The best of luck with your search. Just an FYI for staying in Taoyuan, there isn’t much choice when it comes to public transportation except for buses. So, getting around may be a hassle. Taoyuan isn’t that big of a city, but if you’re visiting multiple shops in different areas, taxi fares can still add up.
I wish I could help in making suggestions in a bike shop that sells steel frames, but I’m not familiar with Taoyuan. 
I contacted Rikulau directly, they told me they are based in Taichung so that’s where i’ll be heading.
I google’d some bike shops there, mostly Merida though, will be checking out if there are Giants as well just as a backup if the Rikulau thing goes south.
[quote=“nerian”]I contacted Rikulau directly, they told me they are based in Taichung so that’s where I’ll be heading.
I google’d some bike shops there, mostly Merida though, will be checking out if there are Giants as well just as a backup if the Rikulau thing goes south.[/quote]
Giant are also based in Taichung, and they have shops all over the island. I expect they’re a fair bit cheaper here than in Singapore too.
[quote=“nerian”]I contacted Rikulau directly, they told me they are based in Taichung so that’s where I’ll be heading.
I google’d some bike shops there, mostly Merida though, will be checking out if there are Giants as well just as a backup if the Rikulau thing goes south.[/quote]
Do not forget to check out the locally owned bike shops too! Giant and Merida are great, but some stores lack customer service!
locally owned? sure if i manage to find them, i think i’ll have a hard time travelling around, perhaps i should rent a scooter lol.
do you think taxi drivers from Taichung HSR station will be happy to drive me all the way in to the Ren’ai Township area? the bus journey seems loooooong.
[quote=“nerian”]locally owned? sure if i manage to find them, I think I’ll have a hard time travelling around, perhaps i should rent a scooter lol.
do you think taxi drivers from Taichung HSR station will be happy to drive me all the way in to the Ren’ai Township area? the bus journey seems loooooong.[/quote]
Locally owned, as in self owned/managed, as in not Merida or Giant stores. Sometimes (not every time), the big brand franchise stores, we like to call them G牌 and M牌, tend to lack a bit in service. I’ve ran into my fair share of those kinds of stores, but I also know some stores that are great on all fronts.
You’re staying in Ren’ai? That’s like 1/4 up the route already, isn’t it? I highly doubt a random taxi at the HSR station would take you that far since he may only make money taking you there and have no fare coming back. If you mean Puli Township, it’s more likely. Do keep in mind that in Taiwan, you usually do not tell the taxi driver before entering his car where you’re going, but since you are traveling way outside of his normal operating area, it would be a courteous to ask the driver if they’re willing to take you that far.
If you have no luck with the taxi stand drivers at the HSR, try calling a taxi service and telling them where you want to go. I’m not sure of the taxi service numbers in TaiZhong are, but you can always ask the information desk at the HSR station for help.
There are also buses that go from the HSR/TRA station to the Puli bus station. Cheapest, but slowest option.
I would recommend taking taking Nantou Bus Company No. 6670 from the bus station downstairs at Taichung HSR station. You can stash your bagged bike under the bus in the luggage compartment. Large plastic bags available at any convenience store should be fine. They just don’t want you to get other people’s luggage dirty.
No. 6670 is a express bus that takes the newish freeway to Puli nonstop. It takes 50 minutes and will be far cheaper than taking a taxi. Just make sure they know you want to go to Puli. Most tourists are heading to Sun Moon Lake. You can get a taxi in Puli or a local bus up to Ren’ai. Again the bike needs to be bagged.
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nerian”]locally owned? sure if i manage to find them, I think I’ll have a hard time travelling around, perhaps i should rent a scooter lol.
do you think taxi drivers from Taichung HSR station will be happy to drive me all the way in to the Ren’ai Township area? the bus journey seems loooooong.[/quote]
Locally owned, as in self owned/managed, as in not Merida or Giant stores. Sometimes (not every time), the big brand franchise stores, we like to call them G牌 and M牌, tend to lack a bit in service. I’ve ran into my fair share of those kinds of stores, but I also know some stores that are great on all fronts.
You’re staying in Ren’ai? That’s like 1/4 up the route already, isn’t it? I highly doubt a random taxi at the HSR station would take you that far since he may only make money taking you there and have no fare coming back. If you mean Puli Township, it’s more likely. Do keep in mind that in Taiwan, you usually do not tell the taxi driver before entering his car where you’re going, but since you are traveling way outside of his normal operating area, it would be a courteous to ask the driver if they’re willing to take you that far.
If you have no luck with the taxi stand drivers at the HSR, try calling a taxi service and telling them where you want to go. I’m not sure of the taxi service numbers in TaiZhong are, but you can always ask the information desk at the HSR station for help.
There are also buses that go from the HSR/TRA station to the Puli bus station. Cheapest, but slowest option.[/quote]
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nerian”]locally owned? sure if i manage to find them, I think I’ll have a hard time travelling around, perhaps i should rent a scooter lol.
do you think taxi drivers from Taichung HSR station will be happy to drive me all the way in to the Ren’ai Township area? the bus journey seems loooooong.[/quote]
Locally owned, as in self owned/managed, as in not Merida or Giant stores. Sometimes (not every time), the big brand franchise stores, we like to call them G牌 and M牌, tend to lack a bit in service. I’ve ran into my fair share of those kinds of stores, but I also know some stores that are great on all fronts.
You’re staying in Ren’ai? That’s like 1/4 up the route already, isn’t it? I highly doubt a random taxi at the HSR station would take you that far since he may only make money taking you there and have no fare coming back. If you mean Puli Township, it’s more likely. Do keep in mind that in Taiwan, you usually do not tell the taxi driver before entering his car where you’re going, but since you are traveling way outside of his normal operating area, it would be a courteous to ask the driver if they’re willing to take you that far.
If you have no luck with the taxi stand drivers at the HSR, try calling a taxi service and telling them where you want to go. I’m not sure of the taxi service numbers in TaiZhong are, but you can always ask the information desk at the HSR station for help.
There are also buses that go from the HSR/TRA station to the Puli bus station. Cheapest, but slowest option.[/quote]
Yeah i found a hostel/hotel called Huansan i think, the view is pretty awesome and the hotel itself looks fine, reviews were good on agoda too. I doubt i’m in the condition to cycle up from Puli so i went this route.
[quote=“Feiren”]I would recommend taking taking Nantou Bus Company No. 6670 from the bus station downstairs at Taichung HSR station. You can stash your bagged bike under the bus in the luggage compartment. Large plastic bags available at any convenience store should be fine. They just don’t want you to get other people’s luggage dirty.
No. 6670 is a express bus that takes the newish freeway to Puli nonstop. It takes 50 minutes and will be far cheaper than taking a taxi. Just make sure they know you want to go to Puli. Most tourists are heading to Sun Moon Lake. You can get a taxi in Puli or a local bus up to Ren’ai. Again the bike needs to be bagged.
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nerian”]locally owned? sure if i manage to find them, I think I’ll have a hard time travelling around, perhaps i should rent a scooter lol.
do you think taxi drivers from Taichung HSR station will be happy to drive me all the way in to the Ren’ai Township area? the bus journey seems loooooong.[/quote]
Locally owned, as in self owned/managed, as in not Merida or Giant stores. Sometimes (not every time), the big brand franchise stores, we like to call them G牌 and M牌, tend to lack a bit in service. I’ve ran into my fair share of those kinds of stores, but I also know some stores that are great on all fronts.
You’re staying in Ren’ai? That’s like 1/4 up the route already, isn’t it? I highly doubt a random taxi at the HSR station would take you that far since he may only make money taking you there and have no fare coming back. If you mean Puli Township, it’s more likely. Do keep in mind that in Taiwan, you usually do not tell the taxi driver before entering his car where you’re going, but since you are traveling way outside of his normal operating area, it would be a courteous to ask the driver if they’re willing to take you that far.
If you have no luck with the taxi stand drivers at the HSR, try calling a taxi service and telling them where you want to go. I’m not sure of the taxi service numbers in TaiZhong are, but you can always ask the information desk at the HSR station for help.
There are also buses that go from the HSR/TRA station to the Puli bus station. Cheapest, but slowest option.[/quote][/quote]
awesome! good to know there’s an express bus. 
[quote=“nerian”]
Yeah i found a hostel/hotel called Huansan I think, the view is pretty awesome and the hotel itself looks fine, reviews were good on agoda too. I doubt I’m in the condition to cycle up from Puli so I went this route.[/quote]
Ok, I had a long pro and con post that I submitted last night on my home PC and it isn’t showing.
In summary, I know you have your own plan and will probably stick to it, but here’s my thoughts on staying closer to the peak.
The first 15km from Puli towards WuLing is a 2% average gradient. This is the perfect distance and gradient for warming up! https://www.strava.com/segments/7938411?filter=following
Do not forget that you have to keep transferring means of transportation (if you don’t take a taxi into and out of Ren Ai). Which also means you’re lugging your bike into and out of buses and taxis.
If it were me, I’d just stay in Puli and as close to the route as possible. This way you arrive by bus, put your bike together, short ride to the hotel. Done.
Just my recommendations. Good luck with the planning and finding a bike!
Stay i Puli, much better than Ren’ai. Ren’ai is a tiny village. Not that Puli is a bustling metropolis, but overall more places to eat, etc. and a nice start to your ride.
I chose to stay there because i have been slacking on cycling for months and i weigh 100kg, so its not exactly easy for me to climb any kind of slope.
anyway, i’ll try my best but im not hoping for much. i’ll report back when im back home in early Dec.
will take plenty of pictures to help anyone else who wants to tackle Wuling.
[quote=“nerian”]I chose to stay there because I have been slacking on cycling for months and i weigh 100kg, so its not exactly easy for me to climb any kind of slope.
anyway, I’ll try my best but im not hoping for much. I’ll report back when im back home in early Dec.
will take plenty of pictures to help anyone else who wants to tackle Wuling.[/quote]
To be very honest, Wuling shouldn’t really be attempted with no (or little) preparation, especially in unpredictable weather conditions that late in the year, but hey, man gotta do what man gotta do.
Am I able to rent the bicycle at Puli
Yes, there’s a Giant shop there in which you can rent bikes from, but I would give them a call in advance to see on their availability.
Let me first ask my question and then I’ll provide a bit of background.
How difficult is Wuling from Hualien (being driven to the start of that and not starting at Ci Shing Tan) for a person in decent shape but who doesn’t have much experience exercising over three hours?
Basically, I got my ass kicked last Saturday on a ride with a friend. It’s not so much that my friend kicked my ass. I knew he would (extreme triathlon experience, ultra marathon experience, and just incredible times in every discipline and in every distance, etc.). But it’s that the ride kicked my ass. A bit over 80 km and 1,600m elevation (I know, not much). The thing is that I was great until around 3 hours and then I had nothing. I was careful about bringing enough nutrition and we even stopped at a 7-11. I think my friend made things difficult. For example, another friend told me it takes him 6 hours to do our ride that we took about 4 hours and 15 minutes to do. But really, I think it was just the hours in the saddle that killed me more than anything. My quads starting cramping up and I felt faint a couple of times. I had to stop on the last mountain several times.
So, how hard is Wuling (from the East Coast side), assuming I go with people more my level and we take it nice and easy, and stop a few times? Also, how many hours of cycling are we talking about?
Edit: @ranlee
Ha. It amuses me no end when we ask “the forum” a question, but really, we’re pretty sure we’re just asking one person. (Yeah, I do it too.)
I guess I should try to contribute … I dunno. I’ve had this issue with cycling for years: I’ve never been able to enjoy a ride longer than three hours or so. I just run out of energy. It could of course be lack of practice - over a few weeks I’ll get better and better with longer rides, and finally be at a stage of “Woo hoo, any day now I can start doing long mountain rides!”, and then a month of rain will hit or a busy spell at work and I won’t be on the bike for a month or two, and I’m back to square one. (Like today. Today was my first ride in two months. Sigh.)
I’ll take advice from anyone, but I honestly lose track of the people on this forum (especially who cycles and who doesn’t). I’ve met ranlee in person a couple of times so there’s no confusion there. Actually, someone closer to my level might be able to give me very good advice. Have you cycled Wuling?
And yeah, this weather. Living in Xizhi makes it even worse. I have a similar problem with running. About 10k is my limit, then I’m ready to go home and have a beer. Well, I’ve made this goal for myself (cycling Wuling) and somehow I’m going to see it through.
Nope, sorry. It’s been on my to-do list for years - long enough that I fear it’ll remain on that list for years to come.
If it took you over four hours to ride 80k and 1600m, I would say 8-10 hours to do Wuling from the east is a safe estimate…total, including breaks and the walking you’ll likely be doing at the end.