We often receive enquiries asking about which OEM bicycle assembly manufacturers Oerus works with and which ones are the best in the bike manufacturing industry. Oerus currently works with select manufacturers, large and small, in six different countries. The key for us is simply quality, since pricing standards are pretty much the same relative to overhead such as labor and operating costs. Here are a few basic suggestions when choosing a potential bicycle assembly manufacturer.

1) Quality

Our top prerequisite for choosing the right bicycle assembly manufacturer is quality. As the saying goes, continuous quality is quality you can trust. To determine the quality of any particular manufacturer, counting on correspondence and photos is never enough. A physical inspection of the factory will allow you to understand the entire manufacturing process and if production personnel are following standard quality protocols. Not all factories are equipped to build complete bikes in-house and should they outsource any segment of production, it is important to also check the sub-vendor. Keeping note of the different brands and models the manufacturer currently produces will prove helpful in judging product quality of bikes current on the market from those same brands.

2) Pricing

Pricing practices for complete bikes by most OEM assembly manufacturers are rather similar. Request manufacturers to provide open book quotation with prices for all components and services. On a standard Bill of Materials (BOM), there is the bicycle frame, components, and value-added services of the assembly factory. Value added services can include painting, assembly, wheel building, packaging, and shipping. Some manufacturers may include certain overhead costs and their profit margin as part of their calculation. How well a manufacturer organizes their pricing structure will determine accuracy and fairness.

3) Management

The manufacturers’ ability to manage production schedules so that lead times remains constant for their clientele is always a huge plus. It is important to understand both the current and projected capacity of each factory every year in advance. A well managed factory will always seek to reserve a buffer capacity of at least 20 percent in the event of emergencies or increased demand from existing clientele. With current high demand for both bicycles and e-bikes and supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, the ability of factories to deliver on time has become a major consideration.