Being Trek Travel’s Marketing Manager, I understand how marketing a new product works. You want to get the product in front of as many people as possible and talk up its attributes. In the words of Mad Men’s Don Draper, “Advertising is about happiness”. The Trek Domane road bike delivers happiness.
I spent a week in Solvang, CA recently for our Amgen Tour of California viewing event. Our Ride Camp season had just wrapped up and there were plenty of Domane bikes floating around our warehouse. I grabbed one and spent the better part of the week riding the hills and valleys of this awesome place. To say the ride was smooth is such an understatement. It was velvet.
Trek Travel is sometimes thought of as the “avid bike tour company”. Having all Trek carbon road bikes included in every bike trip probably contributes a bit to that stereotype, even though we also have the industry leading Trek FX hybrid bikes available or the upgrade option to the electric assist hybrid bike. In fact, the first time we brought in the electric assist bikes, a woman rode up Mt. Ventoux during the Tour de France on one. Talk about stretching the bike’s capabilities! The fact is, having a great bike during a bike tour is pretty important.
I was blown away riding the Trek Domane. I heard the hype and honestly didn’t think it would be much of a difference over my Trek Madone. For anyone who has ridden in the Santa Ynez Valley, you know how lovely the roads are. Riding the Fig gives your triceps a serious workout as you navigate the Grand Canyon sized cracks in the road. But riding 50 miles on these roads on the Domane…WOW. It brought me happiness as advertised. I couldn’t believe how smooth the roads felt even when I purposefully steered the bike towards every crack I could find. And, I don’t think I have to mention that the bike is fast. Just look at Fabian Cancellara’s spring classics season to see how well he did on this incredible bike.
Why does this matter from our (Trek Travel) perspective? Imagine taking a Sunday drive in a BMW on a pot-holed highway versus doing that same test drive in an old, rickety Pinto. You’re going to be a heck of a lot more comfortable in the BMW which allows you to sit back and take in the sights. That’s how we think of the Trek Domane on a bike tour. The bike is definitely not all you signed up for with us. You want to taste the Italian wines of Tuscany, or indulge in the spas of California Wine Country. But you did sign up for an active vacation and who wouldn’t want the best fit and smoothest ride when out riding your bike in these scenic areas? That’s what the Trek Domane does. It gives you that extra little bit of happiness on your active vacation of a lifetime.
And I can say that without any marketing hype. The roads of Solvang can attest to it.
