[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

I guess supplying the wrong alloy or the wrong temper are the same problem in my book. You can run into this same issue when purchasing (as some insurance companies permit) non-factory steel service parts for auto crash repair. There is a big supply base in China for these parts, but they either

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

> > wear so quickly that there is little > > doubt that they are 6000-series. That way, the company could underbid > > all the other companies who had to factor in the higher cost of the > > raw material... and they got the bid. > > Could have also skipped or screwed up the temper. The chainring m

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Oct 6, 3:15 pm, Jan Heine wrote: > This type of outsourcing to the cheapest bidder not only has > implications for labor standards, but also quality. It is not uncommon > to substitute a cheaper alloy. As a result, you find chainrings that > are labeled as 7075 aluminum, but wear so quickly

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Another thing that occurred to me is that manufacture, which I think of as the fabrication and finishing of a product from raw materials, is most likely going to happen in a place where conditions are "fairly reasonable", since manufacturing implies a certain level of industrialization, access t

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

The White Ind cranks are machined from billet rather than cold forged. The cold forging process increases the mechanical strength of the crank arm and spider making a much more stiff and durable design. The manufacure of such an item is doable in the US, it's just that the cost of tooling a

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Lots of good and thought-provoking points made here by several people. I'll just add something that occurs to me. We, on this group, are consumers. I mean that both in the general and specific sense. We are all certainly consumers of rather expensive, high-quality bicycles. For some of us,

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Oct 6, 6:13 pm, Seth Vidal wrote: > I take it you > are confident that your manufacturers are playing fair on their > outsourcing. I am confident because our engineer actually visited the companies and saw the machinery. He visits during the production process and makes sure that everything is

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Jim, Those are very good points! I'll only add Can we truly know what is best for others? .. . or are we in the habit of thinking we know what's best for another based on what *we* believe to be best (based on our completely arbitrary life experience) and *telling*others wh

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Seth, I admire and support what you are trying to do, but I think it's best to not get too hung up on country of manufacture. Here's why: We sell a fair number of Surly bikes, which is a "local" brand in Minneapolis. People who are concerned about such things tend to focus on the fact that the f

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

"We would be paying $1000 for a crankset." That's simply not true. White Ind., as just one US manufacturer, makes multiple cranks, including a state of the art VBC dbl crank, an excellent triple, and tandem cranks, Most of their cranks sell for around $220. I am glad that Jan Heine & Grant P

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

I think that cost is the sole driver to place of manufacture. There are many competent Broach houses in the US who could certainly do square taper cranks. I work with them on a regular basis making parts for Rocket Engines. And they would be willing to make the appropriate tooling if the busin

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

I think that cost is the most sole driver to place of manufacture. There are many competent Broach houses in the US who could certainly do square taper cranks. I work with them on a regular basis making parts for Rocket Engines. And they would be willing to make the appropriate tooling if the

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 5:15 PM, Jan Heine wrote: > On Oct 5, 1:41 pm, Seth Vidal wrote: > >> How about the manufacturer of any of the Grand Bois non-tire parts? > > - Grand Bois tires are made by Panaracer in Japan. Their stems, > handlebars and racks come from Nitto, also in Japan. > - Grand Boi

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 11:07 PM, dpco wrote: > How about Nitto? They manufacture their products in Japan. There's a Youtube > on Nitto. Indeed and I'm a big fan of their goods. -sv -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 7:16 PM, franklyn wrote: > In many ways, workers in Taiwan have better conditions than those in > the U.S., Taiwan has one of the best universal healthcare system in > the world (according to NYTimes columnist and Nobel laureate Paul > Krugman), and public transportation sys

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

On Oct 5, 1:41 pm, Seth Vidal wrote: > How about the manufacturer of any of the Grand Bois non-tire parts? - Grand Bois tires are made by Panaracer in Japan. Their stems, handlebars and racks come from Nitto, also in Japan. - Grand Bois rims and cassette hubs are made in Taiwan. - Compass Bicycl

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Good point, Jeremy. The notion that there are "good countries" (e.g., Republic of China) and "bad countries" (e.g., People's Republic of China) is rather simplistic. There are plenty of exploited workers in every country, including the US. Buying (or trying to buy) from specific manufacturers that

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Quoth the Compass website, at least about handlebars: "All Grand Bois handlebars are *made in Japan by Nitto*." At some point a few years ago I remember seeing an online photo tour of one of Shimano's wheelbuilding plants (Malaysia, maybe?) and it seemed a fairly pleasant place; of course, it

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

Erm that is North Korea. I do business with South Korea and they are excellent people to work with (that is where bike stuff is made when it says made in Korea since most of her world has an embargo against North Korea). Just FYI. On Oct 5, 2011 11:51 PM, "rcnute" wrote: > http://www.korea-dpr.c

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

http://www.korea-dpr.com/business.htm Personnel are highly motivated! Ryan On Oct 5, 1:41 pm, Seth Vidal wrote: > I've been specing out a potential bicycle build and I'm trying to see > what parts I can get from places which have pretty reasonable working > conditions and rights of workers - es

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

How about Nitto? They manufacture their products in Japan. There's a Youtube on Nitto. Don C, -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/vjWdv

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

I know Miche parts are made in Italy. I have their Racing box hubs on two bikes. They make needle bearing headsets and other parts too. I'm struggling to think of drop bar bike levers made in somewhere other than Taiwan ( which fits the bill according to Franklyn). DT Swiss rims are made in

Re: [RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

ActionTec cassettes, made right here in Californey. On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 4:16 PM, franklyn wrote: > In many ways, workers in Taiwan have better conditions than those in > the U.S., Taiwan has one of the best universal healthcare system in > the world (accordi

[RBW] Re: parts made in places where worker conditions are fairly reasonable

In many ways, workers in Taiwan have better conditions than those in the U.S., Taiwan has one of the best universal healthcare system in the world (according to NYTimes columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman), and public transportation systems that are pretty unmatched (extensive and inexpensive