Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia:
My Career in Bicycles as I Watched Two Continents Squander an Industry
By Bill McGann
Formats: Print & Kindle eBook.
Suggested retail print version: $16.95, Kindle eBook:
$3.99
Audiobook version will be available some time in October, 2024.
Get the book
Third Street Books, McMinnville, OR
Amazon.com: print and Kindle eBook or click on the link on the right.
About the book: When author Bill McGann opened his bike shop in 1974, his stock of bicycles, parts and accessories were all made in Europe. At the same time, the nearby sporting goods store sold Schwinn bicycles that were made in Chicago. But across town was a busy shop owned by a gentleman named “Chuck”. It was stocked with all the famous imported lightweights; among them Peugeot, Motobecane and Raleigh. But his top-selling brand was a bike McGann was barely familiar with, Nishiki, made in Japan. Chuck had populated the town with hundreds and hundreds, possibly thousands of bright orange Nishiki Olympic bikes, Nishiki’s basic consumer ten-speed.
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Chuck said his Nishikis were not only a terrific value and well-made, they were equipped with wonderfully reliable, cutting-edge derailleurs. He was adamant that Nishiki bikes shouldn’t be confused with the shoddy post-war Japanese merchandise everyone thought was junk.
The Schwinn dealer argued that customers were best off with Schwinn because of its wonderful reputation of quality. The iron-clad Schwinn guarantee was a no-time limit warrantee that Schwinn honored without quibble. To ensure its bikes were assembled and serviced correctly, every Schwinn dealer was encouraged to have its mechanics factory trained.
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McGann's starting inventory was lean, just ten French Gitane ten-speeds and twenty-five Maserati bicycles. The Maseratis were made in Italy by a member of the famous car family who used the legendary name to brand his bikes. He told his customers his European bikes were light, handled best and were the product of a cycling culture that demanded good-riding bikes.
McGann working on a Maserati bicycle in 1974.
Being twenty-two and sorely lacking judgment, McGann heaped contempt upon Chuck's Nishikis, calling them “Jap Scrap”. He felt righteous selling his French and Italian bikes and succeeded well enough that about six months after he opened his shop, he attended Camarillo Bicycle Center’s bankruptcy auction. The bike boom was by now long gone and there wasn’t enough room for everyone.
But McGann was wrong and Chuck was right.
How that came to be and what followed is his story.
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About the Author: Bill McGann and his wife Carol have had their lives inextricably tied up with bicycles about as long as they can remember. Their first date was a bike ride. Bill, formerly a Category 1 racer, has been a contributor to several cycling magazines and is widely acknowledged as an expert on road bikes and cycling history. Since his father gave him a small 1-speed English lightweight bicycle when he was 5 years old, Bill has been in love with everything about bikes.
Carol, a former college biology instructor is also an accomplished rider, having cycle-toured extensively. Together they started Torelli Imports in 1981, a firm specializing in high-performance cycle equipment.
Currently they own McGann Publishing and the cycling website BikeRaceInfo.com