The Secret Factory The Bike Industry Doesn't Want You to Know About

[@Angel-jx5hd]

Thanks for sharing Maxway Cycles, we are a 38-year-old OEM and ODM factory. We love to work with great designers such as Adam. What we are doing is translating customers' visions into tangible realities. 😀

[@TaigiTWeseDiplomat--Formosan]

：０

[@josephfarrugia2350]

Can you please publish geometry charts under each MTB & other frame you offer please?

[@thisscootinglife2360]

Success for the future! Along with the minivelos trend i hope we will see a trend for more upright / comfortable / accessible but performance oriented frames. These are now becoming more common in e bike but not non electric. There’s a big gap between clunky omefiets and expensive customs; low price upright frames often lack modern features and are just vintage recreations. Giant district midstep and Marin Larkspur are closer but there’s very few other choices. Low bar/ step through/ mixte but with performance features like sliding drop outs, frame breaks for belts, and light modern steel in well crafted frames.

[@briananderson5102]

Would like to visit when we travel to visit family in Taiwan next year. 😊

[@hippiebits2071]

That guy gave a fantastic interview. Extremely knowledgeable and yet seemingly so down to earth and humble. What a fascinating and likable guy.

[@00razmataz]

I fully agree with you, knowlagable and very informative !

[@TravelsWithTony]

Cool insights. Let’s hope everyone is ok there after today’s earthquake!

[@ultraromance]

Randal gave one heck of an interview here! Very knowledgeable and with great inside insight

[@felixjackson2670]

Excellent. Have followed the ‘bike industry’,with various degrees of involvement since 1970’s. Since the huge transfer of wealth during 2020-24 the industry has,in my opinion become lost to ‘corporate interests’( profit for shareholders) prices through the roof. Love to see small business,craft,skilled,non bullshit content!

[@keithnewton1966]

Being in manufacturing over thirty five now with one involving metal fabrication this was right down my alley. Great interview👍

[@MaciejNaumienko]

My Author bike frame was made in Taiwan back in 1996 and I still admire its outstanding quality and craftsmanship. They know their thing.

[@repsaknivek]

The description of the manufacturing process reminds me of a visit I made to the Philippines of a furniture manufacturing "facility." There wasn't any facility. Instead a truck would pull up to an extended family's compound of glorified huts and unload several dozen pieces of furniture, each one needing a particular operation in the manufacturing process to be performed next. Inside the huts family members expertly and quickly performed one single operation on those pieces in progress. A little while later another truck stopped by to unload another set and pick up the ones they had worked on. The truck traveled several hundred yards and unloaded at another extended family's compound of huts where they performed the next step in the manufacturing process.

[@FT__Bicycling_____-sc7yv]

what a logistical nightmare. I guess nearly free labor goes a long way to reduce their costs.

[@repsaknivek]

@@FT__Bicycling_____-sc7yv Not a logistical nightmare. Think of an assembly line that has been stretched. The little family compounds that were involved were along a route. So a truck got loaded with items, drove to compound number one, unloaded a days worth of work, loaded up all of their “finished” pieces, drove a few hundred yards and repeated the process. The savings wasn’t just in labor, it was in not buying land for a factory, in building a factory, in buying machines for a factory, in not paying taxes on a factory, in not paying utilities for a factory. Replace all of that cost with some trucks and few guys for each truck.

[@FreiburgRadfahrer]

Great interview that offers a lot of comparative insight into production in Taiwan vs. artisan US framebuilding. Would love to see a few more interviews in this direction! As others have noted, Sklar was especially knowledgeable, humble, and friendly. Also wish the businesses in Taiwan that they survived the earthquake and are able to recover.

[@cycleholic58]

Other than the reason you gave, I watch your videos because I am sick and tired of the 'look at me riding my new bike, or touring on my bike type videos.'

[@zypang1447]

He does a lot of touring on my bike videos though

[@Horus-Lupercal]

A lot of channels have mixed content, I go with who's having the most fun tbh.

[@puregsr]

I grew up in Taiwan and we are very proud of our bicycles. The economy is based tens of thousands of extremely hardworking family-owned small businesses that are all interconnected through decades and generations of networking. It is going to be very hard for most Americans to imagine industries based on a complex network of mom and pop shops rather than a typical huge corporations or monopolies. One time in a bike shop around Seattle, I heard a customer complained to a sales person "but it's made in Taiwan!" I was quite saddened.

[@BroadcastBuddy]

I agree. Don't let the globalists ruin Taiwan like they did to our workforce. It's terrible. Taiwanese products are generally very well made in my experience.

[@eltamarindo]

In the 1950s in the USA, "made in Japan" was synonymous with junk. By the 1980s Japan was world leading in quality and when bike production moved from Japan to Taiwan in the 1980s "Made in Taiwan" was looked down on. By the 2000s when most production had move to mainland China, "made in Taiwan" was a badge of quality.

[@paulmaartin]

There's mom and pop shops in America too but small businesses in America aren't any nicer than the big ones if anything they're among the worse rentiers you can imagine.

[@eltamarindo]

@@paulmaartin "rentier" means someone who lives off of the passive income from their rental properties.

[@paulmaartin]

@@eltamarindo no it can also means collecting profits without really providing value usually because of some sort of abuse. Like a scummy dealership, payday loans, crappy Airbnb. Also, most landlords are mom and pop.

[@glennoc8585]

Glad to see artisans can still make a living from custom builds. My Grandfather eas one of only a few steel frame builders in England in the 70s. He was sad to see a lot of British bike manufacturers disappear to the Asian market

[@bffaris]

Who was your grandfather?

[@glennoc8585]

@@bffaris Stan Lang. His frames were called 'southern cross'

[@lawrencelibby3607]

I had one job where I operated the destructive testing machines, a real blast for a 20-something to break stuff all day, then I had a job where I messed around with a 3d printer and I don't think they quite live up to the hype, yet. But they are good for one-offs. Thanks for taking the time to inform about the wonderful world of manufacturing.

[@truantray]

Atherton has been making 3D printed titanium lugged frames with bonded carbon tubes for years, for downhill mountain bikes. Bonded carbon frames from the 90s never broke, and had perfect bottom bracket alignment.

[@kbd13-n9c]

So many different levels of 3D printing

[@RyanBuildsWheels]

Great stuff and some modest insights from Adam too :-). Visiting some wheel factories in Taiwan and meeting the folk building + hearing their stories is something I'd love to do in the future!

[@pavelrubio]

nerdy conversation.... right down my alley! Thanks for this video

[@michaelviglianco6121]

I just rode by it yesterday touring about Taiwan. Yes the morning (and most of the day) involved a lot of shaking.

[@AngelGonzalez-hc4zw]

Excellent interview! I have a 92 Giant Allegra steel road bike and it has an amazing ride feel. The geometry is spot on, compared to my Italian Tommasini, a 92 Columbus SLX frame. The Giant Allegra made me a big believer in Taiwanese quality made bikes.

[@FreerideQuebec]

as a welder for the past 17 years, It's amazing to have Adam view on the subject

[@mattdelcomyn8012]

Thanks Russ and Adam! You guys are designing and critiquing the bikes we’ll be riding in the future. Thanks for the view into Adams world. Super Interesting!! BTW I lived in Oakland for a year. Twas one of the best winters of my like cause the riding in the Oakland hills is awesome! Enjoy Adam!

[@soarinsuzi7206]

Really great chat, thanks for posting!

[@buriedintime]

supa cool interview. nice to learn a bit about the factory

[@dirtisgood1984]

My mountain bike was built in Taiwan. It was probably built here. Great interview!!

[@pavelg4990]

Great interview! Lively yet very informative.

[@crunchysteve]

I love Adam's metallurgy nerdiness! And he seems such a gentle, quiet soul. Really nice guy and sharp as a tack on his art. If I were local to him, I'd buy a bike from him. I've ridden with guys like him over the years and they always have the temperament to deal with hard days. Really interesting nerd talk, too.

[@rsmiii]

Great interview and discussion to pull back the curtain on how skilled and efficient the hand-built Taiwanese frames are. Super interesting. Good luck Adam with your new venture!

[@jamesgodfrey8678]

Great conversation! Learned a lot! Thanks

[@ThriftyFramebuilder]

Great video! As a hobby framebuilder this was really interesting. I’ll never build frames to sell, but it was cool to hear about all the behind the scenes stuff on the production side.

[@jamesmedina2062]

So every frame is just for yourself? Why not to sell any?

[@ThriftyFramebuilder]

@@jamesmedina2062 I’m slow; I typically build one frame a year. I have really basic tooling and limited time, so it’s tough to make more than that. I’d have to sell multiple frames a year just to cover insurance, and my day job doesn’t pay enough to buy nicer tools, machines, and equipment that would speed up the process.

[@Horus-Lupercal]

I have an aluminum Specialised roadbike, made in Taiwan. It's incredibly smooth, virtually silent. Beautiful, effortless ride.

[@jamesmedina2062]

silent?? so like the rear freehub is quiet? What kind of wheels on it?

[@conman1395]

I'm glad a rigid bike is silent. Probably has literally nothing to do with the frame, since rigid frames aren't the source of the sound.....

[@earthlingdamien]

@@jamesmedina2062 I don't know about the above person's bike, but I ride a Shimano Alfine 8 speed hub and it's totally silent. I recently bought a hardtail and I can't stand how loud the freewheel is. I've decided to save a litle money and buy a new rear wheel with an Onyx hub for that bike.

[@truantray]

Oh no, industry marketing will tell you it is "buzzy" and will explode in a few years. Without carbon fiber, how would we charge $5000 for a frame?

[@Frostbiker]

Color me surprised! I feel the same way about these (mostly Taiwanese) frame manufacturers and didn't expect Russ to have similar views on this. Also, is it me or Russ appears to be feeling better? Hopefully things are less stressful these days.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

Well, the blurry filter helps…

[@htonmusic]

i respect the language used by adam when he talks about the workers sometimes when people talk about far east manufacturing the words can be unintentionally dehumanizing.

[@sandrochiavaro7831]

What a fantastic deep dive into this steel frame world. Well done. Masterfully edited I must admit. So much info in such short video👏🏻👏🏻

[@StevenFranta-tl1kp]

I have a poorly hand painted fixed gear with no labels on it. I found a maxway stamp on the drop outs and when you inspect the bike deep down, it's incredibly nice. I think it's lighter than my Bianchi San Jose.

[@timlee3000]

Thanks!

[@buriedintime]

we must protect taiwan for the bike industry and maybe for chips too.. but mostly for bikes.

[@matthewhall8790]

They will voluntarily become part of China, we have nothing to protect them from.

[@Jack42Frost]

Protect from what?

[@rastislavstanik]

@@Jack42Frost gina

[@big_bird8597]

@@Jack42Frost CHYNA BAD

[@RobWhittlestone]

Great channel! Great interview! Great insights! All the best, Rob in Switzerland

[@jaredbeckman7835]

Great video! Thank you

[@markroberts6971]

Excellent presentation. Thank you Russ!

[@jazzfan7491]

I did a bike tour around southern Taiwan solo in fall 2013. At that time, at least, Giant shops were so extensive that you could rent a bike in one town and drop it off in another. Super convenient.

[@DahVeeDeeOh]

some links to Adam's stuff in the description would be nice.

[@khogg3581]

My Soma Smoothie was built in Taiwan. It’s been my primary ride for 15 years, and I don’t love it any less than the first day I rode it.

[@raysmith9324]

FANTASTIC!!! Thanks so much!

[@psclassy1123]

My 2016 Soma b side probably from a facility like this. Need to pair down bikes but its hard to sell when you look at how nice the paint is and what probably went into building it.

[@tongpocalypse151]

Great conversation and insights.

[@markholter5687]

Fantastic interview! Thanks to you both.

[@timkondas8481]

Is that the place that builds the Rivendell frames?

[@jonathangapay1724]

Oh! I have one from them. A touring frame that I initially used for gravel, and now it's my commuter bike. The frame code is Y17T01. Great frameset.

[@bradcomis1066]

Taichung is sick. Really amazing road riding over there, good food, and good people. Robot welded bikes are generally ultra high volume things like bike share bikes. The setup cost for robot welding is huge. Ovalized butt- dang, that is nice! Really good MTB idea there.

[@probablyriding]

Enjoyed this insight a lot. Thanks to you both!

[@billmaidment]

Great video! Very informative. Thanks!

[@gabemccoy]

I want a titanium fixed gear that clears 55c tires! Sounds awesome!

[@milanb.6022]

This video was so good that I would have watched it even if the title said it was an interview with Adam Sklar

[@enzochoi923]

frame building is no joke. I've been loving my ferrum hardtail, and the care and detail on the build is far in excess of anything I could ever do. they even TIG brazed the water bottle mounts!

[@truantray]

You either TIG, or braze, there is no "TIG braze". Brazing is not welding.

[@enzochoi923]

@@truantray you're right, but there's no real good name for the technique of using a TIG torch as your brazing best source, so TIG Brazing it is.

[@timmimhairi1312]

great interview...can't take my eyes off the nimble mtb fork in adams background🤤

[@crunchysteve]

And a cool point Adam makes about 3D printed parts, too. (My other nerdy interest), they probably do have to be slightly beefier because of the particualte nature of spot-scintered manufacturing. However, as a CAD jockey, designing a kit bike that's a hybrid of quality tubes and printed lugs, it opens doors to machines that would never be commercially viable but now we can have them, almost at mass produced pricing. I'm imagining a full size bike that, apart from the wheels, goes into a small cabin bag. It opens the Bike Friday concept up to full sized long haul touring machines - the class of bike where custom fit is important, and strength, but weight less so because the bike is all luggage and rider when being ridden. I think the real hope for cycling in 3D printed metal fab is exactly in The Path Less Pedalled's space - the mullet frame hacks possible! The independent R&D that can spawn new trends that make cycling more urban, more accessible and more ergo, rather than expensive and aero. I'm already designing a recumbent trike for myself and 3D printed lugs already make it theoretically cheaper (using PCBWay's quoting web page for custom metal prints) than the cheapest Trisled and I live a 1 hour train ride from Trisled's store and factory. Yeah, I don't have Trisled's experience, but a Gizmo is beyond my finances at this stage of my life. A part a month 3D print and locally sourced aircraft grade chromo is in reach. I just have to back my design and have the courage to commit!

[@BrantleySmithNC]

Fantastic video, thanks for this!

[@Velopilgrim]

Thanks for the lovely peak into the Taiwanese facilities... Cant imagine working on frames for 30 years and that too at a humongous weekly output. These guys would be the modern master frame builders!

[@zigzag8392]

The big thing I heard was how cost of living is easier overseas, which makes their factory jobs attractive to skilled laborers. Even if you were a non exploitative owner in the states, you can’t make up for the FIRE industry’s effects on housing and food prices.

[@paulvoss733]

Some fifteen years ago when I first went to/lived in Taiwan there were already a lot of minivelos and some pretty nice brazed steel frames (and the matching euro style bags and leather saddles and the whole nine yards) around. I attributed a lot of that to borrowing more from the Japanese (and their cool AF bike culture) than the West. Back then the 環島 (around the island bike trip) was already a popular cultural tradition (and I encourage everyone to watch the 2006 movie "Island Edtude" it is one of the best bicycle movies). Things have shifted a lot since then, and there are a lot more drop bar race style road bikes around than there used to be, but it is still one of the best places on earth to cycle.

[@jamesmedina2062]

Why nice? Can you describe it there?

[@SpeedDemonExpress]

What's crazy is how consistent each welder is to each other. When you look at a frame it looks like one person did all the welding. My whole life welding, I've never met a single tig welder who welds identically. We can all tell who welded what.

[@jameshoward9700]

Really interesting perspective. While I love a Brit/Italian/US custom, The quality of the higher-end Taiwanese frames is immense. Especially when the design has been done with real care, knowledge and experience. Hence why I've a huge amount of respect for Ritchey frames.

[@Windingify]

I should think my favorite steel bike (frame) was made there, as my local builder had a batch of frames made in Taiwan. It is definitely a very well-made frame and I wouldn´t swap it for anything. My other bikes are Taiwan-made steel and alloy and they are also really fine bike frames. It comes down to design as Adam says.

[@jamesmedina2062]

I found DAC makers MHDT from Taiwan and I was blown away how good their electronics are but they kind of closed shop. The Taiwanese are known to make things with pride and I fully support them and their freedoms.

[@deepspoke2201]

Love the interview and it brought back so many memories of the first time I went to Taiwan on a sourcing trip in 1998 for a company I was working for that made mountain bike suspension and components. We were completely blown away by all the mom and pop shops dedicated to making bicycle components covering all the manufacturing processes like forging, casting, injection molding, machining, etc.. and all within a couple hundred miles of each other. Interesting comments about product testing also. All of the ASTM standards were about six years behind and nearly impossible to update. We could never get our carbon fiber products to pass, because all the standards expected components to bend before they break even though our handlebars and seat posts were three times as strong as their aluminum counterparts.

[@erikfenner]

Now I want a Sklar mini-velo!

[@sklarbikes]

Same!

[@RollingTiger]

Let us know when the group buy for a frame with thru axles and 406x2.4" tire clearance starts

[@martinhotan8946]

Thanks - was about time somebody lifted the lid ...

[@andrew9579]

Good interview. IMO tube quality matters much less once you get up up +40mm tyres. It used to be really important for road bikes with skinny tyres but nowadays it hardly matters except for weight.

[@drmoynihan]

Wow - thank you!

[@chetmanley1885]

My bike frame was probably made there, it's an absolute banger and it didnt cost that much.

[@michaelbonade4667]

Taichung makes knives for American brand Spyderco…and those knives are known to rival and eclipse the USA manufactured blades… It’s nice to hear u mention that city

[@michaelbonade4667]

I have a 2005 Fuji Team SL with a Taiwanese frame….but my first love was a 1989 USA Cannondale….still have it, and another 89’ is being assembled with Campagnolo wheels/group tomorrow….they got it right

[@RobertSimpson-wp3pr]

I have a Daccordi, family owned business since 1937, started by making bikes for work.

[@JohnS-er7jh]

I didn't know there was manufacturing done in Taiwan anymore. I have owned some telescopes lenses/telescopes made in Taiwan and they were very good quality, just like made in Japan optics (telescopes and binoculars).

[@truantray]

Seriously? All of the older European brands make their frames in Taiwan. It has nothing to do with costs, it has to do with manufacturing expertise.

[@adamdolling4531]

Excellent video. Also happy to hear someone speak truth about 3d printing!

[@Whereisshellymiscavige]

Maxway are the best! Greetings from Taichung

[@ToddLindberg112506]

Superb video 👌🏽

[@4tooitous]

I guess I have a Maxway built Surly! It's a great bike!

[@marcjohnson4884]

Love his shop, I would make human powered airplane frames if I had a set up like that.

[@lawrencehallett5669]

Shout out to Reynolds and Columbus !! Why is it so difficult to get a custom aluminium frame or even just the tubing ?

[@speedikat6822]

Wow. Super fascinating. I can relate to lots of what was discussed. I made a musical instrument here in the US for 30 years. Yeah, it's almost entirely hard work. There's no magic machine.

[@josephlyne8290]

Great insights thanks

[@dreamcyclevancouver]

Adam's rad! Did you see the factory where the Dream Bars are made?

[@jeffreyastjohn]

Excellent interview and super interesting. I’ve wanted a super something since Russ’s review last year and this isn’t helping!

[@julian5883]

Hi Russ...how about some euro content now you're over here?! ..eg...you could visit Bike Valley in Portugal, or visit Bespoked show in Manchester or Germany?... Just a thought 👍

[@PathLessPedaledTV]

Under the terms of our visa we're only allowed to leave Spain for a few weeks a year so we have to be pretty judicious about the trips out of country.

[@AverageBensCycling]

I want one of those sklar bikes sooo bad but the cost is just a bit out of reach. One day I hope

[@escgoogle3865]

Kinda a secret ... unless you used to get the riv reader in the mail. Price performance is a rough segment to have a biz in but where it's where I almost exclusively shop.

[@PathLessPedaledTV]

I’d be surprised if 1 in 10 people that walk into a bike shop know about them. Also lots of brands are cagey about mentioning the factories they work with.

[@reidh]

Thanks for sharing!

[@gofiodetrigo8756]

the beauty of the internet

[@corneliuswowbagger]

Mine was built by Jim Redcay in New Jersey!

[@Joshua-jj4xn]

Mine 2

[@pfv1247]

I miss my Miyata 414.

[@louiskirby4266]

I ve cycled aroundTaiwan i love, The country , people and the 18 days Taiwan beer Wouldn't it been nice to visit the mighty Taiwan and build your own bike there and ride off into the sunset

[@Kwizzled]

Please sign me up for a titanium fixed gear that clears 55mm tires!

[@rudy_ad]

If you live in the USA, support American bike builders and American riders! Great video! Cheers!

[@leonardarola]

My frame was made in Florida.

[@buriedintime]

does it have a "florida man" personality? "only ride this bike if you're up for fighting a drunk alligator in the middle of Calle Ocho" ;)

[@leonardarola]

@@buriedintime Maybe, but Im messing with no overgrown geckos. She is a very specific racer, with some brand new and some very old parts, like the spring forks from the 20s. Lol.

[@davetbassbos]

Taiwan does have the manufacturing expertise now

[@ashley-tm1uk]

perhaps i missed something big here, but it appears to be mostly an economies of scale matter…

[@Barry101er]

Just down the road from me 😊

[@stephenpavlov8942]

It's always depressing to see how little is made in the US.

[@johnsmitht11]

Another major reason why Taiwan's bike industry is successful is protectionism.

[@paulphotios3920]

The bike industry is rapidly changing. Electric bikes are a disposible item. Neext door neighbour has 2 in his garage not worth fixing. Mass building and sales of traditional bikes is in decline as the first world move to electrical. Amazing to see the number and qualitity of trad bikes going to landfill or recycle. The giant and treks must be feeling the change. Special builders may be all that is left in the world to make traditional bikes.

[@bakerbrook1]

Adam Sklar reminds me of Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club. I don't mean that in an insulting way; I've always thought her character's speech cadence was very interesting.

[@ellisbriggsbikes]

Asian contract framebuilders are definitely producing high quality frames. But its not really a direct comparison because there is a big difference between building for an individual and building to suit a wide range of riders with one frame. I think it is this point which is often missed. It is definite a small market, so I can understand why framebuilders go down the small batch route, but once your competing on efficiencies with companies like Maxway, you are going to lose. Love the channel by the way!

[@BigBADSTUFF69]

meh, you can fit a bike with the right parts, their designed that way. Custom frames are luxury items and completely unecessary

[@ellisbriggsbikes]

@@BigBADSTUFF69 judging by the way I see a lot of people fitted to their bikes I would disagree not to mention rising tubing which is made for someone much heavier than themselves because the bike has to suit a wide range of riders. The advantages are real. But you don't know the difference until you experience it. However I would agree that these days it is a luxury for most. Having said that perhaps it's better to invest in the right bike rather than half a dozen compromises..