Google “Tammy Baldwin” she is totally cool And progressive

Good for her for calling out Trek’s fake progressivism.

My Trek 520 was my favorite bike ever as a 20+ year bike commute/pleasure rider. What a workhorse. That said, was there any offer to sell BG to the employees? I always found BG a weird place to bike – it felt so corporate to me. I miss Coventry and now head to River City for my kids’ bikes. My husband is a Surly loyalist.

In one year as a Trek store, %90 of the current staff will be discarded and replaced.

Why would you say that?

Duke’s in Toronto was taken over by Trek. Within a year the original manager and many staff members were gone.

OK so it’s been a year +. Seems to be true. All the great bike mechanics & sales folks are gone. No real knowledgeable sales it seems either. Place seems empty. Not so sure I’ll how much or if I’ll be a customer there in the future which I’ve been since 1985.

I bought my 10 speed Atami Samurai, from the Graves, in 1974 at the Bike Gallery on NE Sandy Blvd. The bike’s serial number is 9176. I say “is” because I still ride it to this day. The tires have been replaced, and it has a padded cover over the perfect original seat. After 48 years the bike still looks great. Needless to say, I take care of my things. Thank you Graves.

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Trek Portland

First Published Sep 20, 2010

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

• Exceptional
• Not so good

Trek's Portland urban crosser has hokey cokeyed in and out of their UK range over the past few years like some particularly over exuberant regular down at the Queen Vic, this year it's in and it 'd going to be shaking it all about with the likes of the Specialized Tricross and the Genesis Croix de Fer. Trek say the Portland is a tough, traffic proof and a capable of load lugger which with its mudguards as standard will always get you to work looking your best. So, how does road.cc’s experience with the Portland compare to the marketing blurb?

Pretty well it turns out.

The Portland made a good first impression, the understated ‘dark mocha’ (or bronze if you like) finish on the frame works very well paired with brown bar tape and a Bonty Race Lux saddle alongside the ever so tidy Bontrager Sattelite Elite forks. The Bontrager SSR Disc wheelset also turns heads, with 24 cross laced spokes front and rear you know you are buying a good looking steed.

There seems to be a fair few drop handlebar, road/cross bikes being fitted with discs and getting branded as urban at the moment aside from the Tricross the Genesis Croix de Fer or the Kona Honky inc spring instantly to mind, so big brands seem confident that the blend of on and off road features can come together to create a desirable and rideable machine. Even as an avid road rider (I used to mountain bike in my teenage years so do have a soft spot for a good set of discs) I can see that these bikes look good. I can also see why a man about town like myself would be happy to be seen riding something like this as an alternative to a bulky looking hybrid, a folding bike or God forbid an electric bike.

My first proper ride on the Portland wasn’t harmed by leaving home at 5am on a glorious July morning on my way to the bike breakfast event in Bristol. Now, I don’t normally do early starts but with nobody else being at home and the day forecast to be stunning I thought I really should take the opportunity of empty roads, bird song and sunrise. Good decision, and the Trek Portland really added to the experience. It isn’t often that I get on a bike and don’t ride it quickly, even commuting to work I want to get there asap so to ride the Portland feeling relaxed and calm was fantastic.

Rolling along through the north Somerset levels, taking in some empty A-roads, lanes and the climb up to Bristol Airport the Portland was assured and smooth. Never did I feel the need to struggle with the bike, get some more power out or throw it into corners for some excitement. This, to me, didn’t seem to be the sort of bike that was for thrill seekers. It is marketed as a tough acting and traffic proof urban bike and subsequent journeys were to prove this to be correct but for now, me and ‘the Port’ were happy taking things that little bit easier.

That's not to say that the Portland can't generate excitement, at the numerous events the Trek carried me to it has grabbed peoples attention, asking about the spec, price, “wow, I like the colour” being a frequent comment. It looks classy in a quiet way and it rides in the same manner. In traffic the Portland is very sure footed, the wheelset, despite concerns about the low spoke count and lace pattern is very strong and stood up to Bristol’s notoriously rutted roads when carrying loads with ease and on the occasion that I thrashed it around the Ashton Court cycle trails (albeit in the dry) I never felt uncertain.

Disc brakes on a drop bar bike; in the dry I can’t really see the point. They are heavier, and offer a smaller selection of wheelset options, but in the wet I can definitely see the sense. They don’t offer such a drop in performance as some calliper brakes (especially at this price point), you can take the front wheel off without fuss and lock it securely (which has got to be a good selling point for an urban steed) and the pads should last you longer. In the dry the Shimano R505 mechanical discs were a little weak and took a bit of aligning but in any damp conditions they were great, I would catch other commuters with ease into corners without going any quicker on the straights simply because I had confidence in the brakeset and the surprisingly robust Bontrager Race Lite hard case 28 tyres which performed superbly in all conditions.

Our test model did not come with the mudguards as specified on the many adverts you will see online for this bike and nor did we get the Shimano M520 pedals although speccing double sided clipless pedals seems a bit strange to me, especially on an urban bike - something like the Shimano M324, flat on one side clipless on the other would I think be a better bet for the urban jungle.

The Shimano drivetrain performed admirably, no mechanical issues, certainly no Schlecky overshifts to speak of. It's an interesting mix consisting of Tiagra 9 speed shifters and front derailleur tied to a 105 rear derailleur and an FSA Vero triple crankset which I suggest is a smart choice. Bristol isn’t the flattest of cities and this bike doesn’t encourage the rider to go all out at any point, it promotes a smooth, comfortable ride which wouldn’t be aided by having a double, even of a compact design. The shifts were quick and accurate, the Sram 11-26 cassette offered every gear I would need and plenty more besides.

Being a Trek you know that Bontrager parts will be liberally sprinkled around the frameset. I have already mentioned the appearance of the brown bar tape and saddle, they back up their good looks by working well tand are both grippy yet comfortable. Bontrager Race spec bars, seatpost and stem complete the package and offer no cause for concern while also not being particularly exciting.

Trek have priced this at £1250, however, it can be had for as little as £1k but is not available through mail order or online so you will need to go in store to try and buy. An odd price point really, a bit too high for the cycle to work scheme to cover the cost fully and I would have thought that this would be an ideal market for Trek to aim at. That said it is a similar price and spec to the Specialized Tricross Comp (that's even brown too) the difference being that there is a whole brood of lesser priced Tricrosses that do make it under the magic £1000 while the Portland is head of a family of one. It's up against some competitively priced competition too as previously mentioned, the Genesis and Kona both come in at a shade under £1k so can make the most of the allowance. Having not ridden the Genesis or Kona (yet….!) I cannot compare these similar bikes but that £250 extra that misses the cycle to work scheme has got to be a bit of an issue if you are in the market for a get to work bike.

The Trek Portland isn’t the sort of bike I would normally ride, I would admire it but wouldn’t take it any further than that. Since testing this machine, though, I have adjusted that view. There is a place for this bike, that place is allowing me to get to work and not have a red face, to allow me to ride along with my girlfriend and not feel like I should be going quicker but most importantly the Trek Portland reminded me what is best about cycling; getting out there, enjoying the world and enjoying being on two wheels. Not everything needs to be a training ride and the Trek Portland lets me make my way around the city and countryside while looking smart and enjoying life.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Trek Portland

Size tested: 56cm

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Trek Portland is aimed at the savvy city rider, someone who wants a tough bike that oozes classic style. The promo material say its a tough acting, load hauling, go anywhere machine. Maybe, I found it to be useful in all of those areas but it would make a great long day tourer as well.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

One of a growing number of drop bar bikes with discs. With a frame made from Treks tried and tested Alpha black Aluminium you know you will get years of design evolution and technological fettling. Formed tubing and neat welds come together to create a sleek machine. Paired with a versatile and reliable carbon fork you can trust the bike to react when you need it to.

No creaks or squeaks. Would have liked to have tried the bike with mudguards to see how they coped with the ploughed roads of Bristol.

Not a quick bike but make no mistake the Portland lets you get where you need in comfort.

A strong frame and wheel combination never felt like failing me. I cant say it is perfect because I had to tighten a couple of fittings after a ride but nothing serious.

It isnt designed to be lightweight and with the ability to fit pannier racks the weight is only going to increase. Having said that, Trek have fitted a triple up front so you can always bail out and use the granny ring if need be.

Outstanding. I could have glided around the countryside all day. Great riding position complemented very nicely by some neat bar tape and a no fuss saddle. No complaints.

As mentioned in the main section, the Trek Portland is a really nice bike to ride but for £350 less (or more if you look hard) you can have the Genesis Croix de fer or the Kona Honky Inc with similar specs. No matter how much I like the Portland I'd probabyl save £300 and have the Genesis (okay, I'd take a test ride first) which itself is a bit of a looker.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The Portland was fine, cruising along cycle paths, chugging up hills, weaving through stationary traffic. Nothing could put it under pressure and never did I feel uneasy.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

I like the whole package but if I had to choose (and Im not allowed to choose aesthetics) it would be the wheelset. Others have commented how flimsy it looks but when ridden there is no hint of weakness.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really, I would like it to be cheap enough to come in under the £1k cycle to work scheme barrier but that is Trek's issue. With regard to the bike there is nothing that didn't perform.

Did you enjoy using the product? Immensely

Would you consider buying the product? If on sale, otherwise I'd be tempted by the Genesis Croix de Fer.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, but with the same caveat on price

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Great looking, smooth riding bike from the States that should have been available over here long ago.

Overall rating: 8 /10

About the tester

Age: 24   Height: 5ft 10   Weight: 70kg

I usually ride: felt ar4   My best bike is: i like my felt and my orbea ora tt bike equally

I've been riding for: 5-10 years   I ride: Every day   I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, mtb, triathlon

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10 comments.

Also the disc brakes on this bike do not deal well with Douglas Fir needles.

Commuters in Olympia prefer the Surly Long Hauler Trucker or most any wide geared rig with 36 to 40 spoke wheels and spacing to accommodate wider tires and fenders.

My commuter bike is a well used KHS CX-100 running 40 spoke Velocity Dyads and 42x622 tires with full fenders. 36-22 chainwheels and an 8 speed 11-34 cogset. Bought used and modified for less than half the price of the Portland.

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I've used the exact chainset on test though and it weighs a tonne and flexes like a rubber band (the amount of deflection possible when holding on the brakes was pretty alarming). It's also fitted to bikes less than half the price of this one. Problem is that most square taper stuff now is either expensive bespoke equipment, which are no doubt very high quality, or bargain basement cheap stuff. The happy medium equipment is pretty much all external.

Nothing wrong with square taper, I agree. External bearing bottom brackets don't have much clearance for your ankles or heels of your shoes, which I find is a problem on my city bike when wearing trainers.

Square taper sealed BBs seem to last forever too. Pity Shimano don't make the range that they used to. ISIS bottom brackets have terrible longevity.

I can't see the Portland in the Trek UK website. So was it a 2010 model and not going to be 2011 model in the UK?

pompetamine looks pretty slick ... you boys getting one of them on test?

jezzzer wrote: pompetamine looks pretty slick ... you boys getting one of them on test?

I didn't know this bike had ever been in the UK portfolio. Glad it is and I really wish I had the money for one. I'd really like one of these or a Tricross for my winter riding/shopping trips/commuting. The problem for me with the Tricross is the lack of a disc brake version. Now that Spesh have a racer model Tricross I'd have thought a disc model would be on the cards. I like the fact it comes with specific fitted guards.

What's it like off-road?

Square taper chainset/BB on a bike of that price? That's a pretty big bit of corner cutting right there. The Kona you mention has far better specs IIRC, or if you can handle less gearing something like the On-one Pompetamine would get you more bike with less maintenance (alfine). I think importing has killed the price on this one.

jwlademann wrote: Square taper chainset/BB on a bike of that price? That's a pretty big bit of corner cutting right there.

Dunno, i prefer taper cranks on my commute bikes, bit flexy ive your hammering but ultimate longevity! And if you compare prices for taper cranks and bb to external bearing cranks youll find they are quite similar.

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