Made in America?

"Phantom of the Bosque" <[email protected]> wrote in news:g2Vra.5552$rH.85836
@twister.austin.rr.com:
> Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested in
> buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.
>
> We have a Trek dealer in town but the bikes that I saw have a made in China label.

I think Cannondales are the cheapest bikes that are assembled in the USA. Most of the components on
the bikes are from Japan, though.

The cheaper Treks are made in China or Taiwan, but the more expensive Treks are made in the USA.

Lots of bikes are made in America. Trek, Rivendell, Waterford, Cannondale, Heron, Seven, Merlin,
Independent, and I've barely scratched the surface. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Additionally, there
are lots of framebuilders in the US who would be glad to build a bike to your exact specifications
(for a price).

Phantom of the Bosque wrote:

> Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested in
> buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.
>
> We have a Trek dealer in town but the bikes that I saw have a made in China label.

>The cheaper Treks are made in China or Taiwan, but the more expensive Treks are made in the USA.
>

As are Lemonds.

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested in
>buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.
>
>We have a Trek dealer in town but the bikes that I saw have a made in China label.

The higher end Trek bike frames are made in the USA. Cannondales are also made in the USA. Keep in
mind that probably no other part, besides the frame, will be made in the USA.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

Phantom of the Bosque wrote:
>
> Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested in
> buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.
>
> We have a Trek dealer in town but the bikes that I saw have a made in China label.

Spend more money. <G>

My Trek 5200 is made in America, as are Trek Fuels, Liquids, 2000, 2200, 2300, 5500, and 5900's.

Klein bikes are American made, as are some Gary Fishers. You could always get a Litespeed,
Cannondale, Merlin, Moots, Seven, etc...

You WILL NOT find an inexpensive USA made bike.

Barry

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 18:59:24 +0000, Phantom of the Bosque wrote:

> Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested in
> buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.

You have to interpret creatively what you mean by that "Made in America" label when it comes to
bikes. Almost none of the components are made in the US. A bike will carry a "Made in the USA" label
when the only thing that is made in that country is the frame itself, and even then often from
imported tubes.

But buying a bike in the US will indeed support American workers -- the ones in the bike shop that
assembled it, and maintain it.

Also, before you worry too much about how much of your bike might be made in the US, look at that
computer you are staring at. Yeah, even a Dell. Where do you think the parts for that come from?

--

David L. Johnson

__o | the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. _`\(,_ | That is easy. All
you have to do is tell them they are being (_)/ (_) | attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for
lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any <country. --
Hermann Goering

"Gary Smiley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Lots of bikes are made in America. Trek, Rivendell, Waterford, Cannondale, Heron, Seven, Merlin,
> Independent, and I've barely scratched the surface. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Additionally, there
> are lots of framebuilders in
the
> US who would be glad to build a bike to your exact specifications (for a price).

Those aren't bikes that are made in America so much as frames. Good luck finding any components to
put on those frames that are also made in America...

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> >
> >
> >Are there any bicycles readily available that bear the "Made In America" label? I am interested
> >in buying my first bike since I was a child and prefer one made over here if such a thing exists.
> >
> >We have a Trek dealer in town but the bikes that I saw have a made in China label.
>
> The higher end Trek bike frames are made in the USA. Cannondales are also made in the USA. Keep in
> mind that probably no other part, besides the frame, will be made in the USA.

I believe the final assembly is also done in the U.S. for the higher-end bikes.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

Peter Cole wrote:
>
>
> Those aren't bikes that are made in America so much as frames. Good luck finding any components to
> put on those frames that are also made in America...

Have you seen the "imported parts content percentage" on the window sticker of a typical "American"
car lately? <G>

As for USA made components and accessories, there are plenty, from companies such as:

Chris King Cane Creek Easton Thomson Fox Salsa Jannd SRAM (I could be wrong with this one) Speedplay

Note that not all of a company's component line is necessarily made in any one country.

Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:

Campagnolo Marzocchi Selle-Italia Race Face DT-Swiss Hugi Mavic Continental Hutchinson
Michelin Time Look

That said, I buy my parts based on quality, suitability for purpose, and value. I can truly care
less where they are made. All of my bikes are truly multi-national!

Barry

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:

Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
> > Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:
>
> Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?

Some of us would prefer not to donate money to Chinese companies whose revenues don't trickle down
to the actual workers who build things. There is very little transparency in this regard (witness
the SARS scandal).

> >The cheaper Treks are made in China or Taiwan, but the more expensive
Treks
> >are made in the USA.
> >
>
> As are Lemonds.

In road bikes, the only TREK made overseas is the 1000, and the only LeMond model is the current
Nevada City (prior years were made in the US). This applies to domestic distribution; the euro mix
is a bit different, as they tend to favor cheaper (heavier) frames with nicer components at a given
price point.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

> The higher end Trek bike frames are made in the USA. Cannondales are also made in the USA. Keep in
> mind that probably no other part, besides the
frame,
> will be made in the USA.

Virtually all rims on TREK road bikes (the only exception being on the 1000) are made in the US.
Some handlebars are made in the US as well.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:
>> > Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:
>>
>> Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?
>
> Some of us would prefer not to donate money to Chinese companies whose

If you don't like the Chinese, why list only European companies? Why not list all non-Chinese
companies, including Japanese and Taiwanese companies?

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
> >> > Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:
> >>
> >> Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?
> >
> > Some of us would prefer not to donate money to Chinese companies whose
>
> If you don't like the Chinese, why list only European companies? Why not list all non-Chinese
> companies, including Japanese and Taiwanese
companies?

Beats me. Ask the person who made the list.

In article <[email protected]>, Ken <[email protected]> wrote:

> "B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
> > Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:
>
> Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?

Other than Campagnolo, are there are European component makes other than for saddles, seat posts and
handlebars?

Is Sachs still in the components business? I know Mavic has dropped out of it except for rims.

Ken wrote:
>
> "B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
> > Some companies with lots of non-Far East, but not American, components include:
>
> Why are European companies superior to Asian companies?

Who said they were? It seems to me that Far Eastern companies dominate the bike parts industry, so I
thought I'd list some others.

Barry

Not the Karl Orff <[email protected]> wrote in news:canwine-
[email protected]:
> Is Sachs still in the components business?

Sachs is now part of SRAM. According to www.sram.com, they have factories in U.S.A., Taiwan, China,
Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands.