Originally Posted by
Chris_F
Very unlikely. Once you're owned by a corporate monolith you lose a lot of decision making authority. Chances are pretty good that Dorel has strategic agreements with this factory which give it price breaks in return for having all of their welded frames manufactured there.
Although I take a certain pride in my "Made in USA" sticker I doubt there's any real quality difference. It's not like Americans are genetically engineered to be better welders than Asians. It's just metal. The factory gets the specs and makes the frame, it isn't rocket science. Welding isn't exactly bleeding edge technology. These Chinese Cannondales will last every bit as long as their American counterparts. But there is something lost in this, the aesthetic attention to detail with the un-ground welds. That's just an example of Dorel cost cutting. I can only assume that this cost cutting will be reflected in Cannondale's R&D..
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Interesting comments but which Dorel made/designed bike makes you think they know how to make good bikes (at least ones on the level of Cannondale's bikes)? Ride any nice Mongoose bikes or Schwinn bikes lately? All of the good bikes they made were designed by the previous ownership and they are now making changes, putting the Dorel stamp on things. This includes moving production to China. If anyone thinks this is because China makes better bikes, we will have to disagree about that. Unless by "better" you mean cheaper.
Dorel is a POS company and they will milk the Cannondale name until it is worthless. This is their business model. I'm sure we will see a CAAD11 and 12 coming down the road with lots of nice specifications and cheaper, sloppier Chinese workmanship. I'm not saying there are no good bikes made in Asia. Lots of well made bikes come from Asia factories. None of these bikes were designed by Dorel.
Owners of CAAD9 bikes are riding the last of a dying (or dead) breed. New owners can take pride in the fact that their Cannondale is made along side those really "nice" Dorel made Schwinn's, Mongoose, Iron Horse and Roadmaster bikes. You can check out Roadmaster at the local Wally World.
Too bad Joe Montgomery tried to start a motorcycle company. WTF was he thinking? I don't blame Doral, they just bought a brand. I'm sure they will pimp it out and milk it dry until people will eventually forget that Cannondale once made great bikes.