Quote:
Originally Posted by buddybikes
Tend to disagree - Columbia (MA), Schwinn, Huffy et others were made in US in 70's.
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These companies made frames in the US, and they were assembled in the US, but they were largely built up with imported components. I had a Schwinn World Sport in the 1978, which was an apt name, as it was made of components from all over the world, including France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, etc.
When US bike companies wanted to make multi-speed drivetrains, they had to go to Europe, then Japan, to get drivetrain components. As far as I know, there have been no derailleur drivetrains mass produced in the US, and only a few geared hubs (and these had disappeared by the 1960s).
In the 1970s, there were indeed a number of US brands, such as the ones you mention, and others like Ross, Murray and Raleigh. But other than Schwinn Paramount, these were mid-quality at best. For high performance bikes, you had to go to offshore brands like Bianchi, Frejus, Gitane, Motobecane, Puch, Peugeot. High performance US brands didn't start to emerge until the 1980s, but they were still competing against the established European brands and the new Japanese brands. By the time US brands were taking over the the high end US market, they were already moving frame production to Asia.