PlatyPius

All of our stuff is made elsewhere now, because people don't want to pay a decent price for items. Hence, all of the unemployment. Which makes people want to spend even less, moving more jobs overseas, resulting in more unemployment. Repeat ad infinitum.

Which is one of the reasons that people who buy stuff online from PBK and such make me sick.

BengeBoy 

Really? I make you sick because I bought my last set of Continental tires from PBK?

I know you are starting a bike shop, and I wish you the best. But I'm guessing that your very, very best customers also will be those folks who also buy a lot on line. I know that the couple of LBS's where I do most of my business seem to appreciate what I spend in their stores, and have even been happy to take my money to install parts I buy on eBay or work on bikes I buy on Craigslist.

If the bike industry would get its s*** together and offer American wholesalers/retailers the kinds of prices available to PBK I'd likely stop patronizing PBK, too. PBK is an industry-led problem, not a consumer-led problem.

JTGraphics

I was told by a dealer that Cannondale aluminum frame will still be made in USA but carbon frame will be overseas.
Anyone know if this is the case?

BengeBoy 

About a year or so ago, after they got purchased by Dorel, they announced that all of their frame manufacturing is moving overseas, including aluminum. I believe the folks who are left in their facility will be assembling final bikes. You can do a search for all the original announcements - it was about a year ago.

old and new

Running out of time with Cannondale. Checking bike by bike, store by store's the only sure way. Many frames are USA or Canada made. Some wheel sets or parts of... I'm not overly concerned over such and those who are would be better advised to revisit all else they buy; clothes, tools, TVs, fruit, nuts..........

PlatyPius

I agree with this.

BluesDawg

Buying a bike made of all USA-made parts would be a decent gesture, but maybe consider taking the considerable amount of $ this would require and buy some good ole American-grown groceries and donate them to a food bank to help feed some of the increasing number of people who are having trouble feeding their families due to being unemployed.

BikeArkansas

I would rather buy an American made bike because I believe in capitalism.

BluesDawg

Don't we all?

Tom Bombadil

SRAM is still a USA-based company. They do have a manufacturing facility in the Chicago area, where they make brakes and a few other goods. Most of their stuff is made overseas, not all in China though as they have a large plant in Ireland and some facilities in Mexico, Germany, and the Netherlands. At least the end profits from their operations do end up in the USA.

They also own a number of other brands, such as RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, and more. Their RockShox forks were made in Colorado until about a year ago, when that manufacturing was moved to Taiwan.

Likewise Trek is an American company, with some manufacturing still here. In fact they expanded one of their Wisconsin plants a couple of years ago. They presently have over 1000 employees in Wisconsin. They own the Bontrager brand of components, some of which are manufactured under contract by SRAM. So while many of their parts are made overseas, a fair percentage of your dollars are staying in the States.

Specialized and Cannondale would be similar to Trek, although perhaps not as much of their manufacturing is in the USA as Trek's.

Some other brands, such as Schwinn, are technically USA companies, but their bikes are pretty much entirely built in Taiwan / China.

Engyo

Quite a few of the recumbent manufacturers are USA-based, but the components they use are mostly industry standard. Rans, Bachetta, Easy Racers, Cycle Genius, Lightning, Barcroft, and more. There are a number of USA-based trike maufacturers as well, but I am less familiar with them.

BengeBoy 

Not to pick a fight (though it's tough not to in this thread...), don't most capitalists believe in global trade?

I think that a hard-hearted capitalist would say it's a consumer's job to search out the most value for each dollar spent - that incentivizes brands to deliver their products at the best combination of high quality and low cost that they can....regardless of coutry of origin.

BikeArkansas

Give a man a fish and he will eat one meal. Give a man a boat and a fishing rod --- and he will drink beer all day.

I think this makes more sense than whatever it was you wrote.

BengeBoy 

Probably so!

I just wanted to point out that the most rip-roaring "capitalists" I know are also big believers in globalism and free trade. If that's how you think, you should find the best deal you can, regardless of country of origin, and have at it.

On the other hand, I totally understand the impulse to "buy local" or buy "made in the USA," but I think that's more about community spirit than it is about capitalism.

Tom Bombadil

It was capitalism that motivated all of the USA-based companies to move their manufacturing to other countries.

Tom Bombadil

Several of these companies have (or are in the process of) outsourced their frame manufacturing to Asian plants.

tcs

Actually, the USA with 6% of the world's population produces 21% of the world's manufactured goods. In addition, American workers average more work hours in a year than the Japanese and are more productive in those hours than the Germans.

When I left the factory this evening there were two big crates on the shipping dock marked "destination: China".

Best,
tcs

tcs

So nobody liked the American built bicycle I linked to in post #22?

tcs

Tom Bombadil

Sucked!

BikeArkansas

+1

zonatandem

The tubing for my custom c/f bike was made in Washington state; the frame was built in Peoria, AZ.
Wheels made/built in Connecticut (Topolino), headset made in US (Kris King).
Sad to say, the rest was imported.

gcottay

"Free trade" tends to disadvantage small domestic companies in competition with large multinationals. The smaller the operation the more severe the penalty.

BikeArkansas

This is what I am finding everywhere. Even the belt drive is evidently made overseas. All known chain drive systems are imported.
There are a few frame manufacturers, and I understand a couple actually use domestic materials.
I have even looked at single speed for a manufacturer.

Maybe there is not an American made system. So sad.

Concerning the capitalists and socialiists on this subject, I meant for this thread to be about bike parts and not social and economic structures. No problem discussing this with you, but not on this forum.

Road Fan

Use Michigan oak - the loggers here need help.

Billy Bones

But isn't the flight of industry to cheap sources of labour and materials the predictable result of strict observation of the tenets of capitalism? Something about reducing costs of production.

Capitalism is a harsh mistress. . .who cares not for borders.