The decline of European manufacturing and the rise of the BSO

[player]

I’d have been almost happy with a Mustang but I got a Marauder, though I’d argue even with their BMX bottom bracket they still weren’t quite a BSO. It had canti brakes and SIS shifters and everything actually worked well on it. They lasted a very long time as well.

I’d argue those bikes that looked like an MTB but were fitted with very flexible caliper brakes are the earliest BSOs. After that it was Universals, Apollos and the stuff you’d get in the Freemans catalogue.

I never got past page 127 where the ladies underwear started.........

 

[bikeworkshop]

I never got past page 127 where the ladies underwear started.........

Looks like the Freeman's Catalogue was another victim of the Internet

 

[Woz]

Argos .... anyone?

Why don't we have all these most relevant pages in the archive here?

 

[bikeworkshop]

Dunno about your Argos catalogue @Woz...
Mines just got nice reynolds frames in.

 

[Scott-S]

Argos .... anyone?

Why don't we have all these most relevant pages in the archive here?

(Asking for a friend)
Are we talking about the underwear pages being missing from the archives Woz?

 

[Woz]

(Asking for a friend)
Are we talking about the underwear pages being missing from the archives Woz?

I can't quote actual page numbers like certain retro professionals, but I have seen them and folded the corner of the Argos catalogue BITD.

Of course, I'm absolutely talking about first MTB as a young virile youth. Why wouldn't I be?

Argos in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent for reference. How some of the girls their got in the catalogue and errrmh MTB section still defeats me to this day.

 

[Woz]

Lastly, come on fellas...

A bit of banter OK, but let's not derail (too much) what the OP wanted and is a topical discussion especially when the news is right now showing fast moving stuff with potential impact going forward.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Interestingly, the US made components were as a rule high-end niche stuff, and still performing ok in the Used market.

Cannondale were one of the big brands still manufacturing in the US until 2011 - I wonder if they are going to dust down the factory, or if its 40% cheaper to make in Taiwan.

words from their exec in 2009:

"Dorel recreation and leisure segment president Robert Baird alluded to the fact it takes 45 hours to manufacture a carbon fiber frame, and that labor costs $1 an hour in China and $35 an hour in the U.S."

So looks like they'll just pay the tariff, and their bikes will be a little more expensive.