mellowdave

I get a kick out of this. Y'all are all up in arms about this, and only one guy made a post that sounded legit, and even he didnt have any supporting documentation. This entire thread is chock full of "I hear" and "I heard" and "Someone told me", which is nothing more than speculation. We can sit around and speculate all damn day about whether Giant builds bikes for Trek, SPecialized, or anyone else, and none of that is any more than front porch BS.

The only person who is making any sense here is wurm.

Best of luck to ya in your quest for the truth. It is out there, though you wont find it this way...

froze

Again, I was speaking of Chinese in China. And most, if not all the bikes mentioned have a share of their bikes made in China where the labor is cheaper then in Taiwan.

fhall1

Thanks to all for the lively discussion at least....sounds like I shouldn't get into the debate any more on FatWallet since the answer sounds like "maybe" depending on which frame and/or type bike you're talking about.

Arsbars

Bicycle Retailer - the monthly mag for the industry has had in the past, usually once a year, a map of the United States. The map lists all the large frame builders. Trek and Specialized both have Giant (Tiawan) listed as some of their sources for frames.

Hill Climber

Of course I'm going to pay attention to the country where something is manufactured. There are certain countries I refuse to buy any products from... period. If am item only comes from somewhere I refuse to send my money, I'll either find a substitute or do without.
I will always buy U.S. made products, if it is an available option at the time. But, the support does only go so far for example if the price markup for U.S. made goods is more than reasonable, I'll adjust because you've got to support yourself first and foremost.

pseudobrit

He's dead wrong about Trek and Giant being the same bike. One glance at geometry will prove that.

Hill Climber

No one is saying Treks and Giants are the same bike... just that Trek's entry level bikes are manufactured at the Giant factory. Both bikes are their own design, just put together under the same roof.

froze

AMEN to that brother.

azwhelan

But what if the quality is crap? I.E. American cars. I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars on something based on where it's made. Besides everyone is getting a piece of the pie. You'll buy a cannondale but it has shimano or campy parts on it and neither one comes from america. Buy quality and the free market will decide who comes out on top. I think the blind "buy american" attitude is one of the reasons some american products are falling behind because there not forced by the market to improve themselves.

Hill Climber

I will only own American made automobiles. My truck was built in Virginia (admittedly probably with some non-American made parts, but I can't do anything about that).

The reason I don't own a Cannondale is because the markup is more than I felt was reasonable.

mellowdave

I will only own American...

hehe thats a laugh. I thought that went away a long time ago. A Nissan Titan is as American made as that Virginia built Ford. I admire Ford because they are doing what works, what saves us money and fuel (For the most part) and they are GLOBAL.

Personally i dont get the whole "I only buy American" line at all. Spread the wealth, encourage creativity and we all benefit. (now look, I'm not talking about allowing cutthroat tactics like the chinese shirtmakers, I'm talking legitmate expansion here.)

Hill Climber

There is a Nissan plant right here in Tennessee, but I still don't want one.
I don't knock anyone for what they buy. My feeling is if you get up and go to work every day, you are free to spend your money how you see fit, just like I am free to spend mine the way I see fit.

froze

Not all American cars are crap; Chrysler has the best overall record of all the American cars and Ford best overall for trucks of any manufacture in the world. True there are better cars in the world but due to electronics that are in todays cars that gap as closed considerably due to electrical problems; Toyota cars are the only cars that standout from the rest and most of those (at least the ones that are sold in America) are made in America with American labor. Today ALL cars regardless of country of origin are mutts, parts to make these cars come from ALL OVER the world. Also Ford owns 45% of Nissian and 45% of Mazda, GM own 45% of Toyota, Mercedes Benz owns Chrysler and there are other car companies that own other companies but I don't know all the stuff on that.

Hill Climber

From a distance, Ford Rangers and Mazda trucks look almost alike.

JoeKipp

It would not surprise me if several of the Trek models are made overseas. My Trek 2300, made in 2000 has a sticker behind the water bottle cage on the seat tube. It reads something like, “Hand made in Waterloo Wisconsin with domestic components” let’s hope they’re just talking about the frame because they stuck Shimano Ultegra all over it.
Joe

eric01

You should ask yourself, "why am I asking if its made in Taiwan vs made in US?" If you have personal reasons for buying only made in US, then by all means, go for it. If you are concerned over quality, don't automatically assume that if its made in Taiwan it's crap. As somebody else wisely suggested, read reviews, test ride and talk to people.

I picked up a new bike last year. When I was shopping around, I narrowed my choices down to a Trek 5500 and a Giant TCR. For me, it came down to price. (I'm a cheap bastard) Both rode quite well, but I ended up with the Trek because I had a buddy who could get me a good deal. If the Giant had been the same price, I would have ended up with the giant.

eric01

one more thing... Cervelo seems to be revered as a "drool brand" on these forums. Do a google on "cervelo made in taiwan" and see what turns up...

azwhelan

I'll give you trucks but when it comes to cars I will never buy an american car. I used to work for a car rental company and we had cars from a lot of different manufactures and the american cars were in the shop more than the foreign manufactures. I know these cars are built here but there is something in the design and assembly process that the big 3 have not figured out. I would have to pick up customers from dealerships and when you went to a Honda or Toyota dealership there service lobbys were empty but go to a Chevy dealership and it was packed. It made me think maybe they like having their cars in the shop to keep the dealership's service drive happy. It's not just me, look at an issue of Consumer reports sometime. Not a lot of american cars on their recommended list.

Wurm

I think that's the long & the short of it: if 'Merkun cars actually were reliable, they'd sell less parts and make less money. Pretty much the entire economy is based on automobiles and gas/oil. Why do you think Detroit has resisted fuel-efficient cars for so many decades?

intence

I'm still fairly new to biking, but the bottom line is that frames are outsourced. It appears that there are several factories in China/Taiwan that will build a frame to your exact specs (meeting your stringent quality control) and can do it for signifantly less than building the same frame in the US. I'd question where the savings are going since the price of an entry level Trek hasn't dropped significantly since production was moved from the US to Asia.

As with automobiles, the label on the frame doesn't tell you much about who built it. Just because it says "Trek" doesn't mean it was built by Trek, only their specs. With autos you'll also find German built Chryslers (Crossfire), and American made Mazdas (Mazda6 w/a Ford Engine), so the "Made In" label doesn't tell you the whole story.

I should also point out that if an established factory is extremely efficient at making high quality frames, it would make more sense to have your frames built there, rather than get lesser quality in-house. To the best of my knowledge, Taiwan is known for making particularly high-quality frames. I'd also prefer to buy something built locally, but without spending significantly more money, that appears to be getting more and more difficult.

veneer

i think ford took over mazda in 1994 when i first bought my mazda 626.. and only to find the engine is FORD. lol. it ran great for 2 yrs before cracking 2 cyclinder heads and sleeves, which was covered under warranty, then by the end of 3rd year.. just when it's out of warranty.. the auto tranny dies. that car was comfy too! sigh..

ran1354

the trek rep told me that the bike frames w the emblem OCLV are made in the USA.

Sydney_A_Muppet

Ok fine.

Here is a list of manufacturers that GIANT and Trek utilized in 2005 model year.

This list comes from THE Bicycle Retailer and Industry News magazine. It is published by the National Bicycle Dealers Association.

The list tells the manufacturer's name and the country of origin.

Raleigh 2005 FACTORY GUIDE:

Dodsun - Taiwan
Kinesis - Taiwan
Ace Trike - China
Boan - China
Kinesis - China
UCC - China.


TREK 2005 Factory Guide:

Trek - USA
Trek -Taiwan
Trek / Villager - Germany
Giant - Taiwan
Dahon - China
Giant - China
Ideal -China
Giant / Phoenix -China.


While scrounging up bike boxes at the back of a local bike shop, I poured out lots of bike magazines, wholesale pricelists and catalogs , and Several Bicycle Retailer and Industry News magazines.

This list was a centerpiece / centerfold that detailed on a US map, the locations of US bicycle companies and listed their suppliers by country of origin.

the_new_guy

here is the truth gentlemen. at least from what i know.

Giant Bicycles

» Manufacturers (47)
»» Bicycles (36)
Overview

3587 Old Conejo Rd Newbury Park, CA 91320-2122 A Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer and possibly the world's best-known brand with the largest production line. Giant produces seven ranges of bikes with something for everyone from comfort bikes to high-end off-road and racing bikes.
t: view phone
f: view fax
w: https://www.giant-bicycles.com
e: andrewjuskaitis@giantbicycle.com
Description

Giant has literally become a giant of a company. They produce over five million bicycles a year and have dubbed themselves the "world's largest bicycle manufacturer". It's most likely true because half the time you’re riding one of their bikes without knowing it as they also manufacture bikes for brands like Trek, Specialized, Schwinn and Bianchi. Most cyclists trust Giant for reliability and quality.

Giant Bicycles was established in 1972 as OEM and a manufacturer for other bicycle companies. But in 1986 they established their own brand and by 1998 were producing over two million bikes and in 2002 over four million. They later expanded into big biking nations like the Netherlands, USA, Canada, Australia and China; manufacture items like pumps, apparel and luggage (2002 in the United Kingdom) and established a European company in the Netherlands (1996).

Giant’s initial idea was to expand into the $200 and above price range, although today their bikes cater for all ends of the market. A quick look through their catalogue reveals 12" bikes for children, carbon and aluminium road options, downhill mountain bikes and designs for women.

Something that sets Giant apart is their ability to manufacture their own carbon fiber bikes using the formulaOne carbon process. This means they start from bare carbon thread and build bikes into frames while most brands utilize manufacturers like Advanced or Martec to do this for them. Giant therefore has more control over their manufacturing process and the stiffness, weight and ride quality of the finished product. It has been successful for them though, with their high-end bikes taking racers such as the Global Giant Mountain Bike Team, T-Mobile and Team Rabobank to the podium.

The road bikes range from competition to fitness bikes and have both aluminium and carbon fiber frames. Giant has TCR and OCR ranges of road bikes. The TCR has steeper angles and a shorter wheelbase making for better power transfer, sprinting and climbing. The OCR is more comfortable and intended for touring with a longer chain stay/wheel base and more upright geometry.

About 10 years ago Giant also introduced the compact frame concept for road bikes that sloped the top tube downward at the seat stays to reduce the overall size of the front and rear triangles. This reduced weight and increased lateral rigidity and acceleration speed. The design changed UCI regulations and became a benchmark for compact frames in the industry. It was made particularly famous by the success of Laurent Jalabert and his Once team in the Tour de France.

Some of their road bikes like the TCR Advanced SL cost close to USD $10,000 so you may have to be a little crazy, or very good, to pay that much for a bike. It has a carbon fiber frame and integrates the seat post and frame as a single unit that must be cut precisely to fit the owner. More entry-level road bikes like the TCR Alliance are around the USD $2,000 mark.

Giant’s high-end mountain bikes use Maestro technology, a full suspension platform with six travel/frame configurations for various trail conditions. They have different bikes for novices and pros (competition, trail, freeride or sport) and options for the kind of ride you favour be it cross-country, downhill or freestyle. Mountain bikes cost from USD $500 to USD $8,000.

Giant also produces quality mountain, road and lifestyle bikes designed to fit women better. Lifestyle ranges target casual cyclists and are designed for comfort and convenience. There are also power-assisted bikes with lithium batteries for easy riding and bikes for juniors. Basically you could kit the whole family out with something from the Giant range.
Hours of work

Monday thru Friday
9am to 5pm (PT)
Additional Information

Standard Frames: Yes
Custom Frames: No
Retrofitting old bikes: No
Year Established: 1972
Products Made In: Taiwan, Netherlands, China
Availability: Independent bike dealers in over 50 countries
Types of Bicycles: road, mountain, comfort, BMX, mode, indoor, family, specialty

Construction Methods: tig welded, formulaOne Carbon process

Frame Materials: carbon fiber, aluminum, steel
SOURCE https://www.ebicycles.com/listing/giant-bicycles.html

Street Pedaler

Six years of dedicated research and, FINALLY, we get an answer.