Taichung Indy Bike Store: Sam Bike

Sam Bike CLOSED (Another one bites the dust)

Manager: Sam Huang

No. 611 Mei-tsuen Rd. Sec.1

Taichung, Taiwan

Tel: 04-2375-3905

Cell: 0937-218-055

email: sam23753905@gmail.com

blog: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/sambike-0423753905

I have been bast this little shop a number of times, but never found a reason to stop. I finally figured I should take a look if I am going to keep working on my Indy-shop catalogue, and I am glad I did.

Sam Bike is an unforgettable name in its quirkiness to the English ear and they really don't have much stock on display. They could easily be dismissed as by a passer-by as a fly by night bike store that was built to make a quick buck on the growing trend toward road bikes.

It is not.

When I stopped in I asked Sam, the owner, what kinds of bikes he sold as I could see a small assortment of bikes lined up on the sales floor. He replied, "I'll get you anything you want. I sell all kinds and I can get all kinds."

Hmmmm... that left me searching for more conversation.

I then asked what made his shop different among the other shops in the area and I was surprised by his reply.

Sam told me that it was all about the proper fit. His philosophy, which I can totally agree with, is that when a customer comes in looking for a bike, he will spend up to two hours doing a fitting to then find the right frame and components for the rider. He also will make adjustments to a rider's current bike to achieve better performance or resolve issues with pain or discomfort.

If you are looking for a bike that will fit or need to solve a pain problem, have a discussion with Sam.

Contractor In A Hole Lot Of Trouble For Tour of Taiwan Mess

In Taiwan, we are used to our public roadways being regularly ripped apart, usually two or three times a year, as the local governments are owned by Taiwan's construction industrial complex and the shady characters who lurk in the grey areas between the "black and white" sides of the law.

Many of these contractors engage in racketeering, bid rigging and more threatening schemes that eliminate competition to ensure any public project will be several times the rate if it had been competitively bid on.

These projects are lucrative to several of the major players in politics, business and organized crime as they allow for overlapping interests to converge and various debts to be paid.

Now, the Taiwan Construction Industrial State threatens to disrupt the Tour of Taiwan.

It is being reported in the CNA and Taiwan Focus that a construction contractor has dug a massive hole in one of the routes scheduled to be used in the sixth stage of the Tour of Taiwan.

The hole is in the middle of the Highway 74-A, which has been in a regular state of construction for well over a year.

According to the article:

"Even if the contractor fills it up soon, the uneven road probably will cause injuries to cyclists," Fang told the Central News Agency.

Police officers who inspected the road conditions for the 136.05 km Tour de Taiwan race said a Taiwan Power Co. contractor had erected a 1-km long barricade on the road and dug a big hole, leaving only half of the road for traffic.

Chang Chueh-fen, a Changua County government official, said local workers had been asked to fill the hole quickly and race organizers were at the scene trying to determine what should be done next.

Well, if anything, the competitors can see what the cycling environment in Taiwan is really like.