18/08/2026
Some riders want a showpiece. Artik Khumbani needed a workhorse.
"My Trek story began four years ago when I started spending long stretches in Manali. I wasn't looking for a showpiece; I needed a workhorse for the Himalayas. Since then, this XC bike has been my only constant through the most aggressive terrain India has to offer. It has carried me from Manali to Leh, survived brutal hike-a-bike sections in the remote corners of Ladakh, and pushed through flash floods and storms that would have wrecked lesser machines. The biggest change hasn't been in my stats, but in my headspace. Riding in the Himalayas means dealing with isolation and unpredictable weather. Usually, you ride with a low-level anxiety about mechanical failure in those conditions. But in four years of hard riding, I have never had a single issue. That reliability shifted my entire approach. I stopped worrying about the gear and started focusing entirely on the line choice and the landscape. This bike is meaningful to me because it earned my absolute trust. It acts as an extension of my will rather than a fragile piece of equipment. It gave me the confidence to just 'pick up and go' without a second thought, knowing that no matter how isolated the pass or how bad the weather, the bike would handle it. It removes the variables so I can just ride."
As part of our initiative, we're celebrating 50 extraordinary Trek India riders and their stories - in honour of Trek's 50th anniversary. You can submit your story here: https://trek.bike/TrekIN_50Riders
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