Taipei Cycle 2008's Amazing Range Give Foreign Buyers Wider Access

Riding on one of the world's most influential stages for bicycles, backed by its advantage of being home to Giant, reportedly the leader in bicycle design and manufacturing globally, the Taipei International Cycle Show, which ran from March 13 to 16 in 2008 in Taiwan, rounded off by setting records for visitors and exhibitors, as well as helping foreign buyers to perhaps not only set foot in Taiwan's full-fledged bicycle sector, but also hitch a ride behind one of the global powerhouses in pedal-powered transport.

The show this year attracted a record 86,000-plus visitors, up 24% from last year, including 4,640 foreign buyers, growing 17.8%. TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), the show organizer, statistics show that Japan, the U.S., Korea, Germany and mainland China were the top five buying countries, with significant growths in buyers from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America relative to last year.

Taipei Int'l Cycle Show also drew quite a few big-name, global-scale companies, including Halfords Group plc, the largest retailer of bicycles and parts in the U.K., U.S.'s Trek and Paul Lange, Monz of Germany, MACARIO LLORENTE and BH Bikes of Spain, Salko bisiklet of Turkey and the Association of the European Two-Wheeler Parts' and Accessories' Industry (COLIPED). Such global presence by industry heavyweights, in other words, clearly confirm the show's increasing popularity as well as Taiwan's growing influence in global bicycle development and production.

TWTC Nangan Exhibition Hall

The Taipei International Cycle Show this year celebrated its 21st anniversary by being staged in a brand-new, bigger TWTC (Taipei World Trade Center) Nangan Exhibition Hall, with the show opening boasting considerable star power that fueled media presence: More than 400 Taiwan government officials, including President Chen Shuibien, VIPs and global reporters attended.

The bicycle show had more than product content as the new venue in Nangan, an industrial community about half-an-hour by car outside downtown Taipei, has twice the booth space-2,500 in fact-than that of the TWTC Exhibition Hall 1. In tune to e-Age convenience, the Nangan venue impressed visitors and buyers with its first-rate wireless broadband networks, enabling especially businesspeople to easily access the Internet anytime.

Overcoming the minor inconvenience of commuting to Nangang, TAITRA sets up express shuttle buses at airports, bus stations, Taipei MRT stations and hotels, as well as offering easily read transport information to foreign buyers. Walter Yeh, executive vice president of TAITRA, confidently said that such convenient shuttle service saved foreign buyers ample commuting time relative to that spent in many other countries. Many buyers were heard complimenting the considerate bus services.

Everything From Spokes to Chains

This year's Taipei Cycle did not diverge from its tradition of being versatile and multifunctional: displaying a vast range covering the entire sector in Taiwan, including tires, frames, lights, brakes, parts and accessories, LEVs (light electric vehicles) and ready-to-ride bicycles, all of which offered foreign buyers from virtually any segment of the bicycle sector a fine selection of products and services.

The big wheels of the show, especially for upmarket buyers, were the showcases set up by Taiwan-based, world-caliber Giant, Ideal and Merida, who rolled out stunning eye-catching bicycles that captivated the attention of foreign buyers, bringing the show to a high.

Giant showcased the CLIP series folding bike and the most popular X0 model in its Maestro Trance family, which is built with an improved aluminum frame and 5.0" Maestro suspension system for enhanced shock-damping. This high-end sports bicycle features trendy styling and weighs a respectable 11kg, making the bike ideal for both mountain climbing, off-roading and general recreational riding.

First Magnesium Alloy Electro-Bicycle

Showing the fruits of a joint Taiwan-British effort, IDEAL displayed the Gocycle series, bicycles jointly developed by IDEAL and a British design team. The brand claimed that the Gocycle is the world's first magnesium alloy, small-wheel electro- bicycle that tips the scale at a modest 16kg, including battery (most full-sized bicycles weigh about 22 kgs.). Its compact body enables easy maneuverability while the energy-saving features add to its list of desirable green merits amid growing awareness for eco-protection worldwide. A first-place winner at the 2008 International Bicycle Design Competition, this high-end electro-bicycle retails for 1,499 euro and is mainly sold in the European market

Proudly showing its featherweight racer, Merida rolled out the Merida Ninety Six, which is built with a frame of superior shock-absorption-featuring DT carbon rear shock-and a lockout lever and weighs less than 9kg. The test report issued by Germany's Velotech Inc. says that the Ninety Six is a world-leading racer with the highest strength-to-weight ratio among similar models. Merida expects its highly rated racer, especially built for international competition, to attract the finest riders who are headed for the Beijing Olympics this August, with, noteworthy, the 7-time World Cup champion Gunn-Rita Dahle already signed on to pilot this trendsetting cycle in the 2008 season.

Taiwan-based parts and accessories manufacturers also succeeded to show their finer work, especially in terms of innovation: KMC Chain Industrial Co., Ltd. unveiled its newly developed tank-chain, where the super light product helped the supplier to further build reputation among European and American buyers, as well as doing its part to elevate the state of excellent R&D in Taiwan. Kinesis Industry Co., Ltd. and its SPF Time Trial Frame and Alex Global Technology Inc.'s Breaking Side Rim also managed to capture considerable attention for their innovative functions. Not to be left behind in terms of "wow factor," CSK unveiled a bicycle encrusted with "diamonds" or enough bling to please buyers who target younger crowds that idolize fashions trends set by rappers.

Educational As Well

Besides being a mere product forum for buyers of bicycles and parts, TAITRA also made sure to add to the highly-desirable educational quotient of the three-day show: The "Taipei International Bicycle and LEV Forum" was on the program and invited industry insiders and experts to discuss a series of topics about the status quo and future of the sector worldwide. Not only an industrial update, the agenda also introduced an eco-worthy issue involving the adoption of bamboo in manufacturing bicycle frames and parts, which garnered more than second glances from attendees-waking them up to the potential of using an otherwise neglected natural material in both virgin and recyclable forms.

Without breaking from the timeless reminder that cycling is fun, the show organizer also included in this year's Taipei Cycle's program a series of amusing events, including cycling as an extreme sport, outdoor test rides, and, the piece-de-resistance that capped the entertaining segment: the video of TOUR de TAIWAN, which helped put the island on the global cycling map.

International Bicycle Trend Forum

In addition to the award ceremony for the 12th International Bicycle Design Competition, another important annual event was the International Bicycle Trend Forum held by the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R& D Center (CHC), which sparked ideas related to the newest market trends, as well as revealing bicycle innovations that will fuel momentum to help the global sector to grow.

Mr. Ralph Wiegmann, general manager of iF or International Forum Design, said during his speech that Taiwan's excellent design effort is the axle around which the small and medium local suppliers turn and grow, as well as being the key driver behind Taiwan's dominance in the global bicycle sector.

This year's Taipei Cycle, which showcased a huge product variety featuring state-of-the-art innovations and enlightened attendees with industrial eye-openers, closed amid considerable praise from visitors, further solidifying Taiwan's unquestionable, mature, well-developed bicycle sector, as well as showing the island's painstaking R&D efforts over the years, all of which have pushed Taiwan into becoming the world's most influential supply base.

Next year's Taipei Cycle is scheduled from March 17 to 20, 2009, and the organizer expects to see even more business opportunities to develop.