Jose R

You people are fetishists.

I buy American custom frames. Sometimes the craftmanship is impeccable, sometimes not so hot, but all in all, I would rather ride a frame hand built in the USA than some chi chi frame from Italia or Japon. You can keep your Keirins and your Colnagos and lovely Cioccs.

As parts are concerned, its mixed bag based on availabilty.

Italian: Saddles, seatposts, stems, handlebars, steel tubing.

Japanese: BB, Cranks, hubs, chains, cogs, chainrings.

French: rims.

American: frames, forks, seatposts, stems, rims.

Taiwan, China: hubs.

Swiss: spokes.

Frames owned:

Custom Dean titanium road frame handbuilt in Boulder, CO.

Andante track frame handbuilt in Miami, FL (ok, they f#*k'd up the rear triangle, but it still rides sweet and it was cheap and quick).

Frames being built:

Rich Adams track frame, fillet-brazed Columbus Zona, handbuilt in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Johnny Coast sprint track frame to be handbuilt in Brooklyn, NY.

ImOnCrank

Dude your bike collection costs more than my car.

Judah

If it were an option I would have voted American (Walker frames rock), but instead I voted Japanese.

Something about the way an NJS bike rides, it feels so nice. Not saying that Italian bikes are inferior by any means, but the Japanese have come a long way in the bike building craft. That being said, the NJS bike I'm currently having an affair with (don't tell my wife) is a Kiyo Miyazawa. According to the website, Kiyo Miyazawa went over to Italy for some years to learn bike building from the masters, and the frame is built with Columbus steel, and it's currently sporting a Cinelli stem and Campy seatpost (the rest being a mix of Sugino and Suntour, sorry to offend you purists out there). So really, it's kind-of both, at once.

Jose R

WTF, you own a car?

drac_vamp

italian.

ImOnCrank

7 hours to school man what can i say

njwbert

thanks for this post man it really cracked me up and made my day and of course being the cash-strapped person that i am currently, i too subscribe to the same idea.

sohi

you should be banned

phidauex

Lemme look over my bike...

Bars: Italian
Stem: French
Headset: Italian
Frame: Italian
Hubs: Taiwanese
Spokes: American
Rims: Spanish
Chain: American
Crankset: Japanese
Bottom Bracket: Japanese
Cog: Taiwanese
Pedals: Japanese
Saddle: American
Seatpost: Italian
Tires: Chinese

Thats parts from 6 different nations! I'd like my bike to be as much of a mutt as possible. Anyone got interesting recommendations for good parts from interesting countries? Like maybe a headset from Morocco or something?

sloppy robot

you could easily throw england in the mix.. and im sure theres all sorts of russian parts.. oh.. and canada and mexico..

benny

i got a brooks saddle on one of my bikes - love that saddle

r-dub

swiss headsets, spokes

sloppy robot

i gotta say.. im surprised italian is ahead on this.. it seems the bikes that get the most ooos and ahhs on this forum are all NJS with super drop nitto stems.. just an observation..

phidauex

Ooo, a brooks, that would be a great way to get England onto my bike.

What sorts of swiss options are there? I suppose I could rebuild one of my wheels with DT Swiss instead of Wheelsmith spokes.

Any quality parts coming out of mexico I should know about?

Maybe this will be a new goal... Multicultural fixie.

peace,
sam

phidauex

When people want stuff that just works, they go Japanese, when they want to drool, they go Italian. Now, there are drool-worthy parts on both sides, and utilitarian parts on both sides, but there is a bit of a reputation that each has that the other hasn't gotten to quite yet.

I wonder if you did another poll with the question "What is actually on the bike you rode today RIGHT NOW" if you'd get more responses for Japanese. This poll sort of implies, "Which do you dream about" not so much, "What do you actually ride", so I'm not surprised Italian is ahead.

peace,
sam

EuroJosh

You could always czech out tuffos

Plow Boy

Frame built in the U S of A. What wasn't added on by me came with the bike.

HereNT

I have an Italian bike with lots of Japanese components - why can't I vote for a mix and match?

nitropowered

I buy whatever I feel is the best part. My bikes are a mix of American, Czech (love those Tufos), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Swiss, and Taiwanese.

TNCLR

IBM Presents: YOU MAKE THE CALL

On your left. A gorgeous 1980 De Rosa Eddy Merckx...full Italian (except the saddle). On your right is a beeeeuutiful NJS approved Levant keirin frame with a full complement of NJS parts (except the saddle...and rims)

I personally couldn't vote either way. Each has it's own good and bad points.

icithecat

You must be thinking of something else.

Poguemahone

French.

absntr

TNCLR - not fair at all. Such a tough choice. I love that DeRosa frame and that colour. Though I think if it came down to it, I very well might pick the Levant. That's a tough one, lucky you have both eh?

As for me -- I have no preference except aesthetically and what works well for a day in, day out multi-purpose bike. My bike is a mix of American, Italian and Australian. It used to have some Japanese but I just realized it doesn't. Sort of odd.

ImOnCrank

dude that's a handsaw, crosscut is a two man saw for going through large trees

ink1373

show me a french track bike.

peugeot, motobecane, what else?

i feel like maybe i've seen a peugeot track bike. maybe.