When did the last major bike MFG leave the U.S.?

[sandmountainslim]

I know there are some high dollar bikes still made in the USA but when did the last everyday bike maker (Murray, Huffy, Etc) pull the plug and send the work offshore to Asia?

 

[CRASH]

Do you want an exact year, or a time frame?

 

[sandmountainslim]

Do you want an exact year, or a time frame?

Oh just a timeframe of when it started to leave the country. Don't have to be scientific

 

[iven]

well in 2002, some sold out to pacafic cycles.. 'most of them'
'schwinn, mongoose, cannondale, gt, dk, '

others im know i forgot some.. abunch in 02' soldout though :?

 

[scrumblero]

they were off shoring most of them by the mid 80's even tho the companys still claimed to be american..

 

[kngtmat]

I think the last year for Murray was 1998 then it sold to China for I think two years then Briggs & Stratton so they can have the Lawnmowers which they have brought back Murray lawnmowers the past year but my memory could be wrong.


I believe Huffy was the last by a few years.

 

[deorman]

My 1980 Huffy was outsourced from Taiwan.

 

[the_undecider]

I know there are some high dollar bikes still made in the USA but when did the last everyday bike maker (Murray, Huffy, Etc) pull the plug and send the work offshore to Asia?

Worksman still manufactures in the USA and they make a lot of their own parts. The problem is that other brands maybe assembled their bikes in the US, but many of the components or the frame was sourced in Asia. Cannondale was one of the last to build frames here. I think by 2010-11, everything was being made overseas. Raleigh assembled bikes in Kent, WA until 2001, but they had already shifted much of their production to Asia by the 80s. I think it is hard to pinpoint such an event because all these companies shifted production out of the US in phases. Even when Schwinn shuttered its factory in Chicago, it had imported bikes or frames/parts for domestic assembly for about a decade.

 

[CCR]

My wifes Aunt used to work in an AMF / Roadmaster factory ... i think it closed in the early 90's but they didn't "make" anything there. They just assembled them and boxed them up. They may have slapped a made in the USA decal on them too before they left the factory :wink:

 

[irideiam]

Cannondale was the last of the majors to stop making frames in the USA in 2010 (sad day ). It's the smaller specialty manufactures like Worksman (industrial bikes) and Moots (mountain bikes) that are still here. There are many small/med size manufactures that hand build parts and frames in the US in the BMX and Mountain bike segment.. check this out..... http://2013.handmadebicycleshow.com/

 

[Frankthetank]

Sad, breaks my heart.

 

[kingsting]

I think Trek is the last of the biggies to still manufacture some (Mostly high-end) bikes in the US.

 

[2manybikes]

Intense still makes Mountain Bikes in the US. I bought my Uzzi for that reason.
I don't know what their market share is, but the pricing was pretty comparable to a Santa Cruz.
Schwinn shipped their production of most models to Taiwan and Korea in the early 80s. Paramount was the only holdout.

 

[driver bob]

I think Trek is the last of the biggies to still manufacture some (Mostly high-end) bikes in the US.

High end models only and it's because the CF they use isn't allowed to be shipped overseas in it's raw form.

My current "go to" mountain bike was made in North America and has as many North American manufacturer parts on it as I can manage. It all happened by accident, I wanted "the best" and it was all made in USA !!