I had an Orbit mtb and on it was a badge saying made in Sheffield. It however was a custom job and I did not share the proportions of the guy the bike was made for so I never got on with it but the quality of build was superb.
From what I've read, some Orbits were really top-drawer, others were really poor - really a mixed bag - so the name alone is not a guide to quality, sadly. They are still going - don't know if it's the original owners, though...
Amazing, thanks so much for that. I lived in Sheffield for 5 years and love the city. I try and get as much stuff made there as I can but mainly kitchen focused stuff (knives, cutlery etc). I have never been let down with quality and consider most of it to be better than more expensive brands I have used.
Hadn't really considered the bike scene until last night but couldn't actually find any "historic" brands. Obviously places like Planet X and their brands show up by I believe these are all made overseas.
Planet X frames are made overseas, but they are designed and assembled in the UK - plus these days they are a worker-owned company, which is pretty unusual.
I might be biased, but I'd say they offer some amazing bikes (and kit) for the price point they are in (I own a Pro-Carbon road bike of theirs, so I speak from experience). Some of those bikes could almost be called 'retro' soon - I note their website says "Founded in Sheffield, England over a quarter of a century ago.." Wow - a quarter of a century!