January 20, 2000. 10am and
it's 4 degrees outside TREKs main facility in Waterloo, WI.
Their sun just doesn't seem to work like ours does.
Same day, looking at the employee bike
rack. Yes, some people did ride to work today, from as far
as Madison, over 30 miles away!
Aluminum & steel frames start life here, at
the laser tubing cutter. Pretty amazing machine, with a
"blade" that never needs sharpening and always cuts
perfectly.
What goes "in" are long lengths
(typically over 20ft) of aluminum & steel tubing. What
comes out are precision-cut pieces that will help to create a
perfect welded joint.
For those who believe that
high-performance frames are done entirely by robotics, think
again! Each steel & aluminum frame is precisely welded
and checked by the hands & eyes of a skilled craftsman (or
craftswoman, as there are many women welders building frames at
TREK!).
Final inspection before heading to the
paint section, where it will go through a series of six different
baths of chemicals, neutralizers and cleaners designed to prevent
corrosion and improve paint adhesion.
OK, what about
OCLV Carbon Fiber???
The one area of the plant I've never
been allowed into is where they fabricate the special carbon
fittings, or lugs, that hold the carbon sections together, but we
do get to photograph them prior to paint. Even in raw
unfinished for, these are works of art...and it's amazing to think
that these racks contain the soul of a couple hundred ultimate
bicycles, collecting well over a million miles of memories.
The "finishing room" where
excess adhesive and irregularities are removed & repaired
prior to painting.
Putting the finishing touches on the elaborate
detailing that makes the Lance Armstrong 5500 so special.
Each frameset exits the paint
department on an overhead conveyor system that will allow it to
journey to the assembly area, where it will be either built into a
complete bike or boxed as a separate frame and then shipped to Chain Reaction!
I
thought I must be dreaming when I came across this rack of TREK
OCLV road bike framesets (including a bunch of Lance Armstrong
models!) and a few Fisher Sugars.
You can't visit this facility and not come away
impressed with their dedication to building the greatest bikes in
the world, right here in the USA. --Mike--
Chain Reaction sells bicycles & accessories
from Trek, Gary Fisher, BikeFriday,Shimano, Pearl Izumi, Continental, Descente,
Sidi, Giro, Blackburn, Speedplay, Oakley, Saris, NiteRider, Bontrager,
Torelli, Look, DeFeet, Rock N Roll, Hammer, Cytomax,
Powerbar, Fox, Clif
Bar, CamelBak, Chris King, Profile Design, Craft, X-Lab and many more!
I
thought I must be dreaming when I came across this rack of TREK
OCLV road bike framesets (including a bunch of Lance Armstrong
models!) and a few Fisher Sugars.
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