Schwinn Bicycle Company a separate deal with the China Bicycle Co. (CBC) to produce bicycles to be sold under the Schwinn brand. In retaliation, Giant introduced its own line of Giant-branded bikes for sale to retailers carrying Schwinn bikes. Both Giant and CBC used the dies, plans, and technological expertise from Schwinn to greatly expand the market share of bicycles made under their own proprietary brands, first in Europe, and later in the United States. By 1990, other United States bicycle companies with reputations for excellence in design such as Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale had cut further into Schwinn's market. Unable to produce
Bicycle fork intended by the frame designer. The functional length of the fork is typically expressed in terms of Axle-to-Crown race length (A-C). Also, the axle on the wheel must fit in the fork ends (usually either a 9mm solid or hollow axle, or a 20mm thru-axle). Some manufacturers have introduced forks and matching hubs with proprietary standards, such as Maverick's 24mm axle, Specialized 25mm thru-axle and Cannondale's Lefty system. Fork steerer tubes may be threaded or unthreaded, depending on the headset used to attach the fork to the rest of the bicycle frame. An unthreaded steel steerer tube may be threaded