Where Do Your Bike Components Really Come From? | Inside Cycling's Biggest Factories

A large proportion of the world's best carbon frames are made in Taiwan! But you may not realise that many of the other components on your bike are also made there too! Ollie has been to visit two massive factories that make saddles, pedals, and other components for many of the world’s biggest bike brands! Let’s go!
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[@x9lp4hh]

Love watching the manufacturing process…thanks to Velo and Wellgo for opening their doors to GCN

[@julianwinn4502]

Spent some time in a Giant bicycle factory in Shanghai a few years ago. 6000 bicycles a day, 1500 of which were carbon frames. The ladies welding the aluminium frames together were super skilled and a joy to watch at work.

[@davidlewis4399]

Shame they dont make bikes in the West really.

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

I thought frame welding became automated about 1988 .

[@huntos83]

@@davidlewis4399they could, but you’d have to be happy to pay twice as much for the bike

[@cjohnson3836]

@@davidlewis4399 No one wants to pay the price of such frames.

[@danielakerman8241]

@@davidlewis4399 why is that a shame, actually?

[@TheJoeOption]

The modern bike industry just doesn't exist without Taiwan. It's absolutely crazy.

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

The old bike industry didn't exist without Warwickshire. What happened?

[@gregmcmullen6698]

costs happened.@@jameslee-pevenhull5087

[@sonicart77]

Tons of Taiwanese themselves cycle as well

[@buster.keaton]

I thought this video was going to be super boring but I ended-up watching to the end as it was pretty darn interesting to see how some of the components we take for granted are made.

[@recstoppauseplay]

Manufacturers in Taiwan should also get tremendous applause and credit for making parts for vintage bicycles of latter half of the 20th century. If you're asking your local bike shop for Sturmey Archer parts, 26 x 1 3/8" tires, spokes, BB bearings and cups etc. They'll most likely be able to find them from Taiwan. The fun of restoration gets many a good bike back out on the road.

[@DRD8CZ]

8:57 it says GIANT on the wall.. at least one customer you forgot to blurr 😀

[@rug212]

Oops 😝

[@andrewmcalister3462]

OMG. The closely guarded secret that Giant bikes are manufactured in Taiwan is now out there.

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Thanks Ollie for a couple of fascinating factory tours. Glad you were able to make the most of your time in Taiwan.

[@kevingormany1719]

So glad to see Wellgo getting some time in the sun. They make great pedals. Love them.

[@tonyBobb5209]

Brilliant Brilliant content! This is what the cycling community have been after. This episode is a nice fit after the previous episode talking about the bike industry, with the costs for the latest bikes being out of reach for many people. I'd like to know if Ollie managed to do any cycling while overseas? Would be rude not too. Well done GCN this has been a great watch, throughly enjoyed. Makes me want to take a trip to Taiwan myself.

[@ehuremovic526]

Did you miss the video where he did the Taiwan KOM challenge?

[@tonyBobb5209]

@@ehuremovic526 clearly I did. Thanks for giving me the heads up. Will check it out. Thank you.

[@balbontinsergio]

LONG time GCN fan & also a U.S. attorney specializing in international trade. (First Asian factory I "visited" making bike stuff.) EXCELLENT video blending my hobby with work. Kudos guys on showing the world the behind the scenes!

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

At 67 years old, Im happy to say all my joints, ie hips knees, are all OEM.

[@PhilOsGarage]

I’m 45, and mine aren’t 😂

[@deepspoke2201]

Sourced pedals from Wellgo for an OEM brand in 1998; great company and glad to see they’re still around. Was also surprised on my 1st visit to see multiple OEM brands supported by single contract manufacturers.

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

With the number of bicycles with their pedals , production must be 12 - 16 times higher than described .

[@mlee6050]

Sorry Wellgo ... I often keep or give those away since I go with a Shimano or crank brothers one

[@trek520rider2]

@@mlee6050 And you know all Shimano and Crank Brothers are not made by Wellgo how?

[@mlee6050]

@@trek520rider2 I was just on about the ones that actually got wellgo written on it

[@edromero7985]

For my mechanical engineering final project I visited Medici bike frames........it was a very great insight to practical manufacturing for those who had never seen it

[@raginganarchist]

A massive THANK YOU to all the Chinese and Taiwanese workers for working hard to bring us quality bike parts at a reasonable cost.

[@ojtibi9906]

"Let's go, 'group of cyclists'!" is a good one, that made me chuckle! 😅

[@oliverbridgewood3929]

😉

[@RyonBeachner]

“I can’t say which manufacturers they produce for” No one would ask you to do that, it would take FAR too long. It would be much easier to list the three companies who they don’t work with. 😂

[@questionmark6971]

Velo saddles and Wellgo pedals have been on my bikes for years.

[@yevhen82]

Thanks for that video! From childhood till now I love those affordable yet well built products both Velo and Wellgo manufacture. Wanted to see how it’s done and you’ve delivered from Taiwan exactly what I wanted, guys!

[@user-nt8dy4xw9r]

What a fascinating watch! This video is an eye-opener to the industry, not just a product. Thank you GCN!

[@DougBateson]

One of the most interesting and informative videos I've seen in a long time.

[@chirpy999]

Fantastic film, love seeing Robots and the machines that make our kit, thanks Ollie and GCN.

[@Shadowboost]

Very cool to see the Wellgo factory. I'll happily buy Made in Taiwan bike parts.

[@ghowell13]

Wellgo makes the OEM pedals for a fair few BMX brands. GT, Mongoose, I believe SE. I'm more familiar with the older brands than the "newer" ones, although my daughter and I both ride/ race current model BMX bikes. I'm an old head at heart, so I always look at the old brands when their new models come out. But I recognized quite a few of those pedal bodies. As a matter of fact, the multi color one was an Odyssey brand pedal. They are a separate "parts" brand.

[@Jayneflakes]

Fascinating as always. Thanks Oli & GCN.

[@motionstudio77]

Thanks for the tour 👍🏻👍🏻

[@PrzemyslawSliwinski]

Next stop: mid-tier group-set factories (Malasia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam)?

[@Ale_BR]

Great video! Super interesting. Thank you GCN and Ollie. It’s amazing to see has been developed over time in that region and it has become the main reason the whole industry is dependent on their factories. Even nowadays when labor costs are no longer competitive.

[@davidwashbrook9885]

A Pinnacle mountain bike I bought over a decade ago had a Velo saddle on it and it's still the most comfortable saddle I've ever ridden.

[@cb6866]

Thanks Dr O and crew...interesting process . Love the robotics !

[@lefousuisse]

A huge thanks to all actors who permitted to see the serious work, i hope that video will confirm how serious are Taiwan and other Asia's productors ^^ Sorry for my english he's not perfect! Thanks GCN Tech :-) (personnal quote, i like the passion of your presentator!)

[@michaelw7438]

Fascinating Ollie, many thanks for this insight.

[@scottwaddell298]

I live in Taiwan...get to the mountains... Some of the best in the world for cycling

[@jonathanzappala]

More please. I love seeing the business of cycling.

[@bugeyesprite119]

Great video. Thanks, Ollie!

[@zukzworld]

Wonderful video, well done Dr. B! ❤️✌🏾

[@iansingleton]

Fascinating! No wonder China wants to get it's hands on Taiwan! It's like the whole country is one massive manufacturing workshop! Wellgo pedals are great. All my flat MTB pedals are and have been Wellgo. They've never let me down, they last ages, took a huge bashing and I've never had to service them! Exactly what you want from a product. Thanks GCN & Oli great film, more like this please! 👍

[@cjohnson3836]

China's desire of Taiwan are primarily cultural and secondarily due to how maritime control is distributed via maritime law and the geopolitical implications of the S.China Sea and particularly with Japanese trade routing. Taiwan punches up economically but its a blip compared to China. And Taiwan's most important production isn't something China could take through conquest anyways as its dependent upon European inputs (and there's contingencies to demolish chip fab factories in the event of an invasion)

[@jackcisco33]

Well done! We need more of these manufacturing videos! So cool and interesting to watch

[@jacob-webber-outdoors]

That's quite interesting! Very cool!

[@mitchpaliga4851]

My first "SPD's" were Nashbar Wellgos, still have a pair.

[@PhilOsGarage]

I suspect the entry level shimano ones are well go, too.

[@cup_and_cone]

Nashbar branded Wellgo pedals I bought in the 90's were my first clipless pedals... Those were the days.

[@guyyanez6949]

Please more videos like this one Olie! Wow, great stuff!

[@jeffreylee5770]

Hi Ollie, Thanks for exploring some of the bike component manufacturing in Taiwan. If you can hire a translator and talk with more everyday people in the bike industry, and just people at the night market or the fish market, that would be fun. Food in Taiwan is a lot better than in a lot of the rest of the world : )

[@WilliamOwyong]

As a heavy rider, I for one am grateful they test their seats at 125kg 😅

[@jonathanbenn2241]

Have used Wello MTB flats for several years. Great value and durable.

[@johnstrac]

Very interesting, thanks.

[@craigstephenmcdonald9915]

I love this stuff, more please😊

[@natillano]

Ultra cool. What a tour

[@johnerdam961]

Really, really interesting Video! More of that would be very welcome

[@dthornew]

The „Brian Cox“ of the next generation! Good job.

[@stevendembo2389]

Fascinating!

[@ak19910716]

As a bike loving mechanical engineer this is just the best video content I can hope for

[@garyjones6519]

Brilliant and very interesting. Thank you @gcn

[@willshaughnessy8515]

spent 3 months in Yangmigshan ,,outside of Taipei great little cycling hub,, bike shops on every corner,. Ollie you must ride in Yangmingshan.. National Park\.. ask the local bike club or rapha shop folk about Buddhas Hand ride.. up the mountain,..down to the sea .. as many times as you have fingers.. final run a spalsh in the sea., head into Taipei for a good curry.. my friend Danny's place Spice Shop..in Taipei.. Have fun in TW. the hot springs in Yangmingshan too are delightful after a long ride..

[@markbooth6745]

Good video, I use wellgo pedals. Very good too.🔥🔥🔥😃👍

[@chriscole4149]

Very good! Very cool!

[@cup_and_cone]

Great video, I could see this being a whole series! Let's get other big Taiwan component OEMs like TH (Tien Hsin), Joy Industrial, SR Suntour, etc, on here too!

[@dalem1140]

Excellent vid👌

[@StoccTube]

“Aren’t machines brilliant”. “Bearings and lasers too… brilliant” 😂

[@TheArto50]

Very interesting video👌.

[@salh5578]

I love these behind the scenes videos, thanks Ollie. Maybe not as glamorous as a trip to Taiwan, but how about West Brom'.... where Brooks saddles are made. Less high tech, but really high quality, hand made British craftsmanship. Some of the machines still in use, date back nearly a hundred years. Having had the privilege of taking a school group round, it is fascinating for a bike geek, and I find my modified B17 is super comfy.

[@cjohnson3836]

How its Made and Brooks' own channels have done this already

[@steveherring8494]

as a industrial designer that was very interesting .

[@aaronedgeart]

Super cool.

[@zbigniewgawel4796]

few months ago I bought a pair of wellgo C237 pedals, very well made, light and good looking pedals

[@chaosflower4892]

I'm old enough to remember when Taiwan started its inroads into cycling (BMX). The best bike stuff was British, American or Japanese back in the 80's and it was pricey e.g. Shimano, Dia-Compe, Sugino, Kashimax, IRC etc. Then suddenly we had decent copies made by Victor Pedal, Viscount, Cheng Shin (now Maxxis) etc.. and then came Giant. Victor possibly produced the first Shimano DX pedal copy. Viscount made great copies of Kashimax saddles. And even well into the 2000's Giant had a copy of the Hope C2 disc brake.. but by then Giant and others were also innovating and investing massively.

[@ghowell13]

I made comment similar to yours. I didn't say it, but I kinda cringed when Ollie mentioned the bit about children's bikes.😂 I still ride a child's bike, or what people think of as one. I still ride BMX, race occasionally, and have loads of my 80s freestyle bikes and parts. I remember the "Asian invasion " as well. It brought the cycling sport down out of the stratospheric cost. It's a shame it's back there again, with little relief.

[@christopheroliver148]

How could you forget our buddies in Vicenza in your list of sources of the best? When I started riding, Tullio Campagnolo was still alive, and if you raced, chances are you were on parts made by his company. At the time, DuraAce looked like a slightly prettier version of 600, and Shimano was far from the dominant player in high end cycling it is today. Of course the best derailleurs then came from SunTour not Campagnolo.

[@chaosflower4892]

@@ghowell13 plenty of grownups still enjoying BMX's even just for nostalgia and fun.. we must be brothers from another mother.. your playlist.. wiki wiki wiki wiki now check this out! Just remembered I bought a layback UK made Renthal seatpost for £5 in 1983 so there were some goodies that were cheapish..

[@chaosflower4892]

@@christopheroliver148 not so much forgetting.. but I was reminiscing from a BMX standpoint.. Italians werent really making BMX stuff.. back then roadbikes werent my thing (still arent!)..

[@ghowell13]

@@chaosflower4892 belei e it or not, Campagnolo made a few BMX parts. Bianchi was making whole BMX bikes.

[@ERKNEES2]

Awesome video

[@goldikova1]

Great video, more of this please, what about the Brooks factory 👍

[@matskelton9589]

Top quality infomercial 👌

[@christianndasilva1843]

Minute 3:34 that's definitely a Bontrager Aeolus RSL saddle

[@hazembata]

Very cool.

[@ollieelgie]

"Let's go... 'group of cyclists' " You simply can't love Ollie!

[@VerthNeel]

Very nice

[@reinholdachleitner2069]

Awesome video,I think my knock off Spezialized Power saddle is made by Velo.Super comfortable by the way.

[@PeakTorque]

What brands can we spot? I'll start. 7:11 prologo

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Awesome :)

[@jonasvieth]

Taiwan quality standards are probably that high because they are not calculating g with 10m/s² 😉

[@GokkunGuru]

Taiwan is number 1 in the bike components manufacturing industry. Hands down!

[@nazarethzuanare1062]

Maravilloso

[@xkeigo]

welldone, 8:56 Giant label on the wall....

[@badannyrey4296]

Interesante manufacturas de un proceso nuy impresiónante

[@troycollett8540]

I have wellgo pedals and they are awesome

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

The MG 1 pedals often have bearing failures , therefore need to replace those bearings however . Axial strikes damage them sometimes .

[@leissp1]

Nice subtle name drops Olie

[@marivelalarconveliz2172]

Excelente

[@feedbackzaloop]

That OEM talk made me wonder, how many tiers deep can you go with bikes. Example, Corratec bikes with ZZYZX wheels, which have Formula hubs, which have NBK (of that I am not exactly sure) bearings. Then, aerospace guys will go nuts from Ollie calling steel alloy and alu metal😉

[@PhilOsGarage]

I suspect it confuses many, but steel is an alloy, but aluminium isn’t. Many people think alloy means aluminium, but it’s simply a metal made of more than one material, steel being an alloy of iron and carbon (also other elements such as chromium and molybdenum) pure aluminium is an element, but it’s usually an alloy of aluminium, silicon and other metals, hence aluminium alloy.

[@feedbackzaloop]

@@PhilOsGarage it is confusing indeed, to think that general absolute truths are applicable to narrow professional areas... Those are just colloquialisms. As aluminium alloys became frequent in aviation while pure aluminium was never used, engineers omited the "aluminium" part.

[@glenni249]

​@@PhilOsGaragealuminium is an alloy in most applications. A quick google says that aluminium 6061 is common in bikes, which is an alloy with silicon and magnesium.

[@chrism5433]

well years ago , auto parts made in Asia didnt have the hardning process down , being poor prouducts , today they got it mostley down . taiwan has done a great job on there tools for mechanics ,ive tried and tested .cheers

[@PhilOsGarage]

Many years ago. For probably the last 40 years that hasn’t necessarily been true.

[@pulser955]

I find it really insulting that at this point we are still acting like it’s a big secret that most bike “manufacturers” are really just marketing companies that don’t make anything. It would be refreshing if we could just stop pretending and just embrace the actual manufacturing going on.

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

Trek makes very little product . Many of their bicycles are made by XDS in Vietnam as of April 2021 .

[@pulser955]

@@robertmcfadyen9156 Back when I worked in a shop the only thing Trek made I house was the high end OCLV frames. When I built bikes my boss would make me take the made in China labels off the frames. I haven’t worked in a shop in a long time or kept up with where they make stuff anymore. I do own 2 treks but because I like the bikes and the warranty.

[@RAP4EVERMRC96]

Taiwan is such an interesting country. I think I need to go there once at least.

[@Membrillo81]

Bring your road bike. Trust me.

[@RAP4EVERMRC96]

@@Membrillo81 yh a friend of mine who was born there said you can cycle around the whole island.

[@PoulHansenDK]

I wanted to see how they attach the frame to the saddle! You have to go back Ollie! ;-)

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

The middle section of the rails the lady had in the plastic trough at 6:00 approximately are cambered slightly when pressed and de - cambered in another press when fitted to take up nose and two rear sockets slack . Only modest pressure is used . This is how Selle Italia do it .

[@JudithSaNo-pm7fu]

Genial 👌👍

[@mattqueen8748]

Can you tour the Shimano and Sram factories???

[@aihsanasl]

Did you cycled to Taiwan to show us this factory 😱 I can't believe you 😜

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

Went by airline .

[@dominiquefrechette]

Fascinating and sad at the same time. The concentration of manufacturing of a given component (as pedal or saddle in this video) in very few factories is what make supply chain so efficient, but also so fragile. I would much prefer resilient supply chains over hyper-efficient ones...for all the things we learned during the pandemic.

[@ianmacdonald487]

Really enjoyed this video. How about visits to hub manufacturers? I'm actually very curious to know who makes all the coaster brake hubs which are all the same design inside. Who owns the patent on that design? I can't find any answers from Google.

[@savagepro9060]

12:10 Uh, Ollie, speak for yourself. EVERYBODY in the comment section has heard of Wellgo!

[@jorgeluismendeztantalean-ps3vi]

Muy bueno

[@JanneRasanen2]

I have heard of Wellgo, I have flat pedals from them. Finland.

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Very interesting. Not as nice working conditions as in Europe! There were times in the early 90s when all the parts of the bike came with the names of the OEM on it. My first real MTB had Wellgo pedals and a Velo saddle. I‘m sure my current saddle also came out of this factory since Prologo is a branch of Velo.

[@komoonkh]

Also Formula and Novatec make most of the oem hubs on the market. Thats how ut works

[@robertmcfadyen9156]

Not Shimano or DT ones though .

[@garysalisbury8949]

I recently picked up a 70s Peugeot. Literally everything on that bike is made in France.

[@Pav_1983]

Group of cyclist = Peleton. Nice one Ollie ;-) 6:37 Prologo Scratch?

[@_J.F_]

Great mini documentary. Also goes to show how industrious they are in Taiwan - no wonder China want's to sweep them under their 'umbrella' - and makes you start wondering what we can do here in the UK. Seems the only thing we are really good at is making trouble to be honest.

[@zurielsss]

The Taiwanese are very hardworking and innovative in their work, being colonized by the Japanese previously also developed a better work ethic UK won't be ideal for manufacturing from cost, labour laws and tax (now that they have exited the EU)

[@graham2954]

It's mad the amount of bike places around Taichung.