The $800 Bike Part III: Looking for your assistance trying to bike the bike…somewhere, anywhere.

May 18, 2012 by |Uncategorized|Comments (27)

We left off about a month or two ago with me having narrowed down your list of 120+ sub-$800 bike suggestions to my top five bikes.  You may remember that the goal of the ‘game’ was to spend a $800 bike credit that I have from work.  Yes, it’s pretty awesome, and no, I can’t really use it on anything else (except a gym membership, which I have plenty of, details in this post).  Shortly after hearing your final selections I narrowed it down to my winner: The Trek Belleville:

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From there, I went ahead and rang up a few of the local bike shops that were listed on Trek’s website as being places I could pickup the bike.  However, after the first few shops, I found that none of them had it in stock.  In fact, none of them could even order it from Trek – as Trek apparently stopped making them this year (something not noted on Trek’s site).  Trek’s warehouse still has some of the smaller circus bike versions (that’s what I call the small 46cm frame size that The Girl uses), but nothing in the 58ish range that I’d need (I could make do with their 55 or 64 likely, since we’re not talking super-important position details here for running errands).

Over the past month as I’ve travelled around the US, I’ve rang local bike shops trying to find anyone  that may have one in stock – one that I could pay for shipping back to DC.  At present though, I’m coming up empty at every shop.  Mostly because nobody seems to have ever stocked them (possibly why they weren’t selling).  This is made more complex by the fact that plenty of shops have their online sites/systems setup to ‘pretend’ to have availability, but in reality, when you call – they’ve never had that bike in stock ever, let alone currently.

So here’s where I’m looking to get a bit of your assistance: If you know of a local Trek dealer that and are able to find out if they have one in stock, that’d be awesome.  I just need to know where to look.  And with thousands of bike shops in the US, it’s hard for me to call them all (well, I probably could, but that would take away from my limited cookie/cake/cupcake testing time).

For the first person that finds me one that I can get shipped to DC, I’ve got a bit of a ‘gift’ for you.  Fear not, I’m never one to be cheap in my gifts and giveaways.  Sound like a deal?  Good.

Just drop a note in the comments below if you know the location of: A new Trek Belleville – size 59 ideally or 55/64 if all else failed, preferably this years model, but I’m not super picky since I like the line – it could be a leftover from last year in the shop still.

Thanks again everyone, and have a great weekend!  Good luck to all those racing!

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27 Comments

  1. Sara Mooney
    May 18, 2012 at 6:02 am #1

    Seems there’s a 59 cm one here — and on special, too! link to penncycle.com

    Reply
  2. Nathan Simpson
    May 18, 2012 at 6:23 am #2

    That’s one bizarre, in a good way, looking bike.

    If Sara’s link doesn’t work, good luck with the search.

    Reply
  3. Adam
    May 18, 2012 at 9:49 am #3

    Have you tried RacePace up in Baltimore? They are one of the biggest Trek dealers around. They have a few different stores in Owings Mills, Columbia and Catonsville.

    Good luck,

    Adam

    Reply
  4. Martin Smith
    May 18, 2012 at 12:00 pm #4

    You seem to have picked one of those bikes that are rarer than rocking horse droppings.

    The nearest I could find was link to joesbikeshop.com

    Its a 55cm and supposedly in stock in the store, but its about 50ish miles from you….but it could be a nice day trip for you and the girl.

    Reply
  6. john
    May 18, 2012 at 2:13 pm #6

    There are two Trek dealers in Louisville. One of dealers has the Belleville on their website and says it’s available to order. I called them to confirm that they actually have one in stock and they don’t. I suspect this is the case for many of the other Trek dealers people are linking to. (I also checked the other dealer that doesn’t list it as in stock, and indeed they don’t have one in stock. )

    Reply
  8. BriTriGuy
    May 18, 2012 at 2:28 pm #8

    Oops sorry, just read the part about them not shipping it.

    Reply
  9. Jay
    May 18, 2012 at 3:15 pm #9

    Hey Ray, I called all the Trek dealers in the Albany, NY area to no avail. Hopefully this crowdsource effort will pay off for ya!

    -Jay

    Reply
  10. eegee
    May 18, 2012 at 3:17 pm #10

    There is a 59 at Cyclesmith in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In stock, clearout at $600 – use the savings to have it shipped!

    Reply
  11. Sara
    May 18, 2012 at 4:12 pm #11

    I just called the two biggest bike shops in NYC that carry treks and they both told me that they are out of stock and that you couldn’t order them from Trek either b/c they were also out of stock. Ugh….I hope this works for you!

    Reply
  12. Monica
    May 18, 2012 at 6:03 pm #12

    I’m 80% sure I saw one of these at Mellow Johnny’s in Austin this morning. I was there for Bike to Work day celebrations, and am pretty sure I saw it hanging over the cash register!

    Reply
  13. Mark J. in Dallas
    May 18, 2012 at 6:06 pm #13

    Ray, take this as a sign that you need to choose another bike. Save the energy and go with your #2 choice.

    Good luck.

    Reply
  14. Tim
    May 18, 2012 at 7:56 pm #14

    Sara beat me to my favorite LBS link, but I’ve called and they do have the ’10 in stock.

    Reply
  15. Erich
    May 18, 2012 at 9:53 pm #15

    link to bicyclecenter.biz

    Here’s a 55cm one in Issaquah, for next time you make it out to Western Washington.
    Closeout for < $500.
    However, I guess it’s small for you.

    Reply
  16. Erich
    May 18, 2012 at 9:55 pm #16

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  17. Steve E.
    May 19, 2012 at 1:10 am #17

    It looks like Skagit Cycle can also get a 2010 55 (in warehouse – wonder if they share a warehouse with Cycle Center in Issaquah).

    Reply
  18. Ray Maker
    May 19, 2012 at 4:27 am #18

    Wow, holy cow – you guys are awesome!

    I’m going to start in the morning (Saturday) and try and track down/convince some or one of these places to ship it to me. Totally awesome!

    Thanks again! I’ll circle back and let ya know which shop ended up laying the golden egg!

    Reply
  19. Steve E.
    May 19, 2012 at 5:35 am #19

    I think I found a 59 – it says “in stock” for 55 and 59 only at both locations. It’s a 2010.
    link to penncycle.com

    Reply
  20. Remi
    May 19, 2012 at 2:36 pm #20

    Did you ever look at the Trek Allant? It’s a city bike with a rear rack. I’ve got the ’11 model and it’s been great for errands, fun and my commute (5 miles each way). It’s not as cool looking as the Belleville but it’s a great utility bike.

    Reply
  21. Tim
    May 19, 2012 at 7:12 pm #21

    Ray,

    If needed, I could pick up the bike from my LBS and ship it to you. If you want to do that, post a comment and I’ll email you.

    -Tim

    Reply
  22. Sharon
    May 19, 2012 at 9:26 pm #22

    I found a 59 for you at my local bike store. They want $659 for it and they would have to assemble.
    They weren’t crazy about the idea of shipping since they said it was “complicated”. If you want it, I could pick it up for you as I have a son in Baltimore and plan to visit soon.
    Sharon

    Reply
  23. Chris P.
    May 22, 2012 at 2:32 pm #23

    Marty’s Reliable Cycle in Randolph NJ has a size 59 Trek Belleville in Twilight Blue on closeout for $440. Their phone number is (973) 584-7773.

    link to martysreliable.com

    Reply
  24. Rich Rudolph
    June 8, 2012 at 5:08 pm #24

    This may not be front of mind right now and I don’t know how your Belleville hunt is going, but here’s another suggestion at the right price.

    link to competitivecyclist.com

    Reply
  25. Mike
    June 13, 2012 at 5:35 pm #25

    Ray –

    Where did you end up with the pursuit of the Bellville? Any luck?

    Mike

    Reply
  26. Anonymous
    September 21, 2012 at 9:45 pm #26

    I have one in stock unassembled in the box.
    307-684-7682
    sportslure.com

    Reply
  27. Anonymous
    October 1, 2012 at 3:05 pm #27

    I’m interested in picking up a 2012 55 or 56 Trek Belleville as well. I’m also in DC.

    Feel free to contact me at tavernbythesea@gmail.com if you have one available. I can drive up to 100 miles.

    Thank you!

    J

    Reply