On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 7:59 AM, Bill Connell <bconn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 9:50 AM, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > What was wrong w/ the match business model? Have things changed since > then > > (10 years?) so another production frame company could get enough > business? > > > I don't know much at all about match and why it didn't last, but > certainly the economic landscape has changed in the last 10 years. > Japanese products (viz the thread topic) are much more expensive, so > production frames from Toyo and Panasonic are getting as expensive as > many custom frames. Chinese companies are taking some of the Taiwanese > production business with even lower costs, but transportation cost is > also increasing, which along with the relatively weak dollar, is > making domestic production more attractive again. There has also been > an increased awareness of product origin and increasing preference for > US-made products, but probably not enough to swing the market without > the other factors along too. > > -- > Bill Connell > St. Paul, MN > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ > > That's kind of my thinking. Maybe the timing just wasn't right for match, but maybe now??? Just looking at Rivendell production frame builders, it appears that W'ford and Toyo are pretty equal in cost (+/-). That pretty much takes Japan out of the equation I would think. -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, scientist guy --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
