It's not every day that the President shows up for your bike show. Butas a measure of how important the bicycle industry has become to the economicengine of Taiwan, PresidentChen Shui-bian took a break from his saber-rattling with mainland Chinaover the issue of Taiwan's independence to deliver the keynote speech atthe opening of the 18th annual Taipei International Cycle Show, March 4- 7. With an impressive contingent of gat-packing bodyguards discreetly protecting his flanks for the ribbon-cutting, President Chen proclaimed himself a card-carrying member of the bicycle fan club. "The free feeling of riding a bike can't be imitated in any other way," he said, recalling his joyin riding a bicycle to work.

President Chen mentioned his commitment to the construction of bicycle paths throughout Taiwan, and added, "It's my hope that children in inner cities can feel the freedom of riding their bikes with the wind in their hair."Heady stuff from a head of state, but the President went on to tick off some of Taiwan's recent cycling accomplishments.Not only has Taiwan become the world's leading source of well-made bicycles and accessories, he said, but Taiwanese companies have broken into the top ranks of international competition, too.

With sponsorship of the T-Mobile team by Giant and Gunn-RitaDahle's World Cup championship aboard a Merida, the President noted, Taiwanhas stepped across oceans to make its presence felt on the world stage.Once the show opened, however, it was clear that the world is also sailinga well-traveled course to Taiwan. That fact was underscored by no lessaugust a personage than ErnestoColnago, who attended the show trailing a retinue rivaling that ofPresident Chen's to announce his new membership in Taiwan's "A-Team," anindustry consortium created to enforce quality standards among Taiwan'sbicycle exporters. With A-Team membership comes not, in this case, privileges,nor even Mr. T,but something far more important: bike production."Five years ago, I never would have thought I would be announcing plansto build bicycles in Taiwan," Colnago said. "But the quality of Taiwan'smanufacturing is undeniable, and to be competitive, you need to be opento new ideas."For now, Colnago said, only his lower-priced frames would be built on the island. But with labor costs rising rapidly in the west, and with Taiwan's relentless investment in materials technology, it seems likely that most of the world's high-end bike manufacturers will join Colnago in Formosawithin the next few years.Or in mainland China. Nearly all of Taiwan's major bike builders have long-established factories in and around Shenzhen, China. And with more than a billion Chinese willing to work in them for 40 cents an hour, the manufacturing shift seems inevitable.Indeed, Italy was the second-most-represented foreign exhibitor, with 17 official booths, on Taipei's expansive show floors. (Only the U.S., with 19, had a greater number of official exhibits.) The actual count of Italian companies was higher, however, as some booths were shared, while other Italian manufacturers were walking the floors and displaying their wares sub-rosa.Of course, a variation of that story has been cycling's hush-hush secret in recent years, during which Italian companies, along with the Americans, Germans, Swiss, French and countless others, have been quietly buying everythingfrom raw castings to finished bikes from Taiwan and labeling them withtheir own names. But the volume of goods from Taiwan today is making thefiction of a "Made in Italy" or "Made in USA" sticker unsupportable, andit seems that the country of origin jig is finally up.The Italians are leaders in the high-end bike world, of course, but apart from Campagnolo, which has backed up its commitment to Italian manufacturing with a significant investment in automated carbon production, many companies have struggled mightily of late with the question of where their stuff is actually made. Until recently, cheap freight and the absence of competing Asian brand names made it possible for Italian companies to buy what they needed in the Far East and finish the goods in their own factories. Since the parts were designed and completed in Italy, and the finished items were shipped from there, a "Made in Italy" stamp seemed justifiable, as is the case with many "Italian-made" goods. Your Italian shoes likely began their life in Slovenia or the Czech Republic. Italian suits are often sewn from fabric woven and cut in China or India. Even your cold-pressed Italian virgin olive oil is probably made, in part or in whole, from Spanish olives.But over the past 24 months, the game has truly changed for bike makers. The crazy subterfuge of shipping raw stems, for example, from Asia to Italy for finishing and packaging, only to ship them back for assembly on bikes destined for North America or Europe, was supportable as long as there were no viable alternatives to the goods. Now, however, with Taiwanese companies establishing their own brands and quality images, price has become crucial, and all that extra shipping and Euro-priced finishing labor is crushing margins and profits.And so, as you may have noticed, some Italian parts at your friendly local bike shop now bear the stamp "Designed in Italy." A "Made in Taiwan" sticker may or may not be present as well, depending on the… uhh, commitment to transparency, let's call it, of the supplier. And except for the highest-priced goods, where margins still support Italian labor costs, you can expect to see more of the Designed in Italy, Made Somewhere Else stickering at work.Meanwhile, the biggest story circulating on Taipei's show floor was a prediction of price increases next year on the order of 15 percent, a jump driven in part by a shortage of carbon fiber. Or alleged shortage, as the extent of the problem is hard to establish. Some exhibitors complained of 14-week waitlists for material, but others shrugged off the shortage as a temporary phenomenon.While it is true that projects like Airbus's carbon-munching A380500-passenger behemoth are consuming ever-vaster swaths of prepreg,it seems equally true that bike builders can get the carbon they need ifthey are willing to pay for it. "It depends quite a bit on the historyyou've established with your supplier," explained Easton's John Harrington,who recently opened a new factory in China dedicated to the productionof carbon parts. "For example, with Hexcel [a primary supplier to Easton],they guaranteed that we would get as much prepreg this year as we boughtfrom them last year. Now for the rest that we'll need, because our volumekeeps growing, we may have to fight with them a little bit, or we may haveto increase our orders from other suppliers. And we'll probably have topay more for that additional carbon. But it's out there. We can find it.It just may cost more."And of course, dear reader, at least some of that cost will probably be passed along to you.On that cheerful note, we present our highlights from the show.

Argon 18's bike fit system uses a full-size bike with articulated joints

Argon 18
The folks from this friendly Canadian company showed off a new fitsystem that employs an elegantly articulated bike frame. The frame hastelescoping joints in the top tube, head tube, seat tube and seat stays,which can be adjusted independently to determine correct fit.

Step ontothe bike while your dealer slides the parts around to match your pointsof contact, and hey presto, you've got your custom dimensions right therewhere you can see and feel them.

Also on display was the company's new Mercury Aero RPT TT/Tri bike,a blend of aero aluminum up front and carbon fiber out back that looksscreamingly fast, even sitting still.

Bear Bone cassettes from Ken Bikes are lightweight wonders.

Bear Bone
Ken Bikes, the public face of Ken Chang Industrial Company, Ltd., wasshowing off its new Bear Bone cassettes, little jewels made with a combinationof titanium, scandium and 7075 aluminum cogs. The 10-speed versions areespecially delicious, with a 12-25 Campagnolo set-up weighing about 140grams, and a Shimano 12-25 about 130 grams. Unfortunately, Ken has no U.S.distributor yet, but you can click over to www.kenbikes.comfor details.

Campagnolo
Apologies for the lack of photos, but Campagnolo's Richard Storinocould only talk about some spring products, not show them. Coming soonare Compact 10 drivetrains for the Veloce and Mirage groups. The big dealhere is that they will benefit from Campagnolo's Compact 10 front derailleurdesign, which is the only one that seems to work reliably on compact-stylechainrings. If your bike's chain has been dropping to the BB shell duringfront shifts, Campagnolo's set-up should cure the problem.Also coming are Flat Bar shifters with lever pulls adjusted for cantilever brakes. Campy's Flat Bar shifters have been a resounding hit, and the new canti-compatible versions will spread the joy to more bikes.

ControlTech
Once a famous name in mountain bike stems and bars, ControlTech fellon hard times in the mid-nineties. But the company is now established inTaiwan and poised to come roaring back with a new range of products inaluminum and carbon under the design leadership of the irrepressible PancrazioCentola. Centola, a sales and marketing mastermind who once headed 3tttand Cinelli's efforts, and then Deda Elementi's, has assembled a designteam in Italy which has brought forth, among other gems, a new aero barthat currently bears the working name of "Air Razor." The name is subjectto change before production begins, but the essentials are established:Full carbon, adjustable in length, height and angle of front extensions,and narrow to the wind.

ControlTech's new aluminum bar is hydroformed with flats on top to fit the palms.

Also on the horizon is the Crossbow XC, a one-piece mountain bar witha subtle riser design. There's an integrated computer mount up front, andas the bar has been designed to stand up to bike-busting freeride conditions,it should offer plenty of security to cross-country riders.

Control Tech also has a new carbon bar and stem with an array of greatfeatures -- anatomic fit, internal cable guides, and so on -- at 370 grams,but what Centola is prouder of is a new, much less expensive aluminum barand stem set-up that weighs exactly the same: 270 grams (42 width) forthe hydroformed bar, and 100 grams (110 length) for the scandium forgedand machined stem.

Deda Elementi
Meanwhile, over at Deda, the equally irrepressible Fulvio Acquati wasshowing off his new Deda Aeroblack 0°, a TT bar with a flat profile(thus zero degrees of rise, get it?).

Underside of the Aeroblack shows thoughtful cable routing.

The bends at the ends match the curve of a Campagnolo Ergopower clamp, and the armrests are adjustable in four, yes four, dimensions. That would be height, width, fore-aft, and… um, time? Isn't time the fourth dimension?

Anyway, the thing is gorgeous, and it mates with an extension calledFast Black, which is discreetly drilled for bar-end shifters. The rig willbe raced this summer by Deda's various ProTour teams, and should be availableto the rest of us by autumn.

If a classic road bend is more your style, Deda offers an update inthe Campione, in full carbon. The one we saw was a final prototype, soexpect availability by late spring.

Easton's AeroForce and DeltaForce are a lightweight combination.

Easton
Aerobars seemed to be a theme in Taiwan, as Easton put forth its AeroForce Carbon clip-on, which when paired with the company's DeltaForce pursuit bar creates a lightweight wonder that uses Easton's CNT nanotube technology to good effect.

The combined weight, with a 40-cm DeltaForce, is about 620 grams.

Nanotubes are present in Easton's new EC70 bar and stem as well, whichare cleverly designed with no post-mold machining required, and thus nocutting across the carbon plies or cuts in the carbon's strength. The wing-style bar, available in 40, 42 and 44-cm widths, weighs about 230 grams in a42, according to Easton's John Harrington, while the stem, which comesin 90 - 130mm lengths, weighs about 155 grams in a 110.

Not bad, you say? Yeah, but get these pricetags: only $180 or so for the bar, and about $160 for the stem. Hmmm, what was that about price increases in 2006?

FSA's new RD 460 wheels take disc brakes and are designed for cyclo-cross

Photo: Courtesy FSA

Full Speed Ahead
Perhaps temporarily exhausted from a flurry of new items introducedlast fall, FSA was taking a break with just a handful of mid-year noveltiesto sate the bottomless appetite of the voracious press. Among those ofspecial interest is a new RD460 wheelset, designed for cyclo-cross use,with 130mm rear spacing and disc-brake compatible hubs. Very tasty.

In FSA's Vision line is a new flat bend (dubbed "R Bend" for "racing")for its aero extensions, available in aluminum or carbon. "It's the shapepreferred by the pro teams that we sponsor," said FSA's Doug Stuart, "becauseit gives them a flatter profile."

Also new from Vision is the TriGel Aero saddle, at 320 grams with tubulartitanium rails, which incorporates fairings underneath, front and rear,for that extra bit of wind-cheating speed. "Wind tunnel tests show thatthere is a lot of turbulence under the saddle," Stuart says, so here'syour opportunity to calm the winds and get some speed back.

The aluminum spokes broaden from hub to rim, for better aerodynamics

Fulcrum
Fulcrum was showing its full line of racing wheels, which are finallyshipping after a long gestation. The Racing 1 at the top of the line hasan intriguing design to its aluminum spokes, which grow wider from hubto rim. The Fulcrum folks say the width difference leads to better aerodynamics.

In what may be another first, the clincher and tubular weights of the Racing1 are exactly the same: 700 grams front, 870 grams rear, weights achievedin part by the extensive use of aluminum in the spokes, hubs, axles andfreehub body, which is Shimano compatible.

Giant
Giant has knocked off up to 100 grams from the frames it builds forT-Mobile by extending the seat mast all the way to the saddle, a cleverstrategy pioneered last year by Time Sports in its RSX team frames.

Giant's seat clamp permits about 20mm of saddle height adjustment, and that meagre amount, combined with the caution needed when cutting the seat mast tolength, has caused Giant to soft-pedal any plans to offer the design tothe public this year. But grams are grams, so you may see something similaron your dealer's floor next season.

ITM
Italmanubri's new aerobar entry is the Nivola, the nickname of Italy'sgreat auto racing champion Tazio Nuvolari.

Millennium 4Ever is a comfortable aluminum bar with a stylish white carbon stem clamp

Millennium 4Ever is a comfortable aluminum bar with a stylish white carbon stem clamp

A monocoque design in full carbonfiber, the Nivola is elegantly minimal and presents a notably narrow profileto the wind.

ITM's other new entry for spring is an update to its popular Millennium4Ever bar and stem combo, which is now available with a white carbon barclamp.

The rear vents in the Limar 950 are designed to keep you cool.

The 7075 aluminum alloy bar comes in the usual range of widths andis made with ITM's trademark bend in the drops, which is oh-so-comfortableeven when you're eating cork in a paceline.

Limar
Most high-end helmets are well ventilated these days, but Limar's new950, at about $150, also boasts massive rear outlets to discharge heat.Other key features include Limar's "Dial" system for fit, which moves thestraps in at the sides as well as tighter in back, to conform better toactual head shapes, and extra-long pads inside for comfort and sweat absorption. Limar's helmets also have thin ribs up top, which allow them to sit close to the head, yielding a low profile.

Profile
Yet another aerobar. The T2 Wing, at about 240 grams, is formed fromaluminum and is ready to be paired with Profile's T2+ aluminum extensions(shown) or the new T2 Cobra carbon extensions, our photos of which turnedout so poorly that we are too embarrassed to post them. Anyway, the super-lowprofile T2 Cobras have internal cable guides and an ergonomic grip witha flat section on top for your thumb, a nice touch we haven't seen elsewhere.
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Tristryke has notches underneath, front and rear, to aid racking the bike in the transition area.