Before I joined Cyclingnews I trained as a Mining Geologist. For the best part of a decade, I worked for companies whose aim was to find new natural resources and dig them out of the ground. One thing that really struck me was, in general, there is an enormous disconnect between the consumer and the production of the goods they consume.
Whether it’s the rare minerals in every smartphone or the platinum in every catalytic converter, the expectation seemed to be that products were produced ‘in a factory’. The same seems to be true for bicycles. You see riders rightly proud of the decal on their seat tube that declares that the bike was ‘Made in Britain’ or ‘Made in U.S.A’, but what does this really mean? Where are bikes ‘made’?
