So, now for some Cycling Triva:
Today I'm writing to give some information about the Giant Bicycle Company.
Why Giant you ask? This one is simple. There's not a day that goes by that I don't get from a customer, "Who is Giant?, I've never heard of them before."
And while I profess to not know about all brands, Giant is such a major brand that I thought to share some of my knowledge about Giant with eveyone.
First, Giant Bike Company is and always has been a Taiwanese based company and to them they are similar to what Cannondale is to the US.
In fact, they started out about 35 years ago (read 1972)and the company actually took about 5 years to get up and running. Unlike many other companies, Giant wanted to be different, they wanted to be in control of their company in every aspect.
So King Liu, founder of Giant bikes wasn't going to settle on anything less than making their own tubing and welding their own frames. Than the major hurtle was finding a way to get someone to place orders, in walks Schwinn bicycles.
After a few years, Schwinn was 75% of Giants main business before Schwinn decided to head to China for cheaper manufactured bikes leaving Giant holding the bag of a lot of frames/bikes and all while loosing a 3/4's of their business.
Determined not to fail, Giant simply renamed the frames/bikes and marketed them under the name Giant. Going door-to-door in the US, they found shops willing to sell Giants to compete with Schwinn and it's been retail for Giant since!
That said, Giant actually makes many of the major brands frames/bikes and it's this simple economic advantage which is why a similarly spec'd bike offered from Giant can and usually is 5-15+% cheaper than their competitors.
In fact Giant actually even makes all their own Hydroformed tubes and carbon fiber bikes while many others use still a 3rd party.
What brands can be linked to Giant?
Source for below quote: Allanti
Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).
In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.
A bit of trivia is that Giant owns 30% of Hodaka, a key Taiwanese supplier for many brands such as Bianchi.
Anyhow, I just thought I'd share some trivia and
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