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
> Oh Boy!! Here's a topic that gets me going.
> So many things to say, I don't know where to start!
>
> Given the two brands discussed in this thread, MASI and
> RALEIGH, with glorious past successes, and rich histories,
> it really makes you scratch your head to think that they
> believe their current products are going to give them
> newfound success in today's marketplace.
>
> I believe more than ever that you need to stand out to be
> successful selling bikes. What's that expression "rising tides lift
> all boats"? Well, the tides are out!!! Look what happened
> to Schwinn. Their bikes were out of step with the market,
> and they went "poof".
>
> Consolidation happens when unit sales are down and market
> share becomes the only way to grow. Far from "stickering up"
> nondescript frames, the current successful brands have
> fantastically unique manufacturing and technology.
> Can someone name a copycat brand that is successful in the
> bike business?? My impression is that 50% of the bike
> industry is one bad season away from bankruptcy.
>
> Whomever thinks someone is getting rich putting Masi stickers
> on aluminum frames needs their head shaken. These bikes are
> on ebay because they can't give them away to dealers!
>
> The 50's 60's and 70's were such glorious times in the bike
> biz, because there were some great economic times in those periods.
> The bike boom in the 70's allowed a lot of great opportunities
> to the industry, even if you weren't so good at your job!
> Today, even small mistakes can mean the end. Every business
> has so little margin for error.
>
> Just a few examples for those who "slag" the current road
> biz as "all the same", here's a few examples.
> In 2004, at least 50% of the road bikes in the USA will be
> from the big 3 brands:
>
> Cannondale: Handmade AL in Bedford Penn.
> Trek OCLV: Handmade Carbon in Wisconsin
> Litespeed: Handmade Ti in Tennessee
>
> Kinda makes you think?
>
> Grant McLean
> toronto.ca
>
>
>
>
>
>
> e-RICHIE wrote: turning raleigh into a "brand" like
> all the other firms that, say, sticker up nondescript
> product from asia and market it as their own.
> e-RICHIE
> chester ct
>
> From: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com>
> To: BobHoveyGa@aol.com
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Re: How the mighty are fallen
> Message-ID: <20040304.220059.2772.34.richardsachs@juno.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> Precedence: list
> Message: 14
>
> funny - back in the CR list "old days" this subject was debated
> every other week. i've been on both sides of this issue, and i'm
> not even a blond!!!!!
> i'm curious as to why folks think these framebuilder slash icon
> types want to stay at their benchs all day long until retirement and
> "create" those dang same ol' things year after year. etcetera.
> over "there", framebuilding is not the touchy feely artsy phartsy
> profession that we have/had projected it to be. most who were
> doing it were born into the family business or entered it after
> grade school; it wasn't to exercise a creative bent or to "keep the
> flame burning".
> those who succeeded at it in various eras should be allowed the
> opportunity of profiting from the market they helped create. to a
> builder, i never met any italian who believed it was a virtue to stand
> at a bench when the option to "grow the business" was possible.
> e-RICHIE
> chester, ct
>
>
>
>
> BobHoveyGa@aol.com writes:
> Sad isn't it? The good news is that Masi (Alberto that is) apparently
> has
> regained US rights to his name so perhaps these Chinese bikes are going
> to get
> some competition on our shores. Even better (and on-topic) news is that
> some
> of those Italian Masi's will be KOF's... according to the ad in the third
>
> Asphalt, we should expect to see a steel internally-lugged 3V, and a
> Sachs-lugged
> Nuevo Prestige. I still like the old bikes better, but I can't help but
>
> welcome the news... could it be that round steel tubes might become a new
> fashion
> in the bike industry?
>
> Bob Hovey
> Columbus, GA
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 03:07:53 +0000
> From: mpcup70@comcast.net
> To: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com>
> Cc: BobHoveyGa@aol.com
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Re: How the mighty are fallen
> Message-ID: <030520040307.10843.736b@comcast.net>
> Precedence: list
> Message: 15
>
> those who succeeded at it in various eras should be allowed the
> opportunity of profiting from the market they helped create. to a
> builder, i never met any italian who believed it was a virtue to stand
> at a bench when the option to "grow the business" was possible.
> e-RICHIE
> chester, ct
>
> Beautiful, Ritchie, and dead on!!!
>
> Regards,
>
> Mike Carney
>
>
>
> snipped from below:
> "When Raleigh stopped making machines in Nottingham, it died..."
>
>
> why?
> e-RICHIE
> chester,ct
> WHY?
>
> Because there was a time when English bikes were made in England by =
> Englishmen who actually rode the bikes they used. Whole generations were =
> raised on these machines. They reflected the national cycling traditions =
> just as the now vanished French and Italian national makes. Today, they =
> are made by cheap Third World labour. No one is going to tell that =
> doesn't reflect in their quality. At least no one belonging to a site =
> dedicated to classic bicycles!!=20
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA