That's great. I wasn't trying to belittle American factory workers in general. I've met some extremely intelligent factory workers. I've also met some extremely stupid ones who I would NEVER trust to build my frame. Anymore than I'd trust the kid putting together the Wal-Mart bikes to do a good job.

The same can be said for Chinese and Taiwanese factory workers. I'm sure there's some really intelligent ones, and some really stupid ones. None of that matters though. People are people the world over. If they're holding a job, apparently they're doing a good enough job for management. Management and QC is what you really need to worry about.

If your reasoning for buying an American frame is that they're somehow inherently higher quality, you're crazy.

If your reasoning for buying an American frame is for economic or sociopolitical reasons, then that's fine with me.

It just seems that most people don't do it for the right reasons.

+1
same here

Ah, that was good for a laugh... no. They aren't more valuable.