Chinese bikes

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Well, if you don't like the Chinese Communist system, and I don't, you could always buy a British Triumph....

...oh, hang on, the Triumph factory in Hinckley is actually a museum, and the bikes (in spit of all the union jackery) are actually made in Thailand.

Here's Thailand's human rights record:

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary arrest and detention; political interference in the judiciary; political prisoners; arbitrary and unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including arrests and prosecutions of those criticizing the government, censorship, and the use of lèse majesté and criminal libel laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; serious government corruption; harassment of domestic human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence and sexual violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; and significant restrictions on workers’ freedom of association.

Sounds lovely!

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Pretty much all apple products are now made by Foxx Com in China.

When I started using apple products (the Mac Classic), they were made in Ireland!

[dave h]

IMG20241016113542.jpg (371.18 KiB) Viewed 3704 times

Let's try and beat them at their own game, with the help from the Americans,(or are they not allowed also)

[Asgard]

Oh yes here come the, yeah but your iPhone, etc, etc. Well if you can't distinguish that thought then carry on being ignorant.

Hmm, remind me who made you the judge of where to draw the line?
If you want to get moralistic about buying from a country with a despotic regime you better be prepared to go all the way before calling others igorant.

[Magnusson]

Samsung phones are made in Vietnam.

Are they thought? Every single one? For some the final assembly is there. Where do all the parts come from? Where are the minerals mined? Where are the chips made? The battery? The screen? The case? I'll eat my own cooking if it all comes from Vietnam.

[DavidS]

In the USA, I think it was Taylor Made that put “Assembled in the USA” on their golf clubs even though every part came from other countries. But at least someone hammered it together in the US

I doubt the public know where every part of anything they buy comes from….other than the likely far east culprit.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Read Material World by Ed Conway.

Complex devices like mobile phones contain materials and components from all over the world.

There's also the question of where the 'intellectual' content comes from.

For instance, no one realises how much British content there is in almost every smartphone. AMR (which grew out of the remains of Acorn Computers) designs the CPUs for pretty much every smartphone in the world, and is based in Cambridge. It doesn't actually make any of the components, but it doesn't need to.

Every chip for every electronic device passes through Taiwan, where a finishing process is carried out that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. The Taiwanese government has informed both the government of Communist China and the Government of the USA that if the Communists invade then demolition charges built into the processing machines will be detonated and that's the end of China's electronics industry.

On a more mundane level, I own two chainsaws. The Chinese-branded one has a Japanese carb, and the American/German branded one has a Chinese carb. I'll let you guess which is the easiest to start!

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

In the USA, I think it was Taylor Made that put “Assembled in the USA” on their golf clubs even though every part came from other countries. But at least someone hammered it together in the US

I doubt the public know where every part of anything they buy comes from….other than the likely far east culprit.

When I replaced the rear disc on my 950 KTM, the disc came in a KTM box, but was branded Brembo and 'Made in Japan'.

Most KTM genuine replacement parts have the country of origin on the packaging. On my 950, most of these are made in Austria, Italy or Germany, but I expect that newer models will have far more content from China and India.

When I purchased a Mahle (top German automotive parts manufacturer) oil filter for my car, it was Made in China, which surprised me.

Companies like Bosch make stuff all over the world, including in the UK!

[Asgard]

Read Material World by Ed Conway.

Complex devices like mobile phones contain materials and components from all over the world.

There's also the question of where the 'intellectual' content comes from.

For instance, no one realises how much British content there is in almost every smartphone. AMR (which grew out of the remains of Acorn Computers) designs the CPUs for pretty much every smartphone in the world, and is based in Cambridge. It doesn't actually make any of the components, but it doesn't need to.

Every chip for every electronic device passes through Taiwan, where a finishing process is carried out that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. The Taiwanese government has informed both the government of Communist China and the Government of the USA that if the Communists invade then demolition charges build into the processing machines will be detonated and that's the end of China's electronics industry.

On a more mundane level, I won two chainsaws. The Chinese-branded one has a Japanese carb, and the American/German branded one has a Chinese carb. I'll let you guess which is the easiest to start!

Re: Taiwan, I was involved in Mountain Bike assembly from the early days of the sport in the UK, Taiwan have always produced the highest quality (consistantly) Mountain Bikes. I've had a few high end Frames genuinely produced in USA, 50/50 chance of getting a good u...missaligned, poor welds, badly machined bearing seats, Ive sent some back for replacement only to be supplied with a frame that had some other major defect different to the first one.

Oh and Mahle Filters, yea a recent last couple of years change to Chinese production, the finish is clearly not of the past standard I realy don't know if the internals are the same.
I've switched to equivalent Bosch filters for now.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Proud to say my Giant bicycle is Made in Taiwan.
It's immaculately finished.

And Taiwan was responsible for the best short motorcycling film ever made...it's actually an advert for a bank