Tandem Cycling - Cannondale to stop USA production

I wonder if they will keep the tandems in the lineup..??

http://www.velonews.com/article/90148/cannondale-s-parent-says-the-decision-to-end-frame

It was painful to make the decision we took today; the people in Bedford are the soul of Cannondale," Jeff McGuane, president of Cannondale Sports Group's North American division, told VeloNews Thursday

The soul of Cannodale was sold to the devil in 2008.

Sad news to be sure; but not unexpected since Dorel took over C'dale.
We had a small part to play in the 80s when we did test riding on C'dale's then prototype tandem, 2 years before its introduction. Also did the testing on Schwinn's DuoSport before that hit the market.
Now C'dale and Schwinn are part of the same outfit that outsources, which really has cheapened some venerable brand names.
Hate to see it happen; perhaps you'll be able to choose between Schwinn and Cannondale at your local W-Mart in the not too distant future?
Fortunately we've got a few USA made tandem builders left.
Even Santana broached the idea of having their lower priced tandem frame built in China only a few years back just like Burley did with their Zydeco.
Who's next???
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Who's next???


Co-Motion goes off shore and it truly is a sign of the apocalypse

The soul of Cannodale was sold to the devil in 2008.

Yep, I'm pretty sure we all saw this coming.

Co-Motion goes off shore and it truly is a sign of the apocalypse

Burley was having its least-expensive model, the Zydeco, made off-shore before they went under and all of their re-introduced tag-a-longs are produced off-shore. That was disconcerting as I expected they would eventually introduce a new line of tandems produced off-shore IF the new owner could figure out how to make what's left of Burley profitable.

I was more than disappointed when Santana tested the waters at Eurobike a few years back by displaying some new lower price point tandems with frames made off-shore and somewhat relieved when they seemingly shelved those plans, at least for a while.

However, I was shocked when I learned daVinci was going to (and subsequently did) introduce a lower price point, entry level tandem produced off-shore, as that clearly creates a business case for others like Santana and -- gasp -- Co-Motion to follow suit and that would really suck.

I was somewhat heartened to see Mel at Tandems East introduce his answer to the Burley gap by offering a sub-$3k, made in the USA entry level tandem this year. I would have liked to have seen one in the flesh so that I could take a shot at guessing who is making the frame, as there are a couple prime suspects: both build awesome tandem frames.

Bottom Line: I'm not encouraged by the continued off-shore migration of bicycle manufacturing but to be frank, it's got to be hard not to follow suit given that so few bicycle frames are still produced here in the states or in Europe for that matter. On the up side, when you look at who IS still making frames here in the states and in Europe you quickly realize what good company folks like Santana, Co-Motion, Rodriguez, Bilenky, Calfee Ventana, and the smaller boutique builders are in, e.g., Serotta, Waterford, Trek OCLV, Sachs, Seven, Moots, Lyskey, etc...

US bike companies only followed the offshore path laid out to them by the American car companies.
Cheaper labor does not necessarily beget a better product, or a less pricey product, to the consumer.

I guess my 2007 System Six is gonna be a classic now as it's one of their last USA made bikes. Yay!

This just pis.... me off to no end. - more off shore BS...you knew bad news was inevitable when C'dale got sold and this is just the prelude Like those buyers ever gave a damn, or even understod the the concept of, the "soul ' of anything.
Man I'm ticked and sick of corporate crap... Buy 'em, combine 'em, strip 'em, sell 'em to the next investment fund before the whole damn scheme falls apart which it certainly will...I've lived and watched this repeatedly over the years .. unfortunately it will never stop. ..Don't get me started....

Bill J.

I hate to be the nay-sayer in the discussion, but we the consumers are to blame for Cannondale moving off-shore. We demand more and more for less and less. We have tools at our disposal that allows us to shop for the best products, the best price without even leaving the confines of our comfy chair or via a stokers seat on their cell. We leave our local shops in the dust as we try to save a couple of bucks. (No I am not a shop-owner)

As investors we demand our investments to increase in value and produce better returns. With all of this in mind what is a company to do. To survive based on our demands (Investors and Consumers) they have to find low cost production facilities. The only way we can stop this madness is to accept higher prices. However as we are all capitalist we look out for ourselves.

If you want to help, the next time you grill your local shop for information and then go home and buy the product online to save 2 bucks realize you are one step closer to moving the shop off-shore. We never realize how expensive information and knowledge is and we are not willing to pay for it.

I am saddened by the closure, but we must realize it is the sign of technology and our own desire to do better for ourselves. I must come to terms am I willing to pay more or pay less?

I hate to be the nay-sayer in the discussion, but we the consumers are to blame for Cannondale moving off-shore.

Exactly, which is why I will continue to recommend domestically-produced tandem and bicycle frames... and try to buy components made outside of the cheap-labor / sweat shop countries. It ain't easy and it ain't cheap. Again, I was thrilled to see Tandems East come up with a house brand tandem produced in the US, noting that Precision Tandems started to do the same thing with it's "Precision" branded tandems made by the folks at R&E (aka, Bushnell) and Paketa. My good friend Alex at MTBTandems recently worked out a deal with Ventana for his new 29er offering that will allow him to bring frame production for his Fandango house brand back to the US.

This is also why I will usually encourage folks to look for used, domestically produced tandems as a first tandem vs. an brand / model that has a mass-produced frame from off-shore, e.g., KHS, Trek T900 and Cruiseliner in the hopes that they will stick with the US brands and models. I swear, 1/2 the consumers still think Trek makes most of it bikes in Wisconsin.

Anyway, as I said, I try to walk my talk....

'08 Calfee tandem made in LaSelva Beach, California
'98 Erickson tandem made in Seattle, Washington
'02 Ventana tandem made in Rancho Cordova, California

Same hold true to our single bikes which were built in the US by Calfee, Ventana, Erickson, Ritchey and Dean + one Italian Job. As much as possible, most of the parts I use to build our tandems and bikes are produced by Phil Wood, daVinci, Topolino, Rolf, Velocity, White Ind, Campy, Thomson, True Temper, Chris King, Speedplay and the like.

All that said, I can appreciate why some folks can get boxed-in to where they simply don't have a choice in where their bikes are produced as the affordable options have been eliminated. However, at least with tandems, there are still many alternatives... let's just hope it stays that way over the next five years.

[QUOTE=mikefranktroymi;8663642]I hate to be the nay-sayer in the discussion, but we the consumers are to blame for Cannondale moving off-shore. We demand more and more for less and less. QUOTE]

You are right, its always economics that drives things; supply and demand eventually prevails. I myself work for a corporation that continues to move manufacturing overseas to remain competitive. Unfortunately while people complain about outsourcing they still go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest stuff they can find, this by the way will also be the undoing of the current green movement, when push comes to shove, people will buy the cheapest form of energy regardless of its environmental impact.

I wonder how Cannondale was doing financially. If they were struggling, I could understand the need to get the cheapest frames possible.

If they are simply trying to be more profitable, then they have lost my respect.

I have 2 friends in my hometown who work for Cannondale, so this is local for us. My friends are not in manufacturing. One of them brought the 3 tandems I bought home from the factory in his car.

Cannondale got way off the track when they invested millions into a motorcyle that was never successful.
All of our tandems (except our very first one in 1975) were made n the USA.
Were there cheaper ones out there made somewhere else? Absolutley.
Wallmart depends on volume and dictates to their suppliers how much they will pay to put an item on the floor. Sam Walton had a great idea originally, but like so many outfits, greed takes over and consumer becomes the ultimate loser.
So whether it's banks, car companies, bike companies or call centers, the lowest bidder wins . . . until a cheaper place is found. Greed (sometimes referred to as the bottom line) is the common denominator.
When top executives make up the 400 times as much as the actual workers, we call that 'just compensation.'
Better get off my soapbox and go for a tandem ride!

Now it's happening to the Chinese....they outsource work to Vietnam and other small developing countries.
Until fuel becomes expensive again, shipping raw materials and products back and forth is cheaper than local labor. That probably won't change until the dollar reaches it's true value against other currencies.

So my C'dale street bought last year ought to appreciate in value, and for me that is a happy thing. My LBS said I got the last XL/S left and there were no more tandems being made by C'dale. It is the only bike out of my stable of 12 purchased new, the rest are Italian, Canadian, or US made bought used, mostly steel. I call them my "Precious Metals" investments. LOL

Performance/Supergo is the Walmart of the bicycle world, and contributes significantly to the the demise of the local bike shop. I avoid shopping at either, prefering to support my LBS.

Give your neighborhood shop some love today.

Cheers,

Kevin

I wonder how Cannondale was doing financially.

From Cannondale's parent Corp's March 11, 2009 investor call (http://www.dorel.com/press/2009/DII_Q4_CC_March112009.pdf):


For the year the recreational and leisure group was up 73 percent to
650.7 million compared to 374.8 million. This increase was principally due
to the acquisition of Cannondale, SUGOI and PTI. However, we did also
incur organic sales growth. Sales increase was driven by the core bicycle
business with sales gains at the majority of the mass merchant customers.
Gross margins rose to 23.4 percent from 19.5 due principally to the
contribution of higher-margin products sold by Cannondale and SUGOI.

Now, there's all kinds of other costs related to the Cannondale acquisition, higher marketing costs, etc... and Dorel posted reduced income and earnings dropped a tick, but most of that (80%) was driven by other divisions. However, IMHO and given that Trek has been able to successfully move all but it's premier OCLV frame production off-shore without taking a bit hit in consumer backlash, it was really a matter of when not if C'dale would shift most of its manufacturing off-shore using a similar business model.

My guess... and it's just a guess... is Dorel is simply consolidating bicycle manufacturing with the lower-cost infrastructure it has in place in Taiwan and China for the Pacific Cycles brands, e.g., Schwinn, Mongoose, Pacific, Roadmaster, Dyno, GT, Huffy and Murray.

Rumor has it the High end alloy stuff will stay in PA

" Rumor has it the High end alloy stuff will stay in PA""


"My People" here locally don't support the rumor. They say production will stop.

Just a point that hasn't been made: "Non-USA" made doesn't mean "low quality". Cars are a good example. I have what is probably a Taiwan-made carbon single bike, and the quality is very high, just like the Shimano components on it, the Continental tires, etc.

I rail against the "cheap Chinese junk" that comes from Walmart and those competing with it as much as anyone, but I don't think you can assume that Cannondales are instantly going to go bad just because they aren't made in PA. When you see a Cannondale tandem in Walmart, though, you will know it is bad.

Just a point that hasn't been made: "Non-USA" made doesn't mean "low quality".

Pretty sure the concerns being expressed here have all been related to the continued erosion of manufacturing and production-related jobs, technology and capabilities.

"""Pretty sure the concerns being expressed here have all been related to the continued erosion of manufacturing and production-related jobs, technology and capabilities.""""

TG's got it...it is not about C'dale/bicycles so much... but it IS about our country and what continues to happen to the industrial side of it.

Bill J.

Made in China. It's all junk and we will do without before we buy anything made in China

Sad, just sad. I've got 4 Made in the USA C'Dales that hopefully last a good long time...

The fundamental issue with public companies - A drive for profits and growth to meet shareholder expectations. When they saturate their respective markets, inside cost cutting with out sourcing and off shoring initiatives - I call this "Out Housing". Next step is more M&A and/or new product development and this is where major miss steps occur. Assuming static markets and no major growth, I believe the only methods available for public companies to keep share holders happy is dividends and its poor cousin, share buybacks but these are not as common as they used to be.

I very much respect the Calfee's and Santana's of the world.

If Dorel built and airplane, would you fly in it?

If Dorel built and airplane, would you fly in it?

Nope - My choice would be a Cirrus. It is possible Dorel is a shell and the relevant brands are "self managed".

I hate to be the nay-sayer in the discussion, but we the consumers are to blame for Cannondale moving off-shore. We demand more and more for less and less. We have tools at our disposal that allows us to shop for the best products, the best price without even leaving the confines of our comfy chair or via a stokers seat on their cell. We leave our local shops in the dust as we try to save a couple of bucks. (No I am not a shop-owner)

As investors we demand our investments to increase in value and produce better returns. With all of this in mind what is a company to do. To survive based on our demands (Investors and Consumers) they have to find low cost production facilities. The only way we can stop this madness is to accept higher prices. However as we are all capitalist we look out for ourselves.

I hate to be a naysayer to a fellow naysayer but there is more to the Cannondale story than you've taken the time to learn. I own two Cannondale tandems, a Cannondale mountain bike, and a Cannondale 3.0 road bike, and I used to own BIKE (Cannondale stock) before the original bankruptcy.

I'm 6'7", have a 100cm inseam, and everything else I've ever ridden feels like spaghetti at the bottom bracket. While many people love to rave about how 'steel is real', the truth is that a partiuclar frame material is not "best" for everyone. A guy who is five feet nothin' and a hundred pounds dripping wet can't begin to imagine how a frame feels to me, or what real bottom bracket flex is like. I weigh more than some diminutive captain/stoker teams, keep in mind.

I love Cannondale, but what went wrong was malfeasance on the part of Joe Montgomery and the board of directors. Joe Montgomery (then CEO of Cannondale and the largest shareholder) wanted to build a multi-million dollar house. Only he didn't want to have to pay for it by selling shares of Cannondale stock. So the board of directors of Cannondale agreed to divert millions of dollars from the Cannondale coffers to build Joe's house in what was called a 'swingline' loan. This occurred when Cannondale was cash poor and attempting to go into new markets with the innovative motorcycle/atv line. The whole idea was that the Board of Directors didn't want Joe to default on a home loan secured by his Cannondale stock to a private bank and have that stock liquidated to pay off his loan. That would mean Joe didn't control the Cannondale stock with a majority, and thus couldn't control the company or handpick his board members. So Joe, and his Board agreed to compromise Cannondale's financial solvency to give Joe a multi-million dollar home without having to risk losing his Cannondale shares to a public liquidation. Why the concern, because Joe, and the Board, having inside knowledge knew that the stock valuation was going to tumble based on financial difficulties the company was having related to the motor division. So the people Joe hired, and paid, agreed to mortgage the future of Cannondale, in a corporate "bust-out." The board knew that if Joe lost majority control they would be ousted over the failures of the motor division experiement.

Joe got his multi-million dollar house and only lost worthless Cannondale stock. He couldn't have unloaded that much Cannondale stock to actually finance the house without SEC filings, thus affecting valuation. The Board got millions in additional compensation, and Cannondale was bankrupt.

All of this occurred when several million dollars would have prevented Cannondale from entering reorganization in the first place.

Cannondale's demise isn't to be blamed on customers buying cheaper brands or online purchases. Cannondale doesn't care if you buy online or from a dealer (they get the exact same price - wholesale).

Cannondale, after multiple reorganizations, and trips through bankruptcy is going offshore because of corporate malfeasance. Its the Enron of the bicycling world.

So my C'dale street bought last year ought to appreciate in value, and for me that is a happy thing. My LBS said I got the last XL/S left and there were no more tandems being made by C'dale. It is the only bike out of my stable of 12 purchased new, the rest are Italian, Canadian, or US made bought used, mostly steel. I call them my "Precious Metals" investments. LOL

Performance/Supergo is the Walmart of the bicycle world, and contributes significantly to the the demise of the local bike shop. I avoid shopping at either, prefering to support my LBS.

Give your neighborhood shop some love today.

Call Cannondale. 1-800-USA-BIKE

Let them know you're a fan of US made aluminum tandems. I talked to them last week. Tandem production is still being done in the US, along with some other bikes. That probably isn't a permanent situation, but "USA Made" tandems apparently are still being made.

As far as your local bike shop versus Nashbar/Performance/Colorado Cyclist and Supergo. I have a different take on it. I always considered the local bike shop to be the parasite of cycling.

Local Bike Shops aren't as committed to cycling as they seem. A LBS isn't vested in getting more people on bikes, making cycling more affordable as a recreational activity, or even in getting people on better equipment. There really isn't a distinction between a LBS and a used car dealer.

I can't tell you how many times I've felt completely ripped off by a LBS who just absurdly attempted to inflate a service ticket. I get tired of LBS employees trying to constantly upsell when I just need a simple solution/part.

A $1000 bike has a wholesale price of around $550.

The local bike shop I'd shop exclusively at is one that charges a reasonable fee for shop time (no bike shop should be charging over $20 an hour), isn't vested in constantly trying to steer repair customers into new bikes, and isn't staffed by smarmy snarky people who think of themselves as real cyclists looking down on everyone else.

I don't think cycling needs a middleman driving up the cost of cycling goods. The local bikeshop demands huge wholesale margins driving down prices received by component makers, and bike manufacturers.

What service, other than repairs, does a local bike shop really serve? I've been to some of the 'best' bike shops in the country (Belmont & Ace Wheelworks, Willy Street, Ruby Canyon, Budget Bicycles) and my favorite by far is a tiny little one in Nicolet, MN. They sell bikes for cheap. They are passionate about cycling. People drive for hundreds of miles to this little hole in the wall bike shop.

I'm not too worried about most local bike shops. I get tired of them trying to gouge me every time I need a simple repair. I get frustrated when they turn 15 minutes of time on the stand into a $100 service ticket. The reaility as I see it, is that the LBS tries to get as much as they can, when they can, out of each customer. Its not about building a relationship, and it most certainly isn't about the cycling community, but getting as much as they can when they can.

I don't think I've been in a bike shop in five years that didn't try to sell me something that wasn't what I wanted, merely because they didn't have what I did.

Just my two cents.