Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
You might already know bicycle couple Bill and Carol McGann from their extensive and authoritative bike racing website. It’s the source for all things pro road racing, current and historic, plus it goes in depth on a wide variety of other information of interest to cyclists, such as training and fitness, a cycling glossary and bike travel.
Carol and Bill started their website while they were running Torelli Imports, their company that distributed bicycles, frames, components and accessories throughout the industry. They founded Torelli Imports in 1981 and only recently sold it. We used to buy from them at the shop where I worked back then.
I haven’t talked to Bill since running into him at the former annual Interbike bike show (no longer taking place), which would have been about 2018. So I was surprised to learn that he has written a book and even more surprised by its subject. The title says it all. It’s Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia. The subtitle reads My Career in Bicycles as I Watched Two Continents Squander an Industry.
I started in the bike biz about when Bill did. And, like him, I’ve watched the industry change tremendously since. His title grabbed me because I was there when the American giant in bicycles was Schwinn and then saw French 10-speeds arrive here in force in the 1970’s and then witnessed the mountain bike take over in the 1980’s. And I’ve seen how the industry has mostly moved to Asia since then.
From his writings on his website, I know Bill tells a good story, and I couldn’t wait to read his book and bought a copy. As far as I can tell it isn’t for sale on his website but it is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZgEj2q. It’s 155 pages long, has photos throughout and an index.
It didn’t take me long to finish it because it reads a little like a detective novel with great characters and lots of twists and turns. I’m not going to give anything more away. If you’ve been in cycling for a long time, or have an interest in the bicycle business and how we got where we are today, I think you’ll enjoy Bill’s book a lot.
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
Thanks for the recommendation! I just bought a copy on Amazon.