Road Bike Accessories

Alu/Steel or even PP/PU plastic. Aside from aesthetics vs carbon, I have noticed that the carbon cages I bought (for around 700-800NT) are flexy and sturdy at the same time. I’ve yet to have a water bottle spill when going over bumps on the road. I won’t argue that carbon is better than other materials, but I personally prefer them.

I just finished testing full carbon mid section rims from a local brand called Roxycle (How was your ride today? - #180 by ranlee) and I can safely say they aren’t for me. Very nice when we were on the flats and I couldn’t really feel a huge difference when climbing, but I was almost blown over multiple times during descents AND going from hydro disk brakes to carbon clinchers were complete opposites.

The price tag of 35-40k NTD is also too much for me.

That specific set, or all “full carbon mid section” wheels? I wouldn’t be so fast to dimsiss an entire category based upon one ride on those things.

My carbon wheels were 40 mm deep, and even at that modest size, cross winds were very noticeable, and you’d need to be an experienced rider to benefit from them without being blown over. But part of the benefit was also being able to use crosswinds to help sail you along.

I guess they’d be increasingly and exponentially unwieldy in larger sizes. there are good reasons why pro time-triallers don’t rock the full disk wheels for many races.

I was riding Giant PA2 wheels until “yesterday” and I know what you mean. I wanted to reuse them for building up a bike for my ex but I’m sure she would be scared by the effect of side winds.

Naw, I wouldn’t go as far as saying all full carbon mid section wheels are not for me. It was the first set I’ve ever tested and was just my two cents.

It wouldn’t hurt to have a pair lying around though, I hear there’s a pair of mavic cosmic with aluminum rims, now that’s something I could put money into. :smiley:

Good “arm chair” site…

I’ve been through several pairs of shorts over the years, but Assos stand out.

I bought my first pair about 12 years ago. Trained and raced in 'em countless times. They are just about to go to bib-short heaven as they have finally become a little threadbare.

My second pair started to go brown after a couple of years (I assume riding in the sun out here as I’ve seen a few other pairs on fellow riders looking the same shade of AG2R :wink: ). I emailed Assos. They asked me to return them to Switzerland (even though I had no receipt and couldn’t remember exactly where/when I bought them) and sent me back a replacement pair. No questions.

I now rotate 3 pairs (3 different styles/versions). Started doing more 4 - 5 hour rides recently. Me bum has not complained. Ever.

Expensive? Possibly, if you simply look at the initial outlay, but for me… best cycling money I ever spend. That and decent tyres, I suppose. :slight_smile:

I’ve run mid section carbons a bit when I was in Australia where the wind forecasts are generally spot on, so at least you’re mentally prepared for what’s coming on the road.

As a present to self prior to coming back, I built myself a “commuter” with 58mm wheels that I plan to ride to work as well as do some social rides/adventure rides with. Thinking about the type of winds Taiwan can get, I kind of regret it now, though I don’t imagine myself attempting too many bigger rides with it!

what gets you as a commuter are the random direction gusts of wind that channel between tall buildings in the cities (worst in downtown Taipei, of course). be careful!

Yummy. Just about to head home in a horrible downpour. 40 minutes of wet wheels and hidden potholes.

Fortunately i know where most of them are by now… but still get caught out.

Ah but of course. Noted!

edit: Safe ride home!

If you can’t be on the riverside paths, I highly suggest sticking to roads with dedicated bike lanes such as Fuxing, Nanjing, and Xinyi.

Another tip is stick to roads with dedicated bus lanes. That’s one less vehicle you have to worry about on the road and cutting you off.

I’m effectively trying to get from Zhonghe to around Zhongsan for work, so I have used heat maps to suss out the routes and how to get on the river paths. I don’t mind riding on the road but I’m sketchy about going on the bridges coming out of Yonghe… especially after work! So will try to use the connecting paths at Fuhe Bridge I think that’s what it’s called!

I have an extra 20mm front wheel, which i throw in on windy days on the north coast, 15 sec work.
Its the front which knocks you down, the rear is no problem.

thanks. Made it OK, but it truly sucked. Nasty little storm.

Yes, Fuhe bridge seems to be the best option from Yong/Zhong He. @scomargo can confirm, that’s his stomping grounds.

Do you follow the riverside and do the Wan Hua hump to get to Zhong Shan? I know a friend who commutes from Beitou to Xindian on a regular basis and cuts through the city to skip the Wan Hua hump.

Not sure how traffic is, but at least you can skip the hump!

It really depends on where you’re coming from, and where you’re going. I find most of the bridges between Yonghe and Taipei to be acceptable for riding a bike on, but I almost never ride them at rush hour. I work near where I live, so I don’t have experience with commuting to Taipei. I do ride YouBikes to Taipei quite often, and I just take whatever bridge is the most convenient to get me to my destination. I’ve taken Zhongzheng, Yongfu, and Fuhe bridges, and to a lesser extent the Huazhong bridge. I’d rather not take them during rush hour, but I’m sure it could be done.

There’s a couple of especially good bridges for bikes, but as @scomargo said, it all depends on where you go to and where you come from.

This one is particularly bike-friendly:

@ranlee @scomargo @mad_masala thank you all for your info!

I guess MRT wise, I’m trying to get from around Jingan station to Shuanlian station via bike!

@ranlee I don’t really know yet, the plan is to start sometime next week and explore a few different routes and see what works. I don’t really mind a longer detour via the path as its kilometers I’ll end up doing on Zwift at home anyway.

@scomargo I assume you just ride on the lanes the motorised scooters go on? I guess I’m not used to the look of the traffic yet! Going to work can be flexible time wise since I can always go earlier and maybe do some extra kms, but coming back from work during peak hour looks sketchy as hell the few times I’ve crossed Zhongzhen bridge via bike, don’t know how you do it :).

@mad_masala yeah I’ve looked on google and that’s def one of the bridges ill use for my general Taipei exploration rides, but A bit out of the way for my commute to work! Again, unless I leave early to put a few extra k’s in :).

Yes, I usually do ride along with the scooters, but I also don’t usually ride during the rush hour, which makes a huge difference. If your home and office are near the MRT, I would probably just ride the MRT instead of the bike.

Otherwise, I would consider Huazhong Bridge. The bridge is not great for cyclists, but it has a sidewalk you can ride on that gets you out of traffic, and it leads to the riverside bike path. It might be the most direct way for you if you want to use the riverside paths. For your commute, I’d recommend the riverside over city streets. It will probably take 50% longer, but it will be much more enjoyable.