In 2022, Brian Riley (shown in photo) opened a bicycle factory in Seymour, Ind., shifting production of his Guardian Bikes brand to the U.S. from China. The problem for him now: Nearly all the parts still come from China.
Almost all of the bicycles sold in the U.S. are imported, and most of those are made in China or assembled from Chinese parts, writes The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 7, 2025). A typical bicycle is made of 30 to 40 parts, most of them from different Chinese manufacturers.
For now, components from China represent about 90% of the total cost of Guardian’s parts. By the end of next year, Riley hopes that figure will be about 20%. Guardian is starting production of its own bike frames and is working to source parts such as grips and reflectors stateside. As a result of Guardian’s new manufacturing, American-made parts could represent about 60% of the cost.
Riley decided to locate his factory in Indiana because it was close enough to most places in the U.S. for 2-day shipping and because it was near steel mills where the company could source material when it eventually made its own frames.
Opening a factory in the U.S. wasn’t easy. Riley was able to hire a group of skilled workers because a local manufacturer went out of business. At first, workers were slow to build the bikes, putting together 100 a day. It took time and constant tweaking of the assembly line to improve their speed and efficiency. Guardian’s labor costs shot up, though they were partially offset by the lower freight costs of shipping individual components from China rather than mostly assembled bikes.
The factory’s 250 staff can churn out up to 2,700 bikes a day, and Guardian has the scale to begin contracting with U.S. parts manufacturers. Guardian plans to begin making bike frames at the factory this year, using American steel. It has asked its Brazilian rim supplier to consider a facility in Indiana, and is also considering making rims itself. Guardian has approached U.S. suppliers that could provide grips and reflectors. Other labor-intensive parts such as hubs or cranks may be harder to source in the U.S.
Classroom discussion questions:
- How did the U.S. lose the bicycle industry years ago?
- What will it take for the U.S. to reclaim leadership in this industry?