Trek District

Nick S. was one of the lucky few to have already received his Trek District. Now that he has had it for a few days he was kind enough to snap some pictures and write up some of his first impressions. Enjoy!

Initial thoughts on the Trek District 2009….

As I was handed my new Trek District at my local bike store the other day here in NYC, I could sense the numerous pairs of eyes staring at it. A woman approached me immediately and asked what kind of bike it was. Well, I was about to find out.

Weighing in at roughly 20 pounds, the first thing you notice while riding the District is the lack of any noise whatsoever. The rubber of the tires rolling on the asphalt and my jacket wafting in the wind were the only sounds to be heard, louder than any singular part on the bike. It’s literally like riding on a silent cloud. While the wingspan of the handlebars was wider than I had expected, the steering was still tight and nimble, allowing myself to easily negotiate myself between cars.

I really liked the gear ratio for the bike, as the District was super fast on the inclines, but only while sitting down. The configuration of the bike positions you pretty upright and I found standing up to be a little awkward. I also noticed that once I reached speeds upwards of 20 MPH, there was no point in peddling anymore. Its aluminum frame was rigid on bumps, but I’m used to that riding on NYC streets and dodging huge potholes. I did purchase a softer saddle, switching out the beautiful-looking, yet painful Bontrager one, which improved riding over rougher terrain tremendously.

While some readers were concerned about the difficulty of maintaining the District, it couldn’t be any simpler. First of all, there was no black chain grease to deal with and after using a hex wrench to loosen the rear bolts, the tire popped out vertically downwards from the adjustable dropouts. The Gates belt was easy to remove from the cog and chainring once the tire was out.

One thing that I haven’t gotten used to is the constant barrage of people staring and asking questions about the bike. People are immediately drawn to its bright orange rims and unique shape. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure. But most importantly, the District is just a true pleasure to ride and has now officially become my Spring/Summer cruising bike.

Some riders may not like the free-wheel setup or the bright colors, but it’s a unique bike that provides a unique riding experience. Ultimately, for riders looking for a beautiful and nimble single-speed urban bike, the District is one of the best out there.

-Nick

Congrats on the new bike Nick!

Some of the first stories of Trek Districts in the wild are rolling in. Stay tuned for pictures and reviews from the happy new owners. For those lucky ones who have gotten theirs hit us up via our contact page and let us know what you think.

While I obviously don’t have the whole inside story on the roots of the Trek District, we can pick up a couple of good hints from Treks blog “LIfe in the bike lane“. Just after Trekworld and the announcement of the new Trek District there was an interview with the designer of the District 96. While at first blush it looks like there isn’t a whole lot in common between the District and the 96er, there is probably more there than meets the eye. The 96er is a “full on concept bike” and as such we will probably never see it go into production. Probably a good thing too, because it’s not nearly as good looking as the District. The District 96 shows that Trek is thinking about “fashion” bikes for the urban hipster crowd. While it may be over the top, it is the forerunner to the more stylish, and much more practical District. Some of the obvious carryovers are the deep v rims and the track pedals. I’m just glad the production design turned out so much better than the concept.

More pics of the District 96 after the jump.

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Why would anyone have a whole blog dedicated to one bike?  Why not?  I first heard about the Trek District a couple of weeks ago, when I saw it on Coolmaterial.com.  My first reaction was that it was one fine looking SS, especially for one that was a production bike. When I noticed that it had a belt drive, instead of a chain drive, my obsession started.  Since then I have been scouring the internet looking for more information about it.  While the information about it is still somewhat limited, one thing is apparent, there is a lot of buzz about the bike.  That’s when I got the crazy idea to start a one bike blog.  I figured there were others out there like me who were looking for more information, so I thought I would do my best to gather it all in one place. With that, TrekDistrict.com was born.  Think of it as the unofficial fan site of the Trek District bike.