Guy at the bike store says all the bikes these days are the same, come out of a few factories in Phillipines or China, the only difference is the paint.
@streakmachine a lot, yeah. 😅 Although he also said, they've had such a hard time getting bikes in, the factories are becoming more distributed as we speak.
@33MHz Well the world has a collective blame to share there. After 30 years of pumping money and resources into China, and not even contemplating the concept of redundancy, this is what we get. And humanity deserves it.
@streakmachine While I was in the shop, one guy came by with a new bike and said they're having such a hard time getting replacement parts, they're taking them off "less important bikes" to sell.
@33MHz Surly (and Bianchi) is made in Taiwan last I heard/could find. I was under the impression that if you step outside of the cheapest (Walmart) and/or most common frames (base models from specialized, trek), they aren't built in China any more.
@igmp_join I bet that's true... really, folks I think have started diversifying in last few years not just since COVID. Thinking about Trump's tariffs and fronting against China.
@33MHz yes, but I don't think it's even about diversifying - it's my understanding that it's about quality of product. China has a rep and it's cheap, and maybe fast, but it's not quality.
@33MHz then you're obviously not trying to commute. If you're over $400 USD, and even at $400 USD, you're possibly not made in china. I should look up my Kona smoke, which was at that price point.
@igmp_join yeah, I expect most us market bikes are split between Asian countries. His info might've been older. But, I expect it's all opportunistic, not "good not made in china", eg.
@igmp_join I am obviously not trying to commute as I work from home. But even commuting, I don't see a difference in quality that will make a significant difference. Like, ultralight frames?
@igmp_join Better hardware maybe, but it's probably better I get middling hardware that won't be critical when I'm leaving the bike locked in the rain, etc.