Made in China- do we care?

[Susan Otcenas]

Terry (some of theirs are made by Waterford),

Terry was sold at the end of last year. MOst (if not all) production is moving to Asia. Saddles included.

[VeloVT]

Terry was sold at the end of last year. MOst (if not all) production is moving to Asia. Saddles included.

Is Selle Italia no longer going to make their saddles? It's interesting, the new Terry saddle, the FLX, looks almost identical except for the graphics to the Selle Italia SLK.

http://www.terrybicycles.com/pages/t...lx-saddle.html

[bmccasland]

Terry was sold at the end of last year. MOst (if not all) production is moving to Asia. Saddles included.

Aw man. another one bites the dust.

[ridebikeme]

Well, after looking at a bunch of Louis Garneau jerseys today.. I was very disturbed. The last few that came in were indeed made in China AGH!!! NO wonder the fit continually changes with this company.:

[tulip]

I like to sew, but I have not sewn any cycling gear. Sewing lycra is tricky without the proper sewing machine attachments, and my 1952 Singer definitely doesn't have them! But I'm willing to try other fabrics.

Does anyone know of cycling/athletic wear patterns?

[crazycanuck]

Thinking...Perhaps check out MEC's website as I know they mention where items were made & think i have a vest made in Canada. Same with Ground Effect.

www.groundeffect.co.nz
www.mec.ca

[Bike Chick]

Does anyone know of cycling/athletic wear patterns?
There are several "threads" on here about sewing your own clothes. Just do a search. I know that Green Pepper makes cycling clothes patterns and you could always take an old jersey apart to make your own pattern.

Terry was sold at the end of last year. MOst (if not all) production is moving to Asia. Saddles included.
Susan, that's very disappointing news. I had no idea.

Maybe only partially true, and maybe not at all, when you do real-cost accounting and look at the whole picture. If I pay an extra 30% or 40% to buy a product made in my own country, state, or county, then I've made sure that money stays in my community, and some or even all of it it comes back to me. It comes back in a higher tax base - better roads means fewer repairs on my vehicles; better cultural opportunities and libraries mean I don't have to purchase as many books or travel long distances to see shows; better equipped first responders, when I need them, can benefit me financially as well as physically; higher real estate values "raise all boats" (bubbles excepted, of course). It comes back in making it a more livable community, more attractive to professionals whose services I may need in the future, so I don't have to travel a long distance to see a competent (or any!) doctor or lawyer. It comes back in less use of mechanized transport and the associated pollution, and the associated health problems that I pay for both when my own health is affected, and when my insurance premiums reflect my neighbors' impaired health. Et cetera....
Amen, Oak, you are preaching to the choir. I wish many others thought this way.

[moderncyclista]

Maybe I'm naive, but I thought Trek made their frames in the U.S. Nope, my LBS says my lil' 520 was shaped/welded/painted in Taiwan of all places.

Even Cannondale doesn't produce any frames in the U.S. anymore.

*sigh*

What cycling clothing manufacturers make stuff in the U.S. again?

[shootingstar]

Thread on sewing cycling clothing has some useful links:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ghlight=sewing

Geez tulip, 1952 Singer..beats my 1983 Kenmore which my mother selected after I graduated from university. No, she wasn't sending me the wrong message. I sewed alot of my business work clothing during the lst few years.

Would think that a polyester fabric not too stretchy would be fine for sewing. Not sure it you could simulate a serge stitch or a fabric sewn edge that would not rub /irriate skin much when moving around alot. But a jersey not skin tight, should be fine.
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Unless it's a warehouse sale, I can't afford the local-made sporting wear brands that we have ie. Sugoi (just less than 2 kms. away) or Arc'teryx (a 24 kms. bike ride in North Vancouver) But they don't normally sell direct. Taiga is ok but I would have to check where actually made.

Sadly another local-based firm, Climate Zone seems to be folding up since we bought some great stuff on a close-out sale a few weeks ago.

[Cataboo]

I have a couple of ti bikes that the frames are made in the USA. Mostly I've been picking up bikes 2nd hand, so where they'rde is somewhat the luck of the draw in what fits me in something I want... But I'm happy to have a couple bikes that are made in the US.

Clothing - I don't go out of my way to only get clothing made in the US or not in china, but I am definitely willing to spend more on clothing that is made in the US and am more likely to buy brands that I know make their clothing in a country that's probably paying reasonable wages to their workers.

I definitely have never paid full price for arc'teryx - but I was willing to pay more for on sale arc'teryx because it was made in Canada, more than I was willing to pay for made in china north face or mountain hardwear. I've been really dised that lately they've moved a lot of their production to Canada and they raised their prices to boot... So people get to pay more for the pleasure of buying chinese made arc'teryx? So basically I don't buy any chinese made arc'teryx and buy much less arc'teryx overall.

[Juiceflight]

Try Boure cycling clothing. It's made in Durango, Co by Ned Overend and co. Nice stuff!

[OakLeaf]

What I'm really bad about is ordering parts through the bike shops closest to me, when I can drive another 25 miles and have them now. Stuff like cleats, cassettes, chains. I make an excuse that it's still a "local" bike shop (even though they have three locations and an online presence). But... my communities are pretty depressed. The city where the bigger shop is located, not so much. I'll try to do better this year.

[KnottedYet]

What I'm really bad about is ordering parts through the bike shops closest to me, when I can drive another 25 miles and have them now. Stuff like cleats, cassettes, chains. I make an excuse that it's still a "local" bike shop (even though they have three locations and an online presence). But... my communities are pretty depressed. The city where the bigger shop is located, not so much. I'll try to do better this year.

I do something similar: I find what I want online, then go to my LBS and buy it or ask them to order it for me if they don't have it. I did ask if they still make a profit on special orders, and they said they do.

If I find clothes online or in a catalog that I like, I check TE for them first. (the clothes I wore for my wedding were from TE!) (oh, and so were the clothes I wore when we got engaged and went ring shopping) (and so was the bike gear I was wearing when we rode our bikes to the courthouse to get our marriage license!)

[Susan Otcenas]

If I find clothes online or in a catalog that I like, I check TE for them first. (the clothes I wore for my wedding were from TE!) (oh, and so were the clothes I wore when we got engaged and went ring shopping) (and so was the bike gear I was wearing when we rode our bikes to the courthouse to get our marriage license!)

I can't begin to describe how incredibly honored and humble and thrilled and and and ...wow, those words don't even come close to describing the emotion I feel when I read this. Thank you.

I know we aren't "local" for many of you. But we are just a small business of 10 people trying to do our very best for our customers, our sport(s) and our community. I'm so honored that all of you have made us a part of your lives.

Susan

[bmccasland]

I have selection of honey in my cupboard, I could do a taste test: desert honey from Tucson, mountain honey from Flagstaff, north shore Lake Pontchartrain honey, Baton Rouge honey, and there's one other one.... or maybe two... some is privately produced; some commercial, but small batch commercial.
Then there's this canning jar of really dark stuff on my counter, it's honey, it's old.... survivied a hurricane or two in a camp before it was brought to the safety of the office.