Touring - Why Are Bikes Overseas Different???

I have gone to Giants website and I have clicked on the UK to see what Giant sells to them. I have found that they have bikes sort of like a comfort mountain but are set up as a touring bike. The bikes pictured are bikes with full racks as well as front and rear bags. I did a search on the Bianchi website and after looking under the UK I saw the same types of bikes. The reason why this came up was my LBS sells Giants. One day a guy walked in with a picture he had printed off of Giants website. He showed it to the shop owner and told him he wanted that bike and even if he had to order it he would pay for it in full right then. After looking at the picture the owner had to tell the man that the bike was a Giant but wasnt available in the United States. Why is it that this type of bike which seems to be a pretty nice bike isnt available here?

Originally posted by GIANTBIKES
Why is it that this type of bike which seems to be a pretty nice bike isnt available here?

Maybe because there aren't enough people here in the States like that fellow who wanted that Giant.

You may have a point but then again most people around here that ride a comfort mountain put racks on them and bags. They end up with the same bike that Giant makes. One of my bikes is a comfort mountain and I would have bought one already set up if I could.

Originally posted by GIANTBIKES
You may have a point but then again most people around here that ride a comfort mountain put racks on them and bags. They end up with the same bike that Giant makes. One of my bikes is a comfort mountain and I would have bought one already set up if I could.

I'm sorry. I should have phrased things differently. My point was that Giant doesn't see it that way. Maybe they need to be educated to the demands of the market. The buyers need to be more vocal and the bike companies need to listen better.

Its not just Giant. Trek only sell their commuter bike
http://www.trekbike.co.uk/bikes/city_&_path/cruiser/7400.php
in the UK, not the US.

Matching products to markets is buisness sense, but is a real pain if you dont fit the profile of the average consumer. My beef is with shoe manufactuers, who sell nice narrow sizes in continental Europe, but only sell wide flipper-like shoes in the UK market.
Manufactuers could educate consumers to buy more sensible bikes that better fit their purpose, but its much easier to sell them toys that suit their fantasies of being macho extreme downhill riders.

I always see pictures of bikes in other countries that look the same--they all have step-through frames, flat black or brown paint jobs, and some sort of weird bar across the cruiser handlebars that I assume is a kind of brake lever.

Though I don't find it an attractive-looking bike to own, I do wonder why they have such a different style over there....and what the benifits and disadvantages of it might be.

Also, Trek don't sell or advertise their most excellent 520 tourer in the UK.

I believe there are now a couple of shops here that are importing them, but you would only really come across them by accident.

Our equivalent to the 520 is the Dawes Galaxy (as I'm sure you already know) but there must be a market here for the Trek.