Originally Posted by
Andy_K
This (including the parts I didn't quote) is a very interesting analysis. I have a sense that part of the popularity of Italian bikes is that, apart from Bianchis of a certain period, there just aren't low-end Italian bikes. I'm sure there are some, maybe more than I realize, but that's at least not the impression I have of them, and for the purposes of this discussion perception is everything.
Italy produced plenty of low end bikes. We didn't get many of them here except in the 1970s. My first ten-speed was an Atala Giro D'Italia. Gaspipe tubes, Simplex derailleurs, overall quality lower than a Peugeot UO-8 and lower price, too. There were some Chiorda bikes here that were even worse. Olmo and Bianchi are big companies that make full lines of bikes from low to high.
But there are a lot of Italian names that produce only high end, such as Pinarello. And there are reasons for that. One is the labor laws. It's hard to fire someone legally there or even lay someone off. So you have to hire carefully. This makes it hard to grow from a workshop to a big company. This led to proliferation of many very good workshops. They are the subject of admiration.