At 9:37 PM -0400 8/28/02, Wdgadd@aol.com wrote:
> I've been wondering how Specialites T.A. manages to survive. Just about
>no OEM market and who else buys a T.A. crank these days, save for Rivendell
>members and folks like me who seek the stuff out.
Wes, you like most list members and Americans for that matter aren't looking outside of your boarders too far. The only places outside of the US I can really speak about are Europe and Japan but in those place cycling is much larger than in the US. I think when Americans think about cycling in Japan it's the a bunch of folks in suits riding 3-speeds and folding bikes to work. Or we think about the collectors and wether the bikes are being ridden or not. . . .most are. Professional track racing is the number one betting sport in Japan and local weekend road and MTB racing is everywhere. It is a culture where cycling is everywhere.
In Europe it's very similar if not more so. In France alone I'd bet
there are more serious cyclists than on the entire Eastern seaboard
of the US. Everybody on the list is well familiar with some of the
racing history in Europe. Cycling is part of life and something that
just exists like baseball in the US. Whenever I'm over there I see
people regular folks throwing some one speed with rattling fenders
through some corner deeper and faster than any Cat.2 here. Where am
I going here you're starting to wonder, well. . . . . along with a
vast history of cycling there is also a vast market. The numbers of
bike parts sold in the US pales in comparison to the numbers sold in
Europe. I haven't seen the official industry numbers for a few
years, but the divide was even larger during the "classic" period.
enjoy,
Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
SB, CA
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did something everything would get done."
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