As Florida cyclists we are all very familiar with heat, sweat and humidity. But do you know what effect this can have on your bike?

Sweat and humidity leads to corrosion. And this can cause rust which will eventually lead to breakage or failure. This can not only rob your performance but can also cause an accident.

The trouble is that often you can't even see the problem unless the parts are inspected (which may require removing them). Here are two good examples of corrosion problems I ran into in our Naples store.

The picture on the left is under the aero-pad of an aerobar. The bolts are so corroded they are about to break, and can't be removed without destroying them further. If this cyclist was riding in the aero position and the bolt gave way he would have likely crashed.  Triathlon bikes have the added problem of a sports drink spilling there.

The picture on the right is of a headset bearing that is corroded and affecting the steering of the bike. This bearing is not dissimilar to a bottom bracket bearing. Imagine how much extra drag (cost in wattage) a corroded bottom bracket bearing causes!

Shift and brake cables also can rust and corrode which effects the shifting and breaking properties.

The bottom line is that for safety and optimum performance, any Florida cyclist should have your bolts and bearings inspected by a pro mechanic every 6 months.

Be safe out there, I hope to see you on the road!

Greg

One of the rights of passage for any cyclist is changing a tube out on the road... but even this can happen to veterans!  After the short teaser video watch the excellent flat repair video from Joaquin Herrera our Estero Service Manager.

Joaquin does a great job explaining and demonstrating the nuances of on the road flat repair!  Enjoy...

Full flat repair video below...

Trek Bicycle Stores of Florida are a proud sponsor of both the Papa John's p/b Trek racing team and the Pan Florida Challenge.  

Check out this great video that captures the spirit of the team and the event.
The team rides the popular Emonda SL 6, click here to learn more about this great bike!

Check out the team's schedule for a race near you!

We are a proud sponsor of the Naples Fitness Triathlon and have been helping out with their clinics as a build up to the race on June 4th at the Naples Beach and Golf Resort.

This week's clinic was on tri transitions.  Here are a few tips from today...

1. Go over your race list the night before, and gather everything you need.
2. Have a transition bag where you put everything.
3. Get to the race and transition area early, minimum 1 hour before the race.
4. Make sure you have your race chip, race tat's, body markings, and all numbers on your body, helmet and bike.
5. Race your bike ASAP.
6. Gear goes on the side your wheel is down.
7. Bikes alternate in transition area.  
8. Start Garmin (have on auto stop).
9. Make mental note of where your bike is (find a landmark)
10. Jog in and out, know bike out / in, run out and in (if du or reverse)
11. Check over your bike right before transition closes, wind, knocked over, moved…
12. During the race as you head to transition area, relax and mentally visualize what you need to do, and then do it!

 
Race List (Items you need to take to race):

1. Running Shoes
2. Bike Shoes
3. Helmet
4. Sunglasses 
5. Westsuit
6. Goggles
7. Towel
8. Body Glide
9. Running Glasses (and visor cap)
10. Nutrition (Gu...)
11. Garmin
12. Running Watch
13. Heart Rate Strap
14. Fluid / Water / Bottles
15. Endurolytes if you are prone to cramping.
16. Rain-Cape
17. Arm, leg warmers
18. Gloves if cooler
19. Pump
20. Multitool
21. Race Numbers
22. USA Triathlon and Driver's License (for photo ID)

We wish everyone luck and a great race!  If anyone is interested in learning about the Trek Segafredo Tri Team you can learn more on the team page which also has a link on our homepage.

In just 60 days the creation of a Trek Triathlon Team went from being an idea conceived on a training ride to an official USA Triathlon Team with 34 members and strong sponsors!
 
Trek Bicycle Stores have long been a strong supporter of the triathlon community in SW Florida, sponsoring many great races including...

• The Naples Fitness Challenge,
• Marco Island Tri
•  The Captiva Island Tri
• FGCU Eagle Sprint Tri
•  Cape Coral Triathlon.

 
Not only has Trek supported events, Trek customers and employees represent some of the top multi-sport athletes in the region.   This core group became the nucleus for the team:

• Ross Lenehan: USAT All American, 2016 Winner of Naples Fitness Challenge and Captiva Triathlon.
• Kayla Schmidt:  Winner of 2016 Marco Island Tri
• Susan Fleming:  USAT All American, Winner of 2016 Captiva Triathlon, FGCU Eagle Sprint Tri, and Lake Avalon Tri.
• Greg Pelican:  USAT All American, 2nd Overall 2016 Lake Avalon Tri, 5th Overall and Grand Masters Champ Marco Island Tri, 2009 Duathlon National Champ, 2X ITU Bronze Medal.​
• Jo Muller:  2nd Overall 2017 HITS Naples Olympic Distance

 
The formation of a Trek team was both organic and natural. 
 
Support for the new team was immediate.  Trek Bicycle Stores found a strong co-sponsor in Segafredo Zanetti, the Italian Espresso brand that is the co-sponsor of the Trek pro road racing team.  Segafredo loves the demographics of triathlon and they see Florida as a key market.  The team also attracted a terrific local micro-brewery, Momentum Brewhouse, for the perfect combination of world class bikes, coffee and beer!  Rounding out our sponsors are the Naples based law firm of GADC, Glamour Paws, A. Sardina Exterior Detailing, The Run Shoppe and Geared Up.
 
 The Team had its Kick-Off Meeting on April 28th in Momentum Brewhouse’s hip tasting room. Triathletes learned about the new club while sampling great local beer.  The team welcomes athletes of all ages and abilities.  34 members signed up that night, and ordered custom uniforms made by Castelli.

“ Our core values are good sportsmanship, race hard, help each other, have fun and be great ambassadors for our sponsors and the sport of triathlon”.   
 
The team got off to a flying start 5 days later at the Lake Avalon Reverse Triathlon with three members placing in the top 10 overall.   Greg Pelican was 3rd overall and Masters Champ with a time of 54:43.  David Bassel was 9th overall and Grand Masters Champ at 1:01:43.  Roshale Gaytmenn was 4th woman overall and Masters Champ with a time of 1:12:21. And Amber Pachew was on the winning woman's relay time with a time of 1:12:08. 
 
We wish the team good luck racing this weekend and anticipate strong performances by Ross Lenehan and Kayla Schmidt at Ironman Florida 70.3 and also by our team members competing in the FGCU Eagle Sprint Triathlon.

Follow the team's results on Facebook or learn more how to join.

Welcome to our new blog!

We just eclipsed our 10 year anniversary, so naturally it's a time to reflect.  Not only on what we have accomplished but also what we can do better.

​Over the past decade we have helped 115,000 customers with their cycling needs, and got them riding 50,000 new bikes!  But we have done much more than than that...

We have sponsored countless events, races, clubs, and teams.  We lead rides, we are active in cycling advocacy and our stores are the hub of the local cycling community.

But you would never know all of this this from looking at our website.  We haven't done a good job sharing all of these activities and the human element of both who we are and who our customers are.

This blog, "TREK TALK" will do that... share profiles of our customers and our great staff, feature innovative products, and let you know the latest success from our events, teams or clubs.   We will keep the posts short and interesting with lots of images and videos.

Thanks for your business and support and stay tuned!