through 1,700 independently owned bicycle shops across North America, subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, South Africa, as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide.

[4] In December 1975, Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg established Trek Bicycle as a wholly owned subsidiary of Roth Corporation, a Milwaukee-based appliance distributor.

In early 1976, with a payroll of five, Trek started manufacturing steel touring frames in Waterloo, Wisconsin, aiming at the mid to high-end market dominated by Japanese and Italian-made models.

Recognizing the need for expansion, in 1980 Trek broke ground on a new 26,000 sq ft (2,400 m2) corporate headquarters on the outskirts of Waterloo.

The introduction of bonded aluminum to Trek's production line proved very problematic for a company that had built itself on hand-brazed steel frames.

That same year, to keep up with rapidly growing sales, Trek added another 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) of manufacturing space to its Waterloo headquarters.

But the lessons learned from the 5000 would prove to be instrumental in driving Trek to develop its own carbon manufacturing capabilities in the coming years.

The store also provided an outlet for Trek to test merchandising and marketing ideas before expanding them to its network of independent bicycle retailers.

In the early 1990s, Trek's director of technology, Bob Read, attended an aerospace industry trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah, eventually meeting up with a closed mold tooling company called Radius Engineering.

OCLV stands for "Optimum Compaction, Low Void" and refers to Trek's proprietary process for creating carbon structures that exceed aerospace standards.

To make room for its new OCLV manufacturing facility, Trek expanded its Waterloo headquarters again to a total of 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2).

1995 was also the year Trek opened a state-of-the-art assembly facility in Whitewater, Wisconsin, leaving the Waterloo location free to focus solely on frame production[citation needed].

In 1997, Trek helped sign former world road race champion (1993) Lance Armstrong to the Trek-sponsored United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team.

In 1998, Trek established its Advanced Concepts Group (ACG), a collection of designers, engineers & technicians dedicated to technologies development.

The leading edge of Trek's design and engineering efforts, ACG is perhaps best known for a number of products introduced and used by Lance Armstrong during his historic Tour de France wins, including the original Trek Madone (2003)—named for the Col de la Madone, a 12K climb that starts in the French town of Menton and used by Armstrong to test his fitness—and TTX time trial bike (2005).

Responding to the unique needs of female cyclists, in 2000 Trek introduced Women's Specific Design (WSD) bicycle and accessories.

For the third time in its history, in 2005 Trek again expanded its worldwide headquarters in Waterloo, adding another 43,000 sq ft (4,000 m2) to house its burgeoning engineering, R&D, and marketing departments.

Following the change in the rules, German Jens Voigt became the first rider to attempt the hour record, on 18 September 2014 at the Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland on a Trek bicycle.

An important supplier is the Chinese company Quest Composite Technology, which also produces frames for the German brand "Canyon".

[16] In March 2008, LeMond Cycling Inc prepared a suit against Trek, accusing it of bowing to pressure from "third parties" to "wind down" his brand through lack of distribution and promotion, especially in the European market.

The complaint also says that "Since 2001, Trek has systematically sought to silence Mr. LeMond's right to make comments that constitute an informed and honest opinion on matters of legitimate public interest – the problems associated with the use of performance enhancing substances".

[19] As of 2021 LeMond remains the only American Tour de France champion and was eventually awarded a congressional gold medal for his career long commitment to cycling.