Originally Posted by
Fleabiscuit
I do my best to NOT buy bikes made in China or Taiwan for a number of reasons. Most bike companies from the US and Europe have moved most of their production to Asia except the ones mentioned above and some boutique mfg's. It's funny how prices for some of these brands who have moved production to asia (Colnago, Cervelo, etc.)
have remained very high, and it's even more shocking how many people believe the "romance" that surrounds how these bikes are made, when in reality many are probably made in factories right along side those cheap eBay and BD CF frames.
What really pisses me off is how manufacturers try to deceive consumers by putting things like "designed in the USA" or similar in unremoveable paint, under the clear coat, while the "Made in China" sticker on the head-tube is a VERY easy to remove EZ-Peel sticker with the adhesion of a post-it note.
I wonder why? 
I would love to see the following rule: If you make your bike in China or Taiwan, you have to print "Made in China" or "Made in Taiwan" UNDER THE FRICKIN' CLEAR COAT, in large, easy to read letters. You know, so the owners can show it off "with pride". Also, I wonder why Cannondale, once the biggest flag-waver company around, doesn't show their "pride" in 2011 and emblazon their bikes, no longer made in the USA, with "Handmade in Taiwan" or "Made in China"? Say it loud and proud! Right?
Cheers!
I'm gonna assume that you are not a troll and that you neglected to read the first poster's response to my original response. I'd have some first hand evidence before making accusations of shoddy quality. First, let's get this cleared away. Taiwan, for all intents and purposes, is a first-world country making top notch products. China has come a long way and some factories are capable of making quality products. There are, no doubt, tons of factories that make crap products. If you can't differentiate between the two, you've got better things to do than to present your case with shoddy arguments. And while we are at it, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore are all essentially first-world countries making top notch products.
Regarding your second point, you know, there's quality of product and then there's bias of consumers. Companies are not bound by rules of ethics, and it's not their duty to disabuse consumers about their incorrect notions when they can sell products to the same consumers and have them realize that the product they have bought is not so shoddy after all. No one is misleading you.
Third, regarding the whole "Made in Italy" thing, you do realize that many parts of Italy (
e.g. Campania and Calabria) are basically second or third world in terms of development. So unless if that product is made in the industrialized North or is produced by a truly skilled artisan, Made in Italy is also an illusion. To top all this off, did you also know that in recent years Chinese laborers are imported into Italy to work in factories, and that the resulting products are being slapped with "Made in Italy?"
Originally Posted by
Velo Vol
Do Taiwanese bikes carry special germs?
Originally Posted by
johnny99
Some people are just prejudiced against Taiwanese and Chinese.
i think velo vol is just being sarcastic, or at least, i'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.