From Sheldon Brown website.
[h=1]The Flight to Taiwan...late '80s...[/h]Around 1987, the bottom fell out of the dollar, and it became worth less than half what it had been against the Yen. Japanese bikes became un-affordable for most Americans.Ten years previously, the Japanese industry, under American guidance, made the transition from shoddy bikes, unsuited to the U.S. market, to a position of dominance in the U.S. market. This cycle was repeated as the Taiwanese bicycle industry, under Japanese guidance, learned to build bicycles with the design and quality needed to succeed in the U.S. market.
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My bikes: 1970`s Roberts - 1981 Miyata 912 - 1980`s Ocshner (Chrome) - 1987 Schwinn Circuit - 1987 Schwinn Prologue - 1992 Schwinn Crosspoint - 1999 Schwinn Circuit - 2014 Cannondale Super Six EVO