Precisely. Could care less. Completely changes the meaning.
Mitchell does it way better than I ever could.
Thus:
could give a rat’s ass = could care less
couldn’t give a rat’s ass = couldn’t care less
entirely different
This is kind of like how I go to YouTube to listen to some Zeppelin, and I somehow end up watching this:
+1 on Primavera bikes. I tried my brother’s Starna bike, and I can say that it is well built and very stable.
You sure they didn’t mean 2-3 months? 2-3 days is quicker delivery time than the “normal” sized bikes coming up from Taichung to Taipei.
It could have been four days. I remember I ordered in the middle of the week and picked it up on a Friday evening.
I was thinking… since there are several bicycle factories in Taichung, wouldn’t it help to look for large frames there? also Ruten could help to spot the shops you want to visit in Taichung to get what you need.
It makes sense right? But it’s very unlikely you can buy straight from factory. If that were the case, everyone would be doing it and bike shops wouldn’t need do anything except fix and maintainence our bikes.
This from the thread I started a fews years ago:
"plasmatronFeb 2014
I ride a similar size frame and I can relate to your annoyance at how hard they are to come by. The reasons why you can’t just grab one off the assembly line even though the majority are made here are varied, but the main ones are:
Brands aren’t randomly manufacturing bikes all the time. Production runs throughout the year build sizes and quantities to meet the specific demands the brand’s global distribution network has forecast and ordered many months in advance due to the long supplier lead times. Bikes at the extremes of the size ranges are naturally made in lower quantities and to very specific demands since stock is hard to shift meaning the comparatively small number of XXL frames coming off the line during any given run are normally already spoken for.
Even if the unit you wanted could be snagged from whatever export market it was earmarked for (zero are going to Taiwan obviously) it wouldn’t be worth the hassle or in many cases it wouldn’t be possible for just one bike, to prepare the documents and pay the taxes to make it a domestic market bike. Frames and components imported (or manufactured locally) for assembly at Taiwan factories remain bonded, ie. Taiwan taxes, duties and VAT aren’t paid since they are destined for immediate export. That means the government and the tax man are involved and there’s too much cost and red tape for one to ‘fall off the back of the truck’.
Taiwan retail shops and by extension Taiwan import/distribution companies are notoriously incompetent, lazy and uninterested in customer service. “Buy what we have, not what you need” is the mantra most of them live by. In addition many are utterly ignorant of sizing and bike fit importance and honestly think you will “look more handsome” on a bike 2 sizes too small.
Your best bet is probably to find a shop that focuses on one or two major brands and hopefully has a half decent relationship with the distributor/importer and ask them to put in the request for an XXL bike on their next forecast and wait for the production cycle to run through. It could well be 6 months wait, but since the 2015 model year order/production season is just about to start, your timing might be okay. Alternatively you might consider ordering an XXL frame from one of the manufacturer direct brands like canyon.com"
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Canyon are probably the biggest name in buying ‘direct from the factory’, as it were. Don’t see many out here.
I didn’t mean to check factories. Years ago I was checking frames and bikes and noticed that many of the shops that sell on Ruten are in Taichung, which is probably related to the fact that many factories are located there. It’s not just main brands, it seems that there are several minor brands producing and selling there.
Additionally, I’m sure that one or another factory might sell you a frame.
Word on the street is that Giant makes them. So…you’re paying for a high end Giant frame in which it’s made for the global market, but you pay an extra 10% import tax for it to u-turn back to Taiwan.
Read @ColT 's passage he copied and pasted. Pretty much a bullseye in terms of the shortage of large frames in Taiwan.
I really do not think just because they’re close to the factories, that means they’re more likely to have large frames. I also highly doubt factories could sell direct to consumer. You’d need a good sales contact in order to do that.
I guess the lesson I have learned here is that I should have just brought my 25 year old bike (Schwinn “Le Tour”, hey it was classy for the time and my age) with me. I probably would have ended up paying some duty on it.
More paying an extra baggage fee for it.
Ask around the smaller shops if they can help. Sometimes it’s just pure luck on whether they seem to have one in stock or if they want to help you or not.
Just go in glass half empty. This way, when they actually say, oh man, we do have a 60cm frame in the back, you’re 1000x more happy. ha!
Next time you’re back stateside, just pick up a good used road bike (lots of old road bikes with tall frames are available for very reasonable prices) and bring it back on the plane with you. I recently picked up an early 90s road bike with a light, springy cromoly frame in very good condition for 70 bucks.
I guess U-bikes with the seat all the way up messes with your knees real bad. I ride an M/L Giant bike and I can’t handle the U-bikes more than about a kilometer. I can’t believe things are so hard for you re finding a large bike. There seem to be plenty of people taller than me out there riding. Maybe ask on a forum?
I just realized this is a closed group. PM me your email address and I can add you. Everything is in Chinese in the group.
Edit: By the way, that’s a fb group related to used bikes and accessories. I see lots of great bikes for sale there and I’m sure you would get some kind of response if you posted there. Very active group.
Given that I’m nudging 200cm, I often find it hard to get a bike big enough without resorting to custom made frames. In light of this, I’ve put together this list of road and cyclocross bikes for tall people to make finding your next bike easier.
But first, let’s take a look at a few things you’ll want to consider before buying your bike.
Bike Fitting
I recommend getting a professional bike fit before buying a bike. Here’s my experience. At a cost of $100-300, a two or three hour consultation will have you set up perfectly on a stationary bike. The bike fitter will ask you questions like, what type of riding you do, how often you do it, and what your goals are.
The measurements that come out of your fit will allow you to be comfortable on your new bike, and provided you have stack/reach data, you’ll be able to use this resource to find your next bike!
Stack and Reach
Although you will find bikes with what manufacturers tout as large sizes, not all bikes measure up. Just take a look below, some “68cm” frames can actually be shorter than other “58cm” frames!
Stack and reach are the two measurements I use to compare bikes on an even playing field. They have their limitations, but are the best tool we have to compare frame sizing from various sources.
If your inseam is over 90cm (35″), you’re going to need to take a close look at the stack figures. With such a high seatpost, you’ll most likely need a tall front end to match.
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I’m all for spending the dough on getting a bike fit and I understand where you’re going and saying, maaaaybe OP fits on a different sized frame than his previous bikes. But it would be an epic waste of money if he got a fit, but had no bike to fit onto, right?
Or are you telling OP to get a fit to see if he can actually fit on a smaller sized frame?
I think Friday Bike Fit does that stationary bike fit you’re talking about. I hear reaaally good things about him, but he’s pretty damn expensive. In Taipei the other options are the Specialized system and (I think it’s called) Guru system bike fit. To my understanding, there’s two kinds where you get adjusted to the bike and the bike get adjusted to you. Both are needed to optimize your fit on your bike.
This is the most sensible post in this thread…
To back this up a little I am exactly 200cm and went for the custom fit, first at Giant where I was sold something too small and then a year later a Retul bike fit at little Tree Bike in Taichung. Sadly I found there really wasn’t anything suitable for my demensions here and I would need to import so went for a 3xl frame from Canyon and have been enjoying it. Don’t get something too small and hurt your knees like I did riding on a bad fit for a year.