Are there any American made mountain bikes?

Question

I currently own a 14 year old Raleigh in excellent shape. The problem is that my arthritis makes any excursion over 7 or 8 miles painful to my wrists, elbows, and shoulders and I think that the rigid frame has something to do with that.

I don't do hard core riding down mountains, insead I like to ride the Perkiomen Trail in Pennsylvania because it is mostly flat. However, there are parts of it that are gravel topped and I think the slight but steady vibration makes my arms sore after a 30 mile jaunt. I have handlebar ends that help me ride more upright but that by itself doesn't alleviate the pain.

I have seen where bikes are now made with shock absorbing front forks and a rear shock too. I am this close to buying one but the clerk at a bike shop told me that there aren't any American bicycle manufacturers around. I prefer to purchase American made goods for economic reasons.

Is it a fact that there aren't any American bicycle manufacturers today?

Answer 1

Despite some answers above, Cannondale bikes may be assembled in the U.S., but almost every part of them is now made in China, Taiwan, or Vietnam.

On top of that, it is now IMPOSSIBLE to find a U.S. built bike with all U.S. parts... you can come close, but not completely.

Since you probably understand the economic ramifications of having a U.S. MADE bike I am not going to get into the obvious high prices. Instead, I would recommend that you peruse some framebuilders sites- Waterford and Serotta are biggies- and ask them to spec a bike out for you, but MAKE SURE that you tell them specifically that you want as many parts as possible built in the U.S.

If you are simply looking for non-Asian components then there are LOTS of European products from companies like Edco, Campagnolo (be careful- some of their stuff is Asian), Cinelli, and Rohloff among others. These will be equally as high priced as U.S. made stuff but there is a much wider range of products from which to choose.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

American Made Mountain Bikes

Answer 3

There are several us made bikes, but usually they're the high end ones.

Trek and Cannondale make their top of the lines frames in the USA, and the rest in Taiwan.

Turner and Ventana make their bikes in the USA. Turner is one of the top builders out there and has excelent customer service, and you have to see a Ventana to apreciate it's quality.

Titus makes their titanium and exogrid frames in the US, while their aluminium frames are built in Taiwan (at least the Moto Lite, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Racer-X and El Guapo).

Maybe you should look for a hardtail, which is a bike with only front suspension. They will be cheaper and perform very well for what you want to do.

Regarding US made, you will probably only find that the frame is US made, but the rest of the components will most likely be made overseas, even if the company is american (SRAM is American, while Shimano is Japanese).

Chris King makes hubs and headsets in the USA, and it's about top quality stuff as you can get, but they're not the cheapest ones out there.

Thomson makes stems and seatpost. Also top quality, and I also believe USA made.

Usually you find this stuff on bikes over 2,000 bucks or so.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Are there any American made mountain bikes?
I currently own a 14 year old Raleigh in excellent shape. The problem is that my arthritis makes any excursion over 7 or 8 miles painful to my wrists, elbows, and shoulders and I think that the rigid frame has something to do with that.

I don't do hard core riding down mountains, insead I...

Answer 5

There are many, MANY American bike manufacturers, including Cannondale, Yeti, Dean, Titus, Independent Fabrications and Ellsworth. They make VERY nice frames, and are priced accordingly.

For the most part, though, it is nearly impossible to have EVERY part on a bicycle be American made. You will have parts from Japan or Italy as well as Taiwan, even if they are from American companies. We do live in a global economy, you know.

Answer 6

You should stay away from that shop because they have no idea what they are talking about.

Cannondale makes its frames here in the US. Trek makes some frames in the US, but some of their lower end models are Taiwan based. Specialized does as well. Gary Fisher, Klein, are all American based but both of those brands are owned by Trek.

There are a number of smaller custom frame builders here in the US and almost all of them make their frames here by hand (the exception being some Turners). I've owned several frames from small custom builders like Havnoonian (which makes road frames), Turner, and Intense and all of them are definitely more expensive than the larger brands.

Also, you need to know that to buy an American made frame, you will have to spend more money. Most of the major manufacturers have their lower end / lower priced frames made in Taiwan, and leave the higher end more costly models made in the US. So if you can afford to buy an American made frame, then go for it. As far as quality goes, the Taiwan based frames aren't far behind. Most people have no idea that the majority of bike frames sold today are not made here.

But as far as components go, Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo are not American based. So if the clerk was referring to that then that can be forgiven. But yes there are American bike manufacturers.

Answer 7

Yes the answers so far are far more accurate than the store clerk. In general, bikes, like cars are more international in that, there are many American bikes but most of the parts are imported. The vast majority coming from the Asian Rim, Japan and China primariely. Buy one of the Amercan brands that at least build frames or assemble here.

Answer 8

Don't knock Taiwanese frames, they are no longer the bottom end of the market.

Most top end frames are now made in Taiwan, infact they are experts at it. - FACT!

Personally,I think American bikes are overrated and overpriced and remember most of the components used will originate in the far east anyway.

I agree with a poster above who says go to another bike shop, they sound pretty clueless to me.

.

Answer 9

My eyes popped [and my jaw dropped] when I visited the website recommended by Arbeit. What a terrific display of bikes, and a boat-load of information about bike manufacturers. Golly, I wish I lived in San Francisco so I could go to City Cycles. But, I am happy here in Southwest Pennsylvania. And, speaking of Pennsylvania, please know that CANNONDALE bikes are made --in whole or in part-- in Bedford, Pennsylvania. [www.cannondale.com]

Answer 10

Trek (your best bet) with Shimano components, Litespeed, Moots, Waltworks, Cannondale (your worst option), Klein, Specialized... there are many american made options.