Originally Posted by
gnappi
I have three U.S made bikes, a Schwinn 564 "Paramount" from the 80's, all stock, a Cannondale Criterium 600 stock except the wheels, and a Cannondale F300 soon to be used for backwater trail fishing.
I am enamored of older maybe not the highest performance bikes, but I'm not and never have been one to enjoy the benefits of a few of pounds loss in bike weight that I can gain easily during lunch at Chick-Fil-A :-)
So, I have never bought or had need for a bike made overseas, and I'm more than a bit surprised how many bikers look down on some of these beautiful machines, and value them so little.
As it it, it's likely my heirs will deal with that at a garage sale after I'm gone. Till then my older made in the U.S.A bikes get plenty of attention from other riders maybe even more than more modern bikes.
Reading these forums it seems as if I'm quite the exception to the rule of bike ownership.
In general today about 80% or so frames are made in taiwan. only custom/boutique makers make stuff in the US/EU.
Of the rest about 15% is made in China.
and then we have about 5% made outside of taiwan/china.
when talking components/parts i guess about 95% is made in taiwan. in taichung. everybody that lives in taichung makes stuff for bikes. and they are over 1 million people there. they only make frames and bike parts thats all they do.
Then we have boutique companies like paul and white industries that makes everything in house in the US and always have been. and they also cost thereafter!! but you get customer supports 20 years after and durability right out of the box. so I say its worth it. these companies maybe make up 1% of the component market.
then we have the shimano premium segment like xtr and dura ace, those are made in japan. and I estimate them to account for like 1-5% of the component market. because many people want the best.
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in general bike production moved to japan/taiwan/china about 1990-1995 or so. all of it.