The smell of rubber fills the air at Florence’s Trek bicycle store. A new resident of Manifattura Tabacchi’s latest expansion, The Factory, this house of cycling is the stuff of dreams for bike enthusiasts and everyone in search of inspiration for an active and sustainable lifestyle.
Mention Trek to anyone who knows anything about bikes and their reaction is a gushing one: “It’s like the Mercedes of the cycle world!” After all, we’re talking about one of the world’s top three bike manufacturers, so Florence is fortunate to welcome Trek to the city. It’s undoubtedly a sign of how far the city has developed in recent years. The story of how Trek came into being is inspiring. In 1976, businessman Dick Burke and cycling enthusiast Bevil Hogg struck up a conversation about the uptick in recreational biking on a return flight to Wisconsin. Before too long, they had decided to join forces and decided the name over a beer or two.
The Florence owned store is a sight to behold: a red neon giglio, the city’s emblem, is emblazoned on the wall beside a map promoting the ride from the Porta al Prato city gate to the Consuma pass. Superimposed over a stirring image of the cityscape, Trek’s mission statement rings true: We only create products that we love. We offer incredible hospitality to our customers and we want to change the world by encouraging more people to ride bikes. The welcome is friendly, professional and undeniably enthusiastic. It makes you want to grab a bike then and there, and pedal up to piazzale Michelangelo, if not further. Marco, the store manager, talks us through the vast choice on offer.
First up are the e-bikes. Never have the technology and technical innovation been better, meaning that a Trek e-bike purchased now will stay the course for the next ten years: it’s also important to mention that all Trek carbon bike frames come with a lifetime guarantee. The other consideration worth making is that an e-bike, like an Electra (the super happy Trek’s sub brand), revolutionizes your daily commute: the motor’s tucked into the hub and the battery integrated into the frame, which means that the style remains elegant and nifty like your classical bike design.
The Florence store is part of the Kids’ Bike Trade-Up Program, which means that when you buy a child’s bike, you can bring it back within three years and get up to 50 per cent of the original price in credit toward the purchase of a new one. The philosophy is that no good bike should sit around collecting dust, so Trek donates older bikes to local charities to keep everyone in the saddle.
The staff encourage us to lift up one of the mountain bikes parked on racks in front of an enticing cypress-lined scene from the Val d’Orcia. Benefitting from a carbon frame, it’s astonishing to feel how light the bicycle is, despite its sturdy appearance. “Bike manufacturing has made leaps and bounds in the last ten years,” Marco explains, an oracle of cycling knowledge. “To us, safety is the most important thing of all.” It might seem obvious, but it’s reassuring how focused the Trek team is on every single detail, from selecting the right bike for your size (stand on the dot on the floor and a computer will recommend the perfect two wheels for you before the staff tailor the experience further) to accessories researched for the chosen model, as well as clothing, helmets and the exclusive Bontrager Daytime Running Light.
Trek at Manifattura Tabacchi is a house of cycling and provides far more than a regular sales store. Maintenance is par for the course. Upkeep is included in the purchase price of a new bike, encouraging pride in and awareness about your bici. Trek places so much importance on safety that it offers maintenance to owners of other bike brands with a three-step service: aligning and adjusting brakes; tuning shifting; and torquing all fasteners—in addition to seasonal maintenance, deep cleaning and a thorough strip-down. What’s most impressive is the fact that the Trek body will do everything within 24 hours and at a fixed price that’s transparent and agreed beforehand in yet another indication of the brand’s professionalism.
Plus, starting in July, locals and internationals will be able to rent bikes to explore Florence and Tuscany on a day or multi-day basis. Twenty of the best models for every discipline will be up for hire on Trek Firenze’s website in the near future and, as from September, the store will be organizing group rides for road and mountain bikers.
Trek Florence is not the only store in Tuscany (Arezzo and Massa both boast Trek retail outlets), although it’s the only one with all the gigli and Firenze paraphernalia. One thing’s for certain. If you’re looking for a bike, cycling accessories or simply two-wheeled conversations, this is the place for you.
Location: Via delle Cascine 35, Florence
Opening hours: Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-1pm, 2-7pm
Contact: Tel. +39 055 4648551
