Ghostcode

Here in the US, there are quite a few main manufacturers of bikes. Three major ones come to mind.

Trek
Cannondale
Specialized

Of course there are many more... however, the point of my question is. Trek/Cannondale/Specialized/X/X... to the USA is _________ to Europe?

Assumed you lived somewhere like Germany.

bosoxmrkn

Trek
Cannondale
Specialized

Menel

Pinarello
Colnago
Orbea
Bianchi
*shrug*

Velo Vol 

Is this like an SAT question?

EventServices

Personally, I'm waiting for Shrug to come out with a decent CF road frame.

Gluteus

Ah!
Europe.

Quarter Pounder = Royale Cheese

coasting 

Everywhere I look I see a Specialized.

ultraman6970

Market is well spread in europe and now with the chinarellos u have to add that to the list

crhilton

I'd like to be the first to say that if you live in the US, and always have: STFU and let someone who knows answer.

bosoxmrkn

Someone forgot to take care of their saddle sores this morning.

Considering the fact that the best rider in the Tour De France rode Specialized.... The best rider in the Vuelta and Giro rode Cannondale... And neither of those teams or riders were American.. and in fact were all European based...

I would have to assume that these brands are a lot more International than you realize, making the OP's question seem a little pointless.

TO the European, the equivalent of a Trek/Cannondale/Specialized would be a Trek/Cannondale/Specialized.

JonnyV

...and who would that be?

calamarichris

Giant bicycles in Holland is pretty huge.
(I lived & raced in the Netherlands for 3 years.)

Ghostcode

I just took with a little grain of salt, those riders ride what they are told to ride, not what they want to ride. It pays the bills for them - they will ride it. I don't feel that makes my question any less important. Whether or not the answer really is Trek/Cannondale/Specialized is another story. It would be nice to hear the side of the story from a seasoned European rider/racer and his take on it. Maybe the USA brands are as international as they appear, I don't know. That's why I asked.

The Germans have always been well-regarded engineers. I figured some of their bikes, any European for that fact, are comparable if not better/more prevalent in their country.

chasm54

If you're talking pure road bikes the market over here is dominated by the same brands as the market over there. Giant, Specialized, Cervelo, Pinarello, Bianchi. Cannondale and Trek are pretty well represented, but not quite as frequently seen as the others I mention for out-and-out roadies. And you do see a goodish number of Colnagos, Focus, Orbea. Once you're talking about audax/randonneur or touring bikes things get a little more varied, with names that are familiar on both sides of the Atlantic, like Dawes and Raleigh, producing very different ranges for the UK and US markets.

Can't speak specifically for Germany.

EDIT. Firms like PlanetX are starting to get some market share, and there's still a pretty healthy market for smallish custom framebuilders like Bob Jackson or Chas Roberts in the UK, and lots of others on mainland europe.

teterider

Cannondale is no longer a US company, its Canadian.

Specialized is only US based by an extra 2% of ownership I believe (51% to 49%), although I think the split has never been confirmed.

CrimsonKarter21

It depends on which country you're looking at in the EU. In Belgium it was Ridley, Thompson and probably Merckx, maybe ProRace. In East Flanders there are a lot of Flanders bikes, which came out of the bike shop I raced for.

celticfrost

There's a correct answer?

celticfrost

Sorry, but this answer isn't an analogy.

Also, if I ride a Merckx and live in Colorado then what kind of bike would I ride if I lived in Zimbabwe? And for all those stupid Americans who haven't lived in overseas, please STFU as I'm looking for a correct answer.

CrimsonKarter21

Internet tough guy alert.

fauxto nick

Five.

Bob Dopolina 

There are a few problems with this analogy.

First, the bicycle industry is far too global to be looked at the way the OP is attempting to. There are, of course, regional differences in terms of who has what percent of market share but if you look at different markets all of the major players are represented in each the only difference is how well. This has more to do with the effectiveness of the local distributor than it does the brand itself.

Second, some Treks are made in the US, some Cannondales are made in the US and nothing from Specialized is made there. If we look at country of manufacture these are largely Taiwanese or Chinese in origin. The same holds true for most European brands. So the question is a bit of a false premise to begin with.

Lastly, if you are talking about buying being driven by nationalism there are also HUGE differences between markets. In many markets this factor is not present at all.

To try to answer your question there are always brands, in any market, they may be local in nature, that have a certain share of the market. These brands are not global but regional in scope. There are brands here (like our sponsor CKT) that are well represented here and in France and Spain but are not in the US or other European countries. They don't have the same percent of the market as the global biggies but they do have a presence in some markets. Outside of that Trek is Trek no matter where you go.

duckforcover

Four?

fauxto nick

g.

fauxto nick

Machka 

Thorn