what brands has Serotta made bicycles for?

[AngryScientist]

this is an obvious noobish Serotta question, apologies if this has been covered...

as i'm looking through the classifieds and other available information i see references to Serotta made Schwinns, Huffys, etc. why would companies that large contract out frame work to an outside company? does each case have its own special circumstances?

i would imagine Serotta would be charging a pretty hefty premium to make bicycles for Schwinn, and why would a smaller company like Serotta sell their quality work off to be rebranded, simply for economic reasons or something else?

OK, i'm rambling and writing this post while multitasking @ work, and my mind is wandering around the question:

bottom line: who did Serotta make bikes for over the years, and why??

[jlwdm]

No expert - others will chime in.

In the mid 1980s Murray and then Huffy sponsored 7-11 and the bikes were made for the team by Serotta and branded Murray and Huffy.

The Schwinns were Paramounts; in titanium.

Jeff

[David Kirk]

Jamis and Girvin.

dave

[oliver1850]

.

[torquer]

[QUOTE=AngryScientist]i see references to Serotta made Schwinns, Huffys, etc. why would companies that large contract out frame work to an outside company? [QUOTE]
Same reason "Ford" race cars have/had engines built by Cosworth, Holman-Moody, etc. It's more cost effective to give the work to specialists, with no time (and prestige) lost on the learning curve, especially when the product is so different from your normal lineup.

But this brings up a related question: Were the Serotta-built Huffys and Murrays ever offered for sale to the public, like the Paramounts and Jamises?
I know "Huffys" show up occasoinally in the classifieds, but are these all ex-team bikes or maybe later special editions? Hard to imagine how Murray's dealer network would have dealt with a full-on racing bike.

[stephenyi]

Also, I have a Performance Bikes lugged road bike that was built by Serotta in 1989.