Cycling and Behavior Modification: Would You Do It For A Colnago?

It's A Major Award!

TTV is reporting that a civil servant from Chiayi has collected on a wager he made with his wife in which she promised to buy him a Limited Edition Colnago Ferrari CF-7 with full Super Record components, a bike valued at over NT 400,000, if he would simply quit smoking.

According to Mrs. Tsai, although friends and acquaintances have been quick to point out the huge amount of money she has had to shell out for a bicycle, she says that by her own accounting the bicycle more than pays for itself in her husband's improved health and by eliminating the continued purchase of cigarettes.

Mrs. Tsai claims that her husband has tried several times to quit smoking, but it was the promise of a prized bicycle combining two famous brand names that made the difference between failure and success.

Upon receiving his prize, Mr. Tsai removed the wheels and seat for his current bike and put the Colnago on permanent display at their home to avoid damaging his prize.

Riku-Riku-Rikulau......Hoooooooooooo!

I have spent a lot of time discussing custom bikes and, in particular, custom titanium.

There really is nothing more durable and smooth as a great fitting titanium or steel custom frame. I could go on at length about the importance of riding a bike that fits, and how this trumps frame material any day. I find too often that manufacturers make a big deal about the ride characteristics of their materials to sell whatever bike they would like to hawk. Right now it is carbon composite.

What you can argue is durability. For long lasting frames that can take a little abuse and be more easily repaired, steel and titanium are tops. These materials are the top choices for a long term frame, though there are many alloy and carbon frames that have been holding up for decades.

When I made my choice for a new frame, I came very close to going for a domestic custom titanium frame. You may be surprised to find out that Taiwan is not entirely OEM/ODMs. Taiwan actually has a few small players in the custom metal frame business. One of the better known is Rikulau.

Rikulau is a Taiwanese custom frame shop named after the Formosan Clouded Leopard, which had once been one of the top predators in Taiwan before its habitat was reduced and it was hunted to extinction. The localized name that is indigenous to Taiwan makes a very clear statement and I am happy to see some pride in being a Taiwanese brand.

The company makes a wide range of road and mountain bikes in steel (4130, 853, 953), and titanium, both 3Al 2.5V and 6Al 4V. These are all very high quality materials, with varying degrees of hardness.

I have seen several of these frames up close, including my buddy Dwight's orange Grateful Dead custom painted road bike. The workmanship is quite good and the paint quality is top notch.

The reason I decided against showing my own Taiwan pride through this domestic builder, is simply their limited degree of customization, which is mainly in the finishing (paint).

Still, for anyone looking for a high quality metal road bike with a custom paint job that doesn't cost a fortune, take a look at Rikulau. Taiwan pride, baby. Taiwan pride.

Made in Taiwan is definitely a badge of honor.

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This company review has in no way been paid for or supervised by anyone other than Taiwan in Cycles.

Taiwan In Cycles Policy For Advertising and Product Placement.

Random Bike Stuff

June 15, 2011: The Race Across AMerica (RAAM) kicks off for another grueling ride. Sadly, this year's race will be ridden without Jure Robic, the Slovene RAAM record holder and certified baddass, who died in an accident last year. Maybe I'll have to heal up and do a tribute to one of my cycling heroes.

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Here is a beautifully shot, if at the risk of sounding full of itself, documentary about mountain bikes and downhill riding. Some of the photography is absolutely amazing.

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Seven was nice enough to make the Axiom SL their featured product, and they include a lot of information about the bike and how it compares to other models. Here

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RBR has a thread on a new Salsa Casseroll build. Purdy bike.

The View From Pingtung Part II: Hounds of the Baskervilles

Basilica of Pingtung County

Michael from The View From Taiwan continues to taunt me with more pictures and wonderful reporting from his bike trip through Pingtung County, while reminding me of all the fun I would be having without a gimpy leg. Check out Part II of his series here.

Tour of Taiwan Wraps Giving Austrian Eibeggar The Win

Austrian, Markus Eibeggar walked away with the Tour of Taiwan GC title after coming back from behind in the 9 stage race.

This year's race ended on Yangmingshan for a little more of a finale, where Eibeggar found his legs and the win over his teammate.

Taiwan's top finisher, Huang Hsin-hua, finished 25th overall and the Aussie team Drapac Professional Cycling won the team classification as a little gift for David on Formosa.

Now if only they'd come up with a more original winner's jersey. The gold jersey outside the TdF is kind of cliche.

English-Chinese Bicycle Glossary: What You Need To Know

Here is a little glossary of bike components and their translations in Chinese and English. I hope I got all the terms correct. If there is something wrong, missing or something that shouldn't be there, please let me know. I would love to provide the pinyin, but I don't feel like finding out how many tones I don't use correctly.

Bike Glossary:

Bicycle .....................自行車/單車/腳踏車

Road Bike ................公路車

MTB ...................... 登山車

Stem .....................豎管、龍頭（把立管）

Frame .....................車架

Head tube ...............前管（頭管）

Top tube ................上管

Down tube .............下管

Seat tube ................座管

Seat stay ................後上叉（立叉）立管

Back stay ................後叉

Chain stay ..............後叉

Front fork ...............前叉

Fork crown .............前叉肩蓋

Front fork end ........前叉端

Rear fork end .........後叉端

Suspension fork .... (避震、前)叉

Head set ............... 前頭碗組

Bottom bracket ......五通管

Axle .......................中軸

Bolt, nut .................螺絲，螺帽

Ball Bearing ............鋼珠

Frame Components 車架零件

Tire.........................輪胎

Inner tube ..............內胎

Rim ........................輪圈

Spoke ....................鋼絲

Spoke nipple .........鋼絲銅頭

Hub .......................花鼓（軸皮）

Valve ....................氣嘴

Chain rings ...........鍊輪

Crank arm ............曲柄

Free wheel ...........飛輪

Sprocket ............飛輪

Cog set ................齒輪組

Chain ...................鍊條

Chain guard .........鍊蓋

Derailleur .............變速器、撥鍊器、導鍊器

Front derailleur ....前變速器

Rear derailleur ......後變速器

Quick release ........快拆、快卸裝置

Gear lever .............變速把柄（變速拉桿）

Cable ....................鋼索、操縱線

Barrel adjuster ......調整管

Caliper brake..........跑車式煞車

Cantilever brake .....懸臂式煞車

Centre-pull brake ..中拉式煞車

Brake lever .............煞車握柄

Front brake ............前煞車

Coaster brake ........腳煞車花鼓

Drum brake ...........花鼓煞車

Disc brake ...........碟煞煞車

Handle bar .............車把手

Handle bar stem .....車把豎管

Handle bar tape ......握把帶

Grip ........................握把

Saddle ....................座墊、鞍座

Seat post ................坐墊螺絲、鞍管

Pedal ......................踏板、腳蹬

Toe clip ..................趾夾

Toe strap ...............趾夾帶

Reflector ................反光片

Mudguard ..............擋泥板

Rack ...................貨架

Stand .....................支撐

Light ..............車前燈

Lock .......................鎖

Bell .........................鈴

Basket ....................掛籃

Pump .....................打氣筒

Decal ...................商標貼紙

Bicycle Computer ...計速儀表

Rehab Assignment #2: The Successes and The Failures

Dom Climbs To Hsin-she

Saturday morning I made arrangements with Dom, a fellow knee pain sufferer, to do "Rehab Assignment #2".

The plan was to make it out to Feng-yuan and then head back over the Route 129 through Hsin-she... if my leg would allow me the opportunity to do so.

We met around 8:00am and cut through town to Taichung's northern edge. A coffee made things a little bit better and I was feeling ten times better from the prior weekend, when that coffee stop was mainly for pain relief.

For the first time I was able to begin to really appreciate the tube tuning I had requested in my frame with a tight enough drivetrain for a little more oomph!. Wonderful... but I was still being cautious. Near Feng-yuan I let my mind get away from me to entertain thoughts that I had somehow been miraculously healed like one of the many converts to be subjected to a sport coat flogging on Benny Hinn's stage.

The Headmaster's Vestibule (Wongzi Elementary)

I wasn't so fortunate.

As soon as I started to go off on flights of fancy involving unicorns, pegasuses and equally mythic long, pain-free rides, the soreness started flaring up in the shin and knee area.

We stopped and had another stretch session, which worked for a while, but the pain returned... and in greater numbers.

A history and anthropology stop in Tu-niu for a future post allowed me the extra time to cool the knee off before the hill climb up to the Hsin-she plateau. We chatted with an elderly couple who were busy taking their own cultural tour of the area as well.

Dongshi Valley

I was dreading the hill climb and was not about to take the climb the way I would normally attack it, but it was my first chance to test my new frame's climbing skills and compare with my old bike.

Oddly, there was little sensation of pain. I made a steady, seated climb up to the top that I could only describe as "easy".

Looking down at the Dongshi valley I am always brought back to September 23, 1999, when I stopped at the same spot to see the aftermath of a massive earthquake. With all the pictures from the news of Japan, the scene was especially poignant.

Finally, it was time for the descent. My knee was really getting sore in the flats and I was about ready for some speed without having to work for it.

The twisting drop back to Taichung on the Route 129 was thrilling as always, but this time I was feeling like I was riding IN the bike and not ON the bike.

Each corner was smooth and deliberate, fast, but predictable. Fantastic!

By the time I hit the long, straight rollers at the base of the hill, the pain in my leg was more than I could endure for a mad sprint out to Dakeng, and so I had to settle for a speedy coast back to the outskirts of Taichung. Dom blew bast me on a rail. It looked like fun.

I had one more stretching session to make it back home satisfied with my rate of recovery, but still very far away from being 100%.

Let's see what happens next week if I can get Rehab Assignment #3.

Not the sexiest route, but the best I could do within retreat range.

Bike route 872207 - powered by Bikemap

Also See:

• Cycling Satin Cesena on Ho Huan Shan. One of my favorite routes.
• T-Mosaic has a couple new bikes ready. The steel TYA 650 is looking good, as is the Colnago C59 Italia... one of two Colnago frames actually made in Italy (The other being the Master). Check out the Madfiber Wheels on that thing.