anything but a happytime

[duivendyk]

I never said that that no shoddy products are manufactured in this country,nor did I say that the Chinese are incapable of producing quality products.I have a Lenovo computer that is excellent and I have a number of made in China appliances that work perfectly fine too.You make a speciality of attributing statements to people that they NEVER made,and then proceed to hit them over the head,that is dishonest.China is a "shame" culture so is Japan
I know of similar cases in that country,some of that kind of thing would not be a so bad to have overhere.If you watched the House hearings with the AIG executives,you'd say,are they totally shameless?, these creeps deserve the AL Capone treatment,they spent a mere $455,000 ! at some Spa for recuperation?, after their bailout by the Feds.If you don't know what that involves,it has something to do with their heads and this country's oldest sport.

 

[hammerforge]

I stumbled across this thread looking for information clutches, and have not real stake in this argument, but I think you just made both yourself and the other gentlemans argument.

At any given moment in history, some nation is going through an industrial revolution. THat nations products tend to be very cheap, but come with a 'caveat emptor' clause. At the moment, China is the chief of those nations.

I think in general, the concern is not with the chinese people or culture persee. Ceteris parabus, I like them as much as any group of people. However it is a general fact that when one deals with the products of any nation in the middle of an industrial revolution, one must expect somewhat more variation in quality control.

China is going through their industrial revolution right now, and like Japan and other countries before it, they are manufacturing low-cost "disposable" items because it is not cost effective to produce them in "industrially mature" nations anymore. (Someones gotta make happy meal toys) The Japanese used to copy American and British designs all the time. Unscrupulous Japanese companies sold inferior, cheap electronics. Of course, there were quality Japanese electronics from Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sharp, etc - but there were also a lot of junk producing factories. A lot of people thought that all Japanese products were inferior because of the few junk factories. ("Jap Cr@p" was a popular phrase) Eventually, the inferior products were weeded out, and the superior manufacturers survived. In that respect, enjoy the HT while you can still get them because they will go extinct in a short period of time. It will probably be replaced with a far superior product, with excellent quality, and it will be made in China. It just won't cost 99 bucks anymore, it'll be more like $500. (Judging by the cost of a GEBE) For a hundred dollars, I can forgive a lot about a bicycle engine kit! BTW, for all you know I could be black, mexican, Portuguese, or whatever. Wrong is wrong, no matter how you spin it.

 

[arceeguy]

I stumbled across this thread looking for information clutches, and have not real stake in this argument, but I think you just made both yourself and the other gentlemans argument.

You need to re-read his statements then.

 

[xPosTech]

I was looking at bikes for my PK80. I had already narrowed the list to a Trek Cruiser Classic or Schwinn Point Beach. I was discussing my options with the owner of my LBS/Lawn Equipment Dealer, mentioning my $200 budget for the bike. One of his fat, lazy (no offense to the big guys ) supposed to be lawnmower mechanics piped up when I said I was going to Wally World to look at the Schwinn.

"Don't get that Chinese POS! Ain't nothin' worth buyin' from China! You'll have parts fallin' off of it before you get 50 miles on it."

The owner and I both looked at the mech and then at each other. "The Trek he's looking at is made in China, Bill" the owner replied before I could say anything.

I've done business with this shop for 30 years or so. It's an established family outfit, at least 3 generations that I know of. I've seen the mech in question a few times in the last 3 or 4 years so I guess he married into the family. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall after I left.

I bought the Trek. Flat black. The Schwinn cannot compare to the quality of the Trek, but I knew that already. The owner knew that I knew. I was using the Schwinn as a lever in negotiations. It's a game we play. I got the Trek for $50 more than the Schwinn.

I like my Chinese bikes. I have several different makes. My CroMo KHS was made in China, too. At least I think it was. I place quality over country of origin.

No more Point Beaches at Wally World. I might have to settle for used. I want to build one of those, too.

Ted

 

[mikaleno]

Just about everything I own is made in China. My clothes, my guitars, my StingRay, my HT's, etc.......

 

[duivendyk]

Country of origin means nothing per se,generally you "get what you pay for", regardless of origin.That said, the cheap 2 stroke HT engines imported into the US from China have acquired a deservedly bad reputation.I don't know if they are sold overthere too but am inclined to doubt it.If reworked, they can be improved a lot without too much expense except time&elbow grease.Just the ticket for frustrated backyard mechanics,who find working on their car engines too challenging these days.The ignition system (CDI) appears esp. prone to failure,probably due to underdesign.There may be reliable engines to be had from China, but caveat emptor (buyer beware) should be the rule !!

 

[HoughMade]

I think this argument has become pretty goofy. Dude asks about a frame mount besides a happy time and now people have to defend themselves as not racist or whatever.

Maybe I missed something...do HT come from somewhere other than China? Didn't think so.

 

[arceeguy]

I think this argument has become pretty goofy. Dude asks about a frame mount besides a happy time and now people have to defend themselves as not racist or whatever......

This is very simple, "the country of origin doesn't indicate the quality of the product". As mentioned, generally speaking, the price of the item will be an indicator of quality. China produces crappy products, China produces great products just like America produces crappy and great products.

When people automatically assume that the item is junk because it is made in a particular country, whether it be China, India, Taiwan, Japan, Italy, etc. - it is ignorant, bigoted and maybe even racist.

 

[aussieboy]

"junk"

I asked if there were any other frame mount kits and like HoughMade said "junk" comes back. I did not ask about country of origin, but I asked about quality also but not what country makes the best of that.

Ben

 

[fastboy9]

As as I am aware the only kits are the chinese 2 stroke happy times, however there are a better quality revised design, these are the starfire gen 2 engines, they are of better build quality and engineering, but are still very underpowered for their capacity. You can get a good quality 4 stroke frame mount in the form of the Honda GX50, or you can buy the chinese clone of that. But at the moment there is very little choice in the form of a good quality frame mount , in fact I cant say that there is a more than average quality frame kit.

Fastboy