[dd74]

Treks and Cannondale - well, the jury is out as to what exactly is made in the U.S. and what is made in Taiwan. Some say the higher level Treks, like the Madone 5.2s upward are made in the U.S., but who knows. In short, even if it has a "Made in the U.S.A." sticker on it, no one is absolutely sure if Trek or Cannondale is being truthful.

Colnago, on the other hand, is completely open about what frames it sells are made in Taiwan. The CLX downward cover the Taiwanese bikes, and reflects in their prices compared to the company's higher priced Italy-made rigs.

Of course, many are saying Taiwan now produces the best carbon frames in the world. Why? Because they make so many of them; they have a virtual lock down on what makes a perfect carbon frame.

If you want to be guaranteed you buy an American frame, your best bet is to go with a small manufacturer, like Gunnar, Curtlo, Independent Fabrication, Seven, Vanilla, Serotta, Litespeed, etc.

These companies specialize in steel and titanium. Gunnar and Curtlo are moderately priced. Everything else is really high-priced.

Oddly, though, titanium is priced almost the same as steel, where a few years ago, it was at least twice the amount of a steel frame. Ti is just not the "in" material for performance frames these days. Steel and carbon appears to have eclipsed Ti.