Give Taiwan A Chance

[IXXI]

U.S.-made, French-maid(!), Italian-made, +hand+-made... CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET A LONG????

Hi, I'm IXXI and I'm a bike snob. I prefer hand-made anything over robotic-controlled whatever. I bleed Serotta and Vanilla. But I did something bad this weekend.

I built up a 29er and rode the crap out of it. A Surly. Karate Monkey. Steel. FUN as FREAKING hell. It's blue. It's big. And it is crazy love.

Taiwan, welcome to my handmade stable.

[regularguy412]

I believe my Soma was fabbed in Taiwan. It's a lugged steel fixie. It's a far cry from my CSI, but the Tange Prestige tubing makes a great riding bike, for the money. The local LBS wrench says that the quality of Taiwanese bikes is much better than those made in China. The Soma is my first foray into foreign-made bikes. Prior to this, I only rode C-dales and Serottas.

Mike in AR

[Erik.Lazdins]

I rode my Bleriot 5,000 miles since I bought it about a year ago - totally fun, a blast to build up/mount honjos on and ride the stuffing out of it.

A terrifically stable bike - whatever you have read - its underrated - its better than the press about it.

[sevencyclist]

I don't know if I can. I mean, I put a nice set of wheels from ergott on my Surly Crosscheck, and it still does not ride like the Sachs.

No, seriously, the country of origin should not matter in the performance, and Taiwan has good practice on issues regarding working condition and child labor. In addition, Taiwan makes quality products. Afterall, my parents came from Taiwan. ;)

[fixednwinter]

One of the best recent bikes I've owned is a Cervelo - but not one of their aluminum or carbon jobs. It was their Cervelo SuperProdigy, welded in Taiwan with Columbus UltraFoco tubing.

With its clean welds, nickel plating and wonderful ride qualities, it was a great value. Really excellent quality.

My only beef - the ride was so smooth that it would've been great to take it on more rough roads, but the chainstays were so short I couldn't put 25mm (or fatter) tires on it. That's nothing to do with Taiwan, that's the way it was spec'd by Cervelo in Canada.

I kept it for a couple of years, and eventually gave it to a friend, it's still going strong now.

[eddief]

otherwise globalization is good. Obama will fix it if it's broke. I love my Giant OCR C. It comes from over there someplace. And then the Rex comes from Steve over here in Sacto. And then the Kogswell has foreign tubes and Kirk Pacenti lugs tacked together by Asian hands.

[Hvorfor?]

Obama will fix it if it's broke.

I think I'm gonna hurl.... ;)

Will he fix the "ticking" noise in my Mavic OP's as well?

[shinomaster]

I'm getting a Taiwanese made Giant.

[DukeHorn]

I ride my '05 Giant more than my '95 Merlin, but probably more due to the comfort of having a triple in the Bay Area. Trying to figure out if I should swap out the 9S Dura Ace on the Merlin, but can't bear to do it right now.

[fierte_poser]

I work in the semiconductor industry, and let me tell you, the Taiwanese make one heck of a piece of silicon. :beer:

[Johny]

http://www.longshen.com.tw/

Just ask e-richie, DK, etc about their lugs. ;)

[eddief]

probably because they were not made in Taiwan...or you have not put them in YOUR truing stand to tighten down that loose spoke or two. That fixed the ticking noise in my Mavics.

And yes, Obama will fix it for you if you can't fix it yourself. It's the democrat thing.

[rustychisel]

And yes, Obama will fix it for you if you can't fix it yourself. It's the democrat thing.


POLITICS alert!!!!! :crap:

Need I remind you of the potential consequences?? (actually, Obama does have a policy, doesn't he? Even one??)

[avalonracing]

One of the best recent bikes I've owned is a Cervelo - but not one of their aluminum or carbon jobs. It was their Cervelo SuperProdigy

.


I thought about buying one of those at one point. I kinda wish I had.

[michael white]

POLITICS alert!!!!! :crap:

Need I remind you of the potential consequences?? (actually, Obama does have a policy, doesn't he? Even one??)


naw I asked Obama if he could tie and solder my 3-cross, and he said he don't swing that way. Great communicator, my foot!

[eddief]

I was making a joke.

[Tobias]

POLITICS alert!!!!! :crap: Keep it apolitical – support John Connor.
He’s the real deal for our future.

[IXXI]

Duuuuudes. Do not get me on the banned list.

I was talking bikes. Steel. 29ers. That I love handmade ones and suddenly am grinnin like a fool over this one that's not. Someday when I know better and can indulge my snobosity I'm sure to hook meself up with a handmade 29er. But for now
TAIWANONMO

[amator]

I thought about buying one of those at one point. I kinda wish I had.

A friend had one pf the steel cervelos and he traded it in for peanuts for the colnago CLX.
By the second ride, He wished he hadnt but the bike was sold.
the cLX is lying in the basement as he bought an airborne titanium after that as his main ride.

If Im not mistaken, all of them were built in taiwan.

[BUTCH RIDES]

你好和早晨好
bye

[fixednwinter]

A friend had one pf the steel cervelos and he traded it in for peanuts for the colnago CLX.
By the second ride, He wished he hadnt but the bike was sold.
the cLX is lying in the basement as he bought an airborne titanium after that as his main ride.

If Im not mistaken, all of them were built in taiwan.

Hi amator and avalonracing;

Yes, all of the Prodigies (FOCO) and SuperProdigies (ULTRAFOCO) were Taiwan welded. The earlier Renaissance frames were not - some were from True North in Ontario, Canada, and some may have been from Italy?

It was the Cervelo SuperProdigy that opened my eyes again to steel about four years ago. Of course I had two reliable old steel bikes (filet brazed and lugged) for touring and fixed, but they were not my "hero" bike - it was a 03 Cervelo Soloist, which was aluminum only at the time.

I picked up the SuperProdigy at the end of the 04 year. It was steel, "heavy" (18lbs + in my size), and had 9sp Ultegra. No one wanted it. I think I bought it for $995 Canadian (at the time, the Canadian dollar was probably 65% to the US dollar).

Once in a while, you might still see some of the SuperProdigy frames coming up on eBay. The black/nickel (those are the colours I had) and the red/nickel (CSC) are especially nice. There's some talk about the Foco tubes being prone to rust, but I use Frame Saver on all of my frames and have had no issues on the SuperProdigy. My friend Jenn is still running that SuperProdigy two years after I gave it to her and it's still in great shape.

I was amazed what modern steel and TIG welding could do for the ride and the weight. It really brought me back into the steel fold again. The ride was really forgiving despite the crazy-short (39cm) stays, and the shaped tubing made the ride stiff enough for intervals and jumps. Like I said, the only downside was the short stays - these frames would've been wonderful for gravel road/rough stuff/cobbles with 28mm tires, but I could only fit 23mm in it.

Although it would not have fit me and the frame had been damaged in transport, the SuperProdigy I REALLY wanted was Andrea Tafi's Paris-Roubaix frame! It's sitting in Cervelo's lobby in Toronto. You should see the stays on it - they're really long (probably upwards of 41cm) for a pure road racer. A great cobbles frame.

[MassBiker]

From cyclingnews.com

Wilier targets China
Wilier Triestina is looking to establish itself in China

Italian bike brand Wilier Triestina is looking to establish itself in China, aiming to capitalise on the growth of the sport of cycling and the availability of materials there.

Wilier will open a store in Beijing, where interest in bike racing is at its highest and will be further fueled by the Olympics this year. It plans to open a second store in Xiamen in south China, a city popular with foreign companies. By the end of the year, Wilier hopes to have six outlets running in China and increase sales by between 35-40 percent.

As part of its push into China, Wilier will sponsor races in Beijing, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanning and Shenyang.

[fixednwinter]

Looks like BiKyle still has one of the Taiwan-welded Cervelo SuperProdigy bikes in stock, 54cm.

http://bikyle.com/CerveloRdEnd.asp

Not a bad deal, especially with Ultegra 10sp. Wish those chainstays were longer - I wouldn't have needed to go custom!

[Grant McLean]

Believe it or not, there are people in Asia who know how to weld!

Virtually no bikes from any quality brand are made by machines...
they're actually made by hand.

:)

-g