SkinGriz

I read somewhere Giant is the biggest bike manufacturer in the world.

However I hardly ever see Giant bikes compared to other big names.

Is there something I’m missing?

tempocyclist

Just your location perhaps? Is there a Giant bicycles dealership in the area?

I see plenty of Giant road and mountain bikes around here.

alcjphil

Giant not only builds bikes with their own brand name but they also build bikes for other brands. It is pretty rare now for bicycle companies to have their own manufacturing facilities and Giant is one of very few brands that do

Rolla

Giant has a bit of an image problem, because they've been "all bikes for all people" for so many years. Their high-end stuff is pretty stellar, but to a lot of people they've long embodied the very definition of "mass-produced." Victims of their own success, I guess.

Here are two examples of what $10,000 - $12,000 will get you in a Giant:

PDKL45

They're really common in Korea, especially the mid-range Escape hybrids, those things sell like hot cakes. Still, when they say the biggest bike manufacturer in the world, they mean OEM manufacturing as well. Giant and Merida, and a few others like Maxway, make frames for a huge amount of bike brands. While Merida own 49% of Specialized and make their bikes, Giant manufacture and assemble/box bikes for Trek, Scott and Colnago AFAIK, and probably a whole lot of other brands.

Giant and Merida branded bikes offer great value for money, though, as compared to some of the other bands they manufacture for, in Korea at least. You can get a similarly equipped bike (an alloy frame 105 specced road bike for example) for a good few hundred dollars cheaper than the equivalent bike from some other brands.

veganbikes

They do make a lot of garbage but as @Rolla said they do make some decent enough high end stuff. They are the biggest manufacturer in the world but they are probably also building for others as well so you may not see just Giant but Giant does sell a lot of stuff however they aren't so good to dealers so a lot of dealers in my area stopped and now they aren't around as much.

cxwrench

^This^ They don't all have Giant logos on the down tube.

The Chemist

Giant (along with Merida) is probably the most common big brand seen here in China. I've had my Giant (which is a fairly low end model) for 11 years / 25000+ km, and the frame is still in excellent condition. I also had a nice relatively low end Giant MTB when I lived back in Canada more than 20 years ago. I think Giant makes great quality bikes, from the low end all the way to the high end.

DowneasTTer

Have owned several Giant bikes in the past here in Florida. Most have been higher level flat bar road type. The most recent was a Fastroad CoMax 1. I find Giant products to offer great value for the money. A big plus for my wife and I here in North Central Florida is the local dealer gives great discounts on them as well. It's been a win/win for us. They also seem to hold their value on the used market as well. Just sold our two CoMax's which were 2015 models for more than half of what we paid for them 7 years ago.

Germany_chris

There in the pro peloton

PeteHski

They are definitely building frames for many other brands and they do NOT make a lot of garbage. What they do make is a complete range from low to very high-end bikes and everything in-between and in every category you can imagine.
Where I live in the UK I would say Giant are a pretty popular brand and stocked by many shops. I see about as many Giants as the other big brands. Not the sexiest of brand names, but generally excellent value for money. A good friend of mine is a shop owner and he always recommends Giant bikes to anyone on a strict budget - being the best bang for their buck. I think that's about right. While I'm sure their £10k offerings are competitive too, I would personally find it hard to choose Giant over a more exclusive brand in that end of the market. But that's just brand image rather than the actual product.

veloz

Giant weaves their own CF from threads and formulates their own resin. They make frames for many other companies at many price points. Their own design team does outstanding, innovative work. Their crash replacement warranty is second to none. I can speak from experience that they stand behind their product.

Yes they are the worlds largest bicycle manufacturer. Merida is second. Merida owns 49% of Specialized yet Giant builds Specialized CF frames: //www.declinemagazine.com/bike-brands/where-are-specialized-bikes-made/

Making Giant CF frames:

cxwrench

Where in the pro peloton? Ooooooohhhh...'they're' in the pro peloton. Got it.

WhyFi

They may not all have Giant logos on the down tube, but none of the logos are particularly small.

Germany_chris

Thanks for the grammar correction

mstateglfr 

Your link claims Merida bought 49% of Specialized back in the 1974. That happened in 2001. Specialized was started in 1974.

tcs

As Specialized & Trek push 'company stores' and direct-to-customer, more IBDs will carry Giant.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/inte...t#.YqoZA1jML0o

tcs

Beyond 'hand made': robotic layup of laser cut CF swatches. Starts about 1:10


There's a really funny/sad story in chapter 14 of No Hands by Crown and Coleman about how Ed Schwinn (yeah, that Schwinn) got Giant on the road to becoming the world's largest cycle manufacturer.

koala logs

I guess that explains why many bikes sold in Walmart looks exactly like the cheapest Giant bikes. They seem to be using exactly the same parts too and the frames are often identical just without the Giant logo in it.

PeteHski

I would imagine most Walmart bikes are cheap copies of other branded bikes. Usually of lower quality, especially right at the bottom of the price chain. I have no idea who makes Walmart frames, but I certainly wouldn't assume it was Giant. Maybe someone who works in the industry here might know.

veloz

Dorel Sports owns GT, Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose and Pacific Cycle. The last 3 are popular brands in department stores and Walmart. Giant does not sell bicycles to Walmart.
This is the video I meant to post yesterday. Not to be a salesman for Giant but because it's interesting.

Rolla

Got a pic that shows a specific Wally bike and its "identical" Giant counterpart?

koala logs

Very common in their budget MTBs.

Rolla

You and I have different definitions of the word identical.

mstateglfr 

Those two bikes look generally similar, but only in that both are budget MTBs and there really aren't huge differences in appearance at that price level.

With that said, the cable routing is different and the rear seat stays are totally different. The Schwinn has a wishbone seatstay and the Giant has traditional stays.