Trek was founded in 1976 by Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company began by manufacturing steel touring frames, not making its first complete bike until a steel road racing model of 1982. Most Treks are now made in Taiwan and China, but the the company’s headquarters remains in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

In 1997, Trek helped sign Lance Armstrong to the Trek-sponsored US Postal Service team. Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999 riding a Trek, and he went on to win a record-breaking seven-consecutive Tours, all of them aboard the company’s bikes. Armstrong was stripped of all his Tour victories in 2012 after he was found to have violated anti-doping regulations.

In 1995, Trek began producing LeMond-branded bikes for three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. However, the relationship between LeMond and Trek was troubled and ended in 2010 after remarks made by LeMond regarding Trek’s star name Lance Armstrong and the use of performance-enhancing substances in the sport.

Trek were a co-sponsor of the Luxembourg-based Leopard squad from the team’s inception in 2010, winning some of the sport’s biggest races with Fabian Cancellara and putting both of the Schleck brothers on the podium of the Tour de France. Team member Chris Horner became the oldest grand tour winner in history when he won the 2013 Vuelta a Espana. It was announced in 2013 that Trek would take over the ownership of the team and its ProTeam License from the following year.