Ok, now that everything carbon made that we mortals get to ride is made in Asia by the same bunch of fellas is there truly a difference in quality, ride and brand loyalty. I miss the good old days of USA made stuff Vs. european made stuff and later the Asian made stuff. Each seemed to be different..I own a nice carbon bike but wonder if most of it is really the same crap sans a few higher end brand stuff that uses very costly carbon made by Mitsubishi is it not all just the same?

I an eager to hear some opinions

Uh some high end carbon bikes are still made in the USA

I'm mortal and my carbon bike was and still is made in the USA.

By Mitsubishi do you mean Toray?

All frames are not the same.

AFAIK, American builders like Serotta, Crumpton, etc. build their bikes in the USA, although the actual carbon fiber sheets might come from Asia. Plus, there is more to life than carbon fiber:
https://www.handmadebicycleshow.com/c...10/2010-bikes/

I think quite a few brands use the same factories to build their frames, forks. Even Pinarello (sp) has stuff made in Asia, with the high end stuff still being made in Italy. I don't have a problem with it as long as the designers/engineers keep a good check on quality control. I think the Kestrel brand shot itself in the foot for poor quality. I am not sure if this was due to poor manufacturing or poor design. It would be nice to say my Ridley Boreas aluminum frame was made in Belgium but it probably was made in Taiwan. There are skilled artisans all over the world and I am sure these big name brands wouldn't let their components be made to poor standards.

****!

This comes up (all too often) frequently.

Alot of good CF being made everywhere, including North America.

Lots of people everywhere who know how to make quality CF frames.

Why stress?

Well not everywhere but you get the point.

Factories build what they are told to.

tis my point....and yes I am aware that Trek & others tillmake stuff inthe USA but only their high end stuff. Again, is it mostly the same stuff being used by the same dudes just with a few tweeks here and there...And yes the Asian express has allowed even the beginer to own a full Carbon frame...I just think it is sad.

What is sad? The fact that beginners can ride full CF or that it's Asian made?

Asks the rider of titanium, steel and aluminum framed bikes......

This topic makes me sad.

Seriously? Maybe those of us with less cash would like to have the chance to ride something like what the big dogs ride.

Carbon bikes have been around quite a while now. Everything trickles down to the common man eventually.

Dont be a sissy then and ride a Steel bike!!!

a bit of an old website but it may be of interest to this thread:

https://allanti.com/articles/where-wa...made-pg328.htm

Life is too short to be sad. Turn that frown upside down.

I only ride carbon made by stellar nucleosynthesis.

I think most of us would be quite happy with mediocre nucleosynthesis. I mean, did Lance win 6 Tours with stellar nucleosynthesis, or was it only just pretty good nucleosynthesis? What used to be stellar, is now just mundane. That's what the global economy has provided us, and we should be damn glad to have that.

Kids today...

It's not like there is a big "ASIA" factory that makes everything exactly the same under one roof. If every frame were made in the US, would you presume to think that they must all be the same? If they are all made in the same region, they must all be the same, what could possibly be the difference?

Some people need to put on their critical thinking hat before they open up their keyboards...

It is very romantic to think of talented craftsmen sitting and loving handmaking stuff. That works fine for some things, but for the vast majority of products, the variations in quality of hand-made products is not a desirable attribute.

One of the biggest benefits of automated manufacturing is to eliminate the variance in quality of handmade products - that is why overall quality and reliability of automated production tends to be higher. Machines dont come in and produce items after a long night out at the bar with the boys, after a big fight with their wives or whatever.

And if someone really thinks that "made in Europe" or "made in the US" tag on a bike is inherently better in quality, then I would suggest perhaps gaining a little knowledge on globalization of manufacturing and lighting a candle to dispel the darkness of their ignorance.

V.

Well, them sneaky yellow devils - they all look alike, so obviously all the bikes must be exactly the same and inferior to superior US/European manufactured stuff.

I mean, what do the Asians know about manufacturing??

Well played!

It appears that my original thread has been misinterpreted. My point was not to bash the quality but ask about the differences the seemingly lack of individuality that having almost all carbon come from china....Yes I do miss the idea of some bearded old coot hand making my Ti frame. And to my other point, is the carbon used that different....The new technologies as always help the little guys afford carbon, it was not long ago that a $1,500 full carbon bike was a dream. Like cars today, ford, mercury, volvo's all the same...but they call it something different...Thats the sad thing.. No heart or soul, all very similar....OK.

Here is a great link with plenty of info..

https://allanti.com/articles/where-wa...made-pg328.htm