[DVBC] Where Was Your Bike Made?

[Douglas Bower]

Drew,

 

Thank you for posting this article, it was very interesting.  I have always
wondered why every bicycle manufacturer can't seem to stay in business very
long.  You always read about a successful manufacturer coming upon hard
times then being bought out.  I don't know very many people that do not have
a bicycle or two hanging in their garage, even if they don't ride it.  A
typical American family will have a bicycle for mom, dad and all the kids.
Kids will have multiple bicycles while growing up until they are fully
grown.  On the other hand every family I know has only one clothes washer,
one clothes dryer and one refrigerator.  These appliances last for years
(20-25), and I don't hear about Maytag, Whirlpool and GE Appliances going
out of business every few years.  Why is it so hard for bicycle manufactures
and dealers to stay in business?

 

Doug

 

From: dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org
[mailto:dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org] On Behalf Of Drew Knox
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 8:14 PM
To: dvbc-list at dvbc.org
Subject: [DVBC] Where Was Your Bike Made?

 

Um, my bikes were made in Ephrata and East Earl...

Where Was My Bike Made

by Kerry Roberts

Kerry Roberts is the past president and chairperson of the National Bicycle
Dealers Association and provides consulting services to the bicycle
industry. He is also the owner of The Bicycle Company, which includes Bike
Pedlar retail stores in Nashville, Brentwood, and Hermitage, Tennessee.

The information contained in this report comes primarily from Bicycle
Retailer and Industry News' Factory and Suppliers Guide, published annually
in October. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is the definitive trade
publication in the bicycle industry. Other sources of information include
trade show and factory visits, technical writers in the cycling media, and
bicycle company employees who wish to remain anonymous.

Some bike companies have a few secrets. And one of those secrets is where
your bike is made or who actually made it. The bike companies like it that
way because many of them rely upon the same factories to build their bikes!

The big picture is pretty clear: around 95% of the bikes sold in the U.S.
are made in China or Taiwan by a handful of manufacturers of which Giant is
the largest. 

Generally speaking, low to mid level bikes are made in China and mid to high
level bikes are made in Taiwan. The exception is carbon; many manufacturers
use Chinese manufacturers to make their carbon frames - even their high-end
racing frames.

When it comes to knowing where your bike is made, shouldn't it be as easy as
looking at the sticker on your bike or what is printed on the box in which
your bike came? After all, how confusing can a label that says "Made in the
USA" or "Made in France" or "Made in Italy" be? 

Well - in a word - very. It is very confusing because your definition of
"made in" is different from the bike industry's definition. 

A typical rule of thumb is that the country claiming origin has to add 60%
or more of the value of the final product. 

For example, you and I can import an unpainted carbon fiber racing frame
from China to Spain which will ultimately retail for $4,000 with Shimano
components in the United States. 

The frame and fork may only cost $200 from the Chinese manufacturer. In
Spain, we will paint, decal, assemble, and box the bike for shipping to the
U.S.

Our cost to paint, decal, assemble, and box might be $300 and the cost of
the components might be another $800.  

So is this bike "Made in China" or "Made in Spain?" According to the bike
industry's definition, the bike is made in Spain. The sticker will say "Made
inSpain" as will the shipping box to the United States because over 60% of
the value will be added in Spain. 

Let's say we take the same frame and have the Chinese manufacturer paint it,
decal it, assemble it into a bicycle, and ship it to Spain. When we ship it
to theUnited States, the label will have to say "Made in China." 

Perhaps the best way to eliminate the confusion is for the bicycle industry
to follow the lead of the automobile industry and tell the end consumer the
countries of origin of all aspects of the bicycle. 

After all, if you are led to believe by a bunch of marketing people that
your bike was handmade in Spain when it was actually mass-produced in a
Chinese factory, would you buy that bike? Maybe - but you wouldn't pay a
premium for it. 

With these things in mind, here is an alphabetical brand by brand run down
of some key bike brands sold in the U.S. along with a few bits of trivia.

Bianchi - As I was writing this, it occurred to me that Bianchi and Schwinn
have remarkably similar histories. Both were turn-of-the-century
family-owned companies, manufactured their own bicycles, were popular brands
in their respective countries, fell upon hard times, were eventually sold,
moved substantially all of their production to Asia, and have seen a
resurgence in the past few years under new owners! 

In 1996, Bianchi was sold to a Swedish conglomerate (now known as
Cycleurope1) whereas Schwinn went through several owners before winding up
with Pacific in 2001.2

Under Cycleurope, which owns 11 bicycle brands,3 much of the bicycle
production shifted from Italy to Asia, with the exception of some final
bicycle assembly (i.e., Asian frames assembled into complete bicycles) and
limited high-end production. 

Let me take a minute and address Reparto Corse bicycles, because their "Made
in Italy" sticker is a source of confusion.

The historic Treviglio factory - a monstrosity of a thing which used to
house much of Bianchi's manufacturing before it shifted to Asia - has a
section dedicated to Reparto Corse. It used to be that Reparto Corse (RC)
meant the race department where high-end bikes were made. Now it is used as
sort of a branding logo to identify the upper-end bikes that get the RC
design and marketing treatment.

Many of the RC bikes have a "Made in Italy" sticker, which usually means
assembled in Italy using a frame made in Asia. For example, the carbon RC
frames are made by Advanced International Multitech (a Taiwanese carbon
manufacturer of bike parts, baseball bats, golf shafts, arrows, fishing
poles, etc.) and the aluminum frames are made by Taiwan Hodaka.

There are some frames still welded at Treviglio. My understanding is that
the aluminum frames with carbon rears are either welded there or, at least,
bonded there. I also understand that the frames with foam injection have the
injection process completed there, even if the frames come from Asia.

Although Taiwan Hodaka manufacturers many of Bianchi's U.S. models, Fairly
and Giant have manufactured for Bianchi in the past. 

Cannondale - Aluminum Cannondales are made in the U.S. Cannondale, which was
owned by founder Joe Montgomery and his son Scott. Cannondale is now owned
by its key investment fund after experiencing financial problems.
Cannondale's market share appears to have diminished but stabilized. 

According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News in June 2007, low-end
Cannondales are made in Taiwan - probably by Fritz-jou. Others are welded
and painted in Taiwan then sent to the US for assembly. The Synapse is made
by Top Key.

In February 2008, Dorel Industries announced the acquisition of Cannondale
and Sugoi clothing in an all-cash transaction of $190 million to $200
million. Dorel purchased Pacific Cycle (Schwinn, Mongoose, and GT Bicycle
brands) in 2004.

Cervelo - Cervelo is a Canadian company. Bikes are made in Asia and
assembled in Canada.

Colnago - In 1944, when Ernesto Colnago served as a 12-year old apprentice
in the shop of Dante Fumagalli, did he have any idea he would become the
most famous of all Italian frame builders? 

Colnago is, perhaps, the most coveted of all professional-quality bicycle
brands - just look at the pages of VeloNews or Pro Cycling and see how many
professional riders race on Colnagos! 

Frames are still hand-made in Italy, except for three entry level aluminum
models made in Taiwan (probably by Giant) and the carbon CLX, which is also
made in Taiwan.4

De Rosa - De Rosa is an Italian company that is one of the Italian "big
three" that includes Colnago and Pinarello. Ugo De Rosa, along with his
sons, have been building bikes for over 50 years. As far as I know, all
bikes are made in Italy.

Ducati - Bianchi has announced a licensing agreement with Ducati to produce
a line of bikes with the Ducati name. It is my understanding that the frames
will be sourced from Asia with the final assembly at Treviglio.

Felt - Felt was started by motocross guru Jim Felt. All production comes
from Asia.

Fisher - Gary Fisher is the "godfather" of mountain bikes. After struggling
with his own bicycle company, he sold his brand to Trek Bicycle Company.
Still involved in designing and marketing his brand, Gary is a popular
figure at bicycle industry events. He's sort of a cult figure with an
unmatched sense of fashion! Fisher bikes are made in Asia, except for the
full-suspension rigs (which are made in Wisconsin).

Fuji - Fuji is now owned by Ideal, who manufacturers most of their bikes.
Ideal is one of the key Taiwanese manufacturers along with Giant and Merida.
Ideal also manufactures for other brands. Topkey of China manufacturers
Fuji's carbon frames. 

Giant - You may have ridden a bicycle made by Giant without knowing it!
Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan,
China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers
their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the
industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as
Advanced or Martec). 

In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes
for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and
Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and
efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry. 

A bit of trivia is that Giant owns 30% of Hodaka, a key Taiwanese supplier
for many brands such as Bianchi.5 

Giant also sponsors the T-Mobile professional cycling team.

Haro - a California BMX company started in 1977 by Bob Haro. All production
comes from Asia. Haro owns the Masi brand. Kenstone, with factories in Tawan
and China, is a key supplier. 

Jamis - Jamis is the house brand of G. Joannou Cycle, a long-time
distributor of bicycles and accessories. The bicycles are designed in the
U.S. and sourced from Asia.

Kestrel - Kestrel, an early pioneer in carbon frames, introduced the first
production non-lugged carbon frame in 1986. Originally, frames were
manufactured in California. In recent years, production shifted to Asia. The
frames appear to be made by Martec. 

Kona - a California company with all production from Asia. Kona, founded in
1988, is a very small company similar in size to Marin. Fairly and Hodaka in
Taiwan are key suppliers.

Kuota - Kuota frames are made in Taiwan by Martec, the same manufacturer
that makes Kestrel frames. Kuota is a creation of Sintema, an Italian
manufacturer of components. Basically, they designed the frames, had the
frames manufactured in Taiwan, and marketed the brand heavily in the U.S.,
Western Europe, and Australia. Kuota has been a successful brand launch in a
very short period of time. 

LeMond - Greg LeMond is the first American to win the Tour de France,
winning in 1986, 1989, and 1990. LeMond also won three World Championships
and the Tour DuPont. His career was cut short by lead poisoning from a
hunting accident. LeMond's early bikes were made by Roberto Bilatto in Italy
and distributed by a now-defunct company named Ten Speed Drive Imports. The
Bilatto-made frames are somewhat collectible.

After an attempt to have an independent bike company, LeMond licensed his
brand to Trek Bicycle Company.6 Trek now designs and markets his bikes,
which are made in Asia except for the spine bikes featuring OCLV carbon
(which are made in Wisconsin).

A bit of LeMond trivia is that he helped develop the first aerobar with
Scott and used it in his amazing come-from-behind victory in the 1989 Tour
de France.7

Litespeed - Starting in the 1980's, Litespeed was a pioneer in titanium
frame building. As their reputation grew, a steady stream of cycling legends
came to Litespeed for their titanium expertise. For many years, Litespeed
built frames for famous brands such as DeRosa, Merckx, Basso, LeMond,
Tommassini, and others.8

Litespeed was, for a period of time, the largest manufacturer of high-end
bicycles in the world. All bikes, including the Merlin brand that they own,
are made in Tennessee except for the carbon Pavia (which has been
discontinued). The Quintana Roo brand is also owned by Litespeed but is made
in Asia. 

Look - Look is a French company with frames made in France and Asia. Look is
also a leading pedal brand. 

Marin - a California company with production from Asia, except for a handful
of high-end models. Marin is a very small company similar in size to Kona.
Key Asian suppliers are A-Pro, Fairly, and Sunrise.

Masi - Faliero Masi was, in my opinion, the "grandfather" of all Italian
frame builders, serving as inspiration to famous frame builders like Ernesto
Colnago. Faliero sold his company to Americans in the early 70's. Since
then, the brand has had several owners including Schwinn! At present, the
Masi brand is owned by Haro (the California BMX company)9 and the bikes are
made in Asia. 

One of my favorite frames was a made-in-Italy Nuovo Strada that I bought
from Cumberland Transit in the 80's. Unfortunately, it was stolen in the
90's! 

Alberto Masi, Faliero's son, still hand-makes the traditional Masi frames in
the shadow of the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan. Unfortunately, these frames
- due the licensing of the Masi name to Haro - are not sold in the U.S.
under the Masi name. Instead, these frames are sold in the U.S. under the
"Milano" name.10 

Merlin - see Litespeed.

Olmo - Olmo is a prominent brand in Italy. Traditionally, Olmo has been made
in Italy. I don't have any information on whether any models are made in
Asia. 

Orbea - Orbea is one of the two large Spanish bicycle manufacturers. It is
sort of like Spain's version of Trek or Schwinn. Bikes are produced in Spain
and Asia. High-end carbon frames are made in Asia and "finished" (i.e.,
painted) in Spain.