Trek's president calls bicycling a "cheap date"
Timed conveniently to fit into Bike to Work Week, today's business Q&A featured John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle Corp.
In the interview with Journal Sentinel reporter Don Walker, Burke made the point that building infrastructure for bicyclists is a "cheap date." By that, he means a price-smart way to combat congestion on the freeways and expansion around our waists.
"It costs on average something like $50 million to build a mile of an urban, four-lane freeway," Burke said in the interview. "If you take a look at what it costs to build bicycle facilities, it's a fraction of that number. Bicycle infrastructure is an absolute cheap date."
He later talked about the plan by Gov. Scott Walker to strip $5 million dedicated to bike and pedestrian improvements from the Department of Transportation budget.
"I think it's a big wasted opportunity. I had the opportunity to meet with him a few weeks ago. We had a very good conversation ... about the $5 million and the future of bicycling in the state of Wisconsin.
"The governor is right. There is a huge fiscal problem in this state. ... It's my belief that a bicycle is a really cheap date. You are going to spend a lot of money building certain roads that you might not need to spend money on when you could build other roads and bicycle facilities."
Click here to read more from Burke on his company and its leading cyclist, Lance Armstrong.
7 Comments for "Trek's president calls bicycling a "cheap date""
JOill Jun 06, 2011 4:00 PM
touring along contributes $1.5 BILLION to the Wisconsin economy annually.
Source: https://www.grist.org/biking/2011-06-06-the-grand-tour-how-
bike-tourism-helps-local-economies
Tyrell Track Master Jun 06, 2011 6:49 PM
jimtherepublican Jun 07, 2011 10:02 AM
of 16 to ride on state trails, costs $20 per year or $4 per day. Proceeds
pay for the maintenance and development of trails.
drytoast Jun 07, 2011 10:41 AM
Trek wouldn't replace the wheel because I was not the original owner. The best they would do give me 50% off a new set. EXCUSE ME!!! I just experienced a very rare hub failure that could have caused me to seek medical attention. Trek even stated the pics I sent were the worst hub failure they have ever seen, and THAT isn't enough to get a new set of safe wheels!?
As I did more investigation I found on Roadbike review that Bontrager (a Trek brand) had problems (rim cracks, flange cracks) across most alloy wheel models. Their wheels were ranked below average compared to other very large bicycle companies.
There are enough hazards on the road without having to worry about equipment failure. Don't risk you safety with Trek. Go somewhere else that has better reliability.
Six000MileYear Jun 07, 2011 8:10 PM
--this is a good reason to not buy used. You'll be hard pressed to find a
bicycle manufacturer who would warranty something without a proof of
purchase. Just sayin'. Their offer of 1/2 off a set of wheels sounds
pretty generous to me.
shawnee Jun 09, 2011 10:11 AM
Dirty as Lance Jun 21, 2011 2:08 AM