The second day of the Taipei International Cycle Show has given us a wealth of new and unusual cycling products. Here's out picks of the bunch.
Check out the gallery for more photos.
Aryen Egretta and Megalornis
Aryen seems to have taken its frame design inspiration from Moulton’s legendary stainless steel space frames. Aryen has a two frame line-up that includes the 24in wheeled Egretta and the 700c wheeled Megalornis. Aryen certainly does things differently, but we wonder if it’ll ever be seen outside of Asia.
Pacific Cycles Mode folding bike
The Pacific Cycles Mode folding bike uses a single-sided fork and singled rear. The alloy tri-spoke wheels are clamshell constructed and half-bolted together at the rim and hub.
Ashami AR134 Kuupas
Ashami’s Kuupas carbon disc bike, the AR134 looks tidy, and in this guise it tips the scales at 7.9kg - impressive for a mid-range build.
CKT 368-V and 398-D
CKT’s 368-V has some interesting aero touches about its frame, including Giant Propel style TRP integrated V-brakes. Underneath the hideous paint and graphics we think there’s a very decent bike.
CKT also have a new road disc bike, the 398-D - again underneath a multitude of logos there lurks a decent looking frame
Gios Vintage and Gress
We never pass up an opportunity to ogle Gios’s beautiful classic steel bikes. The new Vintage is the base model of their steel range. Here it's in its Campag spec but it's also available with Tiagra, a classic polished alloy sugino crank and down tube levers for that authentic period look.
After drooling over Gios’s steel output, it's easy to forget they make some damn good looking carbon bikes too. This is the mid-range Gress, built from Toray T700 carbon and finished with either Shimano 105 or Ultegra. The Gress frame tips the scales at 1,270g and the fork weighs 390g.
Samedi Moustache
The Samedi full suspension e-bike is named the Moustache - we’ve no idea why. It uses Bosch’s e-bike motor system combined into a hydroformed alloy frame that runs Fox suspension.
Giant pro bikes
Giant made the most out of their roster of stars. We spotted Lars Van De Haars' disc-equipped 'cross bike, Marianne Vos’ custom-built Liv Envie, Danny Hart’s Glory and Marcel Kittel’s Dura-Ace equipped Propel.
Tange Yasujiro
Tange’s Yasujiro line embraces the vintage steel look, but just because it's vintage styled and fancy lugged doesn’t mean it has to be heavy - this Prestige tubed and chromed lugged machine weighs just under 7.3kg complete.
Electric recumbent solar panel bike
The Taipei show is always a great place to find bikes that fit every niche going. Want a recumbent bike? Check. Want an electric recumbent bike? Check. How about an electric recumbent that giant solar panel for a roof, to keep the batteries topped up? Just what you didn’t know you needed!
Axman cyclocross and road disc bikes
Taiwanese bike builder Axman produces bikes for some of the best brands around, so it's good to see that its own products look seriously sharp too. We were pretty taken by this front and rear through-axle cyclocross bike, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this one turn up under an established name.
Its not just off-road where Axman have implemented discs though - the new road disc frame features a through-axle on the dedicated fork while the rear remains standard.
TransX Antishock post and stem, and new dropper post
TransX have launched two new Antishock components for road bikes. The new Antishock post differs from the latest comfort posts such as Canyon’s VCLS, and Ergon, Syntace and Storck's offerings, in that it offers a mechanical solution rather than relying on flex from composite materials. The TransX unit has a sleeved head piece that sits over the post, and is then pinned with a pivot - there's an elastomer sandwiched in the gap between the two pieces. TransX claims that the post can seriously reduce jarring and vibration from this floating head design. The post weighs a claimed 370g (for a 27.2 x 350mm model).
The new Antishock stem is designed in a similar fashion; the twin-bolt steerer clamp section is actually two pieces, with a pivot on each side of the steerer and elastomer material sandwiched between the top and bottom sections. The all-alloy stem tips the scales at 198g (100mm).
TransX has also launched an all-new dropper post. The difference here is that rather than using a traditional cable release to activate the post, TransX has replaced that with a wireless transmitter. The post can be shifted up or down by 80mm at the touch of a bar-mounted button. The transmitter works on the 2.4ghz channel so should be resistant to interference. The seatmast top is substantially bigger than a standard dropper post, which may put some people off, but removing the hassle of cable routing and cable maintenance could well make it worth it.
Teschner HF30 and HF15 bikes
Australian brand Teschner continue to blend light weight and aerodymanics on their new line-up of bikes. The aero styled HF30 balances stiffness, aerodynamics and weight into a classic road race bike. With a claimed frame weight of 800g, the HF30 sounds very promising.
Teschner also showed their latest time trial frame, the HF51. It is optimised for use with Di2 groupsets and has been designed using known NACA profiles. Up front, the stem is integrated into the head tube and fork. Great care was taken to make sure the HF51 remains UCI compliant. Weight has also been a serious consideration, with Teschner going to great lengths to keep the weight down to a very respectable (for a time trial bike) 1,150g for the frame.
KCNC chainrings
If something is made of aluminium, chances are that KCNC has CNC’d a lightened version of it! We saw an incredible milled out TT brake calliper, KCNC’s take on an oval chainring and a standard chainring that’s been machined to within an inch of its life.
Control Tech components
Control Tech has added a new range of bars, stems, and small components to its road and off road line-up. The range is called Timania and, as you may guessed, it's all made from titanium. The most interesting items are the bar and stem. The stem is a first for Control Tech in that it is constructed in one piece without a weld in site. We asked how it was made, but the answer of 'special innovative monocoque technology' didn’t really tell us much. The faceplate and clamp are both machined to pare down weight - the 90mm version tips the scales at an impressively low 123g.
The Timania road bar uses a titanium centre section with a plugged and bonded section of unidirectional carbon fibre at the point where the bar begins its first curve into the drop. The bar uses a fairly short and shallow 130 drop with a 75mm reach. It’s a beautifully finished piece of kit, and is very cleverly put together. Control Tech claim a weight of 235g for the 420mm version.
Tortola Roundtail
Its only in Taipei where you’ll see bikes that prove the saying ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’...
CHC LED bike
This new flat barred bike from CHC utilises indicators in the rear seatstays and at the ends of the grips. Integrated front and rear lights complete the high visibility. The CHC has one more trick up its sleeve though - twin sensors in both grips are uses to take your pulse rate, so as you cycle the bike transmits heart rate info to a compatible ANT device.
Carbon folding bike
AMECO Carbontech debuted its new compact folding bike. It has a single-sided front and rear and takes a simple one-touch operation to fold. When folded, the front and rear wheels perfectly overlap.
Protanium Yes chainless e-bike
The new Yes bike from Protanium runs a chainless drivetrain, with a shaft-drive. Unlike other shaft driven bikes we've seen, this one's an e-bike too. The main frame is made from carbon with a layer of Kevlar to add extra strength. The bottom bracket hides a minimal motor driving the chainside (even though there's no chain) shaft contained within the stay. The batteries to drive the motor are hidden within the saddle. The Yes bike looks more minimal than a standard drive flat bar bike, and should remove the stigma of e-bikes being functional but ugly.
