Shortly after Joe Bike opened in the US city of Portland last November, an angry cyclist stormed in and challenged the owner, Joe Doebele, about why he was selling bikes made in China. ‘He wanted to know if the Chinese workers have pension plans,’ remembers Joe. ‘My shop was just getting started. We didn’t even have pension plans.’
The outburst came as a surprise to Doebele, who’s accustomed to Portland’s sophisticated bike culture. Eight per cent of Portlanders commute by bike, compared to less than two per cent nationally, and the city has carefully cultivated its image as a cycling mecca. He assumed it was common knowledge among cyclists in Portland (the most populous city in the State of Oregon) that most bicycles come from factories in China and Taiwan.
