The information contained in this report comes primarily from Bicycle
Retailer and Industry News’ Factory and Suppliers Guide, published
annually in October. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is the
definitive trade publication in the bicycle industry. Other sources of
information include trade show and factory visits, technical writers in
the cycling media, and bicycle company employees who wish to remain
anonymous.

The big picture is pretty clear: around 95% of the bikes sold in the U.S. are made in China or Taiwan by a handful of manufacturers of which Giant is the largest.

Generally speaking, low to mid level bikes are made in China and mid to high level bikes are made in Taiwan.
The exception is carbon; many manufacturers use Chinese manufacturers
to make their carbon frames – even their high-end racing frames.

When
it comes to knowing where your bike is made, shouldn’t it be as easy as
looking at the sticker on your bike or what is printed on the box in
which your bike came? After all, how confusing can a label that says
“Made in the USA” or “Made in France” or “Made in Italy” be?

Well
– in a word – very. It is very confusing because your definition of
“made in” is different from the bike industry’s definition.

A typical rule of thumb is that the country claiming origin has to add 60% or more of the value of the final product.

For example, you and I can import an unpainted carbon fiber racing frame from China to Spain which will ultimately retail for $4,000 with Shimano components in the United States.

The
frame and fork may only cost $200 from the Chinese manufacturer. In
Spain, we will paint, decal, assemble, and box the bike for shipping to
the U.S.

Our cost to paint, decal, assemble, and box might be $300 and the cost of the components might be another $800. 

So is this bike “Made in China” or “Made in Spain?” According to the bike industry’s definition, the bike is made in Spain. The sticker will say “Made in Spain” as will the shipping box to the United States because over 60% of the value will be added in Spain.

Let’s
say we take the same frame and have the Chinese manufacturer paint it,
decal it, assemble it into a bicycle, and ship it to Spain. When we ship it to the United States, the label will have to say “Made in China.”

Perhaps
the best way to eliminate the confusion is for the bicycle industry to
follow the lead of the automobile industry and tell the end consumer
the countries of origin of all aspects of the bicycle.

After
all, if you are led to believe by a bunch of marketing people that your
bike was handmade in Spain when it was actually mass-produced in a
Chinese factory, would you buy that bike? Maybe – but you wouldn’t pay
a premium for it.

With these things in mind, here is an
alphabetical brand by brand run down of some key bike brands sold in
the U.S. along with a few bits of trivia.

Bianchi
- As I was writing this, it occurred to me that Bianchi and Schwinn
have remarkably similar histories. Both were turn-of-the-century
family-owned companies, manufactured their own bicycles, were popular
brands in their respective countries, fell upon hard times, were
eventually sold, moved substantially all of their production to Asia,
and have seen a resurgence in the past few years under new owners!

In 1996, Bianchi was sold to a Swedish conglomerate (now known as Cycleurope¹) whereas Schwinn went through several owners before winding up with Pacific in 2001.²

Under Cycleurope, which owns 11 bicycle brands,³
much of the bicycle production shifted from Italy to Asia, with the
exception of some final bicycle assembly (i.e., Asian frames assembled
into complete bicycles) and limited high-end production.

Let me take a minute and address Reparto Corse bicycles, because their "Made in Italy" sticker is a source of confusion.

The
historic Treviglio factory – a monstrosity of a thing which used to
house much of Bianchi’s manufacturing before it shifted to Asia - has a
section dedicated to Reparto Corse. It used to be that Reparto Corse
(RC) meant the race department where high-end bikes were made. Now it
is used as sort of a branding logo to identify the upper-end bikes that
get the RC design and marketing treatment.

Many of the RC bikes
have a "Made in Italy" sticker, which usually means assembled in Italy
using a frame made in Asia. For example, the carbon RC frames are
made by Advanced International Multitech (a Taiwanese carbon
manufacturer of bike parts, baseball bats, golf shafts, arrows, fishing
poles, etc.) and the aluminum frames are made by Taiwan Hodaka.

There
are some frames still welded at Treviglio. My understanding is that the
aluminum frames with carbon rears are either welded there or, at least,
bonded there. I also understand that the frames with foam injection
have the injection process completed there, even if the frames come
from Asia.

Although Taiwan Hodaka manufacturers many of Bianchi’s U.S. models, Fairly and Giant have manufactured for Bianchi in the past. 

Cannondale
- Aluminum Cannondales are made in the U.S. Cannondale, which was owned
by founder Joe Montgomery and his son Scott. Cannondale is now owned by
its key investment fund after experiencing financial problems.
Cannondale’s market share appears to have diminished but stabilized.

According
to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News in June 2007, low-end Cannondales
are made in Taiwan – probably by Fritz-jou. Others are welded and
painted in Taiwan then sent to the US for assembly. The Synapse is made
by Top Key.

In February 2008, Dorel Industries announced the
acquisition of Cannondale and Sugoi clothing in an all-cash transaction
of $190 million to $200 million. Dorel purchased Pacific Cycle
(Schwinn, Mongoose, and GT Bicycle brands) in 2004.

Cervelo – Cervelo is a Canadian company. Bikes are made in Asia and assembled in Canada.

Colnago is,
perhaps, the most coveted of all professional-quality bicycle brands -
just look at the pages of VeloNews or Pro Cycling and see how many
professional riders race on Colnagos!

Frames are still
hand-made in Italy, except for three entry level aluminum models made
in Taiwan (probably by Giant) and the carbon CLX, which is also made in
Taiwan.⁴

De Rosa - De Rosa is an
Italian company that is one of the Italian "big three" that includes
Colnago and Pinarello. Ugo De Rosa, along with his sons, have been
building bikes for over 50 years. As far as I know, all bikes are made
in Italy.

Ducati – Bianchi has announced a
licensing agreement with Ducati to produce a line of bikes with the
Ducati name. It is my understanding that the frames will be sourced
from Asia with the final assembly at Treviglio.

Felt – Felt was started by motocross guru Jim Felt. All production comes from Asia.

Fisher
- Gary Fisher is the "godfather" of mountain bikes. After struggling
with his own bicycle company, he sold his brand to Trek Bicycle
Company. Still involved in designing and marketing his brand, Gary is a
popular figure at bicycle industry events. He’s sort of a cult figure
with an unmatched sense of fashion! Fisher bikes are made in Asia,
except for the full-suspension rigs (which are made in Wisconsin).

Fuji
- Fuji is now owned by Ideal, who manufacturers most of their bikes.
Ideal is one of the key Taiwanese manufacturers along with Giant and
Merida. Ideal also manufactures for other brands. Topkey
of China manufacturers Fuji’s carbon frames. 

Giant
- You may have ridden a bicycle made by Giant without knowing it! Giant
is the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan,
China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972,
manufacturers their own bikes – including the carbon bikes, which is
unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other
manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).

In addition to
making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many
other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and
Bianchi. Giant’s claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated
and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.

A bit of trivia is that Giant owns 30% of Hodaka, a key Taiwanese supplier for many brands such as Bianchi.⁵

Giant also sponsors the T-Mobile professional cycling team.

Haro
- a California BMX company started in 1977 by Bob Haro. All production
comes from Asia. Haro owns the Masi brand. Kenstone, with factories in
Tawan and China, is a key supplier. 

Jamis -
Jamis is the house brand of G. Joannou Cycle, a long-time distributor
of bicycles and accessories. The bicycles are designed in the U.S. and
sourced from Asia.

Kestrel – Kestrel, an early
pioneer in carbon frames, introduced the first production non-lugged
carbon frame in 1986. Originally, frames were manufactured in
California. In recent years, production shifted to Asia. The frames
appear to be made by Martec.

Kona – a
California company with all production from Asia. Kona, founded in
1988, is a very small company similar in size to Marin. Fairly and
Hodaka in Taiwan are key suppliers.

Kuota -
Kuota frames are made in Taiwan by Martec, the same manufacturer that
makes Kestrel frames. Kuota is a creation of Sintema, an Italian
manufacturer of components. Basically, they designed the frames, had
the frames manufactured in Taiwan, and marketed the brand heavily in
the U.S., Western Europe, and Australia. Kuota has been a successful
brand launch in a very short period of time.

LeMond
- Greg LeMond is the first American to win the Tour de France, winning
in 1986, 1989, and 1990. LeMond also won three World Championships and
the Tour DuPont. His career was cut short by lead poisoning from a
hunting accident. LeMond’s early bikes were made by Roberto Bilatto in
Italy and distributed by a now-defunct company named Ten Speed Drive
Imports. The Bilatto-made frames are somewhat collectible.

After an attempt to have an independent bike company, LeMond licensed his brand to Trek Bicycle Company.⁶
Trek now designs and markets his bikes, which are made in Asia except
for the spine bikes featuring OCLV carbon (which are made in Wisconsin).

A
bit of LeMond trivia is that he helped develop the first aerobar with
Scott and used it in his amazing come-from-behind victory in the 1989
Tour de France.⁷

Litespeed -
Starting in the 1980′s, Litespeed was a pioneer in titanium frame
building. As their reputation grew, a steady stream of cycling legends
came to Litespeed for their titanium expertise. For many years,
Litespeed built frames for famous brands such as DeRosa, Merckx, Basso,
LeMond, Tommassini, and others.⁸

Litespeed was, for a
period of time, the largest manufacturer of high-end bicycles in the
world. All bikes, including the Merlin brand that they own, are made in
Tennessee except for the carbon Pavia (which has been discontinued).
The Quintana Roo brand is also owned by Litespeed but is made in Asia.

Look – Look is a French company with frames made in France and Asia. Look is also a leading pedal brand.

Marin
- a California company with production from Asia, except for a handful
of high-end models. Marin is a very small company similar in size to
Kona. Key Asian suppliers are A-Pro, Fairly, and Sunrise.

Masi
- Faliero Masi was, in my opinion, the "grandfather" of all Italian
frame builders, serving as inspiration to famous frame builders like
Ernesto Colnago. Faliero sold his company to Americans in the early
70′s. Since then, the brand has had several owners including Schwinn!
At present, the Masi brand is owned by Haro (the California BMX company)⁹ and the bikes are made in Asia.

One
of my favorite frames was a made-in-Italy Nuovo Strada that I bought
from Cumberland Transit in the 80′s. Unfortunately, it was stolen in
the 90′s!

Merlin – see Litespeed.

Olmo
- Olmo is a prominent brand in Italy. Traditionally, Olmo has been made
in Italy. I don’t have any information on whether any models are made
in Asia.

Orbea – Orbea is one of the two
large Spanish bicycle manufacturers. It is sort of like Spain’s version
of Trek or Schwinn. Bikes are produced in Spain and Asia. High-end
carbon frames are made in Asia and "finished" (i.e., painted) in Spain.

From Bicycle Retailer and Industry News:

Orbea builds
aluminum frames in-house. Carbon fiber frame production, which accounts
for half of its road bikes, up from 20 percent just three years ago, is
outsourced to such Chinese specialists as Martec.

But unlike
many bike makers who are content to tweak stock factory frames, Orbea
does all of its carbon fiber frame design, engineering and prototyping
in-house. It builds its own molds for new frames and assembles several
dozen prototypes before handing off manufacturing instructions to China.

"We
need to keep and develop our own knowledge of composites and carbon
fiber, and then to find someone who can work with us to build what we
want them to build," Joseba Arizaga (Orbea’s marketing manager) said.
"We make the molds, the first frames, everything here in Orbea. Then,
when we are ready to do mass production, we send the instructions to
Asia." ¹¹

Pinarello – This Italian
company has been producing world-class frames since the 1950′s.
Pinarello – along with Colnago and DeRosa – is one of the Italian "big
three." You can visit their website, pinarello.com, for a nice history
of the company.

Some frames are now made in Taiwan, including
the aluminum Galileo. I haven’t been able to confirm this, but
apparently the carbon frames are made in Asia then shipped to Italy for
painting and assembly.

Schwinn – Schwinn was for many years the largest American brand. All bicycles were made domestically until the late 80′s.

In 1985, Schwinn management called mountain bikes a "fad" – oops.¹²
After two bankruptcies, Schwinn is now owned by Pacific, who also owns
GT, Mongoose, and the Pacific (and some other brands). Pacific is
headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Under Pacific’s
ownership, the Schwinn brand is returning to prominence. Pacific sells
more bicycles than any other brand in North America. However, that
includes Pacific brands sold at WalMart, Target, etc.¹³

The bikes sold in the U.S. are made in Asia, many by Giant.

Scott USA -
Scott got its start in Sun Valley, Idaho, when Ed Scott developed the
first aluminum ski pole in 1958. In the 80′s, Scott developed a bike
line.

Eventually, Scott pulled out of the U.S. market and focused on Europe, where Scott is headquartered.¹⁴

After
an absence of several years, Scott has returned to the U.S. market
under the direction of Scott Montgomery of Cannondale fame. Although
the company is headquartered in Switzerland, production comes from
Asia, with key suppliers being Hodaka and Giant.

Serotta
- Serotta is a U.S. manufacturer of high-end bicycles. It competes with
Seven and Waterford and is of similar size to Waterford.

Seven – Seven is America’s number one custom bicycle brand. Seven Cycles was founded by Rob Vandermark in early 1997.

Rob,
previously head of R&D at Merlin Metalworks, decided to branch out
on his own and develop a company to build high-end titanium and steel
frames. He also wanted to offer the rider custom geometry, without
extra charges and long lead times. So Rob assembled a team of
experienced craftspeople who all shared a common goal: To build the
highest quality, most innovative frames, and therefore provide the
cyclist with the best riding experience possible.

All bikes are hand-made in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Specialized
- Started in 1974 by Mike Sinyard, Specialized has enjoyed a
long-standing reputation for being a leading bicycle design and
marketing company.

Several years ago, Merida (a Taiwanese
manufacturer) bought a substantial interest in Specialized. Although
Specialized is still headquartered in California under the leadership
of founder Mike Sinyard, all bikes are made in Asia. Key Asian
suppliers are Merida, Ideal, and Giant.

Time -
Time produces what is arguably the most advanced carbon frame in the
world and all frames are hand-made in France, even the entry level
frames.

Trek – It’s hard to believe that
America’s largest bicycle brand had humble beginnings in a barn! Yet in
1976, Dick Burke – with an investment of $25,000 – started making
bicycle frames in a little red barn near Madison, Wisconsin. By 1980,
Trek built their first manufacturing plant in Wisconsin and the rest,
as they say, is history!¹⁵

After many years of making its own bicycles in the U.S., Trek moved entry and mid level bicycle manufacturing to Asia.

In
1992, Trek introduced its proprietary OCLV carbon process (Optimum
Compaction Low Void) which is still used in its handmade carbon frames.
All OCLV carbon frames – road and mountain – are still made in
Waterloo, Wisconsin. The all-carbon 5000 (which does not feature OCLV)
is made in Asia.

Worldwide, Trek is the second largest bicycle
company after Giant (of the brands sold only in bicycle stores). They
are one of the most sought-after brands by U.S. dealers because of
their strong commitment to brick and mortar bicycle stores (i.e., the
brand cannot be sold mail order or over the Internet) and because of
their dealer-friendly policies.

Trek owns (or licenses) Fisher, LeMond, Klein, and Bontrager.

Tommasini
- Tommasini is a small Italian frame builder in Grosseto, Italy, of
similar size to Seven, Waterford, and Serotta. Much of Tommasini’s
production is exported out of Italy, with their largest markets being
the U.S., Germany, and Japan. In September 2006, Irio Tommasini’s
nieces took over U.S. distribution and are relaunching the brand in the
U.S.¹⁶

Waterford – Waterford is America’s number one steel custom bicycle brand. All bikes are hand-made in Waterford, Wisconsin.

In
the late 1970′s, a young rider, designer and builder named Marc Muller
was hired by the Schwinn Bicycle Company. He brought the experience and
innovation from his own framebuilding enterprise and took charge of
building the Paramounts, the dominant brand of American-build racing
bicycles.

In the early 1980′s, Marc moved the Paramount factory
to Waterford, Wisconsin and continued building elite bicycles and also
created a cycling design laboratory.

Marc and his staff
introduced a number of key innovations including oversized tubing (one
of the most significant advances in frame design), 26" wheels, cast-in
cable guides and a patented full suspension system. These advances
allowed them to design and build bikes for National and World champions
such as Ned Overand, Marc Allen, Mike Engleman, Tom Prehn and many
others.

In 1993, Marc Muller and Richard Schwinn, great-grandson
of Ignaz Schwinn, bought the Paramount factory and renamed it Waterford
Precision Cycles.¹⁷