Zhang Jingming's Lucky Day

Zhang Jingming works at the Dahon Bicycle factory in Shenzhen, China assembling bicycle seats.  He was recently given a raise from $1.32 to $1.45 for every bike seat he produces. He works forty five hours per week, and the more seats he can churn out , the more money he will make.  Since his raise in August he has seen his monthly pay increase to $263.00. Yes, that is monthly.  Like most mass produced goods manufactured in China, it is not about quality but of speed.  What would motivate Zhang to assemble a bike seat and make sure it was properly made, bolts tightened, cover secured, etc?, well nothing.  That would take time and that would cost Zhang lost wages.  I don't think he really cares, or his plant manager, if you or your son or daughter wreck their bike due to a seat malfunction.  But the really scary part is, in this same factory under the same wage structure, workers are assembling rims, handlebars, brake components, and finally assembling the bike itself.  As a matter of fact,  about 90% of bicycles sold here in  America are made this way in China, Taiwan, or Japan.  Next time you ride your bike take a look at where it was made.  If your bike has a sticker that says "Assembled in the USA" that just means that certain components were not installed in China, but left off to be installed in the US in order to legally claim that the bike was "assembled" in the US.  Like maybe the kick stand and that sticker that says "Assembled in the US."

Bicycles as Art

I was riding a Gazelle Toer Populair the other day and pulled into a small country store and gas station in Buford, Georgia called "Pop's Place."  This is not your typical Kwiki Mart kind of place, this is the kind of place that sells live bait, used tires, pickled eggs, you name it, there is even a live goat tied to the propane refill tank.  I stop by there at least twice a week to see what how the tomatoes look, grab a beer, or just see what Pop got in on trade. Sometimes it is stuff like used shoes, old farm equipment, he even has a wooden leg in there he will sell you.  Matter a fact, he will sell anything in his store, including his store, but he won't sell the goat.  And everything has the same price tag, which means there are no price tags, you have to ask Pop how much and you always get the same answer, "How much you give for it today?"  That's pretty much all I have ever heard him say in the ten years I have been going there. So anyway on this particular day I bought some boiled peanuts and as I was at the checkout counter Picket was ringing me up (I think they call her Picket because she has no front teeth, may even be Pop's daughter for all I know), and Pop is headed out front to sit in his rocker and eat lunch. I know it's his lunch time because I have witnessed this ritual at least fifty times, Pop grabs a loaf of white bread,  couple of tomatoes, a jar of Duke's mayonnaise, and a bottle Texas Pete and sits out front and eats tomato sandwiches. So I'm headed out and get on my bike and for the first time in over a decade Pop says something to me. "Dang pretty bike."  Icebreaker! So I look at him and say "How much you give for it today?''  He says if he had the money he'd give me a twenty dollar bill for it but he would not give me a ride home. Wanting to finally initiate a conversation, I tell him that I am in the bicycle business and this bike sells for just under $1,400.00, which was probably not a good way to start a mutual friendship. He looks at me and says, and I will try to quote here, "If you're gonna come in here all drunk and crazy, then don't come in here no more." 

 So I don't think Pop would be too keen on what has to be some of the most beautiful bikes being built anywhere today, Vanilla Bicycles. They are hand made in Portland, Oregon by Sacha White and are unique and made for individual customer requests.  Oh, and there is a five year waiting list. And there is a reason for that, because the bikes truly are stunning, enough so as to make Pop want to get in line for one. http://vanillabicycles.com/

Of Microwaves and Bicycles

Last week, my microwave oven went to the giant frozen burrito in the sky, so I called a repairman to come out and see if it could be repaired. He took one look at it and said it's not worth fixing and that will be $79.99. It was a top of the line GE Profile and had lasted eleven years.  The repairman told me that normally microwaves do not last that long, but this one had because it was a higher quality, and more importantly, was not made in China.  So what do microwave ovens have to do with bicycles?  A lot. You see, like modern microwave ovens, ninety percent of bicycles produced today are made by the same few companies in China.  Just like LG produces microwaves for Kenmore, Kitchen Aid, etc., so does Giant produce bikes for Trek, Canondale, etc.  That two hundred dollar Schwinn you see in Walmart is made by the same workers at the same factory with the same quality control as that $1,300.00 Trek at your local bike shop.  Last year, several big name "high end" bikes were having problems with the forks breaking, different brands but manufactured by the same Chinese firm. Bear in mind, these are bikes costing thousands of dollars. The bike shops took the bikes back and promised a replacement per the warranty, but things got ugly. You see, the Chinese claimed that there was no defect, but in fact the bicycle owners were the cause of the forks failing.  So the bike shops that exchanged the broken bikes were out, and the consumer that was promised a replacement, well they were out too. 

I asked the repairman as he was leaving, which brand would he recommend, he said it really does not matter because they are all the same, but there was one thing I should look for and avoid. a sticker that says "Made in China." 

Heaven from Piedmont, Alabama rides her Gazelle Toer Populair through the back roads of the deep South. A pretty smile on a pretty girl on a pretty bicycle.

If he doesn't win, his parents will send him to boot camp.