Take a Tour of the Santa Cruz Bicycle Factory without Leaving your House

I don’t think people really understand what a factory is. Airbus assembles airplanes out of large components at some of their factories, so perhaps someone who’s verklempt over “factory” semantics should tell Airbus about their incorrect usage of the term.

Semantic arguments define stupidity.

@Psi,

I think what we all seem to talk about as “factory” made is not quite about the facilities that actually make the product but the QC that is missed by the company that buys something from overseas. Do they cut open every frame? That is the question that is nagging in every non-scrupulous supplier’s and procurement managers head.

If you make something from the ground up yourself the QC numbers are your own.

There are ways to inspect a carbon frame’s internal structure after its built, I just don’t know how many companies are doing it.

The problem with carbon is that the outside look doesn’t tell you how well the layup is or what was used to fill the voids and act as a buffer between the mold and the carbon during molding. This can only be done by cutting open the frame.

I like my carbon to be sold by the company that laid it up.

Not really an assembly line and more “technical facility-warehouse” than “factory”.

@gibbon & @AL. agree

@jason. That short list you are referring to, is MY go to list. cheers

I have to say that was not particularly exciting. The biggest eye opener for me was Santa Cruz’s apparent commitment to hiring white dudes.

Santa Cruz does not own their own factory. Their bikes are made primarily in China and the only part of the bike that is “Santa Cruz” is the sticker. Santa Cruz is no different from Trek, Cannondale, or Kona. They will never reveal who actually builds their bikes for them. Let’s try this exercise.

1. Giant bikes are designed, manufactured, and assembled by Giant employees at the Giant factory in Taichung, Taiwan.

2. Santa Cruz bikes are designed by ___, manufactured by ___, and assembled by ___ employees at the ___ factory in ___ (city and country).

This has nothing to do with semantics.