Manager: Chang Yun-cheng
No. 23, Alley 118, Yong-fu Rd. Xitun Dist.
Taichung City
Tel: 04-24638792
Cell: 0963160998
Email: good101tw@yahoo.com.tw
While passing Fuke Rd. I have seen signs for a "Bike Stop". I finally followed the signs to Star Bike.
Star bike is a modest little shop that sells a few secondhand bikes and offers riders the use of their facilities for DIY wrenching or wrenching help. You can simply pull in for some air or chain lube if you need it.
Aside from patching, fixing and selling a few necessities, Star Bike offers their own brand of CroMo road bikes. The S980 is an attractive steel frame with slender chain stays and a carbon fork.
I didn't have time to do a test ride, but it might make a handsome alternative to some bigger brands. I was quoted NT10,000 for just the frame and the complete bike shown above was quoted at over NT100,000 with full SRAM Rival.
They had a second model as well with beefier stays. Drop in and Check 'em out.
They do not speak English.
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Author Bikes/Sports Club
No. 163, Liming Rd. Sec-3 Xitun Dist
Taichung City, Taiwan
I dropped in to the Author concept store on Liming Rd. The store is spacious, with plenty of stock on hand. The store is in the same model as Warehouse 185, where they showcase the OEM bikes and hold other high end bikes in the back. A buyer can pick up Pinarello and the German brand, Storck.
The most appealing bikes in stock are the Tern folding bikes. The Author store is the official Tern retailer in Taichung. If anyone is considering a folding bike, Tern is top of the list.
Most of the Author bikes were mid to upper range mountain and road bikes. There were some lower-end bikes retailing for under NT10,000, as well as children's bikes.
There are also bags, racks, bibs, jerseys and other equipment. he have a full service mechanic station in the basement behind the stairs.
Author is a very slick attempt at the bicycle concept store and they execute it pretty well.
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A couple notes on some shops that are already on the list.
I dropped by Modus Velo and spoke with Tim. His shop is very well stocked with all kinds of great equipment. I was happy to see the sheer volume of "stuff". While his amazing supply of Cinelli frames is a really big draw to the shop, he has a couple good deals right now on some smaller titanium Lynskey frames.
Also:
Bike Dome is still right where they have always been.
If my readers have forgotten, Bike Dome is the place to go in Taichung to get a great deal on a great bike. They specialize in NOS or New Old Stock frames that other retailers couldn't move. Many of the frames are top of the line composite wonder bikes at fire sale prices. A complete Kuota Kharma with full SRAM Apex... NT50,000. BMC, Orbea, Specialized, Bianchi, Garneau... lots of bikes. So if you want a modern super bike, but you don't want to pay full price... go to the Bike Dome.
Bike Dome
No. 90-6, Xitun Rd. Sec-3
Taichung City, Taiwan
Tel: 04-2706-9862
Email:bike_dome@hotmail.com
I'm intrigued: are these bike stores in wealthy areas of the cities?
ReplyDeleteAlot of bike stores I've been in major Canadian cities, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary, particularily big bike stores, do pack in their floor inventory much more tightly. If there's any empty "space", the bike store owner might have been smart enough to plan the space to allow customers to walk in and occasionally park their bike for a few min. while consulting/checking the store or questions on a needed bike repair/bike gear accessory that needs to fit onto the bike properly. Alot of bike store owners I've visited in these cities that are each over 1 million people, can't afford to space out bike models over alots of costly leased floor space.
taichung is not taipei, its quite small and not super fancy or so so it must be that floor space is a lot cheaper, especially compared to vancouver where the real estate bubble is about to burst anyway :-)
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