Brian's Final Randoms - Taipei Cycle Show 2023

Mar 24, 2023
by Brian Park  



It's day 5 at the Taipei Cycle Show. There's been a ton of interesting stuff at the show this year, and I've saved some of the best for last. Also some of the strangest. The team is wrapping up some stories before we record a final podcast and then go find some go-karts (yes, again.). If anyone would like to sponsor a go kart Field Test, hit me up—ideally presented by Chia Te Taipei Pineapple Cakes.





Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Looks familiar.

Reso's Saddle Angle Adjuster

This saddle angle adjuster does what it says on the tin. You can easily tip your nose down while climbing, flatten it out over mixed terrain, and tilt it back for big descents. The semi-closed structure is said to keep it well lubricated and prevent debris ingress. No weight was available, but it's said to be fairly light and user serviceable with standard tools.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Climb
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Ride
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Descend

The product won an iF design and innovation award here at the show, but there's no escaping that it's very Aenomaly Switchgrade-esque. That said, there are definitely some differences between the two products, including a much more prominent lever on the Reso, and what appears to be a different mechanism.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Surprisingly, I wasn't allowed to take it apart on the spot.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Any ideas what's going on in there?

The company behind the product is called Reso International, and they do work with several MTB brands, including Reverse Components. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up being a Reverse product, I just hope the Aenomaly folks are getting a fair deal.





Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
electronic drivetrains everywhere.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Why are you showing me curly bars?

L-TWOO's Drivetrains

Why am I showing you curly bar stuff? Because Chinese drivetrain brand L-Twoo's new road group is said to have an MTB counterpart coming later this year. The brand was founded by some ex-SRAM folks in the Guangzhou area.

Their eRX Hydraulic Semi-Wireless Groupset has a lot of people talking on the road side. If I'm honest, the stuff felt pretty cheap in hand with some pretty serious lag. That said, I'd be very keen to try an MTB version on a bike.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Their current RD900 derailleur is part of their T12A MTB groupset.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
12 speed, up to 50t, with clutch and cage lock, 265g.





Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
Weiting's new hub concept is super slick.

Weiting's New SFE (Separate Floating Engagement) Ratchet System

Weiting Technology Co has a very cool new hub concept. The SFE ratchet system allows for the driveside bearings to sit further outboard, apparently allowing hubs to be lighter and stronger. The mechanic in me cringes at the thought of servicing 23098432082 little spring-driven floating ratchet elements, but it's an incredibly cool system. I put up a little video of how it works on Instagram.

If you watch closely you can see that each floating pawl pops out at a different time for a higher degree of engagement. I could imagine other ratchet options that would align more directly for less instant, but more positive/strong engagement.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
The cutaway reveals the little spring-loaded pawls that push out to engage with the ratchet.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 3-4
The front hub looks nice too.

Weiting Hub patent
The patent makes whats going on a little clearer.
Weiting Hub patent
Interesting idea.

There's no website or word on who will be using this technology, or whether Weiting will set up its own brand. You can read the patent here if you want to go deeper. We did hear through the grapevine about Alex Rims describing a similar product, so possibly they're in talks to use it. Pure speculation on my end though. Regardless, it's very cool and I hope we have the opportunity to learn more about this tech when it's ready.





Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Maxxis x Seawastex recycled tire casings.

Maxxis x Seawastex recycling program

Maxxis wasn't showing any flashy new models at the show (I'd guess Sea Otter), but they were very proud of getting their Seawastex program underway.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Discarded fishing nets.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Depolymerized into nylon pellets.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
The nylon yarn is made in an ISO 9001 compliant quality management process.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
And gets used in tire casings.

Basically they take some of the 640K tonnes of fishing nets that are discarded or lost at sea, which have huge impacts on wildlife, and turn it into tires. They depolymerize discarded fishing nets into nylon pellets, and use those pellets to produce high tensile recycled nylon yard, which Maxxis then uses to make tire casings.

It sounds like this program will be rolled out through the year on select models in their hybrid/commuter lineup. Maxxis says that as they're improving the processes they're confident we could see this process in higher end MTB tires someday as well.





Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
These look great.

DMR's New ODub Signature Bars

DMR had their recently released Olly Wilkins ODUB Signature bars on display.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Bars bars bars.
Details:
• 7075 heat treated spiral butted aluminium
• 31.8mm clamp
• 780mm width
• 20mm/35mm/50mm rise options
• 5° upsweep
• 8° backsweep
• 31.8Ø and 35Ø clamp options
• weights 31.8Ø - 20mm 335g / 35mm 340g / 50mm 345g
• weights 35Ø - 20mm 325g / 35mm 330g / 50mm 335g

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Gold.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
More gold.

DMR were also showing off a new gold colourway in their Rhythm alloy dirt jump frame. Is gold the colour of the year this year? Should we try to do a full Goldfinger bike custom build?





Taipei Cycle Show 2023
Inspect closely and pretend you understand what the chain geometries do.
Taipei Cycle Show 2023
But is it available in gold?

KMC's Linkglide-compatible eGlide chain

KMC has launched a Shimano Linkglide compatible chain option called eGlide. It's 9/10/11 speed compatible, with claimed high torsion resistence and tensile strength. It's got a ton of features like "Triple X Durability" and "Dynamic Chamfer Angles Design" and "Shield Tech Riveting," but KMC knows how to make a chain and it's good to see more options for Shimano's new system.

It's also nice to see Shimano having apparently opened up compatibility for Linkglide, and I imagine we'll see these both as mid-level OE spec and as a cheaper aftermarket option in shops that don't have the same access to Shimano stuff.





More Randoms


Taipei Cycle Show Day 2

Have you ever struggled to decide between buying an aero road bike, a triathlon bike, an 180mm enduro bike, a cargo bike, and a high speed commuter? Well if you have $20K, the RYUGER EIDOLON BR-RTS means you don't have to.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Carbon Girder Linkage fork? Check.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Lockable watertight storage? Check.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Dual front discs? Of course.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
180mm rear travel? No problem.

The Japan-based brainchild of Australia's Brent Richards is a very unique take on the "superbike". He wouldn't tell me what this thing's top speed was, and despite it being pretty ridiculous all around, I'd be lying if I didn't want to take it for a spin.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
SLS 3D printed saddle body? Naturally.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Cafe racer-esque carbon bars? Okay these actually look sick.

Ryuger also make carbon wheels that apparently test very well, and use sacrificial foam filling in their layup process.

Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
The legendary Alhonga.
Taipei Cycle Show Day 2
Levy's a fashion icon.





That's it from me in Taipei this year. I want to give a huge thanks to TAITRA for having us, and especially to Ting for her help throughout the show. We're going to record one more podcast and get a few final stories out before hitting the plane home. Thanks for following along, looking forward to coming back next year!

Author Info:
brianpark avatar

Member since Dec 29, 2010
214 articles

99 Comments
  • 137 1
 RYUGER EIDOLON BR-RTS for the next field test?
  • 65 0
 I'm down.
  • 78 0
 @brianpark: huck to flat please
  • 14 2
 huck to flat slomo
  • 28 0
 Quiver Killer!
  • 4 1
 The right disk is in the wrong direction though, should have chosen a more basic disk that can go either side. I can't say it's good looking, and the sticker choice is questionable, but props for doing it.
  • 1 0
 @Will-narayan: isn't that b/c its on the opposite side? Front wheel has two sets of disc brakes for some reason (you can see in one of the photos)....but i guess on this bike non-sense makes perfect sense
  • 22 0
 New segment: downroadie?
  • 2 0
 @SATN-XC: Yes that's the reason, but that may be dangerous as the disk is often shaped so that it can withstand the massive forces happening during braking, if you mount it in the wrong direction it may be weaker, though I rekon this shimano disk has a spider with straight arms, so it's less of a risk, maybe it's even the very reason they chose this disk.
  • 5 0
 Redalp killer.
  • 2 0
 This'll definitely make it into Fast & Furious 11.
  • 1 0
 Ryuger. That's Ken's finishing move in Street Fighter right? Cool
  • 41 3
 They can release how many electronic drivetrains as they want, I will still be connected via cable.
  • 6 1
 I straight up refuse to put anything electronic on my bike.
  • 27 0
 Is "some ex SRAM folks" a euphemism for "Intellectual Property Theft?"
  • 18 12
 SRAM getting what it deserves for using Chinese engineering/manufacturing. Sure, lots of profit in the short term, but you’re just training up an inevitable competitor for the future.
  • 4 1
 Imaginary Property.
  • 6 1
 I'm curious whether Shimano will even bother going after them for the eRX logo rip-off.
  • 2 0
 Sram had a long standing factory in Guangzhou. Sram opened a new factory near Shanghai and moved operations there. Many or all employees at the Guangzhou factory didn't make the move (probably because Sram didn't want to pay to relocate?), so were laid off and the factory shut down. Former Sram employees started their own drivetrain company. ... maybe with blackjack and hookers too (unconfirmed)...

www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/ltwoo_derailleurs.html
  • 19 1
 Reverse Components who like most claim western brands claim to have in house development while all most of them have is a purchasing team, marketing and sales
  • 18 0
 Yup. The more time pass the more I either buy proper western parts made in EU/US or I simply buy Asian parts from AliExpress. Paying a premium for a Chinese product just because it has a different logo doesn't make any sort of sense.
  • 13 0
 Reverse (engineer) components?
  • 3 0
 @dreamlink87: seriously. Such a blatant copy
  • 2 4
 @Murphius: if a product makes sense why not making your own version ? Don't we have several brands selling forks that are basically using the same design ? Or derailleurs, or cranks, or droppers, etc etc. At some point in history all these products have been innovative and alone on the market, we just forgot it because for most of these it was a really long time ago. And even if droppers aren't as old we just have a short memory. Magura was the first to do electric dropper, are you complaining because RS did it too, and now many are going to hit the market ? That's also blatant copy innit ?
  • 13 1
 @Balgaroth: Give some consideration as to why patents exist, to protect innovators and their investment. For a company to shamelessly copy, not add any advanced functionality (why not develop infinite positioning or some advanced spin on the idea, no they copy and stick with three positions, probably even the same exact angles), and then win an award at a bike show is absurd. Go checkout alibaba and let me know if the knockoff market is what you want to support or if you see reason in supporting those who innovate.
  • 2 0
 @Balgaroth: you have a point, but there's also liability involved. If a "Crankbros tm" pedal breaks due to a quality issue you could potentially sue due to negligence or quality and they should have liability insurance to cover the damages. Good luck with that for something you buy off of AliExpress...
  • 1 0
 @chadtague1: then buy retailer brands products which come from the same factory, similar price, different logo, someone you can sue (that's so American lol) if you want to.
  • 2 0
 @Balgaroth: can you give an example of some of those brands? And yes, my country has been ruined by lawyers.
  • 1 0
 @chadtague1: your country has been ruined by not having a social system, particularly, not having a health care system. I got injured in Whistler and couldn't believe the bill I got (covered by insurance thank god) so if you get in a pickle your last resort is to sue to hope that money will cover. Anyway on that comes to mind is Neatt from Alltricks. I think Bike-component also have their own brand but I don't remember the name.
  • 17 0
 Ryuger Xenomorph is a better name.
  • 14 0
 Let Ripley kill it with fire
  • 13 0
 We need "the bad and the ugly" of taipei
  • 17 0
 I'd say that bike covers "the ugly" pretty well.
  • 12 1
 And the winner for the Fugliest bike goes to...RYUGER EIDOLON
  • 4 0
 The first time the allmighty Alhongas showed up in the LBS i used to work at noone knew what they were, they didn't even have lable. We called Haibike and even they were suprised and couldn't tell us what kinds of brakes these were, which is telling alot on how the industry works in my mind. They felt ok, though, much like the cheaper Tektros.
  • 7 0
 That bike is so ugly, I am going to have nightmares.
  • 3 0
 So bad it's good type of thing. Kind of like The Room of bicycles
  • 2 0
 @Arierep: so bad it's really bad.
  • 6 0
 I can't wait to have my hub driven by mini marshmallows.
  • 15 0
 When it comes time to service it replacing the marshmallows: One for the hub, one for me, one for the hub, one for me...
  • 6 1
 Love Olly but that bar from DMR is about as boring as it gets as it gets.
  • 5 2
 As handlebars should be!
  • 1 0
 Is there a way to view other pages in this format, with the non-full screen pictures?
I used to love the race photo epics, but they're very difficult to enjoy when because of toolbars I can't properly fit a picture on my screen.
  • 2 0
 Looks at Gold DMR bike.... goes out to the garage and looks at 20+ year old K2 Brass Monkey, now repurposed as a kid bike... Yeah, everything old is new again and all that......
  • 1 0
 Weiting Technology, hub design is not so new, if anyone remembers Rob Sears and the Razor Rock brand from 20 years ago, pawl system was almost the same idea. Spring loaded pins in the hub body. They also made great adjustable "Stiffy" brake levers for Hayes brakes.
  • 1 0
 This is pulling out the deep lore. I vaguely remember some spring loaded pins, but I don't think they were at an angle that created the "pawl" structure in these Weiting hubs. I could be totally wrong, it's been decades.
  • 1 0
 RYUGER. Now that's a pedal-assisted motorbike I would love taking a spin on. Didn't think I would be saying this, but I want the electric power to drive those large tires around and get enough speed to really attack every corner in the road with them.
  • 1 0
 My Kona Process came with Alhonga Brakes It makes me mad how shitty they were. haha what a waste of ressources building those brakes must be. Sorry for the rant but the alhonga picture triggered me a bit Smile Wink
  • 1 0
 I can't see the saddle tilt mechanisms catching on while they raise the stack of the saddle. If the mechanism was more a part of the seatpost head, or built into the actual saddle it may work.
  • 1 0
 Interestingly Specialized did have a post with an integrated angle system back in 2019 called the Command Post WU. It was only offered in 34.9 size with 150mm drop and had a complex internal dual piston mechanism that was always failing.
  • 3 0
 @seraph: Also famous for reducing fertility rates amongst its users.
  • 6 0
 Im also wondering why is it a thing. Ive never felt I needed my seat tilted up for descending.
  • 3 0
 A new lever is brewing at syncros
  • 1 0
 @seraph: I have a brand new one sitting in a box at home (why I still have it, I don't know). Came on a waranty bike.

I used the original post for a few months until I replaced it with a Transfer. It wasn't that good. Mostly because it WASN'T 150mm, they claimed the amount the back of the saddle tilted as a part of the travel. It was really something like 115mm of travel with the nose of the saddle going up about 35mm to balance out the back of the saddle going down 35mm.
  • 3 0
 I love that the "super bike" brakes clearly say "2.3mm rotor" on them but are running Shimano 1.8mm rotors
  • 9 9
 The Nylon yarn passes ISO 9001... I don't think so.^^

"ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system..."
www.iso.org/iso-9001-quality-management.html (accessed 25.03.2023, 07:35 UTC+1)
  • 10 0
 As I understand it they have to manage the quality of the raw materials to a level that they are consistent enough to reuse in mass production. I've updated the text for it to make more sense.
  • 31 6
 @brianpark: ISO9001 and this yarn mentioned together is pure marketing BS


9001 is only about your company's processes and ability to produce quality with your organisation, it says nothing at all directly about the quality of the actual products you make or plan to make
  • 10 3
 Those fishing nets looked surprisingly new for reclaimed sea waste.....
  • 39 4
 @brianpark: iso 9001 is the single biggest marketing scam ever

Source: I audit ISO 9001 for my company
  • 4 2
 @jespinal: is it? I was ready to praise Maxxis for this. Sounds like it's early days with more refinement needed but it looks like a positive step at least.
  • 26 2
 @tremeer023: the only thing ISO9001 means is "we have procedures for...stuff"
  • 3 0
 @jespinal: I have done some work with ISO,check some parts to meet new criteria. That work was for a US partner and was a huge waste of my time in general hehehe,boring stuff.
I describe ISO like "best practices code" to meet some quality levels in your company.
  • 2 0
 Anyone who understands about ISO (or similar) knows that "passes ISO 9001" mean it meets Maxxis QA/QC standards. There's no need to brag.
  • 7 3
 @tremeer023: jesus wept,
you went from reasdy to praise Maxxis for what seems to being a positive step, to not doing so because some stranger on the internet believes that ISO9001 is a scam?

What on earth did you think ISO9001 meant, its just a set of criteria for managing systems.
  • 3 3
 @jespinal: what exactly did you think it was?
Its just a general set of guidelines for companies to utilize as best practices. So companies from around the world can be close to being on the same page.
It allows a company to choose partners, assuming some sense of compatibility between them.
  • 16 0
 Hey look, a company making says they're trying to do something cool and clean up/re-use waste. Let's crap all over them!
  • 2 3
 @gbyrne: so I was willing to let that slide, and then they claimed that they had an official process in place to make sure it doesn’t impact quality. And that set me off

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
  • 17 1
 @JohSch: Sweet Jeezus, this lynchmob is so busy torching the ISO tree, that it's completely missing the woods:
Maxxis is taking *trash from the sea* & re-using it! In tires worth buying for our townies. *Who cares* how the marketing copy reads! Put away your rhetorical torches and vote for this commendable effort with your dollars - full stop.
  • 12 3
 @onawalk: it's not even close as companies being on the same page

ISO14000 is companies being on the same page, for example, chemical reference testing and basing your results based on the said references (patron in spanish but cba to look for the translation) is being on the same page, a good practices book that you can pull out of your arse is not

Now to your "but at least they are doing something good argument" yes that is commendable, but what procedures are they following? Do you know if they're de-polimerizing tires with a method that has little to no impact? Are they using enzymes? Or are they simply dumping tonnes of chemicals into the water but hey look bois they are taking trash from the sea!

Unless we get a whole flowchart of the products used and how the by-products affect the ecosystem or how do their factories safely dispose of them this means nothing at all. If they are doing it for the enviroment they will release it, if they are pulling a marketing gimmick they will just throw sparkles in the air and dumbf*cks with zero idea will buy it
  • 10 0
 @gbyrne: The Seawastex material is actually collected from fisherman and the company making it has a great process to compensate the fishermen for that material so they're incentivized not to toss it in the drink.

This is a good thing.
  • 3 0
 @jespinal: Man,
its closer than dealing with companies that dont have those set of guidelines in place.
Its not going to be perfect, but getting closer, based on a set of guidelines sure helps.

I work in construction, and the variances between dealing with two companies, that make similar money, similar size, structure, etc. can vary wildly. Having companies per-qualify by having management structures in place, sure helps weed out potential problems
  • 2 0
 Surely a few random "ALHONGAAAA!" calls were dropped while passing the booth? Big Grin
  • 2 1
 Ya know, I'm getting sort of tired of EVERYTHING constantly being marketed as "lighter and stronger". It's getting repetitive and means nothing to me at this point.
  • 4 0
 I think it matters when you bash it into a rock Big Grin
  • 2 0
 I thought I saw that bike on eBay from China.
  • 1 0
 someone a couple days ago asked when do we get to see a 20k bike, i guess they're puking in their own mouth now
  • 1 0
 KMC makes the majority of shimano's chains for them so it was a no brainer that they'd offer linkglide models eventually.
  • 2 0
 Enduroad… Roaduro?
  • 2 0
 Great!
  • 1 1
 We have to make room for all the car batteries
  • 1 0
 If Levy keeps growing them he'll no longer be welcome at the IBTC.
  • 1 0
 Maxxis's fishing net clean up thing is very cool.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy where did you get that shirt?
  • 3 0
 Little Alien cafe in a tiny town in Nevada just outside of Area 51. I was very, very stoked to be there.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: Thanks! Gonna have to take a road trip
  • 2 3
 The thought of servicing that hub with a million pawls is bringing me out in a cold sweat.
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