Originally Posted by froze

This whole issue of AL being used to construct bike came about in the early 80's when cycle manufactures where losing money on bike frames because of all the hand work it took to build a bike. So they found that with AL they can have mass production robotic machines weld the tubes saving labor cost; PLUS they can use recycled AL and save on material cost. The average AL frame made in Asian plants cost $45 (a little bet less in China and little bit more in Thailand)...that includes labor and material! Why do you think Nike builds shoes in China? So they can get the shoe for $5 and sell it to you for $120, the reason: PROFIT! And all that profit does not have to pay for insurance or lawyers for workers here in the States. No wonder 90% of the crap in WalMart is now made in China.