Trek District

There is no doubt that the original District is one of the best looking bikes, but some lamented that it didn’t have the flexibility of the SoHo. With a little work Mirko from Germany was able to achieve the best of both worlds. Here’s his comments.

Finally I got the District running smooth with the Alfine Hub. Now the District is nearly perfect for my needs. I was riding the bikeway from Dresden to Hamburg ( 750 km ) with carrier and about 15kg extra weight on the bike. I also changed the orange rims with Mavic CXP33 and some DT Revolution. After these modifications I was prepared for the bikeway along the river “Elbe” and the District showed that it can be also a comfortable trekking bike. Unfortunately the new rims changed the bike soul. So I decided to put some reflective orange sticker from german roadsigns on the rims and was amazed how the look changed to something special. Now my district is much more effective for my riding territory in Dresden and with a weight of 10,8kg it is still light for a bike with internal gear hub. After all I think it is a good alternative to the trek soho with the great style of the district. Thanks for the “Lost Grips” post. My new grips are already on the bike. Thanks to the Trek Team for great support. Sorry for my school english Greetings from Dresden, Germany

(more…)

Here’s another great commuter District in Boston Mass. It’s sporting some nice Brooks extra’s and a BOA stem. Here’s what Abbi had to say about her new bike.

I just got my hands on a District of my own. Its beautiful and perfect for my commuting needs (fast and low maintenance). And for all of the critics on other websites, no it does not need to come stock with fenders. So ugly, and pointless if you change when you get to work. If you don’t get a Soho or add fenders! The dropout is actually quite interesting, with the wheel removable while the dropout stays adjusted to the correct position. It looks very easy to change a flat, but I have not had to try yet. According to one Trek employee, developing the dropouts, not the Gates drive were probably what caused the delayed release of the bike. He was in sales though, so that was mostly a guess on his part.

It’s been a long time since I fell in love with the bike and I have obviously been wanting one for a very long time. I was finally able to pick up my gorgeous 54cm District from my LBS SLC Bicycle Co. I was pretty sure I wanted the 54 although I probably fit the 56 just as good. I took them both out for a little spin and I was amazed at how different they both felt. The 56 felt much more stable while the 54 was more nimble feeling. I typically like my bikes a little small (I’m 5′ 10″) and the 54 felt like a perfect fit. They guys down at SLC Bicycle were super nice and the owner Brent even came out an flipped my stem for me before I left.   

Since then I have had been able to ride it to work a dozen or so times. The ride is about 10 miles each way and has a nice mix of hills and flats. It turns out that the gearing on the District is absolutely perfect. I wish it was a little taller on the flats and downhills as I pedal out pretty quickly, but if it was any taller I might not be able to pull some of the longer steeper hills that I have. I am working on getting some decent photos’s of my bike as well as some video. So far I haven’t done much to it, just stripped off reflectors, belt guard etc and added a set of toe clips.

This one is fresh from Switzerland. It may be one of my favorite pictures yet…

After months of waiting, she’s finally arrived! (where I live we speak italian and the bike is feminine, like the car, we are passionale!) I was waiting for her since the beginning of february, when I decided to buy me a new bike, to give back to my sister her “citybike” I was using for commuting to work. After having spoken with a close friend of mine who made for himself a singlespeed and finding this concept a good idea, I saw the District and I directly fell in love with her. Now she’s mine!! It’s only a week I’m riding it, I’ll need much more time to give an objective opinion about her, but it’s looking out very good so far… Ciao, Marc from Tessin (the italian part of Switzerland)

It’s funny that Trek bills the District as a commuter bike. Although I intend on using mine as such (as soon as the get 54 cm’s in stock) it isn’t really set up for commuting, at least not yet. Dave from the UK shows us that the District really can be set up as a serious commuter bike. Here are his thoughts.

Just picked up my new Trek District. I was a little apprehensive of the gearing to start with, and thought the gearing might be a little on the low side.. but my fears have been mislaid. I like the idea of adding the narrow straight bar, the curved standard bar just doesn’t do it justice. I lowered the bar slightly by putting the spacers above, but think that turning the stem over is a better option after some play. I added a slim carrier for the rear (unfortunately need to spoil aesthetics with panniers from time to time), and Ultegra SPD pedals from my road bike. Flats just don’t cut it.

Thanks Dave!