Originally Posted by
Nmike
I know people have complained about the frame not being made in the US and the price increase but, in 2014, is this bike really a bad value?
BTW I do find the not "US made" complaint humorous given a majority of the parts on US "made" bikes are sourced from Asia.
The non US component issue relates to ready made bikes that spec bulk purchased OEM priced components to keep the total bike price down. For anyone truly interested in made in a USA made tandem, there are non low wage country options available and those options are often the best available in their own right. Unlike a car one can buy a frame and build it up or have it built with components you choose. I have two tandems that ended up mostly made in the US not by design but rather as a result of picking the components I liked. Many on this list also specified individual components or replace many of the OEM components on their tandems.
Some US examples include:
Enve
daVinci cranks
Phil Wood
Paul
Chris King
White Industries
Selle Anatomica
Velocity
Polar