Dario's Day 1 Randoms - Taipei Cycle Show 2024

Mar 6, 2024
by Dario DiGiulio  


Brian got everyone riled up and ready to go with some pre-show coverage, but we're fully in the swing of things here at the Taipei Cycle Show now, and boy is there a lot to share. The show is absolutely packed to the gills with companies new and old alike, and we're trawling the waters to find the best morsels to share with y'all.



Vittoria's Nova Tire

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I know it's not a mountain bike tire, but this is compelling enough to include regardless. Vittoria developed this tire with environmental impact in mind, breaking things down to the constituent components and rebuilding from there to try to minimize harmful waste. In a world of products dripping with greenwashing, this feels like a real step in the right direction, assuming it can perform as well as the products we've come to know and rely on.

There will be more information available soon on this product, but the ingredients list can be seen here, and there's rumor that we'll be seeing some pros racing the tires in the coming year. Hopefully our compatriots over at Velo can give them a thorough test and see if the soybean oil is good for more than just pan frying.



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Carbon foot.

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Trends come and go, and though I thought oil slick titanium had gone off to pasture, there are enough bolts here to fill a small swimming pool. Jokes aside, everything from shock hardware to pedal spindles are being manufactured to various specs and aesthetics, so aftermarket interests and OE buyers can all join in on the fun.



Equipt Cucumber

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This 6/8mm wrench from Equipt Japan is a simple and lovely pedal wrench, and seems well suited to shops and home mechanics. Appropriately dubbed the Cucumber, the tool isn't available yet, but their similarly-shaped (albeit smaller) Sardine multitool can be purchased online. The ergonomics of the Cucumber are great, and the function is simple and effective.



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Howdy.

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It's great to see Conti expanding their lineup beyond tires.

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Clean little upcycled seatpack.
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A good use of a Dissector after you lose some side knobs.

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Some very very small platform pedals from KCNC.



STOP IT

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NO

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PLEASE
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PLEASE NO



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I played with some fancy fidget spinners to calm down.

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Then had a nice long chat with one of the industry's greatest characters, Gary Fisher.

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Conehead technology.
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Might do the trick.

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Something about the best form of flattery.

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3D-printed saddles seem to be catching on, and have some lovely examples - like these from Rock Bros.



Funn Taipan Pedals & Hilt Jr Grips

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Beginner flats.
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With domed pins.

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Look up the picture of Andre the Giant holding a beer.
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Grips, for kids.



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Carbon upright mixte floating seatstay townie gravel internal flatmount gravel core.

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A well-considered kids bike.
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Ohio.



IGUS Plastic Bike, Bars, & Brakes

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Igus made a bike out of plastic and it's so orange it almost broke my camera.

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Yes, that Igus.
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But they didn't stop there.

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They also made some plastic handlebars that have passed some initial tests.
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They can be made of recycled material, manufactured nearly anywhere, and come in some fun colors.



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Nice treads at CST.
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Big Fat Tire.

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This is where I'll be in case you need me.

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That's all for now, we're off to rip around on our motorized suitcases and find more goodies.


Author Info:
dariodigiulio avatar

Member since Dec 25, 2016
167 articles

111 Comments
  • 299 3
 Now I'm not saying you should sabotage the headset-cable-routing booth but you should sabotage the headset-cable-routing booth.
  • 31 1
 I support this message
  • 10 0
 Amen to that
  • 17 0
 Next year I'm going to have a cable routing solutions booth at Taipei and it will be an assortment of colored zip ties. The most beautiful zip ties you have ever seen.
  • 6 0
 Hey guys remember in the 2020's when we thought that running internal headset cables and hydro hoses around multiple 90 degree bends, increasing gear shifting friction, cable and hose material fatigue, increasing complexity and cost of servicing and making it difficult to do simple swaps of handlebars?

Remember that?

Hahahaha, what the f was that all about. Man we were so dumb.
  • 1 0
 @dave119: Don't forget the risk of saw-blading through carbon fork steerer tubes on road bikes
  • 1 0
 @vandall: they'll have tears in their eyes
  • 133 0
 Will the cucumber come in a flesh color or black? (asking for a friend)
  • 20 1
 Remember to wash after using to avoid picklefication.
  • 43 0
 Put it next to your CushCore tire lever in the box of bike tools with secondary functions.
  • 33 1
 .....pedal wrench come in all shapes and sizes these days, says my wife who has taken a sudden interest in "swapping pedals"
  • 13 0
 Big Black Cucumber ?
  • 8 0
 @jeffrocx: Pickle Dario!
  • 7 0
 Article says it would suit a shop or home mechanic but it is obviously every day carry.
  • 1 0
 @tkrug: Don't forget your "seal installation tool".

www.pushindustries.com/products/32mm-fork-seal-driver
  • 2 0
 @Fresh1: Was that acronym deliberate?
  • 58 0
 The "STOP IT NO PLEASE PLEASE NO" part took me out
  • 6 0
 Between a couple of things in this article and the "No Comment" on the red ZEB, Dario is absolutely crushing it. I have had some really good chuckles today.
  • 1 0
 @foreverforum260: Andre the Giant reference.
  • 34 0
 “the Cucumber are great, and the function is simple and effective” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
  • 30 0
 Man, if you're looking for cable routing solutions, do I have a cable routing solution for you. Hear me out: the cables... are OUTSIDE the bike. Seriously. It's incredible. This solution solves all your problems.
  • 3 0
 For your statement to be true, someone would have to be able to express in words the problems they are trying to fix.
  • 4 0
 The FILES are INSIDE the computer!
  • 31 0
 Dario, are you and Fisher related?
  • 22 0
 I see it.
  • 63 0
 game recognize game
  • 3 0
 I thought the homepage thumbnail for this article was Dario’s profile headshot at first glance…..
  • 9 0
 I thought all hipsters were related.
  • 2 0
 Digiulio is Italian for Fisher.
  • 1 0
 @matyk: winner
  • 25 2
 There's finally a bike that doesn't get (more) ruined by an orange Fox!
  • 10 2
 Idk I'd love to throw a bright orange Factory 36 and a Float X on my bike if they could figure out how to match the Kashima between the two product lines. Until then, all black Performance Elite stuff goes with everything and it works just as well.
  • 3 0
 @sjma: do I understand that correctly: the Kashima coating on the forks and the shocks aren't the same, colourwise?
  • 5 0
 @vhdh666: in my limited experience they differ. Shocks are a bit darker.
  • 2 0
 @vhdh666: the fork stanchions & dropper posts are a bit lighter than the shock body and shaft of a DPX2 or Float X, but an X2 shock shaft is pretty close in color

This is all very shallow and petty on my part but if I'm spending $1500+ on suspension, I want it to look nice when I'm not riding too
  • 2 0
 @vhdh666: correct. Kashima is a microns-thick coating so it really changes color depending on the base metal. Different steel and aluminum alloys reflect differently. Fox can't really fix this.
  • 1 0
 the bushings will still go on it though
  • 4 0
 Have you ever experienced how hard it is to anodize parts, especially colors? You can have parts made out of the same raw piece of alu and put them through the same anodizing procedure, in the same batch, and they come out at different shades. Black, clear and purple are the easiest to get matchin close to equal. All other shades and colors are horrible.... we get blue, black and clear pieces manufactured and anodized at the company I work for. It's always slightly different shades within the batches. The fines differences within the metallurgic structure and the machining is never equal from one part to another... it's hell to match all the different parts together. Fox would have to throw out a whole lot of perfectly good parts just to get the perfect match with each product. Also I'm quite sure the stanchion tubes and the damper shafts are to different alloys. Hence even more missmatch. Functionality is not effected by the different out come of color. I had my share of picking pieces that match and long discussions with suppliers, also thought it can't be that difficult to get that one little thing right consitently... learned my lesson! Go black, clear or purple, those are the easiest for some reason.

Greets
  • 1 0
 @Eisn: thanks a lot
  • 23 0
 the dildo multitool is a pretty insane
  • 2 0
 Brings a whole new dimension to the word multitool..for sure. Is a cucumber a multitool?
  • 1 0
 No with relaxing vibration
  • 21 0
 "But they didn't stop there" captioning the picture of plastic brakes Smile Chapeau!
  • 18 0
 The Japanese, culturally, are not ashamed of their sexual deviancy, due to the mix of Shinto and Buddist morals which do not align with our Judeo-Christian morals here in the west. Thus: the Cucumber.
  • 16 0
 That carbon foot gives a real meaning to "carbon footprint"
  • 12 0
 Imagine bopping around on Trek's dime just chilling at different events. Gary Fisher has the life!
  • 24 0
 Plus he look just the same now as he did in 2004, is he aging slowly or did he just age really fast through the 90s?
  • 11 0
 @Fix-the-Spade:

He just eats a healthy amount of liberty caps every day.
  • 4 7
 he hasn't worked at Trek for a few years now. Honestly, dude is a big creep
  • 5 0
 They keep him busy so he doesn't go and design another Y bIke
  • 11 0
 @wako29: It's not nice to say bad things about others as an anonymous internet person.

Keep it nice or be up front about your relationship with him.

Boundaries violations cut both ways.
  • 2 0
 Been doing it for a while, apparently.

Ran into him at the Sydney airport on the way home from vacation with my now-wife about 10 years ago. We were at the gate waiting to board the same flight to LA. Based on that experience it looks like Trek shells out for first class for their VIPs too.

Introduced myself as a fan of his bikes, made brief small talk, and he was very gracious. He was in AU for an industry event then too. Didn't specify what event. Don't usually consider myself the "star struck" type, but had a brain fart and completely neglected to mention to him that I had, until a few years prior that time, raced on a Trek/Gary Fisher sponsored grassroots team on one of his bikes.
  • 9 0
 @sanchofula: I worked at Trek and spent several events sharing a space with him. And he was an a*shole and a creep directly to my wife during a Trek event. I won't be nice about that self-righteous stoner.
  • 13 0
 Surprised the cucumber isn't pixelated.
  • 8 0
 Plastic handlebars sound like a good idea…what could possibly go wrong?!!!
  • 8 1
 Probably about the same as an alloy bar, to be fair. While not having as high a material yield as alloy, I'd imagine that it would bend rather than catastrophically break like a carbon bar. Igus are pretty switched on, so maybe they've developed a high yield plastic that isn't brittle?
  • 3 0
 @handynzl: agreed, it's not a problem if it works, it's not like aluminum is infallible.
  • 3 0
 @handynzl: Igus probably understands plastics better than almost any other company in the world. They've got some products that you'd never expect to work but are simply incredible.
  • 9 0
 That leather helmet is sweeeet....will match my leather codpiece
  • 8 0
 That CST looks like a great DHRII replacement... need a test
  • 15 0
 CST tires are awesome and reasonably (low) priced - They are the parent company of Maxxis , a few MX brands and the worlds largest off road tire manufacturer for just about everything.
  • 3 0
 Saw that and thought the same thing. Seems interesting
  • 2 0
 @neimbc: good info!
  • 6 0
 @neimbc: Tubes as well, Cheng Shin makes pretty much everyone's tubes.
  • 5 0
 The lineup is great. Same tread engineers as Maxxis but made in different factories (most CST is made in China vs Taiwan for Maxxis), slightly different rubber and casings. Both Maxxis and CST combined are the largest OE tire suppliers in the bicycle market.

As I've always said: if you're the type of person to put sub-$100 dollar tires on your car/truck, you'll love a good $30 CST tire on your mountain bike.
  • 2 0
 @neimbc: close… Cheng Shin Rubber is the parent company of both CST and Maxxis brands.
  • 8 0
 Where can i get this suitcase? I am tired of pedaling my ebike
  • 1 0
 Honda. They released in late last year
  • 5 0
 Carbon upright mixte floating seatstay townie gravel internal flatmount gravel core.....still better than saying "downcountry"
  • 2 0
 except no twin top tubes means no mixte Frown
  • 1 0
 You have NOT been properly up-voted enough for this yet cerealkilla.....
  • 4 0
 Does Gary Fischer sleep in a suit?
What is his relation to the Colonel?
Has he ever considered swapping names with Cornelius Kapfinger for a day?
Will Dario grow a soul patch?
  • 2 0
 Was about to chime in that he's difficult to tell from The Colonel, the Monopoly Guy, and black & white movie gansters. Not a great look but its his life. Somone's gotta be the black velvet painting of the mtb world...
  • 3 0
 I actually like the carbon urban go-to-the-store frames and would like to see more simple ones in that category. Urban city bikes are super heavy tanks. I like everything lightweight, since I am lightweight as well.
  • 5 0
 That is not a "simple" pedal wrench. It has like a half dozen parts! A simple one is a damn 8mm Allen key; one part!
  • 2 0
 igus.bike/en/the-bike

1,200 €, 17kg, and you can mix and match between 8 different colors for the frame, fork, and wheels.

I have zero use for it, but for some reason I want one. Maybe it's the single sided rear end, or maybe it is because it looks like a balance bike for adults.
  • 1 0
 We use Igus a fair bit at work and also agree that I really want one.
  • 1 0
 That new tire compound from Vittoria reminds me of those butterscotch-colored tires that Tioga was testing back in the early-to-mid 1990s - I can't remember if those ever made it onto store shelves....
  • 4 0
 Saw the cumber, scrolled to the comments
  • 3 0
 Conehead technology… bio dome… someone at that company loves them some 90s stoner comedies
  • 3 0
 Gary Fisher looks like the kind of person that would open a crazy ass grocery store in Cincinnati or something.
  • 3 0
 Not the same Conti, methinks.
  • 3 0
 I always wondered what baby pedals looked like. They're so cute!
  • 3 0
 Love the comment about the cable tourism boot. Set it on fire
  • 3 0
 Those ano Transmission crank copies are very tasty.
  • 2 0
 Is there a new pedal thread standard coming our way? Those 'T-Type' cranks have odd shaped holes!
  • 3 0
 I think the racetrack shape is for flip chip inserts so you can change the effective length - I've seen it on some carbon cranks before.
  • 6 0
 @dariodigiulio: 165mm cranks with the rock clearance of 175mm cranks!
  • 2 0
 HOLY Q FACTOR BATMAN!!
Those KCNC pedals..... are they disassembled in the box or really that far out?
  • 1 0
 I think it's just the tiny platform that makes the spindle look extra long.
  • 2 0
 Dario, Great Coverage! Can you tell us who ist the manufacturer of the bearings of pic 1…? Thanks.
  • 1 0
 I'm just glad trade shows in the bike world are still alive and elaborate. The ski industry trade shows are an absolute joke now and the vibe is dying.
  • 3 0
 Please no
  • 2 0
 Hey Dario. Bring me back a cool headset cap. Please
  • 2 0
 @dariodigiulio that tent. Where do I find it?
  • 9 0
 Up a tree if it’s windy.
  • 3 0
 Snow Peak
  • 4 0
 Taipei
  • 1 0
 @dariodigiulio - gonna need to turn that mixte/floating seatstay/carbon/thing into a townie. Please find a link for it?
  • 1 0
 Those Conehead helmets are missing a marketing opportunity if they’re not made in France
  • 2 0
 Does the cucumber tool also vibrate?
  • 2 1
 It's still great that no matter what the year Gary Fisher looks flipping awesome. O.G. Fisher
  • 1 0
 Those orange cranks though.......sweet!!!! I'll take a set in purple please.
  • 2 0
 for the love of god, give oil slick back to the scooter kids!
  • 1 0
 Let me guess, Gary was harping on some wacko wheel size like he has been on the internet for the last year+...
  • 2 0
 Please stop with headset cable routing
  • 2 0
 Prevelo should have put a patent on domed pedal pins!
  • 1 0
 O hi! O my face, my face!
  • 1 0
 beginner flat pedals get into an ethical gray area.
  • 1 0
 Looks like a Temu convention.
  • 2 4
 That cucumber tool has dual uses depending on your pronouns.







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