Frame builder outsourcing?

[Jason Pare]

I'm considering trying to retail a line of MTB frames. How do I find a
manufacturer who is willing to outsource this work?

Know anyone? ;'>

--
________________________

Jason Pare
mailto:j...@netzero.net

[Scott Weikert]

On Thu, 14 Sep 2000 17:13:40 CST, Jason Pare <J...@netzero.net> wrote:

>I'm considering trying to retail a line of MTB frames. How do I find a
>manufacturer who is willing to outsource this work?
>
>Know anyone? ;'>

There's lotsa small framebuilder shops out there... you'd just need to
track'em down and ask. I know of two right off the top of my head -
Mikklesen (sp?) in the bay area, and Curtlo (Doug Curtiss) in
Washington State.

I know for a fact that Mikklesen (sp, again?) is doing something with
a fellow I know off MTBR - where the other fellow is doing some
marketing, offering a custom frame built up, so at least that guy
isn't against other folks playing 'middleman' on the frame side.

--Scott

[Scott L.]

There are dozens of Taiwanese companies who do this.

That is where 90% of all mountain bikes are made. Take a look at the
garden variety Specialized, Schwinn, Trek, Diamondback, GT, ect. Almost
all are made in Taiwan. The higher end models of these manufacturers may
be made in the US though. That's why Schwinn calls them 'Homegrown'.
Cannondale is the only major manufacturer that I am aware of that makes
all of their frames in the US.

If you want US made, then there is a company called Black Sheep in Ft
Collins, CO that makes great frames sold under other names.

Scott L.

Jason Pare wrote:

> I'm considering trying to retail a line of MTB frames. How do I find a
> manufacturer who is willing to outsource this work?
>
> Know anyone? ;'>
>

[Alan Boucek]

Scott Weikert wrote:

>
> On Thu, 14 Sep 2000 17:13:40 CST, Jason Pare <J...@netzero.net> wrote:
>
> >I'm considering trying to retail a line of MTB frames. How do I find a
> >manufacturer who is willing to outsource this work?
> >
> >Know anyone? ;'>
>

> There's lotsa small framebuilder shops out there... you'd just need to
> track'em down and ask. I know of two right off the top of my head -
> Mikklesen (sp?) in the bay area, and Curtlo (Doug Curtiss) in
> Washington State.
>
> I know for a fact that Mikklesen (sp, again?) is doing something with
> a fellow I know off MTBR - where the other fellow is doing some
> marketing, offering a custom frame built up, so at least that guy
> isn't against other folks playing 'middleman' on the frame side.

It sounds like the guy is asking for a high volume supplier.

Bernie Mikkelsen does great work, and he's fast, but he's definitely not
high volume.

--
- alan

[Joshua_Putnam]

In article <39C13F51...@netzero.net>,

Jason Pare <J...@netzero.net> wrote:
>I'm considering trying to retail a line of MTB frames. How do I find a
>manufacturer who is willing to outsource this work?

Hurry to your local bike shop and tell them you need to get in to
Interbike, the industry trade show. If you pay your own way and
offer them some sort of payback, they might get you in on a shop
employee pass. (The general public isn't allowed.)

Or get a copy of the Interbike Directory, an annual publication
that lists most of the larger players in the industry.

If you're thinking smaller scale, you might find a smaller
builder on the framebuilders mailing list.

http://www.phred.org/mailman/listinfo/framebuilders

--

Jo...@WolfeNet.com is Joshua Putnam / P.O. Box 13220 / Burton, WA 98013
"My other bike is a car."
http://www.wolfenet.com/~josh/