Newsflash For You Usa Die Hards

[Gadrides]

Here’s the real deal. Bikesdirect.com, Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor, and Dawes are all the same people. Even on Ebay. These guys bought the trade names mentioned above in an attempt to resurrect them.


There is a simple truth about how most road bikes are built. However, dealers and brands try to hide this from customers.



Most Road Bikes sold in the USA are made in Taiwan by 'factories' which you have probably never heard of. Such as IDEAL who builds for Fuji, Trek, Motobecane, Windsor, Terry, Dawes and many others.
Another common factory is Merida who builds for the likes of Specialized, Jamis, Mercier, Felt, Bianchi, and many others.



What is interesting is that these 'factories' in most cases only do assembly. They buy everything on the bike from subcontractors who make assorted parts of the bike. Then the 'factory' just applies the appropriate Name Brand decals, assembles, and boxes the bike and jacks the prices up.



In the case of the frame, several frame shops in Taiwan build road frames for many high end brands. Frame builders like Kinesis, A-Pro, and Astro build frames for brands like Fuji, Trek, Motobecane, Specialized, Felt, Dawes, Bianchi, LiteSpeed and dozens of others. In fact, several 'Italian' brands buy frames in Taiwan and ship them unpainted to Italy; then paint and decal them - mark them 'Made in Italy' and sell them for rather high prices. This is illegal to do in most countries including the USA if they get caught.



The other important components on the bike are the same from brand to brand. That is Shimano pieces and so forth. And many times the 'branded' parts such as stems, bars, and even wheels are all made in the same factories in Taiwan. For example, Ritchey, VeloMax, Bontrager, American Classic, and many other have wheels built in Taiwan (including the rims and hubs and final assembly).



Re-branding is common in the bicycle industry (just like in most other consumer products - think of DVD players, TVs, and even shoes). So a smart consumer can get the best value by not paying much attention to the decal on the down tube - and focus on the bike, the fit, and the price (and the discount).



I bought the Dawes real steel DLX and love it. All for $330 shipped to my door. They offer a great warranty and since I don’t trust bike shops with working on my bikes it suits me fine. I even save big by buying my cycling gear from online stores and Ebay. I save over 50% on everything in this way. So listen to the hype and buy high dollar name brand or read the facts above, the choice is yours.



Below is the domain registrants for some of these companies. Chicabike on Ebay is Motobecane, dawes is bikesdirect on Ebay, not sure who Ebay seller sprtymama is I believe Windsor. Could be wrong on that but I’m sure it’s one of them. Please note that they all have excellent feedback which means people are happy with their bikes and gear.



Domain Name.......... dawescyclesusa.com
Creation Date........ 2004-04-30
Registration Date.... 2004-04-30
Expiry Date.......... 2014-04-30

Admin Name........... michael spratt
Organisation Name.... spratt cycle support, inc
Organisation Address. 3203 old barn court
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. ponte vedra beach Organisation Address. 32082
Organisation Address. FL
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES







Domain Name: MOTOBECANE.COM







Administrative Contact :





Johnston, C chicabike



[email protected]



176 Summerfield



Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082



US



Phone: (904) 887-6262



Fax: 999 999 9999




Domain Name.......... cyclesmercier.com
Creation Date........ 2001-09-01
Registration Date.... 2001-09-01
Expiry Date.......... 2006-09-01
Organisation Name.... J. Mukhalis
Organisation Address. 176 Summerfield
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Ponte Vedra
Organisation Address. 32082
Organisation Address. FL
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES




Domain Name.......... windsorbicycles.com
Creation Date........ 2003-03-23
Registration Date.... 2003-03-23
Expiry Date.......... 2013-03-23
Organisation Name.... Rebecca Pratt
Organisation Address. 9848 Robin Hill Lane
Organisation Address. NULL
Organisation Address. Dallas
Organisation Address. 75238
Organisation Address. TX
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES



Domain Name: BIKESDIRECT.COM







Administrative Contact :





Sander, David



[email protected]



PO BOX 503



BARKER, TX 77413-0503



US



Phone: (713) 587-6808



Fax: (281) 579-1603







Technical Contact :





Verio Inc,



[email protected]



5050 Conference Way N



Boca Raton, FL 33431



US



Phone: 888-663-6648



Fax: - - - - - - 707-251-5310

 

[cydewaze]

Too long, and too many font changes. Didn't read it.

 

[Steve_in_NH]

Too long, and too many font changes. Didn't read it.

Heres the condensed version:

• Bikes are made in Taiwan
• Parts get someone elses name put on them
• Someone is making a profit
• You didnt know this before

 

[WP33]

God forbid someone make a buck or two selling something.

 

[jrstevens]

God forbid someone make a buck or two selling something.

why overpay for something if you can get the same thing for less; shame on them for trying to pull the wool over our eyes

 

[cydewaze]

Heres the condensed version:

• Bikes are made in Taiwan
• Parts get someone elses name put on them
• Someone is making a profit
• You didnt know this before

Thanks for the cliff notes.

After careful review of the above items, I've determined that I won't be losing any sleep.

 

[Nick H.]

Hold up, there is a good point lurking in there somewhere. Far East manufacturing costs are going down and down. Which means that the premium we pay for artisan-built bikes appears to go up and up. How many of us are willing to pay $5000 for a Serotta when we can get a Trek or a Specialized or a Giant which apparently has the same spec. for $1500? And what happens if people stop buying artisan-built bikes? Won't we lose a lot of innovation?

 

[Gadrides]

Yep, you've all been shafted.

I just think it's funny about all of those people that post about what bike to buy and not buy when essentially most of them are the same thing. And the USA only type slay me because 90% of all bike frames are made in Asia now.

(font change) Cha, ching!

If you knew this fine, but if you didn't then you have more info when you make the decission to purchase your next bike. I've been lied to several times at the local bike stores. I'm OK with the $750 I paid for my new Specialized Sequoia, but had I had this info first I would have bought a Motobecane.

Don't ya just hate it when someone knows more than you do?

 

[cydewaze]

I've essentially been riding the same bike since '93, so I don't think I've been shafted. I also don't think there's anything wrong with a bike being made it Taiwan (although mine wasn't). They probably have better quality control than they would here in the states.

 

[Gadrides]

OUCH! No flaming this guy please.... he's just making a point.

Most of the companies like this actually have Amercian owners that see to the quality control. The color of a persons skin or geographical location does not determine the quality of a bike. Point well taken.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Too long, and too many font changes. Didn't read it.

Cydewaze, I've seen that exact same post in 4 other threads. I think he's spamming us.

 

[Gadrides]

Cydewaze, I've seen that exact same post in 4 other threads. I think he's spamming us.

Typical message board responce when the truth hurts.

Replying to different threads with different subjects with the same response does not constitue Spam. LOL And I'm not selling anything.

I'm member with an opinion just like you, but one you obviously disagree with for some reason.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Typical message board responce when the truth hurts.

Replying to different threads with different subjects with the same response does not constitue Spam. LOL And I'm not selling anything.

I'm member with an opinion just like you, but one you obviously disagree with for some reason.

Are you spamming any other cycling forums or are we just lucky?

 

[Gadrides]

Are you spamming any other cycling forums or are we just lucky?

This is not Spam Einstein. Every post is relivant to the thread it was posted in. People are inquiring about info on these bikes so I posted a legitimate reply.

If anything you should be banned for false reporting. LOL Every board has it's special one.


"Note: This is ONLY to be used to report spam, advertising messages, and problematic (harassment, fighting, or rude) posts".

 

[meehs]

Here’s the real deal. Bikesdirect.com, Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor, and Dawes are all the same people. Even on Ebay.... blah, blah, blah...

Newsflash??? This has been going on for years! Some newsfalsh. Anyway, what's your point? Frame quality out of Taiwan is very good to excellent in most cases. And in most cases the frames are desgined by and built to the specifications of the company that they're being manufactured for.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Spaaaaaaaaaam

 

[Gadrides]

Newsflash??? This has been going on for years! Some newsfalsh. Anyway, what's your point? Frame quality out of Taiwan is very good to excellent in most cases. And in most cases the frames are desgined by and built to the specifications of the company that they're being manufactured for.

Point is most people don't know this, thus the post. Are all of you this rude when someone tries to help, or just the ones that live on here in their own waste?

 

[cydewaze]

Spaaaaaaaaaam

I think trolling would be a more proper term.

 

[cydewaze]

Point is most people don't know this, thus the post. Are all of you this rude when someone tries to help, or just the ones that live on here in their own waste?

I don't think the information is the issue, I think it's the presentation. Regardless of how relevant a post, people tend to look poorly upon it when the same post is posted numerous times in numerous sections of the forum. I'm on several forums of varying subject matter, and they all react to this type of thing the same way.

 

[Gadrides]

I don't think the information is the issue, I think it's the presentation. Regardless of how relevant a post, people tend to look poorly upon it when the same post is posted numerous times in numerous sections of the forum. I'm on several forums of varying subject matter, and they all react to this type of thing the same way.

Is Trolling against board rules? Or just against Doctor Morbids rules.

OK for those of you that spent several hundreds too much for your bikes I won't post the facts anymore. I'm not too good with fiction though.