PeteHski

Yep, this is true. Giant have always been a top value brand for several reasons, mainly their scale as the World's largest bike manufacturer. They manufacture a lot of frames for other smaller brands too.
I'm the same. I know my Giant Defy is as good as anything else on the market (in the same category), but I have trouble "connecting" with it emotionally. In some ways that's a good thing because I can just focus on riding and not fuss over cleaning it religiously.
My next road bike will likely be more exotic, but still certainly carbon. I'll keep the Defy as my daily workhorse because it's pretty hard to fault.

Sy Reene

Makes it ironic, or is it part of their anti-competition agreements with their corporate buyers, that Giant's own branded bikes are hard to find on the pro tour?

mstateglfr 

Why do you view various and somewhat unknown bike manufacturers in Taiwan as 'the devil'?

Also, Maxway is hardly a large manufacturer. They are known for production steel frames...which is a relatively niche market within new bike sales.

To add to your rant, or really to make it better, Specialized is partly owned by a Taiwan based company.


Your post reads like someone regurgitating info they just learned 2nd hand from someone else who went on a rant.

cjenrick

Greg also got screwed by Modolo. They were using his name without his permission.

Yes the mountain bike went downhill from 84, with all that shock craze for people who did not know how to ride adding weight and complication to the sport. Then all manner of full suspension contraptions that made the bike look more like a can opener than a bike. Then all the gears that you absolutely do not need came in and got clogged up with mud to the point where the chain would glide over the top of the freewheel.

Mountain biking did not start in marin county. it started as soon as the bicycle was invented, because they did not have paved roads back then.

PeteHski

I don't know if Giant produce frames for any of the other manufacturers (I would be more surprised if they don't since most carbon frames are outsourced to Asian factories) currently supplying WT teams, but CCC were riding Giants up until 2020.

Motorazr

Buying American because you happened to have been born in the United States makes as much sense as preferring the Cleveland Browns football franchise just because you're from Northern Ohio, or preferring any other sports franchise because they happen to be near you. What makes a company "American"? The nationality of its anonymous shareholders around the world? The nationality of the company's senior management team? The nationality of its designers and engineers? Or the nationality of its assembly workers? Is GM auto assembled in Canada from internationally-sourced parts more "American" than a Ford auto made in Mexico? Are Detroit-branded autos shipped from neighboring countries more "American" than a Honda from a plant in Ohio, a Hyundai from Alabama, a Volkswagen from Tennessee or a Mercedes from South Carolina?

Why are workers in the country you live in (with the highest GDP of any country in the world) somehow more deserving than workers in poorer countries? Or do you just want to support the citizens a country (whose owning-class citizens have vastly different interests than its working-class citizens) with a military budget the size of the nine next largest militaries combined? Maybe, we're saying that American human beings are somehow just better than non-American human beings and would we still think the same if we ourselves were non-American?

Rather than subscribing to nationalism and dividing people by country of origin, I prefer classism and dividing people into the owning-class, middle-class, working-class, and the poor. I don't think owning-class and middle-class human beings need any extra support from me. I do, however, feel an obligation to pay attention to the working-class and poor human beings sharing the planet with me, especially those who are least able to overcome their life's challenges.

As far as I'm aware, over their collective histories, Specialized has been a more ethical company than Trek. If that's not true, then I'd love to hear the details and thus be better informed.

dedhed

Well, there was this.
​​​​​​https://www.bicycleretailer.com/reta...t#.YLPEUS0Z7rc

Motorazr

And the rest of that story....

Specialized founder and owner Mike Sinyard takes responsibility and apologizes in person to Café Roubaix owner (Dec 12, 2019)
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sin...roubaix-owner/

Specialized to purchase Roubaix trademark in US for $700k (Jan 14, 2019)
https://cyclingindustry.news/special...-trademark-us/

LSUFANDAN

I prefer Specialized for some reason. Trek styling is just too much for me. I currently have a Diverge and Tarmac lol. I looked at all the major brands before I made my purchases and just like the styling of Specialized the best. I think I had a harder decision picking between Giant and Specialized more than Trek. Giant just gives you more bang for your buck. Giant styling is pretty nice also.

dedhed

Only because it was a PR disaster that they caught lots of flack for.
Roubaix trademark debacle - Fuji weighs in -

tomato coupe

I think 2021 is the first time in more than 20 years that Giant isn't sponsoring a world tour team.

Flip Flop Rider

Trek

Cpn_Dunsel

Specialized and it's not even close.

The corporate culture of Trek represents everything problematic in the USA version of unregulated capitalism. They are a disingenuous company from the top to the bottom, from the CEO to the people working and running their 'concept' stores. Their 'concept' stores are pretentious and performative and the way in which they squeezed out their own vendors in many markets by undermining them with these corporate concept stores has damaged the overall LBS marketplace in many areas of the US. They have a long, sordid and full history of unethical business practices and soured relationships in the industry.


Specialized is more innovative and currently builds better bikes. Their entry level builds offer better wheels sets and hubs and they have blown past Trek in Mtn biking tech over the past decade. Their newest aluminum frames (coming out of Merida) are superior to what Giant is producing for Trek. It is a better grade of metal with a better technology being used to put it together.

None of the large bike corps like being transparent in any fashion but Trek is the most opaque of them all. They certainly do not like the public knowing that Giant builds most of their frames.

Trek remains the bully on the block because they outspend everyone else in advertising. It is no coincidence in the USA that the top 10 companies that spend the most money on advertising their products match up 1 to 1 on the list of which companies have the largest sales of said products. Whoever spends the most on ads is able to buy the most customers. People buy what they are exposed to and develop 'brand loyalty' due to logos and brands that have been seared into their retinas.

Trek does more direct marketing and direct targeting of individual customers than any other USA bike company and it works as they currently command 22% of the sales in the market.

PeteHski

I can’t say I have any major issues with companies producing bicycles! I presume Trek are not supplying missiles to dictatorships. It also doesn’t bother me about Giant producing their frames. Giant have some good factories. I still generally prefer Specialized bikes though. I just like their style.

Cpn_Dunsel

They supply bicycles to fascist institutions.

Scott C

I think they are all comparable, I like Trek, but would have bought Specialized, Cannondale, Giant or others .... In pandemic times you have to grab what you can (which is what I did with my dual sport last year), the new Emonda SL5 and that blue sung to my soul so I had to have it and I was willing to wait .... I don't believe any brand at these levels are so much better than others, just my opinion and on a side note happy to be here

MrWasabi

I'm going Trek for my next bike.

ColonelSanders

Which ones?

PeteHski

I guess fascist institutions are free to buy whatever brand of bicycle they like. Maybe they happen to like Trek bikes?

livedarklions

So? That's hardly a solid example of a toxic corporate culture.

I haven't seen Trek apologize to all the people they screwed over protecting Armstrong.
​​​​

PeteHski

Yep, trivial fluff compared to what the likes of VW and the big oil companies get up to.

aplcr0331

I ride whichever bike gives me the most social smugness capital.

Here's my process...I research at least 50 years of history for every bike I consider buying. I get a list of the top 25 executives from each company and do an exhaustive social media review to see if they've ever said anything "problematic". I also comb through the Law Library of Congress, PACER, JUSTIA, and other legal databases using the bike company names and any subsidiaries along with checking the executive’s names and known associates as well. You can never be too safe.

Next I'll scour the internet (BBB, forums, etc.) for any RUMINT on each bike brand as well. I'll ignore any positive stories I read cause it's all "marketing". The hushed toned conjecture from internet dweebs (my heroes) is what I'll place more credence with.

I'll compare mission, vision, and values statements, financial reports if available (I'll buy no bike from some company that takes too much "profit" I mean what has capitalism done for any of us amirite?). Do they support the "correct" social issues, are they sustainable, do they purchase carbon offsets, all the things that ACTUALLY matter when it comes to the building of a bike.

After a 2-3 years of part-time research (I do have a family and a full-time job...what's that? When do I actually ride a bike...OK Fred) I'll finally pick a worthy companion to my bike riding stable. In the end I settle on only the finest of steel frames hand-welded deep beneath the earth in the fiery caverns of Mont Ventoux by master artisans (as long as they genuflect to the current zeitgeist of our betters in the government, media, and academia).

Wildwood 

Not sure who/what/where the bike was named after, but 2 Trek dealers have corrected my "Dough Main" pronunciation to Dough-Ma-NAY.



Best bike for you (the original poster)? Probably a custom something by an experienced builder, if you can clearly communicate what you seek.

Maybe start above or below or at a frame builder local to you.

indyfabz

It was named after the character Mike Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High".

seypat

This is the correct answer.