This is a posting to quell the critics of my past entry, in which not enough information was given...I think David is right that a lot of Taiwanese factories have been moved to China in recent years, but I maintain that most of the best stuff is still made in Taiwan. This is yet to be confirmed by those in the know, but I do know that my frame, as well as all the AVID, SRAM, TRUVATIV (all one company) stuff is still manufactured in Taiwan.
Here is pic, as requested, showing a profile view of my bicycle. Both these pics were taken this afternoon on a ride that Brett did up to the Fu Shan Botantical Gardens (to which I was denied entrance to for the third time... but it's my fault), about 20 km west of Ilan. Beautiful weather today, and a beautiful ride.
And now for a components listing for my bicycle.- 20 inch VOODOO BOKOR aluminum frame
- Shimano XT front and rear derailers
- Shimano Deore Rapid Fire Shifters
- Avid FR 5 aluminum brake levers.... I love these. Sooo strong. Sooo light. Sooo handsome.
- Avid Single Digit 7 brakes.
- Truvativ FireX Cranks
- Alex Rims Ace18
- Continental TravelContact Tires - the globetrotter. Sooo smooth.
- Novatec Hubs
- Wellgo aluminum pedals.
- Fuji adjustable stem
- FSA headset
- UNA ultralight aluminum seat post
- MONOLITH aluminum riser bar
- SRAM PorwerGlide II PG 970 9 speed Cassette
- Shimano Chain
- Saddle TBA. I'm riding this phat touring saddle I bought in Canada that has two big steel springs, as recommended by some touring websites... thing is I hate it. It's squirrely and heavy (700 grams). I will change it soon.
- Some kind of a bottom braket... I will find out
- RST Omega SL Fork.
I know this brand has a bad rap in Canada, but this fork fairly legit... it's an oil fork made of aluminum with a magnesium outer leg just like the rest of them. Basically a money saver. No need to tour around with 400 dollars holding my front wheel to my bike. But, it does have a push button hydraulic lock-out, which will come in handy for touring.
As you can see I'm a little embarrassed about it. I ripped off the stickers!
Did I miss anything?
As it stands, my bike weighs 13 kg because the seat, the front fork, the adjustable stem, and the tires are HEAVY.
We can play "guess the price" on it if you like.
4 comments:
I drove up to the entrance of the Fu Shan Botanical Gardens with a Taiwanese friend last time I was in Taiwan (exactly a year ago). He told me that you need to apply a week in advance to enter the gardens.
I won't try and guess the price of the bike. What kind of racks will you fit for touring?
I'm going to put a rear rack on and use rear panniers only.
I will be "guesthouse touring", a gentlemens sport if ever there was one, so I don't need to bring along alot of stuff. No camping gear for me.
I will also use a bag that will attach an easily detachable bag to my handle bars for my camera and my money and important stuff like that.
That's some nice kit, man. How much does something like that set a man back? Would you say it would be more cost-effective to pick up a similar bike (with a few of the bells and whistles left off, of course--I'm not too hardcore of a rider) in Taiwan if I'm there later on, or just go ahead and buy something like it in the States?
Keep up the pics of the east coast and mountains!
J
It is a lot cheaper to get an expensive bike here. I would say I got my bike for about 2/3 the price that I could have got a simliar one for in Canada. It's up to half price for more expensive setups.
You probably wouldn't save too much buying a cheaper bike (under 10000).
Also you need to get it home somehow, which I'm could be a headache.
I picked my bike up from a good bike shop in Ilan (Iron Man Cycle Sports) for about 22000 NT.
The Laoban ALiang can do custom built mountain bikes from 16000 to 35000NT.
You can find all the important info on this bike shop and lots of others in Taiwan at
http://www.formosanfattire.com/bikeshops/
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