The Wacky and Weird - Taipei Show 2015

Mar 19, 2015
by Mike Levy  
Taipei


Taipei Bike Show
  These not so little wind-powered lights are pretty cool. They're powered by a bunch of AA batteries, and while the fan is only serving to charge them, the brochure also says that it can be used for emergency power as well. You know, for those times when your light goes out at 35mph... I suspect you'd have to be really moving along to get the fan spinning.


Taipei Bike Show
  There's nothing quite like some ''Decal-Free Excitement'' on a Friday night in Taipei, is there? I'm getting excited just thinking about it.


Taipei Bike Show
  Here's your chance to make that 900mm wide carbon fiber handlebar that you know you need. Negative rise because you gotta keep things low.


Taipei Bike Show
  This is an unfortunate name for a bike company.


Taipei Bike Show
  This isn't a plastic chain, but actually a snap-on cover that can be assembled to any length needed. It makes zero sense for us, yet it's a clever way to keep your rugrat's pants from getting greasy every time he or she pedals their little bike around.


Taipei Bike Show
  Using magnets to control a hub's clutch mechanism isn't a new idea, but there's still not many of them out there. Spank and DT Swiss are working away on theirs behind closed doors, and Soul Kozak, a Polish component brand, has been offering their M-netic hub for a few years now, but here's another example.


Taipei Bike Show
  Stratasys have had a nifty 3D printer running in their booth every day and turning out all sorts of bits, although this road bike frame was made in their Taiwan factory. Word is that it's ten times as strong as carbon and weighs only 300 grams... Okay, none of that is true, but it does look cool.
Stratasys.com


Taipei Bike Show
  MacMahone's CARBONHEART is a 100mm travel bike that looks a little confused as to what it wants to do in life. Check out the titanium plate that acts as lateral support for the rear suspension - it flexes forward and back, but not side to side. That's the idea, anyways.


Taipei
  The industry is pushing hard to abolish the already played out switch to 27.5+ in favour of 36-, a larger diameter wheel that uses a skinnier tire. The idea is to design bikes around this new wheel size that are best suited to the buttery smooth, four foot wide ''trails'' that are popping up in a lot of riding areas. Flow, man.


Taipei Bike Show
  This titanium bolt weighs a lot less than you might suspect, but I'm not sure what you'd do with it. Maybe use it as a thru-axle for a new axle standard... too soon?


Taipei Bike Show
  Taipei Show Challenge #1 - can you name the frame that this green machine is obviously inspired by? Or maybe it's the other way around, I'm not exactly sure.


Taipei Bike Show
  Taipei Show Challenge #2 - Can you name the bike this goes onto and what it does? Taiwan is where most bikes and bike parts begin life, including about a zillion aluminum and carbon bits and bobs that we usually only see when they're all labelled up.


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111 Comments
  • 191 3
 I wish I had that bolt, so I could beat whoever made those fan lights with it.
  • 18 0
 i thought it was a Light Saber at first...
  • 3 0
 hahaha I laughed pretty hard at that
  • 31 2
 Or beat the snot out of the product managers that came up with Boost.
  • 4 0
 Comment of the day, right there.
  • 11 0
 Wait, we will need that bolt for the new 36" wheel standard.
  • 4 0
 No we will just use it beat the crud out of the guy who made the 36" wheel in the first place. Then put it in a cabinet for further such occasions. Hub standards maybe?
  • 2 1
 I dunno about you, but I'd ride that 36" any day over a 27.579".
  • 1 0
 Yeah that's about all I can think that bolt could really be justified for I think, or maybe for something on a spaceship. :/
  • 5 10
flag Jimmy0 FL (Mar 20, 2015 at 22:45) (Below Threshold)
 its what i use to screw your mom
  • 8 0
 @Jimmy0 because your tool is insufficient to meet her needs. Is normal.
  • 91 2
 Challenge #1= NS Bikes Fuzz
Challenge #2= Devinci Wilson

PLEASE TELL ME THE PRIZE IS BURNING BOOST 148 WITH FIRE
  • 61 2
 Your prize is a boost 148 hubset and a boost chocolate bar... I'll take the chocolate bar if you don't want it
  • 35 3
 For challenge #1 I'd go with commencal supreme v3, especially when asking for the original inspiration
  • 18 1
 And the typo is the same than race face
  • 11 3
 I was going to say it looks like a Pivot.
  • 3 10
flag DrFlow (Mar 20, 2015 at 2:26) (Below Threshold)
 Clearly no Commencal, as it sports a Horst Link. Better guess on the NS though different tubing.
  • 31 3
 Looks like a Session to me Wink
  • 7 2
 Challenge one - NS FUZZ (insert mic drop, walk away)
  • 2 3
 I'd say its looks like a khs DH rig....
  • 1 6
flag whitebullit (Mar 20, 2015 at 5:23) (Below Threshold)
 pivot phoenix, no doubt.
  • 13 1
 Obviously it's a X-Face copy.
  • 3 0
 ghost dh rig looks pretty much the same Wink
  • 7 0
 Didn't Commencal do that frame design first (neon green frame) with the Supreme DH V3? Came out a while before the Fuzz
  • 3 0
 Commencal has a seatstay pivot, this mystery bike and the NS Fuzz use a chainstay pivot (horst link FSR).
  • 1 0
 I think you guys missed the joke Rolleyes
  • 4 0
 Looks like a Session
  • 3 0
 Actually your prize is a team issue MacMahoney. Congrats.
  • 2 1
 Now the X-RACE DH and ENDURO are still just samples,The official version will be introduced and for selling on the Shanghai Exhibition,CHINA in May, Hope to see them soon!
  • 51 0
 there I was sitting on the can in semi cloudy England avoiding retna burning eclipse damage when BANG! The huge stem on that Macmawhatever reached round the world with its humongous length and poked me in the eye. Gutted. Should have looked at the eclipse after all.
  • 9 1
 think I've just dribbled wee laughing so hard…
  • 4 0
 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks
  • 2 0
 Made my day!! Best comment in thread! You should win the comment of the day award!
  • 31 0
 36" for life... oh whoops i meant 26"
  • 24 0
 Ferget 36-, Trails these days need 36+ double fat!
  • 6 0
 To be really honest i think it would be rad to ride a bike that has 36 inch wheels and 5inch wide tyres.... actually no why am i kidding myself.
  • 16 1
 Bring back off road penny farthing!
  • 5 0
 The penny farthing enduro series starts next June
  • 1 0
 Vee Rubber makes 36" tires: www.unicycle.com/vee-rubber-36-tire.html
  • 6 0
 Penny farthing+ is the next big thing I can feel it.
  • 3 0
 holding out for 36"+
  • 2 3
 They look so funny! Are we going back in time to when people rode those giant wheel bikes; what did they call those? penny farthing or something?
  • 2 0
 Can you ride 36" with fox 36 forks?
  • 16 1
 That MacMahone CARBONHEART is almost as ugly as that Pro Tharsis stem reviewed a day or so ago.
  • 4 0
 I know the branding was insane!!! The shape did not help at all either!
  • 3 0
 Look at the reach on it! That stem has to be 90-100mm. Maybe time to adopt the forward geometry setup.
  • 4 0
 That bike is specced all sorts of weird... Cheap suspension on a bike with XX1. A dropper post but it has Maxxis Maxxlite RACE ONLY tires. Weird bike, man.
  • 11 1
 Maybe use it as a thru-axle for a new axle standard... too soon?... Nailed it!
  • 3 1
 I lol'd at that caption. Good job Mr. Levy
  • 8 0
 I would make that bolt my femur..
  • 12 0
 Could hurt screwing it into your leg though...
  • 2 1
 keyword could! pussies
  • 9 4
 Challenge #1 : Commençal DH V3. But we already know that commençal got the inspiration from Fusion's old DH bike. Which got the inspiration from Trek's Session.
#fridaytrolling #lookslikeasession
  • 2 1
 I knew it was you before I read your name... I would had #springdaytrolling
  • 1 1
 i bet you a mill that tjis bike rides better than commencal , there pviot is on the chainstay not the seat stay
  • 1 0
 NS Fuzz, and the lower link from a Devinci Wilson??
  • 1 0
 Josh...you're joking, right?
  • 8 0
 kill it all before it breeds!
  • 7 0
 I bet those magnetic hubs can produce more energy /ride than that handlebar fan can in its lifetime.
  • 3 0
 How wheel sizes are made. 26, well we need something that is twitchy, but still rolls over stuff. 29, we need something to piss off free riders, and give people something to argue about. 27.5 we need a better rolling capacity and a wheel that lets people agree with each other. 36, lets just make every one pissed off, not just DH or any other riders, fuck it lets make a wheel that will make tractor drivers pissed at how big it is.
  • 6 1
 The earlier bikes of that X-Race brand are the same as Giors.br brand and it sells at really low prices in China. And... Looks like a Session. lol
  • 6 3
 Is it just me, or does most of what we see coming out of these far east companies look poorly designed, aesthetically unpleasing, and simply amateurish, almost as if they spin up manufacturing to produce bikes or bike parts in order to make a living, but with ZERO passion for the product?
  • 7 1
 I always assumed they're not trying to impress the end user (us) but rather to demonstrate to manufacturers what they're capable of producing for them.
  • 1 0
 Makes sense I guess
  • 4 0
 Laugh as much as you want, but that chain protector manufacturer would make fortune selling it here to hipster for their fixies...
  • 2 0
 Isn't that why they wear skinny jeans?
  • 1 0
 Those two attributes are just for skyhighing the bling factor
  • 2 0
 The green frame looks like another variant of an Astro engineering frame, they get branded by anyone and everyone..
www.astroeng.com.tw/products.php?kind=1&series=6
  • 1 0
 #1 - ns fuzz? #2 looks like the bottom pivot for my 2013 wilson. does someone make that part in a different size to allow a shorter shock?(get it off the back tire/lighter weight shock/maybe fit something air?) i think my 10" fox weighs more than the frame with the coil.
  • 10 1
 Too many questions in your answer. Alex Trabek would be dissapointed in you. And hell no does someone make a wacky link for your outdated 26" inch bike, get real that's so 2014.
  • 2 0
 I'm slightly disappointed pinkbike. Header says "wacky and weird" and yet, it turns out ratboy wasn't even present at the show...
  • 3 0
 Absolute Black also make a rear hub with a magnetic freehub absoluteblack.cc/black-diamond-hubs.html
  • 3 0
 Once SARS gets a few bikes out there, I'm sure their popularity will spread like, erm.....never mind........
  • 2 0
 The X-RACEBIKES will launch its NEW DH and ENDURO bikes officially on the Shanghai Exhibition,Let's check them out in May.
  • 5 2
 The mystery part is clearly enduro specific
  • 14 1
 Hahahahahahahahahahaahahahaha

Enduro without Carbon? Surely you jest.
  • 4 1
 i'd love to try out a 36er. It would be nice when commuting
  • 7 0
 The best thing about 36ers is that you can ride them up steps. The staring from bystanders is a little distracting, but riding UP flights of steps!
  • 2 0
 We actually have a local guy in tucson who rides one(has for a LOOOONG time too, no idea where he got tires.) He's a skyscraper though, & basically fabbed the whole bike from scratch.
  • 2 0
 There's a guy in New Zealand that makes them, although I'm not sure myself I'd happily see how they go for commuting, just slap a gear box or nexus hub on it with a belt drive and it would be something real different...
  • 1 0
 How long would it take a chain to completely rust away to nothing with that stupid chain cover holding in all that lovely muck and water?
  • 1 2
 #1 Is neither a Commencal DH V3 ( Commencal doesn't have the rear pivot in the same place) or NS Fuzz (Brace between top tube and seat tube is different) Very much a copy taking alot of styling points from both of the above though!!! Saying that at under $1600/£1000 for the frame if it rides anywherer near as good as the Commencal or the NS it surely represents good value!
#2 Very similar to my UMF Duncans lower link
  • 2 0
 I'd like to know how much that bolt costs. And its just a bolt, nothing fancy.
  • 3 0
 depending on the grade of Ti used the raw stock would probably cost a couple hundred dollars,then machiningof an hour or two and you have a $500 bolt.
  • 1 0
 Is there really anything normal at the Taipei trade show? Even Sram have gone whacky with their hubs just to fit in with the theme of Taipei.
  • 4 1
 Say what you may, but that 36er looks like fun to cruise around on...
  • 2 0
 Agree. And four foot wide buttery smooth trails on a 36" bike doesn't sound like the worst way to spend your time either...maybe just not all the time.
  • 2 0
 #1 looks like a Pivot Firebird to me
#2 looks like a linkage from a GT Force
  • 2 0
 36" wheels
148/12 rear
110/15 fork
Don't forget the carbon spacers...
The industries dream... for next year at least...
  • 1 0
 Props to @mikelevy for bringing the Taipei show to our homes. Must be a busy man over there with all of these quality photos and descriptions. Cheers
  • 1 2
 Come on, Pink. 12 images? Plastic light fans, 3 signs, freak bikes, chain cover, plastic frame and a big bolt. Is that the best report you can put together on a major bike show? Is the industry that stagnant? At least show the hookers and alcohol instead of a bunch of junk.
  • 2 1
 Can the custom carbon handle bar company customise their sign to the correct spelling?
  • 3 0
 fecal free excrement
  • 1 0
 I've actually got SARS grips. Yeah, the name is unfortunate, but they were dirt cheap and are comfy enough.
  • 1 0
 #1 es la inspiracion del ns bikes fuzz primero no el segundo que es de 2015
  • 1 0
 I want to see a 36" fat bike with 7" wide tires. Not to ride it, but rather, to laugh at it.
  • 1 0
 What size is the chainring on the 36er? Ha 24t?
  • 1 0
 Any link to the X-Race bike manufacturers site Smile
  • 1 0
 Seen the older version on alibaba for sale
  • 1 0
 X race is raceface I bet.
  • 1 0
 The bottom picture looks like the main pivot sleeve on a Wilson
  • 1 0
 The magnet hub seems interesting.
  • 1 0
 Looks around.... That green bike looks like a session...
  • 1 0
 #1
kona entourage
#2
something from VPP
  • 1 0
 36- Yes
  • 1 0
 Based on a SUNDAY!
  • 1 2
 X-Race... Sponsors of Gee Athorton.
  • 9 0
 X race logo , nothing like the race face logo , honest.
  • 1 0
 haha~there're still a long long way to go for this brand.
  • 1 2
 #1 is a Commencal DH V3
#2 is the lower link from a V10
  • 1 4
 Challenge #2 is float B.B. up to connection shock ；down is connection chain stay







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