what is trek 500

Vintage Trek Bike, the 500; Better than a Peugeot?

Other Vintage Bikes , Vintage Bikes

Video Review Below:

Clash of the 501’s

I recently posted a blog about the Peugeot PH501 , though it doesn’t feel recent. It was actually in January, before the pandemic began and when normal, mask-free life was taken for granted. It seems another world, even though I’m posting this just 6 months later. These are strange days indeed, and especially now that I’m visiting America, right in the eye of the storm . The love of bikes doesn’t stop, however, and I’ve been lucky enough to restore this vintage Trek bike, a 500; it’s interesting to compare it to the Peugeot.

The opportunists

The story of Trek is impressively bold and audacious: in 1976, two Americans decided to take on the big European bike brands and win the share of the mid-range US bike market. Failure had a big part to play in the birth of the Trek brand; Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg owned 2 bike shops the previous year, but they folded and their vision of owning a nationwide chain of shops quickly ended. But great ideas can be born in the ashes of failure; instead of giving up, they decided to build their own bikes, creating hand made frames to take on the Europeans.

European Quality

I’ve owned quite a few Treks , a 410, a 500 Tri Series, a 520, a 620 and 300 Elance. I’ve been impressed with all the Treks I’ve owned, and I think I can say that the quality of all these bikes matched the Peugeots and Motobecanes I’ve also possessed. This 500 was a mid-range bike worth around $400 in 1983/84, around the same price as a Peugeot Ventoux or PH501. Trek bikes of this era are always more understated than their European counterparts, they were never flashy or ornate, but they were nevertheless handsome bikes.

What to Look For

I really like the head badge. It’s an icon of classic Trek bikes, handmade steel frames built in Wisconsin between 1976 – 1983. But you don’t find Trek bikes with half-chromed forks or stays; are there any? Neither do you find stamped fork crowns or ornate lugs on these mid-range bikes. Trek built a culture at this stage that seemed to focus on simplicity and modesty, perhaps as a deliberate contrast to the flair and é lan of French bikes.

A Mid 1980’s Peugeot Mont Cenis

American Engineering..

American engineering, specifically in transportation, always seem to be driven by the attitude that bigger is better. Every time I arrive on American shores, I’m struck by the size of the cars, the trucks, the motor bikes, the RVs. Classic American cars always seem to be huge, gas-guzzling monsters. Wasn’t it Enzo Ferrari who said “Jeep is America’s only real sports car”? But when it comes to a road bike, all that aggrandising goes out the window; a road bike has to be light, sleek, made with the least raw materials possible and ultra-efficient. America had no real tradition in making these machines, no distinction or identity within this field; the modesty of Trek bikes of this era seem to express a certain humility, a deliberate and respectful acquiescence, to this fact.

Brand or Bland

Prestige and patriotism count for a lot in the cycling world. I remember how I dreamed of owning the Peugeot that Robert Millar rode in the mid 1980’s when I was at school. I also wanted a TI Raleigh Team bike, because it was British and it had won the Tour de France . You can deny it all you like, but these are heavy influences on the brand of bicycle you will choose, especially if it’s a road bike. So, with this in mind, a Peugeot would have been my choice without hesitation . I’d never even heard of Trek in Britain in the decade of Millar, Sean Kelly and Bernard Hinault.

Japanese Parts

Japanese engineering has developed a great reputation over the decades. I remember, back in the 1980’s, that when something was “made in Japan”, it generally produced the reaction that it was more reliable than a British product. I don’t think this bike technology shows anything but the same story; the Japanese brand Suntour had succeeded in building their versions of Simplex, Huret and other European components, but at a cheaper cost. Trek chose to put the cost-effective first, this was their brand philosophy in this mid-range market. But I’d choose French parts, like Simplex and Stronglight, over these SR and Suntour components on this bike.

So Which One?

Personally I would go with the Peugeot. Yes, this one above hard a bent fork, but one in the same condition as the Trek would be my choice. Perhaps the Trek is the slightly better bike for the quality of the frameset and paintwork, but there’s no doubting that the Peugeot was a fine machine in it’s day. I just think it comes down to two things: aesthetics and tradition, which must make Peugeot the winner. Oh, and I nearly forgot: I prefer the French components, too.

The 70s and early 80s Suntour components outperformed and weighed less than their Europen counterparts, by miles. The only thing “Cheap” about a pre-1984 Suntour derailleur was the stigmatizing price point. The Suntour ARX is one of the smoothest shifting, durable, problem-free, mid-range, mass bike derailleurs of the early-mid 80s. There’s no comparison to performance with an equivalent Simplex SX610 or early 80s Huret Rivals. I’m saying this as someone who is also a purist and has maintained Simplex derailleurs on Peugeots in working order for years. I can disassemble, rebuild, grease, and tension one in fifteen minutes; but Simplexes have never functioned completely right without user servicing, and the mechanical knowledge of disassembly, cleaning, greasing, and tensioning of both spring bolts, even when they came new on the bike. There were serious racers in the 70s and 80s who ditched their Campagnolo rear mechs and threw a Suntour into their Campy group set, because Suntour Vs, ARXs, Superbe Pros, and even their low midrange offerings outperformed and outlasted highly overrated for the cost, pre 90s Campy derailleurs. Suntour was one of the best performance secrets in bike components for people in the know, willing to get past a Europhile bias. It’s time to admit, as beautiful as old school Euro mech is to look at on classic steel, steed, by the early 80s, Suntour and Shimano were killing them with better performing derailleurs for the price value.

I agree with you on some points, Suntour and other Japanese parts overtook most European rivals in the early 1980’s, as far as functionality is concerned. I disagree with you, however, about the Simplex criticism; I’ve always been a fan of the SJ and SX series, my experiences have always been positive with this series, much less with the plastic delrin versions. Most of all, though, is the aesthetic difference: the Simplex SX and SJ are just far more attractive than their Japanese rivals of the day. This is very important in the realms of this vintage bike culture otherwise, lets face it, we’d all be riding highly functional modern bikes with their bland but efficient mechs.

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Trek bikes range: which model is right for you?

The humble beginning of Trek bicycles took place in the "red barn" - once a carpet warehouse - in Waterloo, USA. The first bikes were steel touring frames , but within three years the brand had expanded substantially.

Eventually outgrowing the barn, Trek moved into a much larger headquarters - still in Waterloo - in the year 1980. From there it began to manufacture road racing bikes, then in 1983 created its first mountain bike before moving into accessories come 1984.

Having started out in steel, Trek moved into developing aluminium bikes in 1985. The first Trek branded full carbon frame came in 1989 - the Trek 5000 had a frame weight of 1.5kg. It was built by an outside manufacturer and discontinued after a year. Trek made its own efforts at carbon, with an in-house production, in 1992 to much greater success.

>>> Trek mountain bikes: which model is right for you?

Now, Trek offers the Madone (aero bike), Domane (endurance bike), Emonda (lightweight race bike) and Checkpoint (gravel bike) as well as the Boone cyclocross and Speed Concept time trial machine.

Trek's OCLV Carbon

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Trek's carbon bikes have always used their own patented 'OCLV carbon' - this stands for Optimum Compaction Low Void. It believes this carbon creates the best compromise between low weight and high strength and stiffness.

Optimum Compaction refers to the way sheets of carbon are layered into the mould, and optimised via heat and pressure - in Trek's opinion the two treatments are administered to the perfect ratio. Low Void refers to the minimisation of space between the layers of carbon, which might otherwise reduce strength and durability.

In 1995, Trek opened an independent facility inWhitewater, Wisconsin. The idea being that the Waterloo factory would work in frame development only. For those who want to customise their ride, the'Project One' custom paint programme arrived in 2001.

Trek's pro cycling support

Trek supported now disgraced American cyclist, Lance Armstrong, through his peak years. In 1997, it helped him sign with their sponsored team, US Postal Service Pro Cycling. He won his seven editions of the Tour de Frances on bikes bearing the brand name, but all of said wins were later taken from him following doping violations.

In 2014, the brand sponsored the Trek Factory Racing Team, now calledTrek–Segafredo. In that role, it provided bikes for high profile winners such as Fabian Cancellara and Alberto Contador,as well as Jens Voigt, and notably his Hour Record in September 2014.

In 2020, Trek continued to support the Trek-Segafredo men's and women's race outfits, two highly successful teams.

Trek's acquisitions

Over the years, Trek has made a number of high profile acquisitions. The most famous, perhaps, Gary Fisher bicycles - the mountain bike brand which it took over in 1993.

Later came Bontrager Cycles in 1995 and Electra Bicycle Company in 2014. Bontrager, now Trek's component and apparel brand, maintains the same name as does Electra, the creator of leisure bikes and accessories.

Useful links for road bike shoppers…

Trek's road bike models

Trek is able to offer a wide range of different bikes, each tuned to a slightly different purpose. Some model families are available in a selection of standards (SLR premium carbon, SL carbon, ALR premium aluminium and AL aluminium), and then these come with assorted levels of componentry to suit your price bracket.

To add even more depth to the range, Trek offers many models in two different 'fits'. The Madone and Émonda come as standard in an H2 (traditional) fit, but there are versions in what it calls 'H1' fit. This is more aggressive, shaving off about 30mm on the head tube to create a longer, lower ride. The Domane comes in an H2 'Endurance' fit, with a few models in 'Pro Endurance', again with a longer and lower stance on offer.

Here's a look at the key model families...

With each product is a ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Best Deal’ link. If you click on this then we may receive a small amount of money from the retailer when you purchase the item. This doesn’t affect the amount you pay.

Trek Domane

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

The Trek Domane was introduced in 2012. It was created to offer a comfortable ride, the key feature being an IsoSpeed decoupler which separated the seat tube from the top tube, thus reducing vibrations and fatigue.

In 2016 it gained theFront IsoSpeed, which helps to reduce vibrations at the front end without impacting handling. This came alongside a new slider, which alters the level of dampening offered by the rear.

In its most recent update , the Domane took notes from the Madone with an aero fork profile, whilst becoming more versatile thanks to clearance for 38mm tyres (without mudguards, 35mm with). It also gained a downtube compartment for stashing tools (or snacks!).

Though comfort is important to the Trek Domane, it's still a racing frame, and its prowess has been demonstrated by UCI WorldTour riders at major one-day Classics, such as Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders. The top Domane bikes come with an H1.5 fit, which was developed with the Trek-Segafredo teams to offer the optimal balance between aerodynamics and endurance.

The Trek Domane - available as a men's build or with women's specific componentry - is a fast selling model, which comes in a range of frame materials.

The Domane SLR uses the lightest carbon Trek offers, the SL is one step down, whilst the AL uses aluminium and is the cheapest of the range.

Trek Madone

The Trek Madone is quite another beast, and the bikes come built for men and women; the latter's models with women's saddles and narrower handlebars . With an aggressive geometry and stiffness to boot, it's a road race hero, and aerodynamics have become part of its lifeblood. When we tested five aero bikes , head to head, the Trek Madone came out fastest.

Modern Trek Madone's feature a high level of integration, with the cables tucked away yet reachable via an access point at the top of the down tube.Wind tunnel testing has helped Trek to create theirKVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) tube shapes, used on the frame and fork. These unconventional tube shapes are designed to further reduce drag, helping the rider/bike unit to slice through the air efficiently.

Because being bumped around doesn't make you faster, the Madone also features an IsoSpeed decoupler at the seat tube and more recently an adjustable one at the head tube, which offers greater compliance whilst still being integrated to prevent adding drag.

The newest model, according to Trek, can offer 17 per cent more compliance through to 21 per cent more stiffness, depending upon your chosen setting. A damper at the seatpost is also said to cut rebound by 13 per cent. All of these stats add up to a bike that can be comfortable and stiff at the same time - and one that earned a place in our 2018 Editor's Choice awards.

The majority of the bikes come in a more relaxed 'H2' geometry, save for the Madone SLR, which is in an 'H1.5' fit - this is designed to allow riders to achieve an H1 fit or an H2, depending upon their set up.

Trek Émonda

Adding more depth to the Trek family is the Trek Émonda, launched in 2014. Designed to be a climbing bike, newer adaptations are capable of negotiating mixed terrains - with disc brakes available and tyre clearance to 28mm.

>>> Trek Émonda range explained

Trek continues to work on developing the Émonda, dropping the weight of the top end Trek Émonda SLR to 640g in a size 56cm (665g with discs) and 1091g for the Trek Émonda SL (1149g with discs). The weight difference is largely achieved by the use of700 Series OCLV carbon on the SLR, as opposed to 500 series on the SL.

The aluminium model has seen some major work and the result earned it a place in the Editor's Choice 2019 awards. The key characteristic we loved was the way it simply didn't look, or ride, like aluminium. A lot of this is down to Trek's 'Invisible Weld Technology' which increases the surface area of the frame, adding to strength and reducing weight. The ALR model's frame weight comes in at a competitive 1112g, or 1131g with discs, and it uses the brand's 300 Series Alpha Aluminium.

The carbon models are available in 'SLR' build or 'SL', the former being the lightest and the latter more affordable. The majority of Trek Émonda bikes cone in an 'H2' fit, but they can be purchased in an 'H1' geometry, if you choose the top end 'Race Shop' version.

There are a few nods to neatness and integration around, such as the use of 'Blendr Integration' which seamlessly mounts Bontrager’s cycling computer, Ionbike lights or even Garmin computers directly to the handlebars. On SLR versions there's ‘Control Freak Cable Management’ which allows for shifter and brake cables to be housed through the frame.

Trek Checkpoint

With gravel and adventure bikes a fast growing category, the Checkpoint is Trek's offering to fill that sector. The crucial element here is that both the SL and ALR frame options come fitted out with 35c gravel tyres, and can accommodate rubber up to 45c. They've all got internal cable routing, to ensure much stays out, whilst the higher end models use 'Control Freak' routing which is neater.

>>> Best gravel bikes: the top models reviewed

If you opt for the carbon SL model, you get vibration dampening from an IsoSpeed decoupler at the rear, too. To provide stability and confidence on light trails as well as comfort on all-day adventures, the geometry is not as aggressive as the road bikes elsewhere in the range. Such all-day rides warrant plenty of kit, so there's mounts for racks and mounts. Similar to elsewhere in the range, there's AL, ALR and SL models.

Trek Speed Concept

Trek's Speed Concept time trial bike has been raced by the pros yet is still seen on the amateur race scene as a popular option.

>>> Check out Fabian Cancellara's 2016 Speed Concept

The frames use 500 Series OCLV Carbon, boasting the KVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) tube shapes described in the Madone, plus a carbon fork with integrated brake and stem - the key goal being cutting through the air quickly.There's space to fit Trek's SC Draft Box and SC Sped Box, largely used by triathletes carrying snacks.

Trek Boone 5

Trek's got plenty of experience in the muddy realm of off-road cycling - and they've got a selection of cyclocross bikes. The Trek Boone 7 model comes with hydraulic disc brakes, a one-by crank and 12-speed cassette and they've all got Bontrager's own 33c cyclocross tyres.

The frame material is Trek's 600 series OCLV carbon, and there's front and rear IsoSpeed decouplers to help riders negotiate the mud without excess transfer of vibration. Combining the mud ready tyres, disc brakes, 'cross focused cable routing and geo into an aluminium package is the Trek Crockett family.

They key differentiation is the frame material, which is300 Series Alpha Aluminium, and there's no decoupler. However, it's still a performance bike that's ready to race.

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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.

Aero helmets are getting crazier, but will integrated visors really catch on?

By Joe Baker Published 5 April 24

The British rider won't be lining up at Paris-Roubaix - but here's a glimpse at his cobble ready machine from Omloop

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2021 Trek road bikes - explore the complete range with our guide

Updated february 24, 2021.

While the US firm has a huge range that covers virtually all areas of cycling, Trek road bikes fall into three families: Madone, Emonda and Domane. There are also the Checkpoint gravel bikes and a couple of cyclocross models.

Madone has an emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency, Emonda is all about lightweight, Domane has a focus on comfort and ride quality and Checkpoint (disappointingly not Daemon to keep with the anagram theme) is for dirt roads and mixed-surface riding. There are many models at different price points within each of those categories.

2021 Trek Emonda SLR Project One - 1.jpg

Here are the highlights of the range available to UK consumers.

The Emonda (pronounced eh-mon-dah) is the lightweight Trek road bike and the carbon-fibre Emonda SLR and Emonda SL frames have had huge updates for the 2021 model year, whereas the aluminium Emonda ALR is unchanged.

The carbon-fibre Emondas are disc brake only platforms. You can still buy an Emonda ALR frameset that takes rim brakes, but complete bikes are disc brake only.

Back in June 2020, Trek announced new versions of both the Emonda SLR and the Emonda SL, adding features designed to improve aerodynamics for the first time, including tube profiles shaped to reduce drag.

Check out our news story on the launch of the new Trek Emonda SLR range here

The top-level Emonda SLR has a frame that weighs a claimed 698g, made from a new material that Trek calls OCLV 800 Series. The brand says that the Emonda SLR is 60 seconds per hour faster than its predecessor on flat roads, and 18 seconds per hour faster going up an 8% gradient (get details on those claims in our news story).

All of the Emonda SLR and Emonda SL bikes are now built to Trek’s H1.5 geometry, which is designed to be efficient while remaining accessible and comfortable for most riders.

2021 Trek EmondaSLR7Disc_21_32565_A_Alt2.jpg

New Bontrager Aeolus wheels and a one-piece Aeolus RSL VR-C handlebar/stem are central to the range.

Previous Emondas featured Trek's BB90 bottom bracket system with the bearings pressed into the BB shell, but all the new Emonda SLR and SL models use T47, which is a threaded design that the brand already uses on its Domanes.

The Emonda SL and SLR bikes have clearance for 700c x 28mm tyres.

There are five Trek Emonda SLRs in the 2021 range, starting with the Shimano Ultegra-equipped Emonda SLR 6 (£6,000, above).

The two top models in the Emonda SLR range, each at £10,700. The Emonda SLR 9 (above) is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace components while the Emonda SLR 9 eTap has SRAM’s Red eTap AXS groups.

Buy if: You’re after a fast road bike with a focus on light weight… and now aerodynamic efficiency too.

The Emonda SL is identical to the Emonda SLR from a frame shape perspective; it uses the same tube profiles and the same geometry, the only difference being the composite used. Whereas the SLR uses 800 Series OCLV Carbon, the SL features 500 Series.

Reviewed: Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro 2021

This makes a significant difference to weight: the Emonda SL's frame is 1,142g and the fork is 380g – a total of 459g heavier overall.

The Emonda SL bikes also use a separate handlebar and stem rather than the one-piece Aelous RSL VR-C handlebar/stem.

There are five Trek Emonda SLs for 2021, ranging from the £2,500 Emonda SL 5 – with a mid-range Shimano 105 groupset – to £5,800 for the Emonda SL 7 eTap – that’s SRAM Force eTap AXS.

2021 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro - riding 5.jpg

When we reviewed the £3,700 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro (above) here on road.cc we said, “the latest iteration of the Trek Émonda focuses on aerodynamics more than ever before, which makes this SL 6 Pro one very quick and efficient road bike. The stiff frameset offers a firm yet fun ride, while the component choice keeps the weight down to exploit that stiffness on the climbs. It's a very good all-round package.

Read our Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro review

All of the SRAM-equipped Emonda SL and Emonda SLRs are fitted with Quarq power meters.

Buy if: You’re interested in a quick, lightweight road bike with the aero efficiency of the Emonda SLR at a lower price.

The Emonda ALR frame is among the very best aluminium options out there at the moment. Although the frameset is available in a rim brake version, complete bikes are disc brake only. Each of them gets a full-carbon fork.

There are thee rim brake Emonda ALR bikes in the range, each based on the same 300 Series Alpha Aluminium frame with virtually invisible welds and a tapered head tube that helps to provide accurate steering.

The Emonda ALR 4 is the cheapest model at £1,600. This gets you a Shimano Tiagra groupset with virtually everything else coming from Bontrager.

If you can afford more, the £2,000 Emonda ALR 5 is tempting with its Shimano 105 groupset. That looks a great buy.

When we reviewed a previous version of this bike we said, “The Emonda ALR 5 Disc is one of those bikes that manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. Check out the spec sheet and everything says that it should be solid, but the ride quality is comfortably above that. If you're expecting a harsh ride you're in for a lovely surprise here.”

Read our review of the Trek Emonda ALR 5

The Emonda ALR 6 (£2,450, above) shares the same frame, built up with Shimano’s second tier Ultegra groupset components.

Buy if: You want one of the best lightweight aluminium road bikes out there.

The Madone (pronounced mad-own) is a long-standing Trek road bike, although it has changed massively over the years. These days all of the Madones are high-end; you can’t get a complete bike for less than £4,600. They all use disc brakes (although you can still get your hands on a rim brake Madone SLR frameset).

The Madone range had a major redesign for the 2019 model year with the introduction of the top-end SLR models and a slightly more accessible SL version. That structure remains the same today.

Madones feature Trek’s adjustable IsoSpeed, a design that “maintains the diamond-shaped frameset geometry but ‘decouples’ the seat tube from the top tube, allowing the seat tube to flex with the forces of the road” (Trek’s words). The idea is that it smooths the ride, adding comfort and reducing fatigue.

The 2021 Madone SLR switches to Trek’s new OCLV 800 carbon material and layup, saving a claimed 80g over the OCLV 700 carbon used previously. Trek has also switched the Madone to the T47 threaded bottom bracket standard.

Find out about the changes has made to the Madone for 2021

The least expensive model is the Trek Madone SLR 6 at £6,900. It uses a Shimano Ultegra groupset and Bontrager’s 50mm deep Aeolus Pro 5 wheels.

The Madone SLR 7 (£8,250) takes you up to the electronic version of Shimano Ultegra while the Madone SLR comes with top-level Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 – but it’ll set you back £12,500.

There are two SRAM-equipped Madone SLRs. The Madone SLR 7 eTap (£9,050) has a Force eTap AXS groupset while the Madone SLR 9 eTap (£13,250, above) is fitted with top-level Red components.

Buy if: You want a top-level race bike and you have a lot of money to spend.

The Madone SL also offers adjustable top tube IsoSpeed although the frame is made using Trek’s OCLV 500 carbon fibre which is said to be a little heavier and less stiff than OCLV 800.

Whereas the Madone SLRs use aero handlebar and stem systems with internal cabling, the SLs are fitted with standard bars and stems with the cables running externally before entering the top of the head tube.

The Madone SL 6 (£4,600, above) is fitted with Shimano Ultegra components while the Madone SL 7 (£6,000) gets Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting.

The Madone SL 7 eTap is the most expensive model in the range at £6,600. This gets you a SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless shifting and a Quarq power meter

Buy if: You’re looking for a proven aero road bike that offers a smooth ride.

Trek broke new ground when introducing its IsoSpeed decoupler on the Domane (pronounced dough-mar-nay) endurance road bike back in 2012. Essentially, it’s a design that allows the seat tube to pivot relative to the top tube and seatstays, so the saddle can move downwards (and a little backwards), providing more give and adding comfort to the ride.

Then Trek introduced a front IsoSpeed system to some of its models in 2016 to increase comfort and control, and added adjustment to the rear IsoSpeed decoupler.

The Domane SLR features both adjustable rear IsoSpeed with the spring lever sitting under the top tube and front IsoSpeed.

“Front IsoSpeed, located at the top of the headset, is captured in a rocker cup similar to rear IsoSpeed,” says Trek. “This allows the flex of the steerer tube, providing additional compliance at the front of a bike. The rocker cup of the upper steerer has zero lateral movement, allowing the bike to steer and handle with precision.”

Find out more about the Trek Domane SLRs here

The Domane SLR is made from 700 Series OCLV carbon and Trek says that aero improvements over the previous model will save you the 12W at 25mph. The cables enter the frame behind the steerer to keep them out of the wind as much as possible.

Trek offers IsoCore bars, which feature an elastomer in the bar itself, and IsoZone kits which use gel/EVA padding under the bar tape.

The Domane SLR has a removable plate where the bottle cage sits; flip a lever and you can access space inside the tube. The cover has a multitool slot, and Trek also offers a tool roll specifically designed for the space.

The least expensive model is the Shimano Ultegra-equipped Domane SLR 6 AT £6,150. There are also Ultegra Di2 (£7,000) and Dura-Ace Di2 (£11,000) builds.

There are two SRAM models as well, each equipped with a power meter. The £7,650 Domane SLR 7 eTap has SRAM Force AXS components while the £11,200 Domane SLR 9 eTap (above) has top-level Red equipment.

Buy if: You’re after an endurance road bike that offers a really smooth ride.

The Domane SL features front IsoSpeed and non-adjustable rear IsoSpeed, and it’s made from Trek’s 500 Series OCLV, which isn’t as light as the 700 Series OCLV used for the Domane SLR.

Priced £2,325, the Domane SL 4 (above) is the most affordable model, featuring a mostly Shimano Tiagra groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes.

The £2,850 Domane SL 5 is a similar bike but with a Shimano 105 groupset.

The highest Shimano-specced model is the Domane SL 7 (£5,600), equipped with an Ultegra Di2 groupset and Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3 V Disc Tubeless Ready wheels.

The £5,650 Domane SL 7 eTap comes with SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless shifting and a crank-based power meter.

Buy if: You’re looking for a road bike with an endurance-friendly geometry and a smooth character

There are five aluminium Domane AL bikes for 2021, four of them with disc brakes and one with rim brakes. None of them have the decouplers found on the carbon-fibre models.

The most affordable model is the £695 Domane AL 2 (above). It's built to an endurance fit that's designed for comfort. The AL 2 is built up with a Shimano Claris 8-speed groupset.

For model year 2021 Trek has a new range of Domane AL Disc aluminium endurance bikes with claims of all-road suitability thanks to 35mm tyre clearance.

Find out about the new Domane AL Disc bikes here

These bikes are made using Trek's 200 Series Alpha Aluminium, rather than the 100 Series used for the AL 2. As well as a generous amount of tyre clearance, they come with mounts for mudguards, front and rear racks, three bottle cages, and a top tube-mounted bento box. They also have internal cable mounts.

The least expensive model is the Domane AL 2 Disc at £895, with a mostly Shimano Claris groupset. The Domane AL 3 Disc (£995) is equipped with 9-speed Shimano Sora, the Domane AL 4 Disc (£1,495) has 10-speed Shimano Tiagra, and the Domane AL 5 Disc (£1,775, above) is fitted with 11-speed Shimano 105 components.

Buy if: You’re after an endurance road bike that offers exceptional value for money.

Trek's 2021 range includes carbon and aluminium Checkpoint gravel bikes featuring the IsoSpeed decoupler from the Domane (see above), and with space for up to 45mm tyres, umpteen water bottle mounts plus mudguard and rack eyelets, 12mm thru-axles and flat mount disc brakes. Checkpoints cost from £1,700 right up to £5,100.

Trek first showed its cards with the Domane Gravel, a slightly modified version of the company’s endurance bike but with wider tyres. It's fair to say we were all a bit surprised by the effort, but it now looks like it was a stopgap for real gravel bike enthusiasts before the arrival of the company’s first dedicated foray into this growing category, the Checkpoint.

Compared to the Domane Gravel, Trek says the new Checkpoint offers much improved off-road capability and general versatility, with bigger tyre clearance, adjustable dropouts and geometry and lots of accessory mounts the key differences. Why they didn't just launch the Checkpoint in the first place is anyone's guess.

Read our first look at the Checkpoint range

Trek offers the Checkpoint in both an aluminium or a carbon-fibre frame. The carbon bikes have the IsoSpeed decoupler that Trek introduced on the Domane in 2012, while the aluminium bikes are rigid.

IsoSpeed is a mechanism that allows the top of the seat tube to move a little, independently of the rest of the frame, to provide a small amount of bum-cosseting shock absorption.

The top of the range is the Checkpoint SL 7 (above), which boasts a 1x (single chainring) SRAM Force/Eagle 12-speed groupset and hydraulic brakes for an RRP of £5,650.

The highest-specced Shimano model is the Checkpoint SL 6 (£3,600), with a GRX RX800 groupset.

"If you want a bike that is comfortable and provides space for wide tyres for mostly road riding, with lots of versatility whether for winter training and commuting or touring and bikepacking, the Trek is a good choice," we said in our review of a former version of the Checkpoint SL 6. "But it's not the most capable bike when the going gets rough and bumpy.

"Sure, the rear IsoSpeed decoupler works its magic, filtering out the harshness and giving your bum and back a smooth ride, but the front end is simply too harsh in comparison.”

We criticised Trek for not fitting wider tyres and a lower range drivetrain. However, the 2021 version has wider tyres (40mm rather than 35mm) and lower gear ratios.

Read our review of the Checkpoint SL 6

If you can live without carbon fibre and Isospeed, £2,150 gets you the Checkpoint ALR 5 (above) with Shimano GRX RX 800 and RX 600 components.

The least expensive bike in the range is the Checkpoint ALR 4 at £1,875 in a Shimano GRX RX400 and RX600 build.

Buy if: You want a gravel/adventure bike that's also capable of moving fast over asphalt.

We've mainly focused on Trek road bikes here, but the company also offers two cyclocross platforms: Crockett and Boone.

The Crockett frame is disc-specific and it’s made from 300 Series Alpha Aluminium. The Crockett 5 Disc (£2,050, above) comes with a largely SRAM Rival groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes.

Check out our review of a past Trek Crockett disc bike here

The Boone is made from 600 Series OCLV carbon fibre and, like the Crockett, it is disc-specific.

The £3,450 Boone 6 Disc (above) comes with a 1x Shimano GRX groupset – mostly RX800 although the hydraulic disc brakes are RX400.

Buy if: You want a cyclocross race bike with cross-specific geometry and gearing.

www.trekbikes.com

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The aim of road.cc buyer's guides is to give you the most, authoritative, objective and up-to-date buying advice. We continuously update and republish our guides, checking prices, availability and looking for the best deals.

Our guides include links to websites where you can buy the featured products. Like most sites we make a small amount of money if you buy something after clicking on one of those links. We want you to be happy with what you buy, so we only include a product if we think it's one of the best of its kind.

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Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

11 comments.

Presumably the Speed Concept TT bike isn't a road bike? Really surprised this wasn't included.

Good luck getting hold of one in 2021

Nice article, I even felt a vague stirring in the loins for the Madone which is quite something considering the rest of the range is as dull as dishwater. You're wrong about the pronunciation though, it's pronounced "Mad One" after the sociopathic bully who made the model famous.

I'm sure they're all great bikes, but why oh why do they have to be so ugly?

shouldnt that table title read 2018 trek ?

john1967 wrote: shouldnt that table title read 2018 trek ?

Yes, and now it does. Ta.

subtitle wrote: Everything you need to know before you buy a Trek

DaveE128 wrote: subtitle wrote: Everything you need to know before you buy a Trek

Ha! Now added that in.

wingmanrob wrote: Yeah but they're Amercian Too bad they're not American. Stupid git.

reliablemeatloaf wrote: wingmanrob wrote: Yeah but they're Amercian Too bad they're not American. Stupid git.

Latest Comments

Thought so, just needed an excuse to shoehorn in a Mythbusters reference.

Even "a good few" is way out so it must have been a rigged Road CC straw poll. It most definitely is not my dream bike - not even close.

Beggars belief, doesn't it? No. Standard police dodge is to use any conceivable excuse, no matter how stupid.

Good job no one was in the garden. https://twitter.com/motorisms/status/1776959611171688936

Nonsense. His 'crime' is holding on to the bottle/car far too long, his bad luck was that it was captured.

The third was meant seriously, as was the fourth.

But less than I imagine they regularly find to fix a bit of parking / resurface roads and certainly much, much less than building a major new road ...

Sorry for your crash but unfortunately that's everyone after the fact. It sounds like: "After doing motoGP racing at speeds of 200mph and up on...

Hit it on the head there. The warden in this instance shows typical bullying behaviour. By picking on seemingly easy tagets he/she keeps the...

Motorists find letters under their wipers telling them not to park near Platt Primary School...

1986 Trek Bikes 500 Tri Series

Tri series build, stack and reach vs. category trend.

The Bike Insights Upright/Aggressive scale is based on analysis of a bike’s proportions relative to similar sized bikes in the same category.

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The Used Bikes We’d Buy Right Now Under $500

You don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars for a vintage bike that’ll last you for years to come.

By AJ Powell

When it comes to affordable vintage road bikes, Trek reigns supreme. The brand has made tons of high-quality steel and aluminum road bikes in the USA before moving most of the production overseas. Because of the lasting power of these road bikes , they make a great vintage purchase, but by no means are they the only option. Bianchi frames (as well as many other Italian bike makers), can be found for cheap on the used market and maintain their quality like no other. We scoured the web to bring you seven great options for a vintage road bike, all under $500.

Additional contribution by Meg Lappe .

Though a bit big (63.5CM), if this bike fits you, it’s a great buy. Maillard hubs and Sakai cranks are just two of the features that make it worth the money.

1984 Trek 660

A bike from the era when Trek was still making most of its bikes in the US. A mix of Campy and Shimano parts paired with Reynolds steel tubes oozes classic performance.

Another excellent example of a Trek 500. Built from Reynolds 531 tubing, this Tri Series version features a classic Trek paint scheme.

Bianchi Celeste

No one does vintage road bikes like the Italians, and it doesn’t get much better than this Bianchi. It features the brand’s classic mint colorway and a Shimano 105 groupset.

Bianchi Gipiemme Turbo Super Classic

Columbus steel is about as good as it gets, particularly when paired with a Bianchi head badge.

According to the seller, this bike was restored to near-pristine condition. It features True Temper T2 steel tubing and a Shimano 600 groupset.

Trek Aluminum Racing

We may have saved the best for last: A made-in-USA aluminum Trek racing bike. Like others on the list, it features one of Trek’s classic color schemes, but is paired with a unique Suntour groupset and is built from Trek’s own aluminum tubing.

Best-Road-Bike-Under-1000-Gear-Patrol-Lead-Full

Trek Navigator 500 2002 Cruiser Bike

USER REVIEWS

Quality, comfort, reliable-has aged well.

Only the 70 year old rider!

Design gives my back a break from my road bike. Front shocks help a lot.

Pedals, seat not the best

Great bike for the price. Comfortable and easy to shift. Have not done a ride more than 30 miles but with bike shorts it was more than comfortable.

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Trek 4500 review

The 4500 sits right at the top of Trek's entry-level bike bracket. Its lack of cable disc brakes compared to rivals may impact on casual purchases, but in fact frees up the budget for some shrewd spec choices.

The chassis is a typical aluminium XC frame, with a wishbone seatstay and an oversized down tube that flares wider to stiffen up the front end. The fork is another dependable RockShox Dart, but with 80mm travel, disc and V-brake bosses, and a lockout switch, as well as rebound adjustment.

On the trail, the reach is roomy, thanks more to the long stem than the average top tube.

Bar height looks high but that's due to the long steerer tube and 4cm of spacer washers. Shuffling these and flipping the 10-degree stem lets you go XC low, or get down out of the wind for road work. Even as it is, the front end feels a lot more flrmly planted than the Saracen's on any twisty or uphill trails.

The drivetrain is the best in the test. Instead of 24-speed Acera or Alivio it's 27-speed Deore, which gives smaller steps between gears as well as a handy 22x34T bottom for climbing. While the 4500 comes with V-brakes, its wheels are ready for upgrading thanks to disc hubs - so you can skip cable discs and go straight to the hydraulics that any upgrader would want anyway.

The Bontrager Jones ACX tyres coped well with a variety of conditions, from armoured trails to thick mud. On road the rear end is commuter ready, like the Saracen, although you'll need to bodge something to fit a full front mudguard.

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Pez-Test: TREK 5900

I was giggling like a school-girl… I’d just received the call from Dizzy Cycles – my local wrench-meisters and shop ‘o choice, advising me that it had arrived. The Trek 5900 that is. The same bike* that Trek provides to Lance and the US Postal boys! I giggled some more.

One of the best things about being a roadie is the level of refinement to which we can become accustomed. As geometries, technical and weight advantages become more standardized, it’s the details that start to make a bigger difference to satisfaction of ownership. The Trek 5900, 2003 model, delivers everything a refined roadie expects, but also a lot more.

Aesthetcially, the standout feature on this baby has got to be the frame – it’s a thing ‘o beauty. Sure it’s light, lightest in the world according to Trek, and with a full bike weight under 16 pounds (size: 54cm), who’s to argue? But the finish on the joints, the curves, the depth of that paint – makes ya say “ooooh baby”! Every joint is seamless, the smooth finish begs for a coat of wax lest it become dirty, and like a fine single malt, you must first behold the beauty, savour it, appreciate the hours of craftsmanship that created it. There’ll be lot’s of time for riding later.

Of course you’d expect this in a bike that is topline, and at around $4700US, this bike definitely hangs with some elite company.

OCLV FOR BEGINNERS I talked with John Riley from Trek, who gave me the insider info on Trek’s patented OCLV technology. “Optimal Compaction Low Void” – it’s how they combine carbon fibers and aluminum lugs to create a frame that is light, stiff, but subtle to ride. Quick production lesson for all you non-poindexters – carbon fiber is… just that, a bunch of fibers made from carbon, that get wrapped around/ into/ onto a frame mould. The whole batch gets glued together, kind of like working with papier-mache. Because you’re weaving many layers together to create a shape, there are inherently some air pockets, or VOIDS that exist betweem the layers of fibers. The pockets are weak points in the structure. OCLV is Trek’s way of squishing out the air-pockets to reduce the VOIDS, and make the frame stronger and stiffer. The head tube, down tube, top tube, and seat post all become one piece of seamlessly finished carbon art.

The OCLV technology is about 9 years old, now but Trek is not about to rest on their laurels. The bike is constantly being refined, with actual input from US Postal and Lance himself. In fact, Trek has two guys whose full-time job is to travel with US Postal as technical liasons – how’d you like that job!

Most importantly, it passed my own personal litmus test (you know you’ve all got one…) – does this product make me faster, or at least “feel” faster? The Trek scored full marks all around. Now, this was largely because I actually was going faster, but even rolling around my block I couldn’t wait to get ‘er on the open road – bring on the Spring winds, bring on the climbs – nothing can stop me now! But more on that in the next few weeks as we road test this bad boy to give you the full ride story.

So if you’re a serious racer looking for every weight advantage you can find, or someone with a fat wallet and an appreciation for rolling art, this bike is for you. Stay tuned for our full-on road test!

*NOTE: The bike we tested is the standard issue Trek 5900, and not exactly the same in all aspects as the Team issue bike ridden by US Postal. Some parts and components may vary as dictated by team sponsorshiop and rider preferences.

STANDARD ISSUE SPECIFICATIONS

FRAMESET: FRAME: OCLV 110 Carbon. The lightest, fastest production frame ever made. Proven by the USPS team in the Tour de France. Optimum Compaction Low Void carbon. 110 grams of carbon fiber per square meter of OCLV creates this ultralight frame. 1-1/8″ head tube. Trek Pro Race geometry. Handmade in the USA. Frameset available. FORK: Bontrager Race X Lite, OCLV 110 Carbon, 1-1/8″ aluminum steerer tube, carbon crown

SIZES 50cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, 60cm, 62cm COLORS Titanite Black/Bright Silver (USPS Team)

WHEELS: Bontrager Race X Lite: Supreme all-around racing wheelset; 23mm semi-deep front rim provides excellent aero; 21mm rear rim improves lateral rigidity, prolongs wheel life; Bladed spokes; Race X Lite Titanium skewers; 660 g, 20h front/870 g, 24h rear TIRES: Bontrager Race X Lite, folding, 700x23c

SADDLE: Selle San Marco Aspide Team, titanium rails SEATPOST: Thomson Elite HANDLEBARS: Bontrager Race Lite STEM: Bontrager Race Lite, 7° HEADSET: AHS Superlight Bearing system

SHIFTERS: Shimano Dura-Ace FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano Dura-Ace REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano Dura-Ace CRANKSET: Shimano Dura-Ace 53/39 CASSETTE: Shimano Dura-Ace 12-23, 9spd

BRAKESET: Shimano Dura-Ace Trek’s Limited Lifetime Warranty

Get more info on the 5900 at the Trek Website .

Visit one cool shop: Dizzy Cycles

Photography courtesy of Fotografica Studios

I started PEZCycling in 2002, because I thought reading about pro cycling's biggest and best races and rides should be as much fun as actually being there. I still do.

Daniele Bennati Gets Slam-Dunc’d: Interview

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Gear Break: Northwave Veloce Extreme Shoes, Campagnolo HPPM – High Precision Power…

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Trek 6500 Bike: Comprehensive Review and Pricing

October 24, 2023

‍ Key Takeaways

The Trek 6500 is a versatile mountain bike, ideal for both beginners and seasoned riders.
With a durable aluminum frame and high-quality components, it promises longevity and consistent performance.
While designed for mountain terrains, with some modifications, the Trek 6500 can also serve as a comfortable road bike.

This article may contain affiliate links where we earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

‍ As mountain biking enthusiasts, we know the importance of finding the perfect bike for your needs. That's why we decided to take a look at the Trek 6500.

The Trek 6500 is a versatile mountain bike tailored for both new and seasoned riders. Boasting a durable aluminum frame, it stands out in performance and reliability. It is designed for challenging terrains and performs commendably on roads, making it a top choice among mountain biking enthusiasts.

We've ridden this bike through various terrains and conditions, paying close attention to its frame, suspension, brakes, and components. As we dive into the details in this review, we will discuss everything from the front fork and Shimano Deore derailleurs to the disc brakes and overall ride quality. So, join us as we explore the ins and outs of the Trek 6500 and find out if it's the right choice for you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

‍ Trek 6500 Bike: An Overview

The Trek 6500 stands as a testament to Trek's dedication to producing high-quality mountain bikes tailored for both beginners and seasoned riders. With its robust frame, responsive handling, and trail-ready components, it easily distinguishes itself from other mountain bikes in its class.

Designed to tackle challenging terrains with ease, the 6500 ensures every off-road adventure is met with unmatched performance and reliability. Whether you're hitting steep inclines or navigating tricky descents, this bike promises an exhilarating and secure ride.

The Trek 6500 is equipped with reliable gears and brakes, ensuring consistent performance regardless of the conditions. For those who demand more from their rides, the 6500 is a worthy contender in the mountain biking arena.

Key Features and Specifications

The Trek 6500 mountain bike is an excellent choice for riders looking for a versatile and reliable bike. Its lightweight aluminum frame offers a smooth and responsive ride on various terrains.

This bike is equipped with a front suspension fork to handle bumps and technical singletrack easily. Its Shimano Deore components provide reliable shifting and braking performance.

Some of the standout features of this mountain bike include:

Lightweight aluminum frame
Suspension fork for smooth rides on rough terrain
Shimano Deore components for reliable shifting and braking
Suitable for cross-country and trail riding

Riders will also appreciate the durable and lightweight wheels, which offer good traction on various surfaces like gravel and sand. Combined with the comfortable and adjustable seat, this bike is perfect for long rides and exploring new trails.

History and Brand Value

Trek is a well-known and trusted brand in the mountain biking world. They have been producing high-quality bikes for over four decades, and the Trek 6500 is no exception. Despite being over 15 years old, the Trek 6500 remains a good value for mountain bikers.

The history of this bike and its performance on trails have helped build the brand's reputation for producing reliable and enjoyable mountain bikes. Riders who choose the Trek 6500 can be confident in their decision, knowing they are investing in a bike from a reputable company with a long-standing history of excellence.

Detailed Trek 6500 Performance Analysis

Performance and ride quality.

Our experience with the Trek 6500 mountain bike has been nothing short of amazing. The bike's performance on trails is exceptional, tackling technical singletracks and long rides with ease.

Its Shimano Deore components provide a smooth and responsive drivetrain, allowing for efficient pedaling on climbs and flat terrain. The suspension system, consisting of a front fork, offers excellent shock absorption.

This allows the rider to maintain control and confidence when navigating corners, bumps, and hills. Additionally, the bike is equipped with disc brakes, providing reliable stopping power in various riding conditions.

Durability and Longevity

We found the Trek 6500's frame to be incredibly durable, and capable of withstanding rough trails and harsh riding conditions. The wheels and rims also contribute to the bike's longevity.

They have been built to endure the demands of mountain biking. We believe that this bike will last for many years, making it a suitable investment for riders who want a reliable and lasting mountain bike.

Workmanship and Design

The design of the Trek 6500 is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The top tube is sleek and modern, while the frame's geometry provides excellent handling and maneuverability.

The components, such as the front derailleur and rear derailleur, are of high quality and have been thoughtfully integrated into the overall design. Here are some standout features of the bike:

Frame: Lightweight and sturdy for optimal performance
Suspension system: Front fork for improved shock absorption and comfort
Components: High-quality Shimano Deore parts for optimal functionality
Wheels: Durable and versatile for various trail conditions

Comfort and User Experience

Riding the Trek 6500 mountain bike has been an enjoyable and fun experience for us. The seat and body positioning make long rides comfortable, and the responsive suspension helps absorb bumps and impacts from rough terrain.

We have found the bike to be suitable for both beginner and advanced riders, as it offers a great balance between performance and comfort. Moreover, the bike's lightweight design and agile handling make it easy to maneuver on different types of trails.

This includes gravel, sand, and technical singletrack. This adaptability, combined with its durable components and frame, makes the Trek 6500 an excellent choice for those looking to invest in a high-quality mountain bike without breaking the bank.

Our Experience Riding The Trek 6500

This section will discuss our experience riding the Trek 6500 mountain bike, focusing on its performance in various situations. We'll cover its descending and climbing abilities, road performance, and braking and handling features.

Descending & Climbing

The Trek 6500 is an excellent choice for mountain biking enthusiasts who love tackling steep climbs and fast descents. With a solid frame and good suspension, the bike easily handles technical singletrack and rugged terrain.

Its front fork provides sufficient shock absorption to keep riders comfortable, helping maintain control and traction on rocky trails.

When it comes to climbing, the Trek 6500's lightweight and responsive drivetrain gives riders an advantage on steep inclines. The smooth-shifting Shimano Deore front derailleur ensures reliable gear changes, allowing us to preserve our energy for tougher sections of the trail.

Road Performance

While primarily designed for off-road terrains, the Trek 6500 performs reasonably well on paved surfaces too. We found that it offers a comfortable ride for longer distances, thanks to its well-balanced frame and sturdy wheels.

Its versatile range of gears can adapt to varying gradients, though it's important to note that the bike's knobby tires are more suitable for trails than for smooth roads.

Braking & Handling

The Trek 6500 bike comes with disc brakes that provide reliable stopping power in various conditions, be it muddy trails or fast descents. We appreciate the bike's strong braking performance, which instilled confidence while navigating technical sections and sharp corners.

In terms of handling, the bike's light and stiff frame responds well to rider input. Its wide handlebars and well-placed controls ensure that maintaining control in tight spots and navigating switchbacks is no trouble at all.

Can I Use My Trek 6500 On The Road?

While the Trek 6500 is primarily designed as a mountain bike, it's versatile enough to handle on-road conditions easily. Its robust frame and durable components ensure a smooth and reliable ride, whether you're navigating city streets or countryside roads.

The wider tires, typical of mountain bikes, provide increased stability and comfort on the pavement, especially over uneven surfaces or potholes. However, it's worth noting that the knobby tread pattern, ideal for off-road traction, might result in slightly more rolling resistance on smooth surfaces compared to pure road bikes.

If you're considering using the Trek 6500 predominantly on roads, you might want to invest in hybrid or road-specific tires for a more efficient and faster ride. With minor adjustments, the Trek 6500 can serve as a competent and comfortable on-road companion.

How Long Will The Trek 6500 Last?

Durability and longevity are cornerstones of the Trek brand, and the 6500 is no exception. Constructed with a high-grade aluminum frame, it's built to withstand the rigors of mountain biking, from rocky trails to mud-laden paths.

The bike's components, from the drivetrain to the suspension system, are chosen for their resilience and reliability. The Trek 6500 can serve avid mountain bikers for many years with proper maintenance and regular check-ups.

However, it's important to note that the bike's lifespan can vary based on usage intensity, rider's care, and external conditions. But given its robust construction and the brand's reputation for quality, one can confidently expect the 6500 to be a long-term companion on the trails.

Is The Trek 6500 Worth Buying?

Value for money is a critical factor when considering any mountain bike, and the Trek 6500 shines in this department. It offers a blend of top-notch features, comfort, and performance at a competitive price point.

The bike's design caters to both casual riders and those seeking more intense off-road experiences, making it versatile for various terrains and rider preferences. Its responsive handling, sturdy frame, and reliable components ensure a consistently enjoyable ride.

Moreover, Trek's long-standing reputation in cycling guarantees post-purchase support and easy access to spare parts or upgrades. Other reviews would support this analysis because this dependable mountain bike blends durability and performance.

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About THE AUTHOR

Danny Lawson

Mountain biking is more than just a hobby for me - it's a way of life. I love the challenge and excitement that comes with it, and I'm always pushing myself to go faster and ride harder. Some people might think that mountain biking is dangerous, but I see it as the only way to live.

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About PedalChef

PedalChef is a blog on all things cycling. We are a group of people who love bikes, and we want to share the joy that comes with the experience. You can read more about us here .

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Why 'Star Trek: Discovery' deserves more credit as a barrier-breaking series

Starship Discovery will soon be ending its mission, and what a journey it's been.

“Star Trek: Discovery,” which premiered in 2017, is entering its fifth and final season Thursday on Paramount+. And you’ll need the Captain’s Log to remember all the twists, turns and transformations the show has gone through since it began.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the hate the series has received from some Trek fans. (“Discovery” has an overall audience score of 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark difference from the 87% critic rating.)

While the show is far from free of legitimate criticism, many of the complaints seem unfairly – though perhaps tellingly – placed on the show’s focus on a Black woman commander, its LGBTQ+ stars and allies and its inclusive storylines. “Woke agenda” and other dog whistles frequently surface on Reddit and social media posts about the series.

That so much of the negativity is rooted in a backlash against inclusivity raises questions. After all, the "Star Trek" franchise has long emphasized and celebrated culture, diversity and humanity coming together and preserving the integrity of beings they meet across the galaxy.

"It doesn't make any sense, because (these fans) say they love this franchise," series star Sonequa Martin-Green says in an interview. The show “has always been about breaking those boundaries. It's always been about diversity and equality. And our world has changed since the last iteration of 'Trek.' We have a responsibility to push that needle forward and to stay true to that."

More: Issa Rae says Hollywood needs to be accountable. Here's why diverse shows are so important

The series is originally set before the events of NBC's original “Star Trek: The Original Series” (later jumping to the future) and follows Michael Burnham (Martin-Green), who became the starship’s captain, and the rest of the crew of the USS Discovery: first officer Saru (Doug Jones), chief engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), lieutenant and now Starfleet Academy teacher Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), medical officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), courier and Burnham’s love interest Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) and ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio).

Many more characters have stood on the bridge, battled with Burnham, or otherwise make up the world of "Discovery." The series had some trouble finding the right footing, but it’s always had heart, especially in its recurring theme of redemption. And it deserves more support for what it has meant for the entire "Star Trek" franchise.

Here’s why “Star Trek: Discovery” deserves more credit:

Prioritizing diversity and inclusivity

A Vulcan philosophy (and one espoused by “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry) is IDIC, or “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” and many of the related series, movies and books underscore this belief. “Discovery” also has diversity at its core: the show focuses on a Black woman who becomes captain. Stamets and Culber are an openly gay couple, and engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) is a lesbian. And the show introduced a few franchise firsts: Adira Tal as the first nonbinary character in "Star Trek ," and their boyfriend, Gray ( Ian Alexander ), is the first transgender character , both introduced in Season 3.

More: 'Star Trek' documentary unveils star Nichelle Nichols' impactful NASA connection

Starting a new age of Star Trek

“Discovery” helped launch the CBS All Access streaming platform, a CBS subscription service that would eventually become Paramount+, as well as a new era of "Star Trek" series including “Lower Decks” and “Picard.” Before “Discovery,” the last Trek series was “Star Trek: Enterprise,” which ended in 2005.

Exploring strange new worlds

The second season of “Discovery” also served as a launching pad for the well-received spinoff, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” which resurfaced popular characters from the original series including Spock (Ethan Peck), Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn).

Finding time for the simple things

In a few scenes scattered throughout "Discovery," we see characters like Culber and Stamets sharing a meal or talking about their day while brushing their teeth. It’s almost mundane, but there’s also something so lovely about watching LGBTQ+ characters who rarely are the focus in movies or television simply living their lives, being their whole selves. Burnham rocking braids at the beginning of Season 3 speaks cultural volumes. The subtle amid the big battles and overarching plots do have meaning, especially for those whose voices often go unheard.

Going boldly

The first season of “Discovery” went out of its way to highlight its connections to the original series: Burnham is Spock’s adopted sister, and there's a brief appearance by Spock’s father, Sarek. But it wasn’t always so neatly woven, sometimes seeming more like it was using franchise lore as a crutch. But “Discovery” wasn’t afraid to try new things, turning itself around after an overcomplicated first season and again after a very “TOS”-inspired second, slowly building up its own universe without relying too heavily on the old.

The first episodes of Season 5 are a little rocky before it settles into a comfortable speed.

"This time around, we wanted to bring in some levity," Martin-Green says. "But there's a grand sort of epicness to Season 5, even though we didn't know it was our last season when we were shooting it. I think looking back on it, and when we share it with the world, it'll seem that way because the season is so big. So people can expect a lot of fun. They can expect it to go really fast."

It will be interesting to see if “Discovery” sticks the landing through the remainder of the season.

“The good outweighs the bad,” Burnham says in an upcoming episode about a mission, and that’s also true of “Discovery."

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" (two episodes now streaming, then weekly on Thursdays) streams on Paramount+.

3,500 mile trek across America to spotlight homelessness will stop in Amarillo on Monday

Two men making a 3,500 mile trek across America to spotlight homelessness will stop in Amarillo on Monday.

Ken Craft, Founder and CEO, and Rowan Vansleve, President, Hope the Mission are riding from Los Angeles to the White House hoping to raise awareness, mobilize support, and engage communities in the fight against homelessness.

During their stop in Amarillo, they will meet City of Amarillo leaders and tour Transformation Park where a tiny home village will be built.

3,500 mile trek across America to spotlight homelessness will stop in Amarillo on Monday

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’ S5 Review: Final Season Is Its Best

This season has a brisk pace and the sense of fun that in the past has been crushed under the weight of grave galactic stakes..

Star Trek: Discovery occupies an interesting place in the celebrated franchise. It was the first Trek series of the streaming era, the first to debut behind a paywall, the first produced after J.J. Abrams’ big screen reboot, and the first to put a woman of color in the captain’s chair. Discovery redefined the look and feel of the franchise on television, bringing Trek into the modern world of feature-level photography, effects, and pace of story. It blazed a trail for a new generation of Trek media, like direct spin-off Strange New Worlds and the upcoming Section 31 TV movie. It is also not terribly popular amidst the old guard of Trekkies, nor is it a mainstream hit or a critical darling. Discovery has struggled to find its footing from the very beginning and is still uneven after years of retooling. I do not consider its cancellation after five seasons to be a tragic loss for television. However, Discovery may still have one “first” left to achieve: It may be the first Star Trek series whose final season is its best.

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(A quick personal note to the handful of Trekkies who just clutched their pearls: Season 4 of Enterprise is not better than Season 3, it merely has more familiar stuff for fans to point at with childlike glee. And you’ve likely already read my thoughts on Picard ’s final season .)

Even as a critic of the show, I have to acknowledge that every season of Discovery has started with a bang. It’s the nature of a serialized, season-long story arc to kick off with something resembling the first act of a feature film, and Season 5 is no different. The opening chapter, “Red Directive,” is a fast-paced space adventure packed with flashy action set pieces. The illustrious Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her crew are on the trail of Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis), a spacefaring Bonnie and Clyde who have stumbled across a secret with enormous implications for the future of the galaxy. Just like the previous three seasons, this sets Team Disco off on another cosmic scavenger hunt, jumping to a new world each week to find the next clue to the season’s grander mystery.

Historically, this is where Discovery has run into trouble. While each chapter tends to have its own contained adventure plot or even a classic Trek “message of the week,” they’re rarely that memorable and they advance the season’s overarching storyline without adding much depth. This season, though, has a brisk pace and a sense of fun that, previously, has been crushed under the weight of grave galactic stakes. Paramount has promoted this season as having an Indiana Jones energy to it , and that’s a fair comparison. The characters are enjoying themselves more, and for the first time since Season 2, the story isn’t built around some unfathomable tragedy. T o my best recollection, none of the episodes provided in advance to critics feature any crying. That’s four consecutive episodes, possibly a new track record.

This is not the only way in which Discovery ’s new season throttles back on the show’s occasionally cloying sentimentality. The season premiere introduces a new character, Captain Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ), a gruff pragmatist who serves as a contrast to Burnham’s soft-spoken, personable, firmly feminine command style. At first, Rayner appears to be a straw man representing aggro, entitled white male authority, a trope Discovery goes to often. As the season progresses, Rayner acquires some depth and even some likability. It’s fun to watch this grumpy old guy interact with a cast full of characters who are totally in touch with their feelings. Most importantly, Rayner provides something that the series has needed ever since Burnham took command of Discovery: a professional peer with whom to disagree and occasionally compromise. It’s an essential role that her first officer, Saru ( Doug Jones ), has become too adoring and loyal to play. Burnham has earned the devotion of her crew, but watching her gracefully manage dissent only enhances her aura of strength and leadership.

Even though production was wrapped before Discovery was canceled (with additional shooting after that announcement to tie up loose ends), Season Five feels like a finale from the very beginning. A few characters are moving on with their lives, pursuing new interests and relationships. There are more fun, non-intrusive callbacks to Treks past than in the last two seasons, which makes it feel a bit like a victory lap for the streaming era’s flagship show. Above all, there is a sense of ease, as if the cast and crew have finally got their engine running smoothly and can cruise to the finish line. It’s the energy a series possesses at its peak, a point to which fans will often look back and say “They probably should have stopped there.” Barring a significant misstep in its final six episodes, Star Trek: Discovery will never be past its prime, and that’s a distinction its creators can wear with pride.

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ S5 Review: Final Season Is Its Best

SEE ALSO : Hank Azaria On What It Takes to Change

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A woman stands by a tabletop recreation of the Starship Enterprise’s deck as she looks at figurines of Star Trek characters, part of a collection arranged in many shelves.

‘Star Trek’ Fan Leaves Behind a Collection Like No One Has Done Before

When Troy Nelson died, his shelves were filled to the rafters with memorabilia from the popular franchise. Soon, the massive collection will be boldly going, going, gone.

Evan Browne said her brother Troy’s love of “Star Trek” began with the original series, which he and his siblings watched at dinnertime. Credit... Connie Aramaki for The New York Times

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By Sopan Deb

Published April 1, 2024 Updated April 3, 2024

Editors’ Note, April 2, 2024: After publication, The Times learned that Troy and Andrew Nelson were named in a civil lawsuit filed in Pierce County Superior Court in 1998, in which they were accused of molesting three disabled adults in a state-licensed facility that they operated. After a six-week jury trial, Washington State was ordered to pay $17.8 million to the plaintiffs. The state said it intended to appeal but missed the deadline and paid the victims. The Nelson brothers denied the allegations and were never criminally charged.

Troy Nelson and his younger brother Andrew were almost inseparable.

The two youngest of six, they were born two years apart. They lived together in their childhood home in Bremerton, Wash., for more than half a century. Near their home, there is a park bench on which they carved their initials as young boys.

The Nelson brothers never married or had children. They worked together at the same senior home. They even once, as teenagers, dated the same girl at the same time while working different shifts at the same pizza shop. This lasted a week until they realized it.

“Two parts of one body,” Evan Browne, their older sister, said of their relationship in an interview.

On Feb. 28, Andrew Nelson, who had been treated for cancer for years, went to feed the chickens and ducks that were gifts from Ms. Browne to her brothers. He had a heart attack and died. He was 55. Just hours later, Troy Nelson, who was stricken with grief, took his own life. He was 57.

“He had talked about it before,” Browne, 66, said, tearfully. “He said, ‘Hey, if Andrew goes, I’m out of here. I’m checking out.’ Andrew would say the same thing, and then it really happened .”

Figurines of various characters in the Star Trek series stand on shelves. A statuette of Captain Kirk is among those on the top shelf.

What Troy Nelson left behind has become a sensation. After his death, family members posted pictures on social media of his massive — and, really, the keyword is massive — collection of “Star Trek” memorabilia, which have now been shared thousands of times.

The items took up two living rooms and a bedroom, all lined with bookshelves, according to Elena Hamel, one of the brothers’ nieces. The centers of the rooms were lined with additional bookshelves — all packed to the brim — to create aisles. There were jewelry cabinets serving as display cases.

The shelves contained action figures. Dolls. Models of ships. Posters. Ornaments. Lunchboxes. Legos. Several toy phasers and tricorders. (For non-Trek fans, the phaser is a weapon, and a tricorder is, essentially, a fancy smartphone.) Multiple “Star Trek” lamps. (Yes, there are “Star Trek” lamps.) Trading cards. Comic books. Trek-themed Geeki Tikis (stylized tiki mugs). Life-size cutouts of famous characters. A life-size captain’s chair.

While it’s impossible to account for every private collector in the world, Troy Nelson’s collection is almost assuredly among the largest — if not the largest.

The last additions to the collection came in the final weeks of his life: Stuffed rabbits in “Star Trek” uniforms. “I’ve never seen a collection that size,” said Russ Haslage, the president of the International Federation of Trekkers , a “Star Trek”-themed nonprofit that Haslage founded with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the franchise.

Haslage’s organization opened in 2020 a “Star Trek” museum in Sandusky, Ohio, that has received donations of memorabilia from estates. Those collections “pale in comparison” to Mr. Nelson’s, he said. (Haslage has reached out to the family to ask about donations from the collection.)

The older brother’s love of “Star Trek” began with the original series, which he’d watch with his siblings.

“It was our dinner meal,” Ms. Browne said. “When we had dinner, we were sitting in front of ‘Star Trek.’”

Troy Nelson began collecting in the late-1970s. His first acquisition was a model version of the Starship Enterprise. Then came Star Trek conventions. Why the franchise was such a draw to him remains a mystery to his family.

“I really can’t say. I mean, other than the fact that he was brainwashed with it at dinner time,” Browne said, laughing. “That sounds ridiculous. When we grew up, it’s like, ‘Dinner is at this time. And if you don’t get here at this time, you don’t get dinner.’ So it might’ve been a comfort for him .”

Troy Nelson would often monitor sites like eBay for items he didn’t have. On several occasions, he would express frustration on losing out on an item before being able to bid on it. Until he found out the reason.

“Andrew already got it for him,” Ms. Browne recalled.

Obsessive “Star Trek” fandom has long become an indelible part of pop culture, especially as the franchise — which has spawned several television series, movies, novels and comics — has been a long-running institution. There have been documentaries that have studied the subject, such as “Trekkies” in 1997. It’s been lampooned on “The Simpsons,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Family Guy,” and become a story line in an episode of “The West Wing,” among many others. For dedicated fans, accruing collectibles isn’t uncommon.

“When you collect these things, you’re closer to that genre that you enjoy so much,” Haslage said. “When I first started in 1979, I was grabbing everything I could get my hands on because it was cool, and it was a piece of the whole ‘Star Trek’ mythos. If you have these pieces, you’re a part of that universe in some way.”

It turns out that collecting is a pursuit that runs in the family.

Andrew Nelson collected mall swords, Ryobi-branded tools and statues of warrior women, like Xena, the warrior princess .

Browne’s house has a wall with thousands of smashed pennies and her living room windows are full of glass sugar and creamer bowls.

Browne’s father, Bud Peers, collected salt and pepper shakers, guns and knives. Troy and Andrew’s father, Norman Nelson, collected scrap metal and wood.

Hamel has 17 Christmas trees, all fully decorated with separate themes.

Browne’s son, Michael, who is 36, collects anything and everything related to black bears.

“ When you have a large collection like that and it’s displayed like that,” Hamel said, “and it’s something that is important to you, it’s often really calming to be in a space like that. It’s just all the things that you love. It’s soothing.”

As far as Browne knew, Troy had no history of mental illness or any previous suicide attempts. After Andrew died, she received a distraught and frantic call from Troy with the news. She told him that she was on her way.

Ms. Browne said she called him when she got to the Tacoma Bridge. No answer. And then again, at the Manette Bridge. No answer. When she reached their home, the back door was open. And then she found him. The phone call was the last time they spoke.

Troy Nelson did not leave a note, but did leave some things meticulously arranged by his computer, including a key to the house, burial plans for the two brothers, and bills.

“ I don’t know really what I thought,” Ms. Browne said. “All I could do was just scream.”

The Nelson family is boxing up Troy’s “Star Trek” collection to prepare it for auction. Andrew’s ashes will be placed in an urn carved in the likeness of the supermodel Bettie Page . (He was a fan.) Troy’s ashes will be placed in a “Star Trek” lunchbox.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Sopan Deb is a Times reporter covering breaking news and culture. More about Sopan Deb

David Ajala and Sonequa Martin-Green hold up Star Trek phasers, standing next to Wilson Cruz on a rocky planet in Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is cracking open a box Next Gen closed on purpose

The USS Discovery is on a mad chase across the galaxy for one of Star Trek’s biggest secrets

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Calling back to a single 30-year-old episode of television is a time-honored Star Trek tradition , one that’s led the franchise to some of its most fascinating detours. And in its two-episode season premiere, Star Trek: Discovery seems to be kicking off an entire season calling back to one particular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

And not just any episode! The 1993 installment of Next Gen in question delivered a revelation so seemingly earth-shaking that it should have rewritten galactic politics on a massive scale. But then, as was the way in the 1990s era of episodic TV, nobody ever mentioned it again.

At least until now.

[ Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5.]

L-R Elias Toufexis as L’ak — a green-skinned alien hefting a futuristic shotgun — and Eve Harlow as Moll — a more human figure with dyed grey hair and a pistol — point their guns at something on the ground in Star Trek: Discovery.

Writer Michelle Paradise and director Olatunde Osunsanmi lay out the connection at the end of the first of two episodes released this week, “Red Directive.” Discovery’s mission is to follow a series of ancient clues leading to a cache of ancient technology, and to get there before a couple of professional thieves, Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis), do.

The technology, as Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg) explains, belongs to the so-called Progenitors, a barely understood ancient spacefaring species that “created life as we know it […] every humanoid species in the galaxy.” Presumably such tech holds the key to understanding how the Progenitors did that, and how that power could be used again.

The Progenitors are from the Star Trek episode “The Chase”

Kovich also calls up a helpful video presentation of the moment the Progenitors were discovered by an assembled group of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, and Cardassian captains, including Jean-Luc Picard. But you don’t have to be a Star Trek lore nerd to know you’re actually just looking at clips from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Specifically, from the 20th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s sixth season, “The Chase,” in which Picard and crew discover pieces of a computer program hidden inside the DNA of species from dozens of different planets. Questions abound: What does the program do? And what kind of entity could have been so ancient and powerful that it had determined the genetic legacy of most of the known galaxy before sentient life had even evolved here — and then left no trace of its existence except the genetic codes themselves?

In a nutshell, the mysterious death of Captain Picard’s old archeology professor (did you know that if he hadn’t gone into Starfleet, Jean-Luc was studying to be a space archeologist? Well, now you do) sets the captain and the Enterprise on a search for the missing DNA fragments necessary to complete his unfinished work.

The Progenitor hologram appears before a group of Romulan, Klingon, Cardassian, and Starfleet captains and crewmembers in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The action of the episode becomes a grand chase, as Klingon and Cardassian captains come to believe the program must be a great weapon or dangerous secret. Eventually Picard and his rivals all discover the lonely planet with the final DNA strain — and when they get there, some Romulans who’ve been secretly following all of them show up, too, just to make things even more tense.

In the end, the program isn’t a weapon or a secret, but a message from an ancient race of humanoids that apparently created sentient life in our galaxy as we know it.

Actor Salome Jens appears as a Progenitor hologram, and delivers a speech that’s stirring by any standard of Star Trek monologues, telling the story of a race of sentients that took to the stars and found them empty. They had evolved too early to meet other forms of sentient life, and knew that their time was too limited to ever expect to.

“We knew that one day we would be gone; that nothing of us would survive, so we left you,” Jens’ Progenitor explains. The Progenitors seeded humanoid life across the galaxy in their own image; life that tended to evolve into bipedal, tailless, largely hairless creatures with two eyes and two arms and five fingers on each hand. And they left clues in the genetic signature of their work, broken up among the stars.

Wait, was this really all about lampshading the limits of Star Trek’s alien design?

Salome Jens as a Progenitor hologram in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Chase.” Jens is under heavy makeup as a slightly androgenous alien in a white robe, with deep set eyes, small ears, a bald head, and mottled pink-brown skin.

Kinda, yes! The writers of “The Chase,” Ron Moore and Joe Menosky, were inspired by elements of Carl Sagan’s Contact , but also by Menosky’s pet fascination creating an in-universe explanation for why all the common alien species in Star Trek are basically shaped like humans (albeit with latex on their faces).

In other hands, it would be hokey and trite, but even under heavy makeup, Jens sells the hell out of her single scene on voice and stance alone — it’s no wonder she was asked back to the Trek fold to play a major antagonist role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

“It was our hope that you would have to come together in fellowship and companionship to hear this message, and if you can see and hear me, our hope has been fulfilled,” the Progenitor hologram concludes, with gentle compassion. “You are a monument, not to our greatness, but to our existence. That was our wish: That you, too, would know life. [...] There is something of us in each of you, and so something of you in each other.”

But though “The Chase” carried a sweeping revelation, nothing ever really panned out from it. You’d think that a message of togetherness that fundamentally rewrote the origin of life in the universe would have to have tweaked Star Trek’s galactic politics a bit, right? Seems like this would give the Star Trek setting a radically different understanding of the origins of life than we have in the real world — this is literally intelligent design! At the very least there’d be some other characters talking about how humans and Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans and Ferengi and Cardassians and Trill and Bajorans, all share the same genetic ancestor.

But nope: The Pandora’s box of Progenitor lore remained closed. Gene Roddenberry’s successor and Trek producer Rick Berman seems to have been disenchanted with the episode’s reveal — and you can’t really blame him for not wanting to rock the whole cosmology of Star Trek in an episode that’s mostly about explaining how if you turn the DNA snippets like this they make a cool spiral. Now look at this computer screen with the spiral :

A futuristic computer screen on the USS Enterprise shows a blocky, incomplete spiral in neon green lines.

Except now, Star Trek: Discovery is opening the box and rocking the boat. This new mad, puzzle-box chase around the galaxy promises to expand on the Progenitors, an idea so big that not even The Next Generation was willing to touch it. It’s a tall order, but Discovery has never been more free to shake up Star Trek continuity than it is right now — we’ll have to wait for more episodes of the show’s final season to find out how free it intends to be.

Star Trek: Discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants

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Star Trek's Nazi Portrayal Got A Season 2 Episode Banned In Germany For Decades

In the "Star Trek" episode "Patterns of Force" (February 16, 1968), Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) visit the pre-warp planet of Ekos to find out what happened to John Gill (David Brian), an old history professor of Kirk's. Ekos, they find, has been culturally contaminated by Gill, as he taught them all about Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and the Ekosians have rearranged their society to match. They wear Nazi uniforms, praise John Gill as their Führer, and plan to exterminate their peaceful neighbor planet Zeon. The Zeon characters have names like Izak and Abrom.

There is also a secret resistance that Kirk and Spock can hide out with, and they eventually find a way to confront John Gill. Gill, they find, has been propped up by one of the more zealously Nazi Ekosians, and has been kept in line with drugs. Gill admits that he landed on Ekos finding it to be disorganized and chaotic, and only aimed to put an efficient system into place. Shockingly, Gill came to the conclusion that Nazi Germany was the most efficient government he could think of, and implemented Nazism for practical reasons. I guess Gill was not a very good historian, otherwise he might have remembered ANYTHING ELSE about the Nazis.

There are a few scenes of Shatner and Nimoy — both Jewish actors — wearing full Nazi regalia. It's a bleak episode to be sure. Actress Valora Noland, who played the resistance fighter Daras, reportedly retired from acting after having to wear a Nazi armband for the part. The Nazi imagery and the sentiment that Nazis were the most efficient system of government ever devised kept "Patterns of Force" off German television for many years.

Postwar Germany

In Germany, the display of Nazi imagery, the flying of Nazi flags, and the vaunting of Nazi rhetoric are illegal, unless they are being presented in either an artistic or educational context. Indeed, only 11 countries around the world legally allow the display of Nazi images: Canada, Finland, Iran, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Switzerland, and the United States. Germany has also made Holocaust Denial illegal, as did they the wearing of Nazi uniforms and participation in Nazi-themed websites. A portion of their laws called Section 130 has strictly criminalized hate speech, which bans, according to Dateline, "incitement to hatred and insults that assault human dignity against people based on their racial, national, religious, or ethnic background."

Section 130 was written in the 1870s, but took on new life in the early 1950s to assure that Nazism remain silenced. It wouldn't be until 1994 that Holocaust Denial was banned explicitly.

"Patterns of Force" may fall in the exception mentioned above for "artistic context," but the makers of the episode — director Vincent McEveety and writer John Meredyth Lucas — mishandled the episode's messaging. "Patterns of Force" may end with the defeat of the Nazi regime, but not before a character explicitly complimented how efficient the Nazi Party was. Dialogue complimenting Nazis was not allowed in Germany under Section 130, and the episode was banned from broadcast. It's the only "Star Trek" episode to have that distinction .

Indeed, "Patterns" remained banned for many years. When "Star Trek" returned to German TV in the 1970s, "Patterns" was left out of the rotation. The episode wasn't dubbed into German until 1995 and only showed on pay TV in 1996. The first public German broadcast of "Patterns of Force" occurred in 2011.

The Triumph of the Will

"Patterns of Force" also included film clips of actual Nazi rallies. While Kirk and Spock are investigating John Gill, they find a store of Nazi film reels depicting scenes of Adolf Hitler in his car. These were taken from Leni Riefenstahl's infamous documentary "Triumph of the Will," a widespread piece of Nazi propaganda. "Triumph of the Will" is about the 1934 Nazi congress in Nuremberg, and shows Hitler making speeches and soldiers saluting him. For many years in American film school, "Triumph of the Will" was taught as an example of superior film technique being wielded for immoral means, and the power of media to disseminate political ugliness. Studying the making of Riefenstahl's film may offer young film students some insight. No one ever needs to actually watch it.

While "Star Trek" doesn't comment on the footage, audiences in 1968 would indeed have seen it as shocking and dark. It had only been 23 years since the end of World War II, and many people still remembered it first-hand. One can see the makers of "Patterns of Force" were trying to offer a critique of Nazism, and how easily a world can fall back into those, well, patterns of force. Fascism, the episode argues, can take hold more easily than you think.

But "Star Trek" was perhaps too objective, ignoring the terrors of the Holocaust and fliply complimenting Nazi efficiency. It's like that old saw about how fascism "at least gets the trains to run on time." Perhaps the makers of "Patterns of Force" felt that enough time had passed that they could speak objectively about Nazism . Sadly, that involved dressing Jewish actors in Nazi uniforms, and that's a hard image to get around.

In closing: punch Nazis.

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Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery free — Final season starts today

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The newest season of Star Trek: Discovery is officially underway. Season 5 marks the final season of the Star Trek spin-off, and it's shaping up to be an action-packed swang song. Whether you're looking to stream the new episodes or get caught up on the past four seasons, we've got everything you need to know about the show, including where to watch Star Trek: Discovery free via a TV channel abroad.

Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 and follows in the decades-long tradition of Star Trek stories. The series is set about five years before the original Star Trek, which chronicled Captain Kirk's five-year journey. In Star Trek: Discovery, the U.S.S. Discovery travels through space on a mission of exploration. Season 5 sees Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the U.S.S. Discovery crew on the hunt for an ancient power that others are also seeking.

The first two premiere episodes are currently streaming. Keep reading to learn how to watch the series no matter where you are in the world.

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Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in the US

New Season 5 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery land on Paramount+ on Thursdays. The premiere week includes two episodes, and then one new episode will drop weekly after that. Episodes should be available starting at about 3 a.m. ET. All four past seasons are available to stream through the service. Subscriptions start at $5.99 a month and come with a one-week free trial.

Paramount Plus' Essential tier is a steal at this price and only has limited ads. It features tons of on-demand content from Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and MTV. And you get NFL and Champions League soccer live streaming. There's a 7-day free trial, then it's $6 a month or $60 a year. The only way to ditch the ads is by opting for the Showtime bundle.

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in Canada

Paramount+ is also the home to Star Trek: Discovery in Canada. Plans start at CAD$6.99 and come with a one-week free trial. All episodes are available to stream here.

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in New Zealand

Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream for free on TVNZ+ . You'll need to create a free account to start streaming. In addition to new season 5 episodes, Seasons 1-4 are also streaming on the site. New episodes are available on Thursdays.

How to watch Star Trek: Discovery from anywhere

If you're not in New Zealand at the moment, you can access streams with a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs alter your electronic device's location so you can use websites that might not be available in certain regions. They're also solid ways to boost your online privacy. We recommend ExpressVPN , a user-friendly option with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Check out our ExpressVPN review for additional details and see below to learn how to use a VPN.

With its consistent performance, reliable security, and expansive global streaming features, ExpressVPN is the best VPN out there, excelling in every spec and offering many advanced features that makes it exceptional. Better yet, you can save up to 49% and get an extra three months for free today.

How to watch Star Trek: Discovery with a VPN

Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one.
Install it on the device you're using to watch Star Trek: Discovery.
Turn it on and set it to New Zealand.
Go to TVNZ+ and create a log-in profile.
Watch Star Trek: Discovery.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

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Main content

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TREK 500
1985 Trek 500 Series
Trek 500
Trek 500
NBD
Trek 500

VIDEO

NYETING BARENG RX KING DI TREK 500 METER ‼️
รีวิว เต็นท์ FORCLAZ Trek 500 สายเล็กมอไซค์ก็ได้รถยนต์ก็ดี
View of classic bicycle 🚲 Trek 500
decathlon
PRODUCT REVIEW
Men's Mountain Trekking Trousers -TREK 500

COMMENTS

Vintage Trek Bike, the 500; Better than a Peugeot?
This 500 was a mid-range bike worth around $400 in 1983/84, around the same price as a Peugeot Ventoux or PH501. Trek bikes of this era are always more understated than their European counterparts, they were never flashy or ornate, but they were nevertheless handsome bikes. What to Look For . I really like the head badge.
Trek Price Lists and Current Values
See the price information above for prices of many Treks when new. For bikes 1976 to about 1983, one can use a range of 40% to 70% for a bike. For bikes from about 1984 to 1990, one can use 33% to 50% of the original selling price. This is for bikes with good to excellent paint and in good to excellent overall condition.
Trek bikes range: which model is right for you?
The Trek Domane - available as a men's build or with women's specific componentry - is a fast selling model, which comes in a range of frame materials. The Domane SLR uses the lightest carbon Trek ...
Trek Bike Models by Year and Color
Trek Bike Models/Years/Colors. On this page is a listing of Trek model numbers or names. ... 500 Tri Series: 86, pewter metallic with black graphics, also red and white fade: 5000: 89, bright red with white decals, also any 89 color combination 95, ice green with ice blue decals ...
Vintage Trek
Trek Bicycle Corporation is established by Richard Burke, President, and Bevil Hogg, VP and General Manger. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Roth Corporation. 1976 - 1978.5. Trek produces models TX300, TX500, TX700 and TX900. These were initially sold as frames only, for most of the country.
Vintage Trek Bikes: A Beginner's Guide
Trek was founded in 1976 by Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg and was actually one of the later US brands to be founded during the bike boom. Trek started out making mid-upper range hand-brazed steel touring and racing road bikes, taking aim at a chunk of the market dominated by Italian giants such as Bianchi and Colnago.. Until 1983, Trek bikes remained in this niche.
Trek 500
A video about my 1983 Trek 500 bicycle. I bought it with the original Suntour groupset but later switched it to a 9 speed Shimano 105 groupset with the Bontr...
2021 Trek road bikes
The Domane SL features front IsoSpeed and non-adjustable rear IsoSpeed, and it's made from Trek's 500 Series OCLV, which isn't as light as the 700 Series OCLV used for the Domane SLR. Priced £2,325, the Domane SL 4 (above) is the most affordable model, featuring a mostly Shimano Tiagra groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes.
1986 Trek Bikes 500 Tri Series
Triathlon bike with 12 sizes. Find your ideal bike using bike-on-bike geometry comparisons with diagrams, powerful search tools, and category analysis.
Émonda, our lightest road bike
Émonda is the lightest road bike in our lineup and the first up every climb. We scrutinized every inch of this legendary race bike to offer ultimate ride quality and balanced handling without compromising weight. Complete with fast and light aerodynamic tube shaping, Émonda helps riders go faster than ever on flats and climbs alike. 노바 ...
The Used Bikes We'd Buy Right Now Under $500
Trek 500. Though a bit big (63.5CM), if this bike fits you, it's a great buy. Maillard hubs and Sakai cranks are just two of the features that make it worth the money. Buy Now: $400. 1984 Trek 660. A bike from the era when Trek was still making most of its bikes in the US. A mix of Campy and Shimano parts paired with Reynolds steel tubes ...
1984 Trek 500 : r/Vintage_bicycles
1984 Trek 500. So I ran across this gorgeous 1984 Trek 500 for sale in my local bike group and had to pick it up. As great of condition as it's in, I'm definitely seeing a few things I want to look into to possibly improve the overall look and functionality, but I wanted to run some questions by you guys before I start taking anything apart.
How to choose a road bike
Émonda is an ultra-light road bike designed for maximizing performance on hilly race courses and climbing the tallest mountains. It's our lightest road race bike ever. -Ultra-lightweight design. -Fast/aggressive race geometry. -Excellent for dancing up inclines on race day and leading the pack on group rides.
Trek Navigator 500 2002 Cruiser Bike
Strength: shock absorbtion. smooth shifting. Weakness: pedals seem small. After using a road racer and mountain bike, thought I would give my back a break. The 500 is a smooth and comfortable ride, feels like you could go all day. Similar Products Used: Trek 820 mountain bike. [Aug 13, 2002]
Levels of carbon? Trek's 500 vs 700? : r/cycling
700 is the lightest of the light and a little fragile. Even the Domane SLR (the top dog) uses 600 maybe for the better durability. Domane SL uses 500. Therefore, I hold 500 in high regard. I work at a Trek dealer and have an emonda. I have ridden both and they seem equally stiff to me. The weight of the 700 is about 75% the weight of the 500 ...
Trek 4500 review
The 4500 sits right at the top of Trek's entry-level bike bracket.
Trek Checkpoint Bikes Compared: Which One to Choose?
Weight & Aerodynamics. Trek Checkpoint frames are heavier than Trek road bikes (Madone, Émonda, Domane). This is especially due to their thicker tubes, frame protectors, and hidden storage compartments. They weigh around 9 kg (20 lbs). Naturally, they are not as aero oriented as Madones.
Pez-Test: TREK 5900
The Trek 5900 that is. The same bike* that Trek provides to Lance and the US Postal boys! I giggled some more. One of the best things about being a roadie is the level of refinement to which we can become accustomed. As geometries, technical and weight advantages become more standardized, it's the details that start to make a bigger ...
OCLV Carbon
Trek has spent countless development hours perfecting the construction of a variety of weights and types of carbon (cloth, unidirectional, etc.). The OCLV process is best explained when broken down into two parts: Optimum Compaction: Carbon is layered into a series of plies compacted to the ideal fiber-resin ratio. The process starts with ...
Trek 6500 Bike: Comprehensive Review and Pricing
The Trek 6500 is an excellent choice for mountain biking enthusiasts who love tackling steep climbs and fast descents. With a solid frame and good suspension, the bike easily handles technical singletrack and rugged terrain. Its front fork provides sufficient shock absorption to keep riders comfortable, helping maintain control and traction on ...
2007 Trek 5000
Find out how much a 2007 Trek 5000 bicycle is worth. Our Value Guide is constantly growing with pricing information and bicycle specs daily.
3 Best Trek Bikes Under $500 (MTB and Hybrid) in 2024
Trek 820 and Trek 820 WSD (Best Trek Mountain Bike Under $500) Budget-friendly mountain bike for men or women, providing durability, versatility, and a wide gear range. Trek 820 is one of the best beginner mountain bikes. This is thanks to its affordable price and the great value it offers.
'Star Trek: Discovery': Why the barrier-breaking series is important
Prioritizing diversity and inclusivity. A Vulcan philosophy (and one espoused by "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry) is IDIC, or "infinite diversity in infinite combinations," and many ...
3,500 mile trek across America to spotlight homelessness will stop in
Two men making a3,500 mile trek across America to spotlight homelessness will stop in Amarillo on Monday.Ken Craft, Founder and CEO, and Rowan Vansleve, Presid
'Star Trek: Discovery' S5 Review: Final Season Is Its Best
Star Trek: Discovery occupies an interesting place in the celebrated franchise. It was the first Trek series of the streaming era, the first to debut behind a paywall, the first produced after J.J ...
Lifelong 'Star Trek' Fan Leaves Behind a Massive Trove of Memorabilia
Lunchboxes. Legos. Several toy phasers and tricorders. (For non-Trek fans, the phaser is a weapon, and a tricorder is, essentially, a fancy smartphone.) Multiple "Star Trek" lamps. (Yes, there ...
Star Trek: Discovery's Progenitors revive a scrapped Next Gen story
Discovery's mission is to follow a series of ancient clues leading to a cache of ancient technology, and to get there before a couple of professional thieves, Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias ...
Star Trek's Nazi Portrayal Got A Season 2 Episode Banned In ...
In the "Star Trek" episode "Patterns of Force" (February 16, 1968), Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) visit the pre-warp planet of Ekos to find out what happened to John Gill (David ...
7500
7500. Model 13406000110. Retailer prices may vary. Compare. Color / Matte Steel Gray/Matte Brushed. Select a color. This product is no longer available online, but it could be in stock at your local Trek shop! Check in-store availability below.
Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery free
Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in Canada. Paramount+ is also the home to Star Trek: Discovery in Canada. Plans start at CAD$6.99 and come with a one-week free trial. All episodes are ...