Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Well sure my example applies to the 80s...both frames I mention are from the 80s. And since the OP cites examples from the 80s and early 90s, it's applicable for me to mention frames from the 80s.
There were a lot of crappy frames made in Japan from the 80s and 90s. A Miyata 210, for example, isn’t a gem by any stretch of the imagination. There are lots of other examples from Motobecane, Univega, Peugeot, etc. I see dozens of examples per year at my local co-op. There are some gems out there but they are gems because they are rare.
How has US manufacturing for bikes gotten better? Trek is gone. Cannondale is gone. You basically have some boutique low production(relative to the overall market) and that low end big box bike company producing stuff in South Carolina.
Not sure how some small production boutiques and a low end company = manufacturing has gotten better.
And the stuff coming in from off-shore now is pretty abominable as well. Yes, the boutique low production guys are making very nice bikes. People will value Deans, Moots, Bilenky, Co-Motion, Waterford, etc because far longer than any production bike you can name because they are well made and well designed.
Of course you disagree that a steel frame is just as good as a Cannondale frame- you are the joker who can't disagree with Cannondale claiming comparable steel road frames weigh 8 pounds. Sorry, but your opinion on this is worthless.
Does your shoulder hurt? That chip is pretty heavy and must be a such a strain.
My point in the earlier post was to show that the touring frame from Japan has excellent finish and is well thought out. Same goes for the Cannondale touring frame.
And my point is that the finish means little compared to the design. Cannondale touring bikes are a better design than the steel touring bikes I’ve tried.
I'm sure your will complain of shimmy or whatever for the steel touring bikes you mentioned. And ok fine. Comparing a US made Trek 520 steel touring bike from that time period with your Miyata or my Fuji would be apples to apples then. And again, the fit and finish on all of them would be excellent. Ive ridden late 80s and early 90s 520- they are perfectly fine and not inherently better than the Japanese brands mentioned just because 520s were made in the US.
Perhaps you should ask before you assume. The problem I have with the Miyata, the 520 and the Fuji is the short chainstays and somewhat flexible frames. Heel clipping of panniers was always a problem with my Miyata because of the shorter chainstays. I also could never could climb out of the saddle on my Miyata because the frame was too flexible. I never had much problem with shimmy on the Miyata (only once) but the Cannondale is a better touring bike all around.
Ha, I had forgotten your absurd argument about steel competition road bikes from the early 90s having frames that weigh 8 pounds. Too funny.
Your memory seems to be rather short. One might say you haven’t forgotten at all.
The OP is discussing regular/typical level bikes and not high end boutique Moots or similar US brands.
Comparing boutique custom frames with mass production frames is clearly not apples to apples.
There were too many “regular/typical level bikes” made in the US even in the 80s. Cannondale was making them in the US as were some of the Schwinns. But not many others were US made. Even in the 80s many of those Schwinns were made in Taiwan.