For better or worse, I often read the comments. I also have a lot of conversations with a lot of people about bikes. Not only is it the nature of my job but it’s something I love to talk about. As I’ve read those comments, and had those discussions, over the years I’ve seen a trend of discounting the quality of bikes from certain parts of the world. Typically I brush past it or I respond in subtle ways that change the conversation a little. Recently though I had someone comment on an Instagram discussion saying “that’s just another plastic bike from China” and I decided it was time to stop and address this issue.
Often we take ideas as fact without wondering where they come from or why. Do you believe that bikes made in Italy or the US are better than those made in Asia? Have you ever considered why you hold that belief? Is it actually true or are the best bikes in the world made elsewhere?
Where are bikes made and why?
The bike brands that our global team tends to cover overwhelmingly come from Western Europe or the US. However, the bikes that those brands actually sell overwhelmingly come from (or, at least, are manufactured in) East Asia. In fact, since the late ’80s, East Asia was even an unnecessarily broad statement. According to Business Wire, as of 2020, nearly “70% of the global mid-to-high-end” bicycle manufacturing took place in Taiwan.
That seems to be shifting a bit though. When discussing it with Adam Miller, owner of Revel Bikes, he described it by saying “Taiwan has the ability to produce excellent carbon bikes, but as costs have increased in Taiwan, the vast majority of carbon bikes are actually manufactured in mainland China or Vietnam, with many of these manufacturing facilities having their headquarters or sales office in Taiwan.”
The reasons why East Asia originally became the bike capital of the world are less clear. Cjell Monē, owner of MONē bikes and a man with some expertise in getting bikes produced around the world, has some quotes out there discussing it in terms of shifting exchange rates between the US and Japan. Most people I talked to were less clear. Instead what I heard far more often was similar to what Simon Whiten, owner of UK-based Handsling Bikes, had to say when he matter-of-factly stated “most US and Italian brands manufacturing in carbon are made in China or Taiwan.”
Ultimately, the specific reasons why aren’t that important. What’s important is that it’s happening now. It’s also important…
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