Originally Posted by SirMike1983
Alright for some time I've wondered about whether there are any decent-quality German-made bicycles in the USA that are pre 1985. I know of a number of Austrian, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Japanese etc brands. However, I haven't heard much of vintage German brand road bikes for some reason. Germany is known for industry but I wonder where all the bicycles are. Anyone own, or know of vintage German-made road bikes in the US? I'm curious about them (or lack thereof).
I checked out Herlihy's book,
Bicycle: The History, and there was a German bicycle industry, interrupted only by WWII. The German bicyles were apparently built for export, but Herlihy doesn't provide any clues about which countries these bikes were exported to. I suspect the U.S. was not one of those countries however, because he does talk about French and British exports to the U.S.
Cycleurope is the largest contemporary European bicycle manufacturer, and if you check their website, they have production sites in Denmark, France, Italy, and Sweden-- but none in Germany.
Interesting question.