[Closed] what "mainstream" company still makes bikes outside of the far east?

Are those really that "mainstream", though? Nicolai, for example. Mainstream? Really?

Santa Cruz are made in Taiwan and China, add Rocky Mountain to this list....

Well niclaï is imported in several countries, have a few models covering most of mtbing practices.

Aren't santacruz made in the US then?
And I know entry and mid range rocky are made in the far east, but AFAIK the RMX is still made in BC, or am I wrong?

Morewood? Still handmade in South Africa I think.

Most Oranges are made in the far east, if that matters.

TBH the far east has some of the best welders in the world, so I have no problems what so ever with it

Only the 'folded' oranges are made in halifax.
Santa Cruz used to to make the VPP bikes in the US but its all Taiwan now.
Turner,Ellsworth and Titus are made in the US but with Sapa closing their bike arm (they produce the vast majority of US made frames) a few other will go east aswell.
Cove are made in Canadia.

tazzymtb I have no problem with far east bike and never said I had, just being curious 😉

Trek still make the high end carbon bikes in the US.

Brompton and Pashley - made in England.

Nicolai make about 2000 frames a year; hope that doesn't make them mainstream!

Devinci are probably the biggest manufacturer still making in their home country of Canada.

Time and Look still made in France. Quite a few other higher end (not mainstream probably) road bikes too.

geetee1972 - Member

Nicolai make about 2000 frames a year; hope that doesn't make them mainstream!

Pretty mainstream in the SE of the UK though! 😉

None of those braynds are 'mainstream'.

Most of them are grossly overpriced in genuine comparison to just as good Far Eastern stuff.

Some of them aren't as good as Far Eastern made bikes.

Raleigh? It's been a while since they were so mainstream that every kid in Britain had a Grifter, Chopper or Burner, but don't they still make road bikes and have a factory in Nottingham?

Moulton?

Raliegh have a warehouse in Nottingham (just off Church St, Eastwood), but haven't manufactures bikes there for a long while.

Time and Look still made in France

Look made in Tunisia IIRC.

Andy

Yep as Shaggy says, OCLV Treks are still made in Wisconsin.

I'd say theyre the only mainstream brand mentioned! You'll upset a lot of people by suggesting those others are mainstream!

I'd say theyre the only mainstream brand mentioned! You'll upset a lot of people by suggesting those others are mainstream!

Exactly!

Pretty mainstream in the SE of the UK though!

Exactly!

Accrington Stanley....Who are they?

I have a 2012 OCLV Remedy 9.8 and it had a made in Taiwan sticker on it. It does have "designed in Wisconsin" on it though.

BMC carbon frames, Swiss made, Swiss prices

Orbea - made in thpain no? 😐

the carbon frames at least?

why are people bothered? Taiwan is the centre of the bike industry in terms of manufacture - because they are good at it...

though bet the profits stay more with the designers in their own countries... though

I have a 2012 OCLV Remedy 9.8 and it had a made in Taiwan sticker on it. It does have "designed in Wisconsin" on it though.

That's interesting, perhaps even they have changed now then. They were pretty open about the fact the Taiwanese really were no worse than the US, it was purely a status thing that some idiots care about!

Ah well Trek have changed their naming conventions - it's all OCLV now! Madone 3 series use OCLV 300 then goes up to OCLV 700. I think both OCLV 600 and 700 bikes are made in Waterloo.

colnago still make the master in Italy.
Time are still handmade in France.

Peoples Definition of "mainstream" seems a bit off TBH.

Brands like Trek, Giant, Specialized, Boardman, GT, Kona, etc probably qualify.
I reckon a "mainstream" bike company should have at least 3 complete bikes under £600 in their range these days (feel free to disagree).

Of those listed so far it appears the only frames made on home turf tend to be the not so mainstream higher price point fancy bollocks ones.

Western manufacturing is generally too expensive for most westerners to want to pay for it... discuss?

Santa Cruz frames are made in the far east, but are finished off (hardware, paint, decals) local to Santa Cruz, California

I reckon a "mainstream" bike company should have at least 3 complete bikes under £600 in their range these days (feel free to disagree).

Well it's about sales volume not price IMO.

Well it's about sales volume not price IMO.

+1, although they'll generally go hand in hand.

Ah well Trek have changed their naming conventions - it's all OCLV now! Madone 3 series use OCLV 300 then goes up to OCLV 700. I think both OCLV 600 and 700 bikes are made in Waterloo.

I'd have expected a Remedy 9.8 to be one of the top ones though.

why are people bothered? Taiwan is the centre of the bike industry in terms of manufacture - because they are good at it...

though bet the profits stay more with the designers in their own countries... though

Well it's about sales volume not price IMO.

Indeed that's where the "Stack em high sell em cheap" model comes into play, what sort of Volume of sales do Trek see for £3k+ MAMIL machines Vs £300 commuters?

Doesn't most of their turnover comes from the cheaper end of the range?

Companies like Santa Cruz don't really operate in that cost driven market, or in high volumes, and as such they can't really be called mainstream...

It's a bit like comparing Ford with Ferrari:
Yes they both make cars, both invest in motorsport, ford even make a model or two in a similar price range to some Ferraris but I doubt you'd ever call Ferrari a "mainstream" car manufacturer....

*All IMO of course...

Yeah but I'm sure we could naem a few niche low price manufacturers - are they mainsteam?

Where are Cannondale made these days?

Bianchi and look?

Niche - low price?

It's all relative, I guess that covers your DMRs and On-Ones doesn't it, only they don't really do complete builds in the same price range that "Mr Average" would be willing to pay do they?

Not mainstream, more targeted at a very specific minority, people who are seriously into certain types of cycling but not looking to spend the huge sums normally associated with the sport, but still willing to spend a bit more than most people would on a push bike...

Like mudshark said it's about sales volumes, but that is tied up with finding the biggest market and hitting the price they are willing to pay, and the STW concept of the "mainsteam" or "average" bicycle purchaser is a good £400+ over the mark... We're talking "BSO" territory.

If it helps, I have a Marin frame that's designed in the UK for an American company, built in Taiwan using imported aluminium which probably originates from Australia or China. The forks were assembled in Germany, the rims are French made, the brakes/hubs/headset in Barnoldswick, the gears from Japan/Taiwan and the rear shock from the US. It's all globalisation innnit.

Let's not forget that a £2.5k Marin full suss is hardly mainstream when you consider that the majority of bikes sold in the UK are BSO types.

[edit] By "mainstream", most of the people who consult my advice on bike buying tend to have a budget limit of £250...

Where are Cannondale made these days?

At the time there was much gnashing of teeth on places like mtbreview on the loss of American manufacturing - I recall there was a thread like this on mtbr that was pretty comprehensive as to who was left welding frames in the West. Very few bigger-than-boutique operations left doing this. Surprised to see Turner still fabricate in the States tbh.

Divinci have sold over 6,000 bikes in London alone in the last 18 months, all made in Canada.

Do Devinci sell a fixie then?

I bought a 2009 cannondale Rush, with its 'made in USA' badge proudly stuck on the seat tube.

It was a pile of crap. Finishing was apalling, rivnuts for the bottle cages fell out and rattled round the frame, paint chipped quickly round the dropouts, bad paint everywhere else. And the brazing round the joins had been ground down badly. pretty bad for a 2 grand bike. It rode nice though..

We got the newer ones in and they look MUCH better quality....

Do Devinci sell a fixie then?

My 2004 Bianchi SL3 was made in Italy, but they may have moved by now.

Bianchi and look?

Bianchi are made in Taiwan apart from a few of the top end ones I think, and I'd expect Look to be the same.

I'd be very surprised if DeVinci had sold 6000 bikes in the whole of the UK, let alone London.

Look alloy frames are made in Taiwan, and the carbon frames are made in Look's own factory in Tunisia but are then finished in their factory in France.

I'd be very surprised if DeVinci had sold 6000 bikes in the whole of the UK, let alone London.

The temptation to spoil Phil56's fun is immense.

The cobbled streets of Tower Hamlets are pretty hard core...

Talking of which, I keep seeing a guy on a green Orange 5/Alpine or whatever, charging around in full facer and armour in that area. He looks to be having fun though..

The temptation to spoil Phil56's fun is immense.

I'm clearly missing sommat 😕

Don't Colnago still make some in Italy? Weren't Pinarello making the Dogma still as well? Certainly debateable again though!

Viner make most of their stuff in Italy. A couple of entry levels are banged out from Taiwan.

Divinci have sold over 6,000 bikes in London alone in the last 18 months, all made in Canada.

Don't forget, that was just one model too...

thought yeti were still built in colorado (but would have expected an owner to pipe up by now)?

I bought a 2009 cannondale Rush, with its 'made in USA' badge proudly stuck on the seat tube.

my Orbea road bike has a sticker saying "made in spain" on it. The frame is built in the FE, but as its assembled/painted/stickered in spain that apparently counts as made. No doubt the same for the C'dale.

Good article about Devinci in last month's Dirt.

The Devinci factory is in the same town as the Alcan factory and the frame tubes are literally made on their doorstep out of Brazilian ore.

The tubes get sent to Taiwan for hydroforming before coming back to Canada to be made into bikes.

My understanding is that to qualify for being 'made in' the country has to add 40% of the bike's final value so a raw £25 frameset from Taiwan that gets painted and stickered up in Spain before being assembled in the USA can qualify as being 'Made In The USA'

Mmmm, regards Cannondale, we were always told by Cannondale themselves they were made (above a certain RRP) in USA, from scratch, and from 2010 it ALL went to Far east.

I've got no problem with the far eastern products, Taiwanese made bikes are excellent. I do have a problem with the misleading stickers some companies stick on stuff.

I sold a Brompton once, the shop always used the fact they are made in blighty as a sales tool. I sold a Brompton luggage bag with it. A few days later, the customer demanded a refund for the bag as she'd found out online that it is made overseas, by child labour (!).

If its not made in Britain its foreign. I don't care if the guy who makes it speaks Chinese or American English.

Just because its made in the far east doesn't make it substandard.

I know Trek used to make all the top bikes in house, perhaps the global recession or numbers they are selling has made them have a re-think? I'm not sure regarding the Madone or the road OCLV and its ratings as I don't ride it, but maybe they thought they couldn't have Lance etc competing on a Taiwanese bike. My Remedy is OCLV 'mountain' which is meant to be the strongest carbon Trek use. The 9.9 Remedy has the same main triangle and seat stays as my 9.8, so I assume that's a Taiwanese bike too and it's £6.5k. For me personally, it could be made on the moon as long as it rides well.

I know Trek used to make all the top bikes in house, perhaps the global recession or numbers they are selling has made them have a re-think?

There was a thing in the last-but-one issue of Rouleur about how they still make all the top end bikes in Wisconsin.

Andy

But a 2012 Remedy 9.8 up there somewhere had a made in Taiwan sticker on it.

I'm fairly sure my 2011 Top Fuel 9.9 says 'made in the USA' somewhere, but I've never really looked. I really don't care, and worry about anyone who does!

But a 2012 Remedy 9.8 up there somewhere had a made in Taiwan sticker on it.

Yep, mine. Maybe a Remedy 9.8 just isn't considered top end anymore?

I'll have a look around next time I visit my Trek concept store. Like I mentioned earlier, it does have “[i]Designed[/i] in Waterloo, Wisconsin, USA” sprayed on the frame where the reverb stealth routing exits near the BB. The “[i]Made[/i] in Taiwan” was a sticker on the headtube.

Just did a quick search on it and apparently the Top Fuel 9.9, Session 9.9 and Madone 6 are the only OCLV bikes being made in WI now.

Quite a few o the Trek road bikes are still made in the US. Can't remember which mountain bikes still are but I thought all the Top Fuels were offshore now. SF100 is still made in the US.

njee20 - Member

Don't Colnago still make some in Italy? Weren't Pinarello making the Dogma still as well? Certainly debateable again though!

top end Colnago's are still constructed in Italy.

Dogma's made in far east.

Thought it was just OCLV red now made in USA.

You can get both Pinarello and Cervelo straight from the 'back door' of the taiwanese/chinese factory now for about 1/3rd of the rrp.

Islabikes made in Vietnam. Don't know why I felt the need to mention that. 😐

You can get both Pinarello and Cervelo straight from the 'back door' of the taiwanese/chinese factory now for about 1/3rd of the rrp.

You can get copies - I really rate eBay frames, and would buy another one in a heartbeat, but don't think that a Chinarello really is a Dogma that someone's snuck out the back door!

just to be clear with the usual moron who pops in here shouting 'bike made in the FE are good bike'. Yes I know they are, I actually own 4 of them. Plus I never said they are crap bla bla bla bla. I am just being curious, you know just for the sake of it...

My islabike was built just off the Halesowen Road, Old Hill.
My Merlin was built in Tennessee, and my Dawes tandem
In the UK.

My islabike was [i]built[/i] just off the Halesowen Road, Old Hill.

Did they used to make the frames there? nowadays, the main parts (frame) are manufactured in Vietnam. Not to say that bikes made in Vietnam aren't as high quality as bikes made anywhere else in the world.

Just did a quick search on it and apparently the Top Fuel 9.9, Session 9.9 and Madone 6 are the only OCLV bikes being made in WI now

That's interesting, as said, I thought the 9.8s would have been as well. Thought my TF9.9 said it was made in the US!

So in answer to your question Juan... none of 'em! 🙂

My winter commuting bike's a Focus, which has a "made in Germany" sticker on the frame. I'd say they count as mainstream, although I think only Wiggle sell them in the UK.
The other "mainstream" bikes in our collection are a Thorn tandem, two Konas and an Islabike - all far-eastern-made frames AFAIK.
My other frame is a Mercian, obviously British-made, but not mainstream.

So in answer to your question Juan... none of 'em

The tubes get sent to Taiwan for hydroforming before coming back to Canada to be made into bikes.

What a waste of time and money! They send them half way around the world, to undergo a process that does nothing but add cost and make it look pretty, only to have it sent all the way back again.

Why oh why do we have to have stupid shaped tubes on our bikes when a straight one is stronger and lighter?

Speaking to Steve Wade about this over the summer and he was shaking his head at the stupidity of having to DOUBLE the weight of the Orange Five's top tube, just so it could have a kink in it that barely made any difference to the stand over height.

Frames could always be made in USA, UK etc. whilst it was just a case of welding a couple of tubes together.

Now the trend is to carbon more any more is probably going to the Far East.

What a waste of time and money! They send them half way around the world, to undergo a process that does nothing but add cost and make it look pretty, only to have it sent all the way back again.

Why oh why do we have to have stupid shaped tubes on our bikes when a straight one is stronger and lighter?

Speaking to Steve Wade about this over the summer and he was shaking his head at the stupidity of having to DOUBLE the weight of the Orange Five's top tube, just so it could have a kink in it that barely made any difference to the stand over height.

@geetee1972

the Devinci's are not hydroformed for any visual aesthetic or to put a unnecessary kink in the top tube..

when you actually look at why they bother sending their locally drawn tubeset 1/2 way around the world, its to have the wall thicknesses and shapes manipulated to give a definite mechanical advantage

I ride a Devinci Dixon SP - the down tube is actually a complex piece of manufacturing with a very thick base which resists rock strikes and impacts (I have a huge carharrt sticker on this surface which is covered in the evidence of numerour rock strikes), very thin side walls and a reasonably thick top surface, and a complex three dimensional shape to offer maximum support to head tube and bottom bracket, and resist bending from the lower shock mount

lots of companies (including Specialized and Norco) went MAD with their hydroforming, but Devinci have always been a "sensible" i.e. boring (french canadian) company and only bother to do things for specific reasons, rather than visual fashion

Talking about bikes what about shocks? Wasn't Fox once French i think nearly all shocks are now made in Taiwan.

Not mainstream but CIOCC make there frames in Italy still.
My 80's Raleigh Burner was definitely made in the uk.

Robnorth see other posts for what constitutes "made". You don't think your focus frame was welded in Germany do you?