Trek District

It probably should be stated that the District is the first bike I have owned in nearly 15 years. I have been threatening to ditch my car in favor of a bike for my commutes to and from work but I really couldn’t find the motivation to visit a bike shop until I first saw pictures in the District in the fall of 2008; I thought it was too sexy to see production. The concept of using such an aggressive combination of components (frame, fork, seat, etc.) and a color scheme so unique, seemed too polarizing to be considered marketable; not to mention the inclusion of a Gates carbon drive which is a bold enough move for a production bike as it is. Anyway, I downloaded the high-res screen shot from the Trek website and made it my desktop to see if my excitement for the bike would wain after some time on the eyes. As it turned out, it had the opposite effect and I came to appreciate it’s aesthetics even more. So I stopped by my local Trek concept store and plunked down a deposit; mine was their first order. After months and months of patient waiting, I received a call from the store notifying me that my District was being assembled in their shop and was ready for me to take delivery.

My first impression supports the opinions of others: this bike is even more impressive in person. Trek did a very good job staying true to the original concept. The build quality is probably the most surprising characteristic; everything is very tight. All of the welds are clean and nearly unnoticeable while the Vintage Gray paint gives it that “urban assault vehicle” appearance that I find so strangely attractive. I too, had my shop invert the stem to mimic the concept; this is the way the District was intended to look. The most interesting thing I noticed, and this may be an “error” in production, is that mine came without the Trek shield on the front. I’m not complaining because I think it looks rather nice that way…but I found it odd none-the-less.
The Gates carbon drive is remarkable. There is no noticeable difference in pedal feel between the Gates and a traditional chain drive; even when you get on it. In fact, the only difference I can tell is in the sound (or lack there of); it’s almost surreal. Anyone who is skeptical of belt drives need to take the Gates carbon drive for a spin before you write off the technology.
The District is fast. My commute to work is nearly 4 miles and it takes me a good 13-15 minutes to commute by car (accounting for traffic). The District, by comparison, is only about 3 or 4 minutes slower and I attribute that to the massive hill(s) that I have to climb going to and returning from the office. The single speed can make a large hill a work out but nothing that “breaks the will” so to speak. When the terrain is flat, the District is buttery smooth. That being said, it’s an aggressive set up so it’s not gonna ride like a cruiser…but it wasn’t designed with that intent anyway.
As far as personalization, I have some things in mind that I plan on adding sooner or later. What I can tell you is that anything I do will not detract from the original design intent.
Cheers,
Jay KOmaha, NE

Tags: Review

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Trek District. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.