> Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 18:25:32 -0700
> From: Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]MAVIC / OMAS / SR cranks
>
> How about this!
>
> Grant McLean e-mailed me saying that he thought there was a photo of the
> cranks being machined in one of Mavic catalogs from the 1980s.
>
> I cracked open my copy of MAVIC, A Brief History of MAVIC Bicycle
> Components (422 pages, covers Mavic components from 1977 through 1995,
> available from http://www.vel-retro.com ;) and there it was in the Mavic
> catalog for 1988-89, pg 27, full page color. Pictured is a mill that's
> machining the edge of a crank forging.
>
> My best guess is that Mavic bought the crank forgings from Sakae Ringyo
> (SR) and did their own finished machining?
>
> Anyone?
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> South Pasadena, Pacific Rim
>
Chuck:
As a nerd Engineer, I can tell you that scenario makes a TON of sense - I once worked for a Japanese Manufacturer that often bought their forgings from Forging Specialists, and machined them here in the US into the final product - there is a lot of value-added work (and control of part quality) in all that machining, and too much investment required to do forgings, unless the volume is high enough (like hundreds of thousands per year...).
Regards,
Greg Parker
Ann Arbor, MI USA