I know it can be hard to explain why something does not exist, but I was suddenly struck by the lack of a German presence in our hobby. The CR website lists bicycle manufacturers by country, and the differences are startling
The Britsh Isles: 88 Italy: 53 France: 33 Germany: 6
Germany industrialized around the same time as the rest of Western Europe. Why didn't Germany develop a bicycle industry like England, France and Italy? One might argue that after WWII and the partition into East and West, West Germany concentrated on other industrial products e.g. cars, and appliances, Yet England, France and Italy all produced cars, appliances, AND bicycles after the war. [insert joke about relative quality of German, British, French and Italian cars and appliances] So what gives?
Best regards,
Marcus Helman
Huntington Woods, MI