Originally Posted by
Chris_F
Are these bikes made at a Dorel factory? I suspect Dorel just outsources all their manufacturing to Asian factories, like everyone else does. I doubt Dorel has invested in Asian brick and mortar. I'd be interested to know what other bikes get made at this particular factory. My guess is this factory probably makes all the Dorel brands plus a bunch of other stuff. Some of that stuff may be found with botique names at your LBS.
Like I said, the factory gets the specs and they build the frames. It ain't rocket science. The key is the specs. What's the difference between a POS Roadmaster and a Specialized Tarmac? The engineering specs. Who makes them doesn't matter, it isn't like this is cutting edge manufacturing we're talking about.
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I agree with you to a certain extent. Dorel probably doesn't own factories but they are a giant corporate monolith, known for making complete POS bikes at the low end. They bought Cannondale brand on the cheap and I expect them to milk it dry. Have you seen any nice Schwinn bikes lately?
Unlike Specialized which has been designing great bikes for a long time, Dorel is a holding company. They own several low end bike companies, low end kid seats and crappy furniture. I'm sure they will put the same R&D effort into their bikes as they do their low end junk.
Spec's are important but I have to think that toxic drywall from China didn't have mold and poison on the spec sheet.
http://www.chinesedrywalltoxic.com/