Trek District

The good folks over at thecyclistsite.com were lucky enough to get a new Trek District in today. They are currently unboxing the beauty and building it up. Make sure you follow their site for first impressions and lots more full sized photos of the unboxing process.

Photo via thecyclistsite.com.

UPDATE: Lots more great photos here.

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.

Here is a great video put out by trek that talks more about the Trek District. The weather is warming up and rumor has it that the first districts are starting to roll off the lines already. If you haven’t already pre ordered yours, now is the time.

I know there have been a lot of people that have been pretty discouraged with all the delay’s in shipping the Trek District. I spoke with their brand manager last week and things sounded pretty positive. Official details are still coming (hopefully along with pictures of some of the first bikes to roll off the line) but it sounds like people will start to get their bikes in the next couple of months. Stay tuned for more….

 

Maxim magazine knows a thing or two about good looks so it’s a given that they would like the “light and rugged fixie with a carbon fiber belt instead of a chain” the Trek District.

The District is being branded as a commuter bike, which it would be great as. The belt drive means that there is no greasy chain to eat your pants as you dodge traffic. The single speed makes it simple and reliable. But what about those that want to simplify it even more and go fixed gear? Fixie inc is the only fixed gear belt drive that I know of, but I have often wondered how easy it would be to make the District into a fixie. Here is the reply I got from Trek.

TD: I’m sure you already know that the style of the District appeals to the fixie crowd. How easy would it be to convert to a fixie?

TREK: Only factor limiting this is a compatible rear hub and cog. There are some companies out there that are working on this, including Trek. Currently, though, it’s not possible to convert to fixed gear with parts available through Trek. If other companies have them available already, then you could use their parts to switch over.

TD: It sounds like the rear cog just slips over a Shimano freehub body. If this is the case, could you just use the Surly Fixxer to convert it to a fixed gear?

TREK: Can’t guarantee that the Fixxer would work with the stock hub, as this isn’t a Shimano hub (it’s Formula). As long as the belt cog was compatible with the converter, it could work. There are some really cheep looking belt drive freewheels out there as well. There’s a folding bike company called Strida that has been using belt drive for years and has drive train parts available.

TD: What is the rear spacing?

TREK: Spacing is 135mm in the rear, 100mm front. (not 120mm track).

With that in mind, it seems like a simple conversion to a fixie may not exist. Of course you could always re-lace the rear wheel with a different hub and you would be in business. Any other ideas?

Something tells me that Trek will be working on solving the problem with some in house solution if the demand is high enough. I know I would love a flip flop belt drive hub.

Ninja quiet. That’s how Trek describes the District, thanks to it’s Gates Belt Drive. Here is a shot and descriptions from the new 2009 catalogue.

Official description after the jump.

(more…)

One of the most exciting and unique parts of the Trek District besides it’s amazing good looks is the fact that it features the Gates Belt Drive. There have been quite a few people, including myself, wondering just how you go about getting the tension and tracking set right and how it’s affected by having to take a wheel off. I had a chance to ask Trek some questions, and here is what I found out.

TD: I think the biggest question that people have is just how the belt tensioning and alignment work. I know that belt drives require a fair amount of tension to avoid slipping, and the alignment is pretty critical. Is it something that is easily done, does pulling the wheel off to fix a flat totally screw up the alignment?

TREK: The belt is tensioned at the rear dropouts, which attach to the frame via two bolts and slide horizontally. The drop outs are each one piece, but when the wheel is taken off and the drop outs are completely removed, the belt can be removed and replaced via a slit between the chain stay and seat stay on the drive side. There isn’t any lateral adjustment because the chain line is set by the BB spindle length and it’s nearly impossible to successfully have the wheel installed with the dropouts bolted in different positions, and since the drop outs themselves are not horizontal, the wheel is easy to install correctly. It’s not a quick release system, but installing and removing the wheel takes very little effort.

TD: As far as tensioning the belt, I was half expecting some sort of set screw like some of the horizon drop out bikes have. Without set screws, how do you have fine adjustment over the belt tracking and tension. It seems like it’s not a very refined method? Or am I just making it sound harder than it really is.

TREK: Since you’re actually moving the dropouts themselves, and not the wheel in the drop out, it’s much easier to set tension and position. I would say the sliding drop out system is easier to set than setting a wheel into the correct position of a traditional horizontal or semi-horizontal drop out. It is essentially impossible to set the wheel into the frame without the correct lateral spacing between the stays. All one has to do is pull back on the wheel till the belt is tight while the drop out retaining bolts are loose, tighten the bolts, then ride.

There are very few Districts available at this time, so not many people have actually ridden one. I know a bike shop employee that was lucky enough to take a spin on one back at Trek world, here are his impressions.

Well, here is the first bit of info you may be interested in. If you order a district right now (10/22/08) in a 56 cm you can expect it March 9, 2009. Trek likes to underpromise and overdeliver so let’s hope that is the case with the district.

I was able to ride the District as well as the Soho, both equipped with belt drives, at Trek World on the demo day at the plant in Waterloo, WI. The bike we rode was not the District you see in the photos, however it was the same frame geometry and the belt drive, so you got the idea even though you didn’t get the flashy velocity rims and the leather grips.

The first thing you notice is how quiet it is. A single speed has never been a noisy bike, so the noticeable silence of a belt drive is impressive. It is an extremely smooth riding bike and will be great city bike due to the greaseless belt drive and chain guard. Those fixed gear devotees should be able to convert their Districts. The guys at Trekworld said that the belt drive could not only handle the additional torque that a fixed gear creates, but would in fact out perform a traditional chain. The belt drive, since it has no bushings is not supposed to stretch…ever.

As far as the geometry of the District goes, it feels very similar to a crossbike. Not quite as relaxed as a mtb, but still relaxed enough to be a great commuter while remaining fast. The District is going to be an extremely fun bike to ride and pictures pretty much speak for themselves as far as aesthetics are concerned.

The jury is still out on the carbon drive belt system, but Trek isn’t the first to use it. Here are some comments from others that had a chance to ride a belt drive bike.