Ernie Deane, then "The Arkansas Traveler" columnist for the Arkansas Gazette, paid a visit to the AMF Cycle Co. factory in June 1963, and watched bikes being assembled upside down.
Here is an excerpt from his column as published June 23, 1963:
"At the AMF Cycle factory in Little Rock, nearly everything that goes into a bicycle is manufactured, although some parts are necessarily brought in already fabricated.
"Steel in tubes and sheets comes from the mills, and is hammered, forged, twisted, turned or whatever, to form frames, wheels, handle bars, fenders and so forth. Welding torches flash, electronically operated paint machines spray gay colors, air-operated wrenches in the hands of workers fasten bolts and endless belts move parts along assembly lines. Much handwork, I also saw, is still necessary in the manufacture of a bicycle.
"Women thread spokes into wheels, for example. Other women test every wheel for true roundness. In fact, inspection is the thing at every point along the way until the finished bicycle rolls off the end of the assembly line to be boxed for shipment.
"The finished bike actually does roll off the line -- minus handlebars, however, which are packaged with it but unattached for reasons of space. Once it passes the final inspection, the bicycle is given a little push by the inspector, and it rolls several feet along a wooden trough into the hands of the packing crew. Chances are, it'll soon be in the hands of its first owner and that in years to come it'll roll a good many miles, indeed."
ActiveStyle on 06/23/2014