Trek's Soho - First Review

The Soho will be available in March, but we got a chance to check the bike out...

Trek's Soho is a great commuter bike for the hills here in North County San Diego. With tons of features, these deceptively simple bike are still somehow chock full of the little touches that add up to the top bike on the market today for those urban riders who use their bike for getting around town.

Almost inch by inch up and down this bike, Trek's engineers have built a number of commuter specific items into the Soho to make this ride both comfortable and practical for getting you around town.

The first and most obvious touch is almost a comedic one to show you're a serious commuter. What is it? A coffee cup, of course! You need your joe in the morning, and so with the Soho bike you can get a stainless steel commuter coffee mug designed specifically for it that goes in your watter bottle cage complete with Soho label. The mug itself is a high-quality insulated container that is self-sealing to keep dirt out and your drink hot or cold for a long time.

Another brilliant and highly visible design element are long rubber bumpers implanted in either side of the top tube. The people at Trek who put these in are people who know the reality of riding in an urban environment. These strips, in addition to just looking cool, serve as a cushion when you lean your bike up against stuff, keeping your bike free from dents and dings in the paint. Also, if you've used a sign or another type of post as a bike rack, you know it's easy for your bike to slide and scoot forward and flop over. The rubber bumper helps keeps the bike in place because it's a better gripper than bare metal.

Belt-Drive - Durable Components and Easy Maintenance

The Soho ($989) has an intriguing belt drive set-up paired with the internal gearing of the 8-speed Shimano Nexus 8 rear hub. Using a Gates C-Drive carbon composite belt, Trek bills it as "brutally tough yet cleaner than any chain you’ve ever owned." The Belt drive is super quiet and easier to maintain that traditional chains, and the range of gearing will allow you conquer the steepest hills as well as max your pedaling for all-out speed on the flats.

The Soho uses an internal Shimano IM50 roller brake, again contained in the hubs, making maintenance a snap as your brake parts aren't continually subjected to dirt and moisture. Bontrager Hardcase tires with integrated reflective sidewall comes standard for safer night riding on the Soho; matching fenders are another nice plus for people who have to count on their bike to get them around in all types of weather.

The Soho is built on a lightweight Alpha Black Aluminum frame with built-in dropouts that allow mounting of a rack and fenders without special mounting hardware.

The Soho is the true commuter bike, it is going to appeal to most people who are thinking about the decision to buy a bike like this much as they would analyze a potential new car purchase. What kind of features does it have, and what do I need? The Soho has all sorts of terrific features that will appeal to commuters and urban riders for their true convenience and benefit they offer. Despite the fact that the nearly thousand dollar price tag is going to be a deterrent to many cyclists, the fact is that the Trek Soho is a great value at this price point given the innovative engineering built into it. The cutting edge belt drive and internal hub and brake system should save you a lot on maintenance, repair and replacement over the years, even with everyday riding in all sorts of elements.

Team Astana bike signed by Lance Armstrong on EBay

Trek Australia donated an official Team Astana bike to auction with 100% proceeds to the Cancer Council of South Australia (CCSA). To add to the auction results, the Premier of South Australia has agreed to donate $3 for every dollar raised. This is a huge fundraising effort that exemplifies Australia’s commitment to make cancer a priority!

This auction ends Saturday! Go to Ebay to place your bid

Look at the paint detail of Lance's Madone Frame!

Check out the detail here..

There is a rumor that there are a few hidden messages in the graphics (none of them shown here). Trek Team liaison Ben Coates promises he will share their meanings when he posts photos of the complete bike. Watch for more photos in the weeks to come!

See more here...

Final details of Lance's bike

Here are the details of Lance's bike from Trek Bike -

........Lance Armstrong's Tour Down Under bike is a stock Madone red series carbon frame with a full custom paint job. Although the bike went from a twinkle in the designer's eye to painted and built in less then a full week there was nothing easy about it. It took over 30 hours to paint the bike, not including curing time, that is strictly airbrush gun in the painter's hand pointed it at the frame...... Everything on the bike was painted in house at Trek by one of our Project One painters. There are no decals on the bike, the bike is 100% paint! When you see it up close it really is a site to behold, knowing that it was hand done makes it even more incredible.

Getting the bike to Lance has been an adventure in and of itself, delays, shipping mishaps, changed flight plans, canceled flights, driving in the snow, running through the airport.....and finally handing it off to Lance.......

Click here for the rest of the story, complete with cool pictures

Tori Comes by to help out and pick up the Demo Bikes

Tori B from Trek, recently back from her 3 week vacation to Costa Rica came back on Friday to impart her wisdom to ECBS and to sadly pick up the cool Trek/Gary Fisher Demo bikes she had lent to us.

With the new year Tori will be touring the Western US for Trek, spreading the word of the great bikes and people from Trek Bicycles. At our shop Tori spent a day working with us and our customers. Tori worked with new hire Robin, talking about WSD bikes, clothing and equipment.

With Tori help, ECBS hopes to have several new event in 2009, including Ladies Night, new Bike Demos.

It’s the end of an era - team Trek-Volkswagen will not continue in 2009, forcing dozens of racers and team managers to scramble for new sponsors, according to VeloNews. Trek says the decision came after Volkswagen decided cut its involvement with the team making it impossible for Trek to finance on its own.

This has impacted Tori as well as her cool VW that pulls her trailer of bikes will need to be replaced. Who knows what kind of truck she will come back with...