2005 AD - frame construction is firmly in the hands of the Far East. The whole frame building industry? No, a small group of German custom forgers are putting up resistance. And yet there are hardly any reasons in favour of Germany as a production location: the weld seams from Taiwan and China have long been as good as those from German forges, and Asian prices cannot be undercut by domestic welders. Or can they? Hot Chili designer Sascha Diether disagrees: "I can still earn money with German frames, even if it is becoming more difficult. But I can respond much better to customer wishes. At Hot Chili, you can get any model in any size, in any colour." Fusion thinker Bodo Probst lists other advantages: "I can react more quickly to problems. I don't have to wait until the container arrives from Taiwan for quality control, I can check the first frame straight away." Kalle Nicolai also has a positive argument: "We have development and production under one roof. This gives us a high reaction and innovation speed. So there are also reasons in favour of Germany as a production location in the bike industry: flexible, innovative solutions to the highest quality standards.
But do the bikes from Germany live up to the promises made by the designers? We tested six bikes from Germany. We have defined the term "German" very narrowly. Each bike is not only designed in Germany, but also welded.
You can find these bikes in the test:
Bergwerk Faunus, Endorfin VP-4 SL, Fusion Raid SL, Hot Chilli Rampage, Juchem FS series two, Nicolai Helius CC
