We Explain the Bike Industry | Pinkbike Magazine Show Ep. 2 - Taipei Special

 Pinkbike needs wireless microphone technology. Henry can jump up and down on it to show how strong and reliable it is.

 table routing

 @NorthYorkWhale: waiting on AXS 2.0 wireless microphone trickle down tech, coming 2025, charger not included

 Dang, man. That’s a like.

 I’m so sick and tired of the patio furniture industry trying to shove internal umbrella/microphone cable routing down our throats!

 @NorthYorkWhale: you always hardwire a mic to do the job correctly. Wireless is your last choice in the biz. Plus the freq they use in canada could be taking hits or not even working in asia.

 @NorthYorkWhale: Mic drop to flat??

 Embargo day! Surely we in the comments can get this made into a global holiday so all of us readers can avoid trouble at work while we complain about the tech most of us will never afford. @pinkbikeaudience keep it coming and keep up the great work

 Serious question. Where is the Crankworx Rotorua coverage?

 @chriskneeland: looks like they re gonna be just shoving products down out throats this year. Racing is useless. You need to buy more!!!

 Seconded, www.trailforks.com/region/taiwan doesn't show much, but there sure looks to be a lot of elevation to be had.

 @pockets-the-coyote: absolutely, I don't know a ton about Taiwan, but I do know that it's extremely mountainous. According to wiki, Taiwan has 268 mountain peaks over 9800ft/3000m, and has a handful over 12k ft. There's gotta be some sweet trails that either already exist or could be made.

 @generalistgrant: I followed Speio's instagram stories of a roadie bikepacking lap around Taiwan during the lunar new year, I recall a lot of wild life that I'm not familiar with as a north American. Perhaps the macaques alone are enough to discourage trail builders in many areas. Or more likely, they're just sharing them outside™ of the trailforks app.

 @pockets-the-coyote: ...I didn't think about what wild things are there, that's a good point. Maybe it's time to learn some mandarin and go on an adventure.

 The topography makes mountain biking a challenge. Two thirds of the island is steep densely forested mountainsides. A third is a plain. There are good trails there but it's not very accessible except in a couple of places, plus there seem to be perennial disagreements with landowners for bike access. Good spot with a lot of potential that will potentially never get tapped. A bike park has recently opened on the east coast, where I believe one can surf and ride or ride and surf. That's worth a visit.

 @jaame: good points, thanks for the info. That park sounds awesome, I'll have to look into that.

 I would love to spend months riding around Taiwan - it’s by far my favourite place in the world.

 @mikelevy: it's a sick place in most respects. Not great if you want to chase the paper or send your kids to school though.
I most other respects, wonderful island.
Get rid of the six million feral dogs and make some pavements and it would be a utopia.

 @mikelevy: I've spent years riding all over Taiwan, it's amazing, and if you also happen to enjoy road riding and climbing it's absolutely one of the best destinations in the world. The MTB scene was pretty good in Taipei for a while but the riders were generally older and many have moved on, there's a been a resurgence in recent years but decent trails are still a challenge to find or take a good deal of time and effort to access. In addition to the challenges Jaame mentioned, a huge hurdle has always been a lack of trail work. The mountain bike community, exept for a very small group of mostly foreigners, simply does not maintain their trails. There's potential for sure, but until the riders see trail building and maintenace as their job rather than the responisbility of someone else it's not going to happen.

The road scene on the other hand is HUGE, and inclusive, and 100% worth a trip to experience.

 @ltrumpore: I'm 100% coming back with the gravel or road bike, such good curly 'bar riding, and definitely love all the climbs. I feel a bit silly that I've been here so much and never brought a bike. We don't have interesting roads like this back home, so steep and interesting. I've done the Taroko Gorge ride on a scooter and can see why so many people love climbing up that thing - I need to do that. Next winter for sure.

 Recommend Dadu Trail House in Taichung, they’ve got a nice little scene down there.

I’d love to take some time to ride down the east coast next year. I did it by scooter years ago and it’s such an incredible country.

 @mikelevy: Should have told me you were coming. I have extra 3 road/gravel bikes at my house in Taipei. Next time.

 @ltrumpore: Next time for sure.

 @mikelevy: And it's a short hop over to Hong Kong afterwards (if you're up for it). Not so much "curly bar" riding but loads of MTB action to be had.

 @mikelevy: so let's make this happen! I'll take a month off and ride Taiwan.

 @mikelevy: scootering and the freedom to do whatever the f*ck you want, plus the glorious weather most of the time, are the best bits.

 @mikelevy: @ltrumpore: Reality Show: Pinkbike in Taiwan!

 @michaelheinrich: Heck yes

 Love the nerd tats.

 It’s definitely been more positive than AXS launch, especially considering the level of change in mounting standards etc.

 @brianpark: I think the fact that it's not backward compatible, is very pricy, and is another proprietery thing that locks you in very expensive ecosystem has some people not to keen on it. Its awesome that it's so good, but I get why people are hesitant.

I go bonker if my shifting is not perfect, i bought a derailler hanger allignment tool that I use more often than i'd like to admit. But taking care of my bike is part of the fun of having a bike to me. I can get the quality of shifting i want on my SLX 12sp derailler and XR shifter combo. AXS is cool, it seems to work really well and that awesome, but no thanks for me. I'd rather have better brakes and suspension.

 Not at all I would imagine, I'm sure the manufacturing operates in USD

 @Jheitt142: Not entirely true. The right answer would be… It depends. It’s a mix of USD, NTD, and the local currency of other suppliers, JPY, EUR, etc. If the NTD exchange rate changes significantly enough to any other currency, you bet the landed costs in the USA will be different.

 It's confusing for us too. The whole thing is called Eagle Transmission, the hangerless interface is called Full Mount, and T-Type is the compatibility marker—as in you can mix and match all T-Type components. I assume T-Type stands for Transmission Type.

 adam levine adjacent aka maroon 4

akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/images/story/202209/adam_levine.jpg?VersionId=ZsoVF4ANrP8lALIcOVY_uVVn2oIpd34q&size=690:388

 Agreed, I don't see any doughnut tattoos either

 @ModularSynth: that one's probably hidden around back

 His head is an odd shape.

 @ModularSynth: That one is harder to see

 Thank you for posting this! I saw this years ago but haven't been able to find it since. Hilarious

 I have a hard time seeing the typical XTR customer switching to TRP right now. No disrespect to TRP, but Shimano people seem to be very loyal to the brand at that level of product. XT level and below, maybe more so, but still an uphill battle.

 @sjma: I’m thinking SLX or Deore level stuff. Locally, every newer nicer bike I see on the trail is not running Shimano unless it’s a Pivot, Ibis or Yeti. Before in the 10 and 11 speed days it was a lot of Shimano on just about everything. Maybe it will swing back but maybe it will go to TRP instead?

 I honestly can't remember the last time I saw XTR. Besides the one I took off my bike.

 @somebody-else: it's probably microspline's mess fault (was it really necessary?).
I went slx 12 speed and i found it softer (2 years of mild use and gouging is crazy) than the xd body i came from, or even the HG previous to that.
I'm definitely not buying another shimano cassette when time's coming

 @Becciu: yeah I gouged up a microspline driver in a couple months. XD is the only driver I run on bikes with gears.

 I only watch videos that auto play at full volume

 Came here to say that. Gotta pee real bad!

 A bit of both tbh

 And in a 21 minute video no less!

 Especially the next day that SRAM "delivered the dream"

 Unfortunate comment

 time and time again the most cynical commenter I've ever witnessed

 @ryanandrewrogers: when you’ve been in this industry 27 years, you’ll be a cynic too.

 It is a shit industry. Every time I try and spend money i get pissed at poor customer service and lack of product. This was before Covid and will still be like it in the future. I am not going to take up a different hobby and it is the greatest sport ever.

 As an outsider looking in, this industry truly is pretty shitty. Sorry to break it to you guys.

From living within skating and ski/snowboard cultures since the 80's, sure, we definitely have our share - but yaw'll are a special breed of douchebags.

Soft as cotton cornballs making new riders feel like they're lesser because of what they're riding or what they're wearing at a trailhead or park. Companies charging (and fools spending) an absurd amount of money for everything from a pair of shorts to frames. You guys have A LOT of work to do as an industry and culture.

For those quick to say "well if it's so shitty then why are you in it?"; eh, I'm not. I don't care about your brands, events or pros. I ride bikes because it's a good time being out solo or with friends; and it doesn't matter their skill level or the bike they ride or the clothes they wear — all of which really seems to matter to the majority of you.

 @NYShred: this guy gets it.

 The day I stop watching

 When they need the biggest mtb industry shill on the show.

 @onetrykid: I don't know why anyone would talk shit about Doddy. He's been in the game since 92 and has forgotten more than most people will ever know about bikes.
Clearly passionate about what he does, and a good presenter. He's one of two that make GMBN in my opinion. They could swap everyone but him and Blake and I doubt anyone would even notice.

 @jaame: if you call everything that comes out from the mtb industry as a "brilliant piece of kit" no matter how dumb it is, you might be a shill. Remember how hard they shilled the plus size tires?