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Taipei Cycle bike porn from Cervélo, Colnago, Giant, Merida, Focus…

A look back at the show's most interesting bikes

The Cervélo RCA is the brand’s lightest ever frame at an astonishing 667g (size medium, including paint and hardware). Equally astonishing is the price: $10,000. That’s for the frameset, not a full bike so, let’s be honest, none of us will ever be owning one of these, will we? Check out the skinniness of those chainstays. 

We told you all about Cervélo’s RCA when it was launched a coupe of weeks ago so check out that story for all the details, You can visit the RCA’s own microsite too. 

Equally black and with equally minimalist graphics, Colnago’s M10 sits at the top of the Italian brand’s range alongside the C59 Italia. It’s a carbon-fibre monocoque, clearly, and although this one is Di2ed up, the same frame will take a mechanical shift system.

We wrote a whole story on the new Culprit Legend last week so click on the link to find out all about it. For anyone who hasn’t spotted it, the bike has no seatstays.

We covered the Giant Anyroad bikes very briefly too. We didn’t go into too much depth because these models aren’t available outside of Asia. This Anyroad 2 is built up with Shimano Sora with TRP Lyra disc brakes. We’ve not got a clue how it rides but we’d love to give it a go.

Another interesting bike from Giant is the Envie Advanced which they call, “The first true women’s-specific aero road bike in the world.” This one is the Envie Advanced 2 (£2,199) with a Shimano 105 spec and Giant’s own P-SL1 wheels.

Ah, the Thin Bike! I'd forgotten about this one. This isn’t a production model, it’s a winner in the 2013 International Bicycle Design Competition, a project by iF Design.

The Thin Bike was designed by Roger Rodriguez Bodi of Spain. Those tubes are as narrow as 1cm in diameter. It looks pretty darn cool, huh?

We went to the launch of the new version of Merida’s Warp a few weeks ago so do the click thing for all the details on this one. In these colours, this is clearly the model that Team Lampre Merida will be riding this year.

While we’re with Merida, here’s the brand spanking new Ride SL that Lampre Merida are riding in the Classics.


If you missed our previous story, one of the key features is the fork that contains an internal carbon spring clip and elastomer wedges to smooth the ride. It’ll be released to the public later in the year.

What do you know about MCC? They play cricket, right? Well, turns out they also make bikes (although I suppose there’s the slightest of chances it might be a different MCC).

Anyway, check out the RM02 with chunky tyres, disc brakes, a shock up front and a suspension seat post. It’s a ker-azee combo but it might just work.

The RM01 is a similar design but without the shock up front. While we’re about it, I have a vaguely related picture to show you. Talk among yourselves while I go and find it… Te-tum-tum-tum…

Here you go! What do you make of this? This is a Kuota KOM that has been modified (Kuota haven’t produced the bike like this) with another headshock and a KS LEV dropper post.

You get a remote switch on the bars to adjust the saddle height. Interestingly, the bike is fitted with standard road wheels and tyres, so I’m not sure in what circumstances you’d want that post. Anyone?

Speaking of Kuota, this is their Kharma Evo that has been completely redesigned for 2013. It now gets a taller head tube than before along with a full-carbon fork.

The top end K-Uno is a pretty cool looking bit of kit too.

Here’s Team Rapha Focus’s Mares CX, included here largely because it’s another stunning looking bike.

Admittedly, that pink bar tape isn’t going to look so good after a few muddy cyclocross races, but who cares? It’s a really neat design.

Last week, we told you briefly about the new range of bike that’s on the way from British brand Worx, although they’re a few weeks away from being released.  Here’s another cyclocross bike from the range to whet your appetite. They’ve got the styling spot on, if you ask us.

As you can read on the top tube, this is the alloy CA 2.0 that’s built up with a SRAM Force groupset. We’ll sling more details your way when the bikes are ready to sell. In the meantime, you can you can follow worxbikes on Twitter while the website is being finalised.

There’s a new bike on the way from Swift and although we were allowed to see it, they didn’t want us taking any photos yet, so for the time being you’ll have to make to with pics of the existing Ultravox Ti.

This is the top-level road bike in the range, built around a sub-900g T1000 carbon fibre frame. Go to www.swiftcarbon.com for all the details.

The Fuji Track Elite is brand new for 2013. It’s made from ultra-high modulus aero carbon tubing and it’ll set you back a not inconsiderable £3,500 from Evans Cycles in the UK. If you think that’s pricey, it was £4,400 before. Oval, by the way, are now owned by Fuji which is why you’ll see their components all over Fuji bikes.

 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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15 comments

Avatar
Ham-planet | 11 years ago
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Those of you questioning the utility of a dropper post on a road bike should test your hardest braking with your standard seat height, then try again with your seat slammed. If you know what you're doing, you'll be able to transfer your weight a lot further back more easily and brake more effectively. It would also obviate the need for that absurd and dangerous posture of sitting on the top tube for optimum tuck.

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Bikeylikey | 11 years ago
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MCC seem to have no presence at all on the net. Where can I get information about them?

Avatar
Mat Brett replied to Bikeylikey | 11 years ago
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bikeylikey wrote:

MCC seem to have no presence at all on the net. Where can I get information about them?

They're a new one on us. The brand belongs to Taiwan Johnson Industries Co Ltd, based in Taipei.

http://www.taiwantrade.com.tw/MAIN/en_front/searchserv.do?method=listPro...

tjg [at] tjgroup.com.tw

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monty dog | 11 years ago
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Can someone explain the concept of a dropper post on a road bike - I don't even need one on my MTB.

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Cooks | 11 years ago
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Cervelo's frame is so light because it's 80% seatpost.

The Swift Ultravox is sweet though...

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Mat Brett | 11 years ago
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Thanks for that link, pwake - really interesting.

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pwake | 11 years ago
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The thin bike reminds me a bit of the bicycle designed by Ettore Bugatti:
http://www.bugattirevue.com/revue19/bikes.htm
They have one (most likely an original) at the Bugatti Trust Museum at Prescott Hill; well worth a visit if you are ever in the Cotswolds...

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SPAM Naval | 11 years ago
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Is it just me that hates to see bikes in trade shows with the chain on the inner ring rather than the big ring....either that or i'm anally retentive  37

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Rob Simmonds replied to SPAM Naval | 11 years ago
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SPAM Naval wrote:

Is it just me that hates to see bikes in trade shows with the chain on the inner ring rather than the big ring....either that or i'm anally retentive  37

Yes.

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pedalpowerDC | 11 years ago
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Boss: Okay team, how can we make an S5 uglier?

Minion 1: I got it boss. We bring in a size 67 frame built up for Yao Ming and display it cross-chaining.

Boss: Good. Now to the Bura SL. Who's got a plan?

Minion 2: How about we bypass a compact BCD and go for what appears to be a 90mm BCD $1000 crankset with a 30t inner ring and then cross-chain it to the max!

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Mat Brett replied to pedalpowerDC | 11 years ago
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pedalpowerDC wrote:

Minion 2: How about we bypass a compact BCD and go for what appears to be a 90mm BCD $1000 crankset with a 30t inner ring and then cross-chain it to the max!

It's a Clavicula Compact, 110mm bolt circle diameter, 50/34T. You're right that it is in small-small, though.

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Yennings | 11 years ago
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Bikes definitely seem to be getting uglier. Although that Rapha Focus is pretty tidy - saw one in the flesh in their London store recently, nice looking machine.

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Leviathan replied to Yennings | 11 years ago
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Yennings wrote:

Bikes definitely seem to be getting uglier.

Black on black logos seem to be the way to go Colnago.

Black and yellow bike called the Legend Culprit: come back bike for Lance? Next years model is called the Sociopath.

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mattheww385 | 11 years ago
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Will someone take Merida outside and have a quiet word about that paintjob *vomit*

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6654henry | 11 years ago
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That Kuota KOM made me vomit. What a silly bicycle.

I think every type of bike is being mated and hybridised.

Genetic mutant freaks and not in a spiderman/superman kind of good way.

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