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Any mountain bikes made in US?

57K views 154 replies 63 participants last post by  wallstreet 
#1 ·
Are there any entry level mountain bikes being made in the U.S.? Do any big name companies like Trek, Specialized and Jamis manufacture their bikes in the U.S.

Also was wondering about the Norco Bikes, are they made in Canada?
 
#38 ·
Trek makes very few bikes in Wisconsin anymore. Only a few of their highest level road bikes. Specifically, the Madone 6&7 series bikes. The rest is being produced overseas. All of their OCLV bikes were made here (well the frame was, the rest of the stuff, nope) until a couple of years ago.
 
#39 ·
I cant afford an American-made boutique branded bike. that said, im giving it hell to scrimp, save, sell and do whatever i can in order to buy a bike that is going to cost me enough cash that i could buy two primarily asian-sourced bikes. why? because i want to do what i can in order to keep the economy at home going as strong as possible, and if it costs me more to do it then so be it.

yeah i know that a lot of parts on my bike are going to be non-American made. unless you really want to dump some serious coin, it isnt gonna happen. thats fine, i get it. but if i buy a tracer 29, that adds a little more job security for the dudes in temecula, instead of some guy in taiwan. yeah they both may need a job, but it is inconceivable (to me) to not make an effort to support an American in his job, when the opportunity arises.

i ride a taiwanese-manufactured bike now, and theres nothing wrong with it at all. it got me riding, and got me hooked on mtb, and it didnt cost 5 grand. the next one, i see no reason why not to go big and stay home.
 
#41 ·
I cant afford an American-made boutique branded bike. that said, im giving it hell to scrimp, save, sell and do whatever i can in order to buy a bike that is going to cost me enough cash that i could buy two primarily asian-sourced bikes. why? because i want to do what i can in order to keep the economy at home going as strong as possible, and if it costs me more to do it then so be it.
I think you will find that an American-made bike costs about the same as an equivalant asian sourced bike (keyword being equivalant). USA made bikes are mid to high level and usually sport a better shock, suspension design, bearings, paint job and no hassle warranty. They also usually have forged bits in the frame so you can't compare them to a Giant Trance or Specialized FSR. If you compare MSRP's of USA made frames to equivalant asian sourced frames you are looking at roughly $0-400 difference... which isn't anywhere close to double the cost. It's also nice knowing that if you call the manufacturer for any questions or concerns that you may actually talk to the owner.
 
#40 ·
Moots makes phenominal bikes, and they are based out of steamboat, CO. They are pretty expensive though, but the bike will last you FOREVER! they are a titanium frame, and have stellar components. They are not exactly an entry level bike, but if you can scrape up the money, you will not have to buy another bike
 
#58 ·
They make nice bikes (actually hoping I could find one for a good deal next time I was in the inland empire area), but no entry level bikes (part of the OP's question). Their cheapest FS frame is >$2K. Their hardtail frame is $679. That's basically the price of a complete entry level bike from Trek, Specialized, Jamis, Norco etc.
 
#62 ·
As well, if I remember correctly Turner is looking at off-shore production.
The reason the RFX was still born is that the price SAPA wanted for production was so high that DT couldn't afford to sell it - a price of 3500+ per frame was bandied about at one time.

As for quality in NA mfg - Unfortunately it is not necessarily the best....

Prime example is Knolly and SAPA.
SAPA could not provide the materials and quality that Knolly wanted.
After having to dump an entire production run and loose the model year due to unacceptable QC from SAPA they decided to go off-shore.

Noel (Knolly) stated that the tube-sets and mfg processes, now available to him overseas allows him to design stuff that couldn't be built on this side pond with our normally available current processes.

We have given our expertise and even cutting edge mfg technologies and equipment and have shipped them overseas. They have taken that and run with it while we sit around moaning about the situation we created.

I really wish it were different - I liked the idea my bike was built in Canada/US
...but we ARE the author of our own misfortune.

michael
 
#64 ·
<snip>
...

Noel (Knolly) stated that the tube-sets and mfg processes, now available to him overseas allows him to design stuff that couldn't be built on this side pond with our normally available current processes.

We have given our expertise and even cutting edge mfg technologies and equipment and have shipped them overseas. They have taken that and run with it while we sit around moaning about the situation we created.

I really wish it were different - I liked the idea my bike was built in Canada/US
...but we ARE the author of our own misfortune.

michael
'

I worked in the R&D side of a NA manf company. For certain items it was really hard to beat outsourcing for quality, quickness and price. Lots of the NA companies just haven't been able to keep up equipment and technology wise. Options were found as the product had to have sufficient US and NA content (final assembly was always done NA).

The reason price can't be touched is pretty obvious: either they are using low paid (slave) labour, or they have enough throughput to afford automating large quantities of the process.

And of course low price buys them more business, which is more revenue, which is more money to spend on the latest tech.

Do you think Straitline Components would be where they are now if they didn't have aerospace and medical contracts? Good profitable business (in non-consumer areas that are higher margin) is what I'm guessing allowed them to get into top of the line state of the art cnc. If you are in consumer products you are often competing for the bottom. It's hard to compete when your entry level bike costs $200 more than the competitor purely due to labour costs.

Shipping is starting to be a factor for some products now though. Price Rupert BC is getting a lot more port action from China due to the 2 day quicker sailing time as compared to US ports (less fuel and lower risk being at sea less time).

Just checked the bottom of my wife's Devinci (since I mentioned them earlier). The frame is made in Vietnam.
 
#65 ·
+ rep

The only thing that I don't fully agree with is the slave labour.
Taiwanese welders are highly skilled and are well paid within their economic strata.
This may not be the case in other countries.

...And it just may get a bit worse before better, China is now losing business to lower cost asian countries and some in developing Africa as Chineses labour costs are rising...

However I have heard the same that you mention regarding shipping. The cost benefits of over-seas production are eaten by higher shipping costs, as well as higher production oversight costs due to being a large pond away. This is the main reason that high-quality Asian production is not any cheaper...

So, if shipping costs becomes a bigger issue as we believe it will, this hopefully will spur manufactures to move production back home. Problem is then we have the lack of tech for the actual materials. So in the meantime do we then import the tube-sets and weld here, until we regain our mfg strength?

IMO I think we have a ways to go before this happens. There is still too much emphasis placed on saving a penny or two by moving overseas. Board rooms are still applauding these steps as cost savings... (Look at Apple - how many billions in the bank do you need) However if everything is then produced overseas, how the he|| are we supposed to buy it with no job or a McJob that does not even provide a decent standard of living? If they want to continue to sell their products here, maybe they should take a look at the long-game.

It's a mugs game.

cheers

michael
 
#74 ·
+ rep

The only thing that I don't fully agree with is the slave labour.
Taiwanese welders are highly skilled and are well paid within their economic strata.
This may not be the case in other countries.

...And it just may get a bit worse before better, China is now losing business to lower cost asian countries and some in developing Africa as Chineses labour costs are rising...

However I have heard the same that you mention regarding shipping. The cost benefits of over-seas production are eaten by higher shipping costs, as well as higher production oversight costs due to being a large pond away. This is the main reason that high-quality Asian production is not any cheaper...

So, if shipping costs becomes a bigger issue as we believe it will, this hopefully will spur manufactures to move production back home. Problem is then we have the lack of tech for the actual materials. So in the meantime do we then import the tube-sets and weld here, until we regain our mfg strength?

IMO I think we have a ways to go before this happens. There is still too much emphasis placed on saving a penny or two by moving overseas. Board rooms are still applauding these steps as cost savings... (Look at Apple - how many billions in the bank do you need) However if everything is then produced overseas, how the he|| are we supposed to buy it with no job or a McJob that does not even provide a decent standard of living? If they want to continue to sell their products here, maybe they should take a look at the long-game.

It's a mugs game.

cheers

michael
This guy gets it.

The US's "power" will never be manufacturing, it's innovation and coming up with new technology, new ways of doing things, new processes, new ways to increase efficiency (without necessarily being able to employ them with no end). Anyone who thinks we can have a factory crank out the same widgets for 40 years is just not living in reality. Machines will eventually be invented that can do a worker's job, and that machine doesn't need health care or retirement, so what do you do with the displaced worker? It's a good question, and not easily answered. The point of this is that SOMEONE SOMEWHERE will ALWAYS come up with a cheaper way to make or do something. The only thing that is constant in business is change, the second you rest on your heels, you get your a$$ handed to you. Finally US automakers are making somewhat competitive cars with decent mileage, but this is after nearly going out of business, federal mandates to increase mileage, and simply having their a$$es handed to them by asian manufacturers. Once we isolate, our businesses have no reason to improve and innovate as mentioned above, and then when something finally does come along, they are less able to adapt and compete, not to mention that when we isolate we got a company manufacturing and selling here, but other companies are manufacturing and selling ALL OVER THE WORLD, which makes them much more competitive and they are able to grow much bigger than our isolated US-only companies.

As an example, I blame Bike Shops to some extent for their own hardships. The internet came. A few very keen bike shops opened E-stores. THOSE are the innovators that deserved (at that moment in time) to not go out of business. Bike shops have to make themselves competitive, they have to find new ways of doing business that attracts customers and business, they have to be active. Otherwise, if they are sitting there trying to do "what they've always done" and complain about the internet retailers, they deserve to go out of business. Things they can and should do: have group rides, have a website with parts inventory and local info, participate in races and events, build a pump-track (like behind a local shop where I lived in AZ did), have bike maintenance clinics-maybe at colleges and high schools, find ways to offer things and attract customers, and so on. It's not my job to keep them in business, it's their job to offer something that the public wants. You constantly have to reach out to new markets and come up with new ideas. How many bike shops have you heard complain about E-retailers? How many have actually done something about it? There are a few, and those are where the heart of US innovation and spirit lies.

In the end, it sometimes costs more to build stuff here, the shipping as stated above is affecting that, which is a nice side-effect of the oil prices and increasing standards of living, but if you really want to "support american businesses" like the OP intends, you have to accept paying MORE for LESS. You have to accept a lower standard of living and your dollar bill doing less for you. That's not human nature though, we are pretty driven to maximize value and have a "better standard of living" for ourselves and our kids, even if it means sacrificing the long term for the short term materialistic gain.
 
#66 ·
I respect others that care about where their bikes are manufactured. I personally care -- not just bikes, but also electronics and other things. To me it's more than just quality or cost, although those are important factors too.

Look at workers committing suicide and being allegedly beaten by guards at Foxxconn (builds iPhone, Xbox, etc. parts) after being forced to work overtime in China. Even if those facts aren't completely true, it is nearly impossible to know for certain because the Chinese government blatantly controls the flow of information. I try to vote with my dollar and minimize buying stuff coming from China proper, although I'm not always disciplined.

That being said, it seems most bike factories are based in Taiwan, which seems to have significantly better employee treatment and transparency of information. But I believe everyone should make their own decisions based on what's important to them.
 
#68 ·
Chris King has a great company right here in the US of A. Gives his workers full heath coverage, flex-time,etc. I will be able to give my Chris King headset to my grandson. That is unless the standards change again. Ever heard of a Chris King hub breaking? My Thompson Elite stem is 9 years old. It indestructible. I'll keep it as long as I have a fork to clamp it on.

Good stuff can still be made, but people have forgotten "you get what you pay for". Take clothing. My original Polar Tech fleece vest still hasn't pilled. I've thrown away several others since. I used to get 4 or 5 years out of a pair of Levi jeans. Now I'm lucky if they last a year.

Then there is the light bulb that's been burning in a firehouse in Livermore, CA since 1902. I'm just sayin'....
 
#75 ·
There are some strong feelings in this thread about bikes (or goods in general) made in the USA. Many writers to this thread have strong opinions, and for good reason, the issue affects everyone.

Most of us know that globalization means outsourcing local jobs. Why have a factory in the US when you can move it to Mexico or south east asia where there is a docile and cheap labour force working in what we would call horrendous and grim working conditions. No secrets here, lots of examples of companies doing this.

One point to note is the US arms industry does not suffer from this phenomenon. The US designs and manufactures the most technically advanced weaponry in the world, from the M16 to the F22 and everything in between, all made in the USA, so there is nothing wrong with technically advanced mass production in the US. It should be noted that US spending on the military is almost equal to what the rest of the world combined spends on military.

The real issue of Not made in the USA is the total lack of democracy in the USA. The US is only democratic if you are a corporation, because then you get the full weight of the US government acting on your behalf. The examples are everywhere:
Banks are too large to fail - cited in the Wall St Journal - but if that is the case (and it is) wouldn't you want to make them smaller? After the $750 billion bail out package that Bush handed out the Banks became even bigger.
Oil and Gas - this industry is now exempt from the clean water act. There's a good idea, the business of hydraulic fracking just became much less risky, industry can frack away and not worry about clean water anymore, they are exempt.
Retail - look at Wal Mart - talk about a feudal system dating back to the middle ages, Wal Mart is a private company owned by the Waltons, a family of 5. One of the richest families in the world worth a combined $40 billion. they have approx 2 million peasants working for them called employees. If you work at Wal Mart and are not the CEO or part of his exec team then you are living around the poverty line because that is what Wal Mart pays, poverty wages, no benefits and they work and treat you like a dog, no better off than peasants from the middle ages.
Education - the press goes on and on about how bad the education system is, what a drain on society it is. Take any business anywhere and cut funding and see how long it functions. In the US the trick is to cut funding to any social program and keep on cutting funding until it is completely broken and then everyone gives up on it and lets private industry take over.

There is no democracy for the people in the US, its all there for the corporation. To quote a famous individual there is only one party in the US and it is the Business party which has two factions called republicans and democrats.

In a real democracy people would have a say about where their tax dollars go, about their level of pay, about their health care system etc etc. But you don't in the US or even in Canada though Americans should note that somehow Canada manages to have a viable system of medicare that though not perfect does a good job of aiding the population without bankrupting the country. Americans could have something similar but are stuck with a fraudulent and highly inefficient private health insurance industry.

There it is, people have no real say anymore. Electing a president and running a campaign costs billions of dollars and the only place you can get billions of dollars is from the corporate sector which if you think about it puts governments even further into the corporate pocket. As a last point check out the credentials of any white house economic advisor since the 1970's - they all have a finance background, all of them. The finance industry has been well looked after and continues to be well looked after, crisis after crisis.
 
#76 ·
Man I kind of disagree with quite a bit in these last few posts.

1. We have traditionally manufactured some of the best products on the planet.
2. Our manufacturing might is what brought us into WWII. It's what won WWII.

The one thing I do agree with is that we generally can not do it cheaper. Not always but generally things made in China are inferior to their U.S. manufactured counter parts. I think bicycles are probably one of a handful of exceptions. Electronics are inferior, metals are generally inferior. Chinese stainless is complete garbage. Home electrics made in China are garbage. Most computers coming out of China are garbage, excepting apple. American manufacturing when it is done properly produces some of the finest products in the world.
 
#78 · (Edited)
No this is wrong. You create an endless cycle of devouring the middle class in America buying internationally made goods. You weaken our skills and power as a nation. Manufacturing is the engine that drives wealth and the middle class. The view cited above is a short term personal gain economic financial view that has long term dire consequences for the economy and the nation's position as a world power at large. Real estate agent? Really? One of the most overpaid low skill professions in the U.S.. I'm all over outsourcing those guys. LOL.
 
#80 ·
No this is wrong. You create an endless cycle of devouring the middle class in America buying internationally made goods. You weaken our skills and power as a nation. Manufacturing is the engine that drives wealth and the middle class. The view cited above is a short term personal gain economic financial view that has long dire consequences for the economy and the nation's position as a world power at large. Real estate agent? Really? One of the most overpaid low skill professions in the U.S.. I'm all over outsourcing those guys. LOL.
You are correct on all fronts except the US's position as a world power. There is no other country in the world that comes close to the US in military might, its an absolute no brainer that the US has the largest and most technically advanced military in all of human history. The US has a tight grip on the oil resources of the middle east further strengthening its position as the worlds biggest power.

as for real estate agents they would have have it pretty tough right now.
 
#81 ·
My point is I don't think it will stay this way if we keep exporting our manufacturing. The ability of manufacturing nations to develop a military industrial complex such as ours increases as their manufacturing and technology prowess increases. Ours slows as we manufacture less and less. What I mean is fewer and fewer Americans know how to do things, I mean really do things, our ability to be innovative and keep our military at the top of the food chain is directly proportional to manufacturing in the U.S.. Do I hear Rome in the background saying been there, done that, it failed?
 
#84 ·
And pretty soon you won't have Twinkies made in the USA. Some people think it's better to not have a job than try to milk everything they can out of a company. When will the American worker wake up and smell reality?!
Liberals are getting exactly what they are asking for. No companies, no jobs, no reliable energy source. Quit yer *****in, this is what you wanted. You made this bed, now lay in it!
 
#85 ·
The truth is Hostess is failing because of bad management. It is not run by bakers, but by bankers. Hostess is owned by a hedge fund and for the last 8 years has run it into the ground. Now without a clue how to fix things, they are just going to sell off it's assets and take the money and run. It is not the unions fault.

I had a non-union profession - IT, I got continually downsized and out sourced until I was making less than when I started 15 years ago. Adjusted for inflation, I was making less than my public sector job in 1996. I WISH I was in a union.
 
#87 ·
Not everyone can work IT and not everyone is cut out to be a global account manager. There is nothing wrong with being a clerk in a Wal Mart for example, but what is wrong is the wages and lack of benefits that are paid to said worker, especially when the owners have more money than they know what to do with. And that is something the govt could easily change. The govt did deregulate the banking industry to the benefit of nobody except the banks. Why cant they regulate Wal Mart to pay its workers better wages and benefits?

Not sure why anyone is arguing about liberals, there is very little difference between democrats and republicans, it doesn't matter who is in the white house because it is corporate america who pull the strings, the american people are second and third class citizens.
 
#91 ·
Keep in mind SF and NYC are two of the most expensive places in the country to live. Both states have more than their fair share of problems.

If Wal Mart does'nt provide a million 4th grade educated works employement. Who will? My family and I choose not to shop at WM due to the quality of their product's. Not their business practices.
 
#94 ·
You are exactly right. It goes way beyond low skilled labor on the line being employed at good wages too. There are all the professionals, management, IT, etc. that don't have jobs either. Really if you want to get down to the bottom line it's people rationalizing not supporting their own economy. I find it kind of funny often these same guys are complaining about how the economy sucks and how they can't find a good paying job. Well duh! Personally I buy as much made in the U.S. as I reasonably can. When it comes to cars, ironically the Japanese brands often produce more U.S. jobs than their American counterparts. Bicycles I'm still figuring it out. Twelve years ago it was not a problem buying a U.S. made bike, now for the most part you are over 2k for a road bike and 5k for a mountain bike.
 
#99 ·
Yes both are true and NC still has some of the old South about it, but it is changing fast. Some rust belt states like Pa where I live are working hard to change. California is just a mess. When I grew up there it was the third largest economy in the world and had a surplus budget. Now look at it. High unemployment and deficits for as far as the eye can see. It's all but officially bankrupt and the citizens voted to drive the wealthy out. Many of the state's most successful will leave when the new taxes on the wealthier kick in. What a mess.
 
#100 ·
You'd think Cane Creek could still make headsets in NC given the superior labor environment - last one I got was Asia of course.

California has been going down the tubes for 40 years; yet we still invent everything that matters (iPhones and mountain biking come to mind) ... and that's what will move the state forward - not low wage manufacturing jobs. California is a boom and bust state like no other - oddly silicon valley companies are hiring again and we're leading the housing recovery.

Now to the question that really matters ... do we mountain bike, surf or ski the day after turkey day?
 
#101 ·
Manufacturing jobs are high wage and innovators will stop coming to California for a greener business pastures. I would remind you that Michigan at one time was the hub of technology and manufacturing, look at it now. California is headed down a worse path. It's already happening. You can rationalize NC any way you want but the facts are they survived the recession rather well.

California invented a lot of things, my generation lays claim to a good chunk of it, but what has happened out there recently? Not a whole lot. The last great thing to come out of silicon valley was the ipad. Jobs is dead and now Apple starts its slow decline to mediocrity as has been the case with most valley companies when their driving visionary is gone. I love California, it's just not the land to prosper it was only a few years ago and I don't see it happening again. The citizens are busy building a welfare state instead of figuring out how to maintain prosperity. I know I'm not going back because they want too much of my family's hard earned money, I think this is true for a lot of people. And I don't think prosperity will head back to the state until they figure out how to manufacture in the state profitably again. I am not aware of a broad robust economic recovery where manufacturing did not drive it, excepting a few exploitations of natural resources. Something you can't do in California either.
 
#102 ·
Manufacturing jobs are high wage and innovators will stop coming to California for a greener business pastures. I would remind you that Michigan at one time was the hub of technology and manufacturing, look at it now. California is headed down a worse path. It's already happening. You can rationalize NC any way you want but the facts are they survived the recession rather well.

California invented a lot of things, my generation lays claim to a good chunk of it, but what has happened out there recently? Not a whole lot. The last great thing to come out of silicon valley was the ipad. Jobs is dead and now Apple starts its slow decline to mediocrity as has been the case with most valley companies when their driving visionary is gone. I love California, it's just not the land to prosper it was only a few years ago and I don't see it happening again. The citizens are busy building a welfare state instead of figuring out how to maintain prosperity. I know I'm not going back because they want too much of my family's hard earned money, I think this is true for a lot of people. And I don't think prosperity will head back to the state until they figure out how to manufacture in the state profitably again. I am not aware of a broad robust economic recovery where manufacturing did not drive it, excepting a few exploitations of natural resources. Something you can't do in California either.
I think your thinking is stuck in the 1950s - California's last couple booms were not lead by manufacturing. Michigan never had a diversifed economy - California does. Manufacturing jobs are low wage compared to tech jobs - innovation is where California still leads. Globalization will always force companies to cheaper countries to produce goods (see Cane Creek example) - some jobs are already leaving China.

The CEOs of Silicon Valley (at least the ones I've talked too) plan to stay because they just can't get skilled workers in other states and frankly the CEOs want to live in the Bay Area.

As a 4th generation native, I would be happy to see more people leave at any rate.
 
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