snipped: "A rider use to be able to say a Raleigh came from England, Peugeot from France, and Bianchi came from Italy, but this is no more... There no longer seems to be a national pride in the which countries stand behind what bike products or brands."
why does this matter? i say national pride can take take a back seat to global pride any day of the week as long as no one is hurt or tortured making these bicycles. otoh, if asian production of generic frames is going to lead to a nike- like "sweatshop" story by geraldo, then i respectfully recant my opinion. e-RICHIE chester, ct
********* "Steve Neago" <questor@cinci.rr.com> writes: Unfortunately, marketing hype over aluminum & carbon frames has exceeded common sense over how much these materials actually benefit riders and how quickly they actually wear out. Steel is real and will last far longer than carbon or aluminum under similar conditions.
In today's over-commercialized US economy, quality names such as high-end Raleighs and Masis have gotten to be commodities in the USA market. Perhaps we can all blame this on mass merchandising techniques from companies such as Wal-mart and customers who have ignored local bike shops that are shrinking in number across the USA. (Please see my earlier CR archive posts on how Wal-mart low end bike needs killed Raleigh sales through Huffy in the 1980s).
Quality craftsmanship has changed to mechanized profit and maximum throughput in bike factories. A rider use to be able to say a Raleigh came from England, Peugeot from France, and Bianchi came from Italy, but this is no more... There no longer seems to be a national pride in the which countries stand behind what bike products or brands. This is a direct consequence of a world economy where price and cost dictate production and availability over workmanship.
Regards, Steve Neago
Cincinnati, OH