Is My Bike Made in India or Made in China?

India is home & birth place to some of great bicycle companies like Hero, BSA/ Hercules, Atlas. There was a time, since 1970s to 1990s when India was producing great bicycles and huge volumes for our masses. But slowly, as bicycles got better, Indian bicycle makers lagged behind resulting in today's market where more than 75% of cycle market is dominated by Chinese bikes & components. 

Now, making great cycles here in India was one of the core philosophy with which this company started. We had nothing against any country, be it China or any others, but firmly believed that India should be able to produce great bicycles again. We might not be there at world standard yet, but since we have started the process, one day we will definitely be there. 

Also, amid the growing tensions with China, and a previous appeal of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' from our Prime Minister, a new debate has come up - How to identify whether a product is made in India?

So, we decided to put down a informational document, where in we put down what components of OMO Bikes are made in India, and which ones are made in China. This post also highlights for riders & readers to know which bicycle companies make their bicycles with Indian components and which don't.

The information is best of our knowledge. If someone can point out an error, we would encourage them to share reference and we would gladly make edits. Also, this is not to put down any particular company or country. But is an exercise to make our riders, readers & customers more aware about the bikes that they love so much. 

About OMO Bikes 

A bicycle consists of more than 50 small components like frame, fork, tires, tubes, hubs, pedals, etc. 

Of all these parts, only BB cartridge is the component that is made by a Chinese company (a well reputed company called Kenli). Rest all components are of made in India. Very few bicycles these days can say this. 

For geared bicycles - some gear components like shifter & derailleur - are not made in India. That is because gear group sets are an advanced engineering product, and India still does not manufacture these.  

For Electric Bicycles - We are among the very few Indian companies that amke bicycles frames for electric cycles in India. However, the electric components are something, that no body is still manufacturing in India. So of the 75+ components of electric bike, around 10 critical components are made in China (all these components are CE certified, that is Europe grade components). 

Other Companies

European & American Brands - Scott, Cannondale, Raleigh, Bianchi, Specialized, Trek. Majority of their bicycles are made in China or Taiwan. Only their high end bikes are made in their localized factories, which rarely reach Indian markets. 

As a general rule of thumb, 99% bicycles with alloy frames are made / assembled in China / Taiwan / Cambodia / Thailand. In fact, these days, a big number of steel frames bikes are also being imported directly from China. 

Some, bicycles companies also claim that their bikes are made in Sri Lanka. That's a catch right there. Sri Lanka is used by Chinese companies to bypass local import tariffs that are levied on Chinese origin goods in various countries. 

Now that you know that most of the fancy bicycles on Indian roads are not made in India, and given the dire need of 'atmanirbhar bharat', what would you do differently? 

This information is to the best of of our knowledge as of 24 June 2020. We do not intend to malign any one or spread any false information. Also, the above information depends upon real time supply chain & is subject to changes without any intimation.