Trek Bicycle Corp. manufactures customized bikes and accessories, and it’s taking a similar approach to e-commerce.

The high-end bike manufacturer launched a new website enabling consumers to buy a bike online. But in deference to its national retailer network, Trek will not ship a bike directly to the consumer. Instead, web shoppers who purchase on TrekBikes.com select a Trek retailer during checkout and Trek ships the bike to the designated retailer for assembly. Any final adjustments are made when the customer picks up the bike.

The retailer earns a commission on the bike as well as on any accessories, such as helmets and apparel, bought online. And while bikes bought online must go through a dealer, accessories can be shipped directly to the customer, says Toni Gnewuch, digital marketing manager and head of the website project for Trek. Trek began selling accessories online in 2005.

The new website launched in November, but Trek only recently began promoting it to consumers via paid search, email, social media ads and retargeting.

Offering online ordering is a sign of the times for Trek, Gnewuch says. “We are giving consumers options to shop the way they want to shop,” but the company’s focus is still on selling through its retailers in the U.S. Trek declined to disclose online sales figures but says e-commerce is a small portion of its business.

Direct-to-consumer sales of high-end bikes is more common in European countries and accepted by both buyers and retailers, says Eric Bjorling, Trek’s brand communications director. U.S. retailers are more sensitive to competition from manufacturers, however. “E-commerce and internet sales are very contentious topics among retailers,” he says.

Trek added a rider to its dealer contracts last year outlining the process and requirements of its new e-commerce strategy, Bjorling says, and dealers are on board. “While we had a number of retailers with concerns and questions, we did not lose a single retailer after launching our e-commerce platform,” he says. Bjorling declined to comment on whether the dealer agreement specifically prohibits Trek from shipping bikes directly to consumers.

The company also added contract language enabling dealers to sell Trek products on their websites three years ago, Bjorling adds.

Trek sells bikes online and through a dealer network in the U.S. and through stores, supplied by distributors, in other countries. The 41-year-old company, based in Waterloo, Wis., sells bikes in 16 European countries and nine others, including Brazil, China, Japan and Mexico. Websites outside the U.S. show product prices and direct shoppers to a dealer for purchases.

Shipping customers’ bikes to dealers serves two purposes: It keeps Trek dealers happy because the commission structure for online sales appeals to the dealer and provides an opportunity for additional sales once the customer is in a store. It also ensures that the bikes, with average prices ranging from $1,200-$1,500 and as high as $13,000, are assembled properly, Bjorling says.

The new e-commerce project features a site redesign and other upgrades and was led by digital commerce consultant Loop Integration, which is a joint venture between cross-channel systems integrator Contiigo and global marketing and technology consulting firm Amaze. Loop Integration specializes in providing e-commerce technology on the hybris platform, and led the design, user experience, systems integration and solutions architecture for Trek, Gnewuch says.

Trek declined to disclose the cost for the website redesign, but Bjorling says it’s the company’s single largest investment to date.