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02-26-12 | 06:07 AM

#76

Gravity Aided

Senior Member

Joined: Oct 2011

Posts: 2,714

Likes: 13

From: Normal, Illinois

Bikes: Trek 600 ,1980Raleigh Competition G.S., 1986 Schwinn Passage, Facet Biotour 2000, Falcon San Remo 531,Schwinn Sierra, Sun Seeker tricycle recumbent,1985 Bianchi Squadra

Let alone the fact that Giant actually was able to read the trends in bicycling and offer mountain bikes and hybrids to a public that wanted them, when they wanted them.

02-26-12 | 10:37 AM

#77

jet sanchEz

Senior Member

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 8,194

Likes: 1,140

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mos6502

Actually Huffy and AMF were finally done in by a decision not to impose tariffs on Chinese made bicycles I think.

https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-56830292.html

Looking back, this type of decision making by the powers-that-be really shows how we got into the mess we are currently in, it was so amazingly short sighted in 1996.

02-26-12 | 10:47 AM

#78

RobbieTunes

Banned.

Joined: Dec 2007

Posts: 27,199

Likes: 1,463

Quote:

Originally Posted by photogravity

GA, it's funny you mention the smell of creosote as I also like that scent. Where I grew up, I lived near the Penn Line outside of Baltimore MD and the railroad tracks were my playground as a kid. When the maintenance crews would come into town, the sleeping cars and kitchen facilities were parked on the sidetrack just a little way from my house. I would talk to them and hang out with them as much as I could and they got so accustomed to my presence, they started feeding me too. I remember just how kind those guys were and still wonder what ever happened to many of those men. It's been 30 or more years ago and I'm sure many of them are long since retired or have passed on...

Thanks for bringing back some memories for me. I like to get nostalgic now and again.

We had a creosote treatment place here, and the guys are all either sick or dead. I'd imagine there was something wrong with the process.

02-26-12 | 11:08 AM

#79

tcs

Palmer

Joined: Mar 2007

Posts: 9,165

Likes: 2,271

From: Parts Unknown

Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl

Quote:

Originally Posted by 753proguy

Ed Schwinn caused Schwinn's demise, pretty much. It is quite common for the third-generation family members to run an iconic company into the ground, unfortunately.

Yes, and the third generation Schwinns did cut the amount of profit reinvested into the company, to the company's detriment. Ed was the fourth generation (Ignaz' great-grandson).

Quote:

When you shift something like 97% of your production to Taiwan, show them the technology to make quality bicycles, build them up to be a significant business, and get no kind of subsidiary, partial-ownership, or non-compete (or other business-protecting) agreement, you're doomed.

It wasn't that Schwinn didn't get an agreement - the Schwinn negotiators/buyers didn't even ask for any sort of agreement. Tony Lo has said he was willing to give the Schwinns up to one-third equity ownership in Giant to get their production business.

02-26-12 | 12:45 PM

#80

photogravity

Hopelessly addicted...

Joined: Aug 2009

Posts: 4,955

Likes: 13

From: Central Maryland

Bikes: 1949 Hercules Kestrel, 1950 Norman Rapide, 1970 Schwinn Collegiate, 1972 Peugeot UE-8, 1976 Raleigh Sports, 1977 Raleigh Sports, 1977 Jack Taylor Tandem, 1984 Davidson Tandem, 2010 Bilenky "BQ" 650B Constructeur Tandem, 2011 Linus Mixte

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieTunes

We had a creosote treatment place here, and the guys are all either sick or dead. I'd imagine there was something wrong with the process.

I'm not by any means saying it's healthy, because I don't think it is, but it is a smell that sort of makes me nostalgic for some reason.

02-26-12 | 01:18 PM

#81

dedhed

SE Wis

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 11,555

Likes: 4,332

From: Milwaukee, WI

Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieTunes

We had a creosote treatment place here, and the guys are all either sick or dead. I'd imagine there was something wrong with the process.

I have lived on a river (OK more like a stream) for most of my life that had a RR tie plant on it for 75 years. It became a superfund site and they actually moved about 5 miles of the river a number of years ago to bury the contaminated sediments at a cost of around $40M. When we were kids it wasn't unusual to get creosote burns if you spent any amount of time in the water. Poke a stick in the mud and watch the rainbow oil slick move down stream.
https://www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/m..._fs_200404.pdf

We did get a new bridge and repaved section of trail out of it.

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02-26-12 | 06:28 PM

#82

Fenway

Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2009

Posts: 424

Likes: 1

From: Boston, MA

Bikes: 1983 Peugeot UO14, KHS Green-Heavily modified, 1972 Raleigh Sprite 27" (work in progress)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jet sanchEz

Looking back, this type of decision making by the powers-that-be really shows how we got into the mess we are currently in, it was so amazingly short sighted in 1996.

The internet and technology boom made it seem worthwhile to get rid of polluting industry in a time when emissions were seen as a big deal and provide the public with cheaper consumer goods. It was assumed that the new businesses created in the boom would be superior than the lost factory jobs in pay, work environment, and benefits to the country. I don't think the entire world assumed that China would gain a near monopoly on manufacturing most goods or continue to manipulate their currency for as long as they have. This country still produces more net manufactured goods than ever before, but the percentage of production per capita and as part of the GDP has gone way down.

02-27-12 | 05:37 AM

#83

Gravity Aided

Senior Member

Joined: Oct 2011

Posts: 2,714

Likes: 13

From: Normal, Illinois

Bikes: Trek 600 ,1980Raleigh Competition G.S., 1986 Schwinn Passage, Facet Biotour 2000, Falcon San Remo 531,Schwinn Sierra, Sun Seeker tricycle recumbent,1985 Bianchi Squadra

Make railroad ties out of concrete now , use machines to do the whole work of removing, replacing, and attaching rails all contained in a two mile long train, at least when the Union Pacific redid all the tracks near me for High Speed Rail