Where was your bike made or the bike you are interested in buying

[Sci-Fi]

Read this:

Where was my bike made? (http://allanti.com/page.cfm?PageID=328)

This article may dispel many of the misconceptions about where a bike is made or assembled and who actually is the supplier of a particular bike brand/model line, if it's not made "in-house". It just information to help those wishing to purchase a bike and want to make an informative decision.

[Dr.Deltron]

I know where my bikes were made!
A couple are Australian, several are English, one is Dutch, 2 are French, a few are American made, ones Italian and another is Canadian.
Did I leave anywhere out?

Oh yeah...the Far East. Hmmm,...don't seem to have ANY of those! :p

(NOW I'll go back and click that link) ;)

[dauphin]

You know less than you think you know in most cases...perhaps yours are of an age, or a price point that assures you of being certain of the country of construction. In any case, here's another fascinating article that folks worried about where their bike is made...should read. http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/bikebiz.html

[Dr.Deltron]

You know less than you think you know in most cases...perhaps yours are of an age, or a price point that assures you of being certain of the country of construction.

Yes, I AM certain of each of my bikes heritage. Some of them I know the builder personally.
If I don't know their heritage, they go in the pile out back. :p

Not that it really matters, so long as they don't break. ;)

[masiman]

Ya, my main 3 rides are American made, 4th may be American but could be Asian. It might have been too early in the Asian migration to have been made there.

The article is a good insight into globalization and the manufacturing process. The main widget manufacturers will own the majority of the market, with the unique manufacturers having a small but important slice for the enthusiasts.

My next bike will likely be another American in house manufacturer. I am trying to find time to visit their shop next year.

[DieselDan]

Frame: USA (Cannondale)
Fork: USA (Nashbar)
Stem: USA (eleven81)
Shifters: Japan (Shimano)
Derailers: Malaysia (Shimano)
Cranks: Japan (Shimano)
Chainrings: Japan (Sugino)
Handlebars: Mexico (Salsa)
Bar Tape: Italy (Bontranger)
Saddle: Italy (Selle Italia)
Seatpost: Canada (Coda)
Pedals: France (Look)
Hubs: Japan (Shimano)
Rims: France (Mavic)
Tires: France (Michelin) or Thailand (Ritchey)
Headset: Japan (Tange)

[bbattle]

Oh good heavens! What is the point of these threads? So the bike was made in France. But from where did the tubing originate? The steel used to make that tubing? And the builder? From what country did he originate?

So, the Ukrainian sets up shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and imports British tubing made from iron ore mined in Minnesota and formed using machinery from Germany operated by some Turkish workers on visa. Tubing shipped to the U.S.A. on a Airbus jet made of parts sourced all over the world and assembled by a Noah's ark of workers from all over the globe. At least the UPS delivery man is from Ocoee, Tenn. The Ukrainian builder works in a shop that was built a hundred and twenty years ago by some Irish laborers and African-Americans from the Caribbean. And so on and on and on and on.

In other words, who gives a rip?

My bikes were made by humans on the planet Earth and we'll just leave it at that.

[ang1sgt]

My Bike Frame was made in Taiwan for Nashbar. It was assembled by yours truly with hand selected parts spec'd for the job by myself. I am proud of this bike because it rides as I expected it too and those that have ridden hit state that it's a good solid ride that just plain old works.

That's enough for me.

Chris

[Dr.Deltron]

Oh good heavens!....
So, the Ukrainian sets up shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and imports British tubing made from iron ore mined in Minnesota and formed using machinery from Germany operated by some Turkish workers on visa. Tubing shipped to the U.S.A. on a Airbus jet made of parts sourced all over the world and assembled by a Noah's ark of workers from all over the globe. At least the UPS delivery man is from Ocoee, Tenn. The Ukrainian builder works in a shop that was built a hundred and twenty years ago by some Irish laborers and African-Americans from the Caribbean.

:roflmao:

Sooo well put, bbattle!

Aren't true "Americans" called Indians?? ;)

In other words, my bikes were made by humans on the planet Earth and we'll just leave it at that.

+1! :D

[Jeffbeerman2]

I think this thread is important, because it is nearly impossible to buy a bicycle under $1-2000 that wasn't made by sweatshop labor in Asia. Cannondale is the only manufacturer I know of who still makes affordable bike frames in the US.

When I built my commuter, I simply gave up because I set my limit at $1000. I bought a Surly Cross Check (made in Taiwan). Now that I have a Nexus hub and a lot of touring type gear; it is a mix of Taiwan, USA, Japan, China, England, Germany, etc

The bike I bought for my girlfriend is a Raleigh, made in China. (Paid $430)

My trailer is made in China

My Trek 1200 road bike (early 90's) was made in USA. Paid $300 used

My Zooter scooter is made in USA (although I question whether it was assembled here from Chinese components, not sure)

Bike manufacturers make it tough to find where the bikes are made on web sites. they aren't proud of it but they are trying to squeeze every bit of margin they can from their bikes while competing with big box retailers like Wal Mart. I still don't understand why if Walmart can retail a chinese bike for $150 that brand names like Trek and Raleigh can't Sell $400-$600 bikes made in a country with humane labor practices.

All of my bikes had "final assembly" at a local bike shop.

[tcs]

In addition to long standing concerns over trade and labor practices, plus plain old jingoism, the enviro crowd now encourages purchase of local production to minimise impact.

Aren't true "Americans" called Indians?

Anthropologists/archaeologists now say Indians came to N. America in several waves over 1-3K years, so I guess only direct, unmixed decendents of the first wave are "true". Except, there is a (controversial) theory that when the Indians arrived in S. America, they happened upon, displaced and wiped out an aboriginal population that had been there for some 20,000 years. This would mean that what are popularly called "native Americans" are really yet another imigrant group that suplanted an earlier population. I don't suppose any of this makes much difference to the wooly mammoths, though.

TCS

[masiman]

Oh good heavens! What is the point of these threads? So the bike was made in France. But from where did the tubing originate? The steel used to make that tubing? And the builder? From what country did he originate?

So, the Ukrainian sets up shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee and imports British tubing made from iron ore mined in Minnesota and formed using machinery from Germany operated by some Turkish workers on visa. Tubing shipped to the U.S.A. on a Airbus jet made of parts sourced all over the world and assembled by a Noah's ark of workers from all over the globe. At least the UPS delivery man is from Ocoee, Tenn. The Ukrainian builder works in a shop that was built a hundred and twenty years ago by some Irish laborers and African-Americans from the Caribbean. And so on and on and on and on.

In other words, who gives a rip?

My bikes were made by humans on the planet Earth and we'll just leave it at that.

I am not arguing with your point bbattle, just looking at the question from a different perspective. I do agree with you regarding the absolute stance taken on the issue by some. I look at the question not from a historical absolutist viewpoint but from a cultural or group identity. The who is aboriginal argument can be extended ad infinitum per "tcs" post. In the end aren't we all related ;).

I think we all perform a form of foreign policy within ourselves, i.e. we all act in our own self interest. Some believe in the world view, the nationalist view, the secular view, etc. At some point we all want to support our "allies" or influence others to be our allies and further our position. And yes, you can further your position and others at the same time unlike in a zero sum game played by some.

My rides are what they are. I honestly did not buy them because they were American but because of their quailities, or at least I would like to think ;). I do like supporting my country, sprinkled with freemarket economy, which is why we only have Japanese cars (come on already Detroit, you've been screwing around since the 70's). I actually did not even think about where the bikes were made until I saw the post and thunk on it. After I had thunk on it I was a little more proud of my bikes. I like that I helped employ some very talented people for a short time. I would probably like the way a Bikesdirect or some other mass produced bike rode. But I know there is some guy out there that really loves making beautiful bikes and is supporting a family. That mass production house will get along fine without my once every 6 year sale. But that <100 person company struggles more without me to keep their skills employed. True or not, it's how I think about it. Who knows, Dr. D. may even get one of my babies to repaint, if he'll have it :).

[Dr.Deltron]

Who knows, Dr. D. may even get one of my babies to repaint, if he'll have it :).
I'd be more than happy to! :D

I don't really paint for Companies, I paint for individuals! ;)

(should I add 'right here in America' so as to not derail the thread?) :roflmao:

[wheely1]

im interested in a (Trek 7200e) 2008 model only sold in the UK tho....:(

here's a link to it....

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/2008/bike_path/7000_series/7200e/

[top506]

Lets see, in the family fleet there are:
Miyata (2) Fuji, Shogun -Japan.
Raleigh (3)-Red China
Ficelle-France
Dunalt-England
Kona-Nationalist China
Atala-Italy