Bike Magazine, May 2009 issue [excerpt]
The Case for Made in the USA
First, there’s the environmental consideration. Bikes built in the U.S. aren’t inherently “greener”, but some of our manufacturing processes, especially painting, are more sustainable. America’s regulations tend to be stricter than those in Taiwan and China. Theoretically, there’s less of a carbon footprint as well, since a domestically built bike should travel a shorter distance from the builder to your home. There are excellent bikes being built overseas—particularly mainstream models. But when it comes to finding more unique, niche bikes, domestic builders are often your best bet: if we have an interesting idea, we can fabricate it right now. Companies that must import big production runs generally don’t respond to new ideas with that kind of speed and flexibility. Finally, without getting too nationalistic, there’s something to be said for keeping dollars in America, and for maintaining a group of artisans here in our country who can design and actually build tomorrow’s great innovations.
—Rob Vandermark,
founder and president, Seven Cycles