Any OEM titanium road bike manufacturers in Taiwan???
Hey guys, Im looking to buy a taiwan road bike frame from a taiwan OEM bike frame manufacturer. Anyone can reccomend any company whose frames are relatively cheap and reliable???
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- There are a couple of very good OEM manufacturers in Taiwan and China that use Ti. However, they won't even talk to you unless you have good credentials or you are willing to order at least, say, 500 pieces at the minimum and have your own design (or hire them to develop it for you). OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. That means they produce things as parts of a whole. Generally in Taiwan that means that they supply only to factories that assemble bikes on behalf of the buyer. EDIT: Glenn... that is a good link, but having had my own experience with the factory you mention I would never recommend them. EDIT 2: Glenn- email me at mirageguitarworks@yahoo.com and I can give you a couple of ideas for low volume factories in Taiwan and China.
- I don't know any Taiwanese factories but I do know where you can buy a titanium frame that was made in Taiwan for only $999. http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.20104/.f?sc=8&category=171 That's an extremely cheap price for a titanium frame. Tommaso makes great affordable carbon, aluminum, and titanium bikes even though they're not a prestigious brand.
- Hang Lun Sports Apparatus CO.,LTD. are an OEM in Beijing China. They distribute through the name Hi-light and will do custom orders of single frames. http://www.ti-bicycle.com/chpjsh/dzcj-e.htm Could be worth dropping them an email. If there is a distributor nearer to where you live,(Singapore is it?) it could wind up cheaper dealing with them.(big savings in shipping numbers) Probably a better option incase you have any problems. You should be happy enough with price and quality, as long as your not expecting an ultra light frame. (expect weight around 1250 grams + or -) Good luck *****Edit**** I'd be interested in hearing about Mirage's experience with these guys.(worts and all). I've have them on my "reputable companies" list at present. I would certainly like to be aware of any *enormous problems that should be reported. ( Ignore the down thumbs. Mirage is usually reliable. There are just a lots of trolls around at the moment.) From my research these guys were making frames for Airborne and then for Flyte when Airbourne was "sold". I'm not entirely sure, but rumour has it that Van Nicholas (Formerly Airborne) frames are still made there. Just out of interest Van Nicolas offer tailer made frames also. ***edit found this on ebay more substance to the rumour http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Airborne-Zeppelin-Titanium-Road-Bike-56cm-Frame-Campy_W0QQitemZ200213636569QQihZ010QQcategoryZ33503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Flyte are out of the picture now they closed their doors last year, despite growing a loyal following. Airborne had some problems with cracked welds around the end of 2002. Most of their customers seemed to be happy enough with the warrantry provisions. There is even a few that rave about the customer service they recieved. Raving about the bike is what most of the owners of Airbourne and Hi-light do when I've asked them about it. I've been sniffing around Tiawan and China for quite a while looking for a niche to build a small cycling related business on. For a relatively cheap, reliable, one of frame (or small volumes) these guys are (or at least were) on the top of my list.
