TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN)—Jasper Feng held up RST's new electronic dropper post and told more than a dozen editors that it would retail for $999. Several quickly asked Feng to repeat the price just to be certain they had heard him correctly.
They had. It seems adding an "e" function to a product may be a marketing must these days.
There's a motor at the bottom of the post that powers the hydraulic system. The motor uses a small lithium battery that's recharged using a micro USB cable. Without a load, the battery can cycle the post up and down some 2,400 times. Adding a load will sap the battery more quickly. A remote control button, attached to the handlebar, sends a high frequency signal that raises or drops the 730-gram post. Feng, in an interview, admitted the price was high but consumers today are entranced by technology and, he predicted, it would find a market.
RST was just one of 16 companies that had set up tents at the Iron Hill Bike Park, not far from Giant's factory, to greet editors from a half-dozen countries. The editors are in Taiwan this week to visit a dozen factories and get a peek at some products in advance of the fall trade show season.
And, more importantly, organizers of the week-long tour hope to drum up enthusiasm for the Taipei Cycle Show. Last year the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, better known as TAITRA, made a bold decision moving its traditional show dates from mid-March to the end of October.
Monday's event was an eclectic mix of companies ranging from a startup Internet venture selling low-priced city bikes online to more traditional products from well-known brands like KMC, Kind Shock, Maxxis, Kenda, VP Components, RST and others. Each had 15 minutes for a thumbnail presentation, a PowerPoint display, and a chance to answer questions.
Among the highlights were mountain bike tires from Kenda, the Regolith, and from Maxxis, the Assegai. And Alan Bleiler, a manager at KMC, introduced a new chain for e-bikes that can take the torsional stress that mid-mount motors can deliver. And the company has a new chain for 12-speed drivetrains.
VP Components has new silicone rubber mountain bike grips that the company has branded SIMO. The new grips shed water and sweat, offer a high-friction grip, resist weathering and staining. One style will retail for about $30.
BESV, an e-bike supplier, gave editors a second look at this TRB1 mountain bike and its JR1 road bike. Both were at this spring's Sea Otter Classic. And Bryton unveiled three new GPS cycling computers. Bryton, distributed by BTI, KHS and J&B, showed off its Aero 60, Rider 450 and Rider 410. The Aero 60, its premier version with 78 functions, retails for about $235.
