Hey there,

I' m taking a trip to Taiwan in a few weeks. i'm looking to build/buy a touring/expedition bike while i am there. can anyone point me in the right direction for factories/stores/shops etc etc?

any info would be extremely greatful

Collie

Thanks for explaining the problems with the air on the island. I guess when I think of tropical/sub-tropical islands, I think of the breezy, carefree (and largely industry-free) Caribbean islands. I have heard Manila has pollution problems as well, though.

I've been in NC for 12 years now, mostly in Asheville. The cost of living is continuing to increase, despite the real estate slowdown in many other parts of the country. It's just a nice place to live, and people are taking notice.

Come on home and get some BBQ now!!

more than half the pollutants in the air over taiwan at any one time come straight from our lovely neighbour across the sea. you know, the most polluted country in the world, the one that denies that pollution control is a global problem and tells us to butt out of internal affairs. the unique geography of taiwan relative to the prevailing westerly winds compounds the problem by trapping the air over cities, as mentioned above, where much local pollution is added to the mix, especially over religious holidays where paper money and firecrackers are burned...

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Nat...OSE2003295.jpg

http://www.space.com/images/ig184_05_02.jpg

and the gas mask thing is a furphy too... almost every gas mask you see worn on the streets in taiwan is cosmetic, psychological protection at best. an active carbon half-face gas mask of the kind you need to control the kind of crap that you find in this pollution haze is going to restrict your breathing far too much to use for cycling, anyway. your air intake may rise ten times or more when you cycle hard.

2 stroke emissions that are of interest here would be particulate, ie smoke, and unburnt fuel and oil emissions rather than the incomplete nitrogen and other oxides (like CO) that catalytic converters are designed to reduce. one possible solution is better vapourisation of the fuel/air mixture, another is better scavenging and exhaust design, such as is possible with exhaust valves and effieient loop scavenging. and timing of exhaust pressure pulses.... something most taiwanese 2 stroke scooters can't do with their primitive exhausts.

collie: about your new bike frame: if you are much larger than a medium or a 58cm size, finding just a road bike will be tricky and finding a touring/hybrid bike for any serious use, next to impossible locally in taiwan. there are stores that can probably special order such a frame for you but you must wait a while then for delivery, and your bargaining options would be much smaller then too. practically no local store here stocks anything bigger than medium. one possibility is the Giant bike store in TienMu Taipei who has a large expat clientale. he does carry brands other than Giant, and does high-end road and mountain and also some family bikes.

Will be dropping into Taipei for a trip soon. Can people comment on the value of buying a road frame there? How are the prices like there compared with US or HK? Would you buy anything related to bikes there? Thanks.

Most masks I see on the streets in Taipei are just made out of cloth, which might do some good in filtering out dust, but not in filtering out fumes. I found a local dealer who has Respro cycling masks made with neoprene linings and an activated charcoal filter inside... but they were pricey since they were imported from the U - 3,500 NT for mask and two sets of filter replacements. Unfortunately for me... instantly after finding the Respro online... an taiwanese engineer friend of mine found a generic cycling mask with a charcoal filter inside for just 300 NT.

It seems that with the amount of nasty fumes in the air, even if we decrease our intake by a small percentage... say, 30%, it would be good for us in the long run.

Bump!

I'm flying to Taipei end of this week for a business trip. Can anyone recommend a shop where I could rent a bike (preferably a road bike) for a day?

thanks in advance!

I'm back in Taiwan, but I'm sorry that I can't help you with Taipei. I've only ridden in Taichung and Tainan. Next time you replace your current bike, consider something you can travel with like a Ritchey BreakAway or one equipped with S & S BTC's...

Oh yeah, I'm shopping for a folding bike, but won't have one before my trip. Thanks!

Any global recommendations on bike shops in Taipei? What are prices like? Is there anything used? Can one find track bikes? (Many questions ..)

Thanks all!

I live in Nan Kan, riding around this area and up in the hills. I do not really comute so ride for fun and exersise. I seem to ride mostly very early in the morning due to scheduleing as much as anything else, as was pointed out earlier the air is much cleaner then.

How was your Taiwan trip? I live in Okinawa which is about 250 miles to the NE of Taiwan.

I was in Manila a few years ago and did some running in the city. Wow - incredibly polluted air. Not nearly as bad as Beijing, but still bad.

Okinawa isn't too bad though. The dump trucks do put out a lot of particulate exhaust but overall the air is pretty good.

Hi,
I've been looking for this book for months "Let's Bike: Carefree Tour Biking" Northern Taiwan. Does anyone have an idea where I can find it?
I usually ride in Hshinchu County, Guanshi Township because my in-laws live there. It is nice if you adjust your cycle time to the temperature and off peak traffic times.
The bummer in Taiwan is you can't buy parts like you can in the US. The OEM laws prevent companies from selling things at a discount. I ride a Bianchi Volpe that was made here but isn't sold here. So I imported it from the US. (I'm probably the only one this year.:) I love the WTB Terrainasaurs tires because the roads are not smooth. I wouldn't want to ride a regular road bike here. Too much road vibration. The Brooks B67 makes a difference as well.

buying a Bianchi in CA
 

Were you able to build a bike in Taiwan? Last year I tried the shops in Taipei and came out empty. Ended up buying a Bianchi in CA and importing it to Taiwan.

hello meyers66 where did you get the bike in CA. You order it online or local shop.I plan to get one in CA. if you order it online might be useful for me before purchasing.

How do you mean "build"? Buy a frame and fork and have a shop add the other hardware? I know of a shop here in Taichung and one in Tainan that can do that. The one in Taichung does a lot of mid to high end stuff: Colnago, DeRosa, Pinarello, Garneau. The one in Tainan is a dealer for Giant, but also does Cannondale and Salsa (and perhaps a few others). Basically they should be able to get whatever parts that you can get in the US. While both have done repairs and maintenance for me, I have not purchased much hardware from either.

Jimmy at Jimmy's bike shop on Jien Guo Rd. in Taipei (close to Xin Yi Rd.) builds road bikes from the frame up. He is a fan of Shimano groups, but seems to have access to many and varied frames and other components.

His prices are variable. Sometimes he is super expensive and sometimes reasonable.

You can also try Yahoo! auctions in Taiwan. Many gray (black) market OEM products end up there. Be wary of the sellers however, some are truly dodgy. Oh and its all in Chinese of course.

For building mountain bikes there are several choices.

Our own shop cannot help you build a complete bike yet, but we are working hard on building up the range. Maybe one day, soon... :love:

Cheers,

V.

American Cyclery in SF, CA.
 

Hi,
I bought my '07 Bianchi Volpe in San Francisco at American Cyclery on Stanyon St. There is a Bianchi distributor in Hayward, CA. I tried getting info online and through the mail from both of them and they didn't respond. I'm not a big fan of their customer service. I received good customer service from the Bianchi dealer in Sausalito on Bridgeway. They didn't have the right size so I went with American Cyclery. If I were to do it again I'd go with the Bianchi dealer in Sausalito on Bridgeway. I'm a fan of supporting businesses that care about customer service. They also gave me a free bike box.

Hello All,
I'll be visiting Taiwan for a short trip, and am excited about bringing my Brompton with me for the first time. With that said, if anyone knows of a shop or person willing to rent/loan out a road bike in Kaohsiung, I'd greatly appreciate some pointers as I certainly wouldn't mind taking that up for a few climbs. If not, anyone interested in riding with me and my foldie around in Taipei, Taidong, or Kaohsiung (the three places I'll be visiting)?

Missed me. I'm in Taichung...

Taichung is only a HSR ride away, isn't it? :lol:

I did hear Taichung has some good climbing.

Grrrrgh, need to find someone to rent a bike from!:twitchy:

I've been in Tainan for 10 years. I've ridden and/or raced in every county on the island.

Never been to this forum before.

Howdy to all those here!

Starting in January 2004, I spent about 18 months in Tainan. In some ways, I liked it better than Taichung, where I am now.

Are you familiar with SS Knife (Shao Shiung, I think)? There is one shop out on Golden Beach and another near the Train Station downtown.