Guardian Bikes pushes to reshore and scale US bicycle manufacturing

In 2016, on the TV show Shark Tank, Guardian Bikes pitched an innovative braking system to give kids a safer biking experience. It received $500,000 in financing as well as mentoring and advising from investor Mark Cuban.

In 2022, the company took its first step to bring bike production back to the US with the opening of its factory in Seymour, Ind. Today, the plant turns out roughly 2,000 bikes per day.

Domestic investment

Now, the company is accelerating its scaling and reshoring efforts.

It announced $19 million in financing from JPMorganChase in April to expand its Indiana location into the nation’s first large-scale frame manufacturing operation.

Guardian’s co-founder and CEO Brian Riley said the plant “represents a pivotal step in reshoring a critical industry that was once a cornerstone of American manufacturing but has been nearly entirely offshored for decades.”

Push to curb imports and rebuild domestic supply chain

In late September, Guardian asked for bicycles, bicycle frames, and certain parts to be included as derivative products covered by the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.

Riley argues targeted tariff action will lock in US leadership in sustainable, high-quality bike production and catalyze a domestically scaled supply chain.

He estimates that including bikes in the 50% steel and aluminum tariffs will curb annual steel imports by more than 100,000 tons and annual aluminum imports by 20,000 tons.

He believes, “The domestic manufacturing sector holds untapped potential to support high-volume bicycle production.”

Riley highlighted the ability of existing automotive suppliers in the US to pivot into manufacturing components like handlebars, rims, spokes, hubs, and fasteners — further driving demand for domestic metals and skilled trades.

“A scaled domestic supply chain for bicycles will spur demand for domestic steel and aluminum, as well as metal fabrication, welding, tool and die making skills necessary for reindustrializing the nation,” he stated.

Tariff inversion and special consideration

However, “the industry needs tariff support to scale successfully,” Riley warned in the inclusion request.

Including bicycles in the S232 covered derivatives list should provide some relief.

But current tariff rates won’t provide enough protection, according to Riley. Most bicycle imports are mass produced and cheaply made, so the average tariff amounts collected aren’t much. That’s not much of a deterrent for imports.

Flagging ‘tariff inversion,’ Riley commented, “It is counterproductive to admit finished articles that include covered steel items at a lower duty than that steel item.”

Guardian is urging the Trump regime to consider a ‘specific tariff’ for bicycle imports, similar to the auto tariffs on fully assembled vehicles.

The company had not responded to a request for comment by press time.

Proposed legislation

Two bipartisan members of Congress have proposed legislation that would temporarily suspend tariffs on imported components used specifically in domestic bicycle assembly.

The act would also set measurable goals for US industry to assemble 2 million bicycles annually within five years and 5 million bicycles annually within 10 years.

PeopleForBikes, a national trade association for the bicycle industry, said the act would support existing manufacturers and incentivize companies to begin producing more bikes domestically.

Introduced in June, the US Bicycle Production and Assembly Act has not progressed beyond its referral to the House Ways and Means Committee.