Where Bike Components Are Made - Inside SRAM's Taiwan Factory

Thanks to SRAM, we got incredible access to their Taichung, Taiwan facility. Step inside and find out how bike components are made...
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On a recent visit to Taiwan, we just couldn't turn down the chance to check out SRAM's factory. This is the place where new products, products under development, and, the products that we're used to seeing are made.
Check it out and why not SHARE this video?!
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Leave us a comment below!

[@leehollier3124]

Each time I go for a ride I am now going to think about the people in the factories in far away places, and thank them from the bottom of my heart. The time and care that they put into the smallest of components is truly breathtaking. They have my utmost respect.

[@blablablablabittybla561]

Lee Hollier , and think of all the people in Chicago, where bike parts used to be made, who lost their jobs. Respect.

[@KiwiInGermanyMTB]

I guess I don't feel so bad paying so dam much for bike parts after seeing how many people are involved. Cool vid

[@xavierayayaell546]

They earn less each in a month than the typical retail profit on a single derailleur.

[@fernandosaucedo9811]

Totally agree. Its a handcrafted and hi quality product

[@bigpoppa9721]

@@xavierayayaell546 ofc. well if the business go down they wont be the one who will have billions of debts.

[@450dami]

All people you saw maybe cost to sram a rotor or a cassette

[@jamescrawshaw71]

@@bigpoppa9721 Neither will directors of Sram, they’ll leave the company and have hidden assets and still be extremely well off. the poor people who have no money that have dedicated their lives to a company will then be without a job and no hidden assets because they were never paid enough to obtain anything on life. Terrible to see people working this hard getting paid so little for products we pay extremely high prices for!

[@mattcutho5289]

Damn Simon back at again with standing in the road

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

Feels strange watching Si visit a factory when he's sober.

[@Euphorixxx]

+Michael McDermott I don't get it.

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

The last time Si was on a factory tour he'd had a heavy night out the night before - he was rough!

[@taurus20077]

+Michael McDermott Are you talking about the Canyon tour?

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

Yes.

[@gcn]

+Michael McDermott To be fair to Simon, he actually had the flu.

[@cryptoconnection177]

Well done guys. As a Process/Chemical Engineer, it's great to see how it's all made :) Really appreciate all the work you guys do to promote and educate us about cycling.

[@rinne6anz]

Next video > Inside Shimano's Japan Factory

[@verrysaputra3851]

Yes. Shimano best

[@peterraffin2227]

I liked the video. I'm amazed that they've geared up to do so much themselves in this world of outsourcing. I'm also amazed at the high level of human finishing still involved, particularly the deburring and applying resin to the derailleur cages. I always imagined the resin was sprayed on. Would love to see more of these.

[@upward_onward]

Thank you. One of the best video of GCN. It was revealing in many ways.

[@zqs1850]

Makes me appreciate my bike components so much more. Good job guys. Hope to see more factory tours.

[@tobortine]

That was excellent. You always do good videos but that stood out. Please do more.

[@HShango]

+tobortine Indeed

[@samuelmumby7982]

Loved this, especially the fact that there's a man who chooses how things look to be vibrant. Which apparently means there's a guy who just says things should be black. What a job! Top notch content GCN, hope to see more factory tours in the future, maybe a look at some classic steel lug work?

[@honestmcgyver]

Like these videos - more factory tours please

[@1950harleycharley]

Great video....thanks for clarifying so much of what I didn't know about the processes that go into making a bicycle!

[@bryanleewenjie]

I love such videos. Makes me really appreciate the entire process before the product reaches the consumer. It's beauty.

[@scottcollis1123]

Great Video! Having visited SRAM HQ in Chicago they talk up their production facilities there and it looks like they were not kidding.

[@theArkit3cht]

This is so neat. Thank you for taking us inside the factory. This and the canyon video makes me want to buy their products.

[@JeffchenYuting]

This place is literally next to my home :D

[@girohead]

Samples!

[@whirving]

This is great! I can see that it is a rather sophisticated process from the racks and bins they have set up. It may seem simple but the process and the coordination result in fantastic quality control and lower overhead. Interesting to see different parts automated and some simply done by hand as well.

[@Bicyclesidewalk]

Sweet - I live right down the road from these factories! Great video.

[@germaniacov]

You should have covered the CNC machining process on the single piece xx1 cassette, now that is a thing of beauty. Anyhow, another outstanding video guys!

[@mediumrick7667]

Liking the factory tours. Thanks GCN.

[@SlowBoyAthlete]

Amazing video GCN, a real gem and treat to get this perspective on the bike industry. Very off the path insights. I would love more videos on a whole lotta shit that I haven't a clue about the industry. Thanks!

[@repairdrive]

Love love loved this episode! Taking us in to see how the sausage is made. I want that etap!!

[@D.Eldon_]

Si, Thanks for the mini SRAM factory tour -- your factory videos are always interesting. And what a difference between the Canyon and SRAM factories! Canyon had so much open floor space and SRAM seems like a much tighter fit. It gives the impression that factory square footage is more valuable in Taipei. Seeing the eTap production line helps explain why many SRAM distributors are sold out of eTap groupsets. And why we cannot yet buy individual eTap driveline components (you have to buy the entire group). Evidently it's because they still don't have their production up to full speed or capacity. I'm holding out for an eTap medium- or long-cage rear derailleur for my road 1x bike so I can use an 11x32t (medium cage) or 11x36t (long cage) cassette. I made the switch to 1x this winter and am extremely happy with it. However, instead of using a Force CX1 crank, I mounted a 50t X-Sync chainring to my Red crank -- it works very well. But SRAM only offers a short-cage eTap rear derailleur now. The reason I want to use eTap at the rear is so I can have multiple shift points (I use aerobars 90% of the time). And eTap will work well with my older carbon frame since I won't have to run wires outside the tubes. More factory videos please...

[@vinnyterry3167]

He's nailed it! :D

[@venuslnd]

Love the factory tour making me appreciate my bike much more. So i wont feel so bad spending so much money on it.

[@RixterNow]

I like the quality control bit at 4:45 where the woman gives the crank a a good shake. I'm not sure what part of the QA process that is, but I'm sure it passed inspection. Good video Si

[@alanscott156]

+Rixter I imagine she was checking for any extraneous materials inside of the arm. jingle jingle! ...I can't imagine how annoying it would be to have something like a carbon pellet inside of my crank arm.. Shake away quality control lady, shake away.

[@RixterNow]

+Gregory Scott I'm sure there was a reason. Just struck me funny the timing of her actions with Si's narration

[@user-wy5pl8tr6k]

welcome to Taiwan👍

[@tyang10]

I closed the tab and forgot to like the video so I re-opened it to do so. Love these factory tour videos.

[@nonapplicable5918]

Awesome! Please do more factory tours!!!

[@casualjoe2]

I've ran a ceramic bead polishing machine before.. the joys of working a bearing factory :)

[@EE-xw4sb]

It's amazing how each one of these components are carefully handled a d crafted by all these people... i honestly thought that all the parts are made by purely machines... quite incredible... i have a new level of appreciation of my bike. 😁

[@rockroll9473]

I appreciate their effort.

[@gregknipe8772]

thanks, another great production!

[@mrfrogg46able]

the more i learn about carbon fiber the more i like aluminum

[@phoenix1453]

Carbon fiber is illegal bro do not use it

[@patthewoodboy]

steel is the deal (for frames)

[@pakdhori2851]

@@phoenix1453 qaqqqqqqqqqÀ

[@nguyencong9007]

i like titanium

[@drsus0]

@D33ds wood is so last year…bamboo, bro….bamboo.

[@FullyEpic]

I really like this video thanks GCN!!!!!!

[@gebus26]

awesome video want to see more!

[@randombiketrips3296]

Awesome episode.

[@r0z3d]

He's nailed it!!!

[@meadowsmartin]

This video was interesting, Si, but the next time you and the GCN crew go to Taiwan, make sure you cycle the KOM course through the Taroko Gorge in the east of the island, which climbs from sea level at Hualien to 3275m at Mt. Hehuan and passes through spectacular scenery! Would love to see the GCN guys tackle that epic climb!

[@larkhill2119]

+Martin Meadows Sounds great, what's the humidity level there and temperature at the base/top? How much water would you need on the climb. Just checked this week is showing 28C and 6 days out of ten thunderstorms. :-)

[@meadowsmartin]

+Larkhill21 Can't really answer your questions because I've never ridden it! That's why I'd love to see a thorough ride through here on GCN! I was there last month and wanted to do it, but the road was closed due to rockfall and I could only go about 12~15km up the gorge. Weather was pleasant in March; mid-20sºC. I imagine much colder at the top. You'd definitely want to have at least a light windbreaker jacket on hand.

[@gonzalopirizhurtado6166]

Hi! I am a cyclist and a near future engineer. As i have seen, almost every bike factory is in Taiwan. But what I want to know is that if the design process takes place in Europe, and if it is so, where? Not only talking about SRAM, but of any other bicycle industry manufacturer. Thanks for the info, BEST CHANNEL EVER!

[@useforstuffer]

fantastic! thanks

[@BillMrWild]

Very interesting, "more please"

[@anthonygarvey1]

Great piece. Product placement?? Who cares, if SRAM are happy to show us around their factory and see how much attention goes into one of their components then I am happy to watch and justify the price tag. I love seeing the behind the scene footage, there is so much you take for granted of never question, thanks again

[@Wingnut65]

Superb insight...

[@Assking93]

Wowwwww- That Dah-li factory is so close to my home Yet I never know It's here.

[@indrapt3765]

Same with me. So near with FSA factory

[@boatman222345]

Excellent!

[@canfordkid1]

Cool video, I work on a Dahlih cnc mill in the UK (made in Taiwan) 👍🏻

[@Toastybear1]

really interesting :)

[@chocokuma4327]

cool, the sram sweatshop.

[@renzcec]

damn it! last time canyon factory and now sram! whats next! its just keep getting better and better guys!

[@ronhau1542]

Very interesting!

[@polishguywithhardtospellna8227]

1:55 that's how carbon fibre is made guys, have a good look at this amazing... carbon field

[@andypaul1752]

awesome...thnx

[@justmustafaly]

So cool

[@FrancoisCoquemont]

"He's nailed it!"

[@danmaduff8919]

Love these factory videos, Si! But if there is a whole 60 person team and dedicated production line just for Etap, WHY is it taking so many months to get my parts pre-ordered from last January?

[@VinaX2R]

I would rather work in factory like that than in Taco bell or Wal-Mart except most factories like that moved to Asia

[@philg6757]

What a set up.

[@gianfrancogarau3058]

Sfruttamento umano allo stato puro, giustamente con le scarpe da ginnastica e più comodo lavorare

[@nielstielemans152]

Si should visit the Ridley factory!

[@artlenka_]

Great video. Super interesting. Would be good to see less "non- toxic " used in bike industry....better set up that bamboo garden....

[@88997799]

I’d like to know how they mount tires so straight and balanced?

[@guest_informant]

GCN meets periodicvideos :-)

[@melvinsantak8619]

What did Sram said about the Eagle Powertrain? Made in U.S.A, engineerd in Germany. I DONT THINK SO

[@ollieb9875]

I suppose, technically, the thing could be "engineered" or let's say designed in Germany, the parts manufactured in Taiwan and then put together or shall we say assembled or "made" whole in the US. Disingenuous? Yeah, probably. Misleading? Perhaps, but if the US folks are doing the ultimate quality control maybe it's ok.. 🤔

[@MagliaNera]

it's interesting that even flagship e-tap is made in that small factory.

[@Avantone]

Surprised to see the "skilful work" at 3:25! I would have thought they'd use CNC to trim the excess carbon rather than hacking away with knives.

[@ChuiStrong]

Sure, if it's aluminium parts. You'd be surprised by how much hands on carbon is.

[@miniteichman]

+Avantone probably cheaper to use manual labour instead of having to come up with a fixture that holds the different parts down and toolpathing that can't account for how much excess each part has coming out of the mold plus machine time.

[@edwardtang1977]

Did you guys get to ride in Taiwan at all? I live in Taiwan, and the path to manhood includes one circle around the island about 900 km in whatever days you can achieve it. Usually 100km per day to be a man.

[@Pienimusta]

No new eagle ?

[@jaytam1]

Great video and I was actually quite surprised the manufacturing process is still very much driven by labour and not robotics, which seems like the bike industry is still very low tech. Also goes to show how much money SRAM is making and how over price bike components really are if you factor in the operational costs of a factory situated in an inexpensive agricultural dominant part of central Taiwan and using cheap labour and raw materials. A large chunk of our money that went to buy components just goes to their design, R&D, and branding.

[@Justmyopinionlol]

I use Sram force for several years now, while the stuff works, there is no beauty in design and manufacturing like Shimano and Campy. Shimano dura ace is really the most beautiful components one can buy. The edges are smooth and linear while Sram products look uneven on the surface and even the derailleur lines of Red look amateurish. I feel the same way when I see Campy record which is really beautiful stuff. Red also costs too much for being made in Taiwan by a bunch of Chinese.

[@Andyyyy889]

sound of asked why there mtb derailleur(gx,nx) always brake

[@sc5691]

Visit the Shimano Fabctory here in the Philippines!

[@elsydeon666]

Most Chinese and Taiwanese factories are labor intensive, and female. Humans are cheaper than robots and women are cheaper than men. I remember when Blodia (a motherboard factory) prided itself on the shortness of their 12 hour shifts and was legitimately shocked when we thought that was excessive.

[@gartblaum]

Cheap labor？ Actually Taiwan‘s GDP Per capita (ppp) is $49,901, higher than Italy, France and UK.

[@user-ok8gb7dp6n]

Taiwanese labours are not cheap

[@nationsnumber1chump]

Si does: How It's Made

[@radioactivehands]

Is Taichung is a great place to buy bikes then? Since it's where the factories are. Taiwan is a great cycling touring location as well.

[@BlaqRaq]

Back in the 1980’s when I was learning about plastics (carbon fiber reinforced plastics included), I was told that with the advent of the intrusion of this “cheap” and easily machine components that came from abundant raw materials, things should be way cheaper to manufacture rather than using steel and/or aluminium. I believed! But now. Plastics are priced like gold. I see plastic components weighing less than a pound (0.5 kg) being sold for in excess of 200 USD. HOW COME?

[@FirefighterBobby]

It the producers like sram, they made people believe that perfomance is more important then quality/longetivity. The bike industry smelled the BS and went for it. So with steady platform changes they are forcing us to buy new products all too soon compared to what we've paid for it.

[@BlaqRaq]

Lol. When I was studying in the 1980’s, they told us how plastics (carbon fiber reenforced plastics included) were easily manufactured, raw materials were plenty, long lasting and cheap. Today, I see plastic parts weighing less than 0.5 kg being sold for tons of cash. Lol. How comes?!?

[@clotilcharusco2038]

Sería óptimo hacer subtitulos en las notas para los que no hablan inglés y gustan del ciclismo. Gracias.

[@user-su1gi8bf5r]

Welcome to Taiwan .

[@jwhrac2]

I should really start cleaning my components more often... On a different note, I have a question for you guys: what makes a chain a certain speed? I'm overhauling a vintage Trek as a present for my gf and wanted to put her favorite lime green color chain on there. After looking around, it seems like only fixie bike chains are sold in different colors... So it got me curious, what makes a single speed chain incompatible with other speed chains? Thanks!

[@corkhead0]

Mostly the width of the chain. Ss chains are pretty wide.

[@experiment54]

+Jin Hwang (Jinstar Films) KMC X10 are coloured

[@jonowee]

+Jin Hwang (Jinstar Films) I've only bought 3/32" and 1/8" chains for drivetrain, haven't done multi-speed since before 10-speed MTB was a thing. The chain width is important to index in between gears on a cassette, a too wide a chain will try to bite into neighbouring gears on tighter packed cassettes. Also singlespeed (BMX/track) chainrings can have pretty thick teeth that will not allow enough side to side play to fully seat a skinny 8-9+ speed chain.

[@vanschaiktv]

For the viewer out here in the colonies (Alberta) what is the difference between a bodge and a hack? Sometimes it seems like you aren't certain either.

[@syafiqm9239]

SRAM OMNIUM CRANKSET LOVE

[@PizzaHawk]

4:43 taiwan quality control..just shake it.

[@user-pb4tl5lx2l]

that's not qc yet

[@blablablablabittybla561]

李佑珊, or ever.

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

If my girlfriend visited that factory she'd still be sitting on that ceramic buffing machine.

[@gb4408]

I haven't gotten to the part where the buffing machine is, but I cant wait

[@elementcreator1]

That factory should be in America...

[@dansotelo228]

i just found this 3 yr old GCN video and I'm glad and very surprised that GCN went to Taiwan and maybe China to see first hand how fantastic and amazing these factories are & function. Starting in the late 70s as I was working for the Japan Group (ie Shimano, Tioga. SR, Araya, etc), First going to Japan when it was like China today. Later Taiwan, in the late 80s, and then China in the mid-90s. till I semi-retired from the bicycle industry in 2003. Back then I used to warn American manufactures like KLEIN (by mount St Helens), that Asian manufacturers are way more modern and more advanced than their operation... They just laughed at me like I was too stupid, saying Asian factories are using hammers and crude tools to make junk. When in reality they were the Cat's Meow when it came to precision & quality. A few years later they and all other stubborn American manufacturers learn their lesson and ate crow. On one of my business many business trips to Asia in the mid-90s I took with me one of the biggest doubters who started a very popular BMX brand. He was blown away by how Taiwan could do circles around any of his American manufactures in quality and volume, let alone the super low prices. In other words, GCN keep going back to Asia and do a whole tour of bicycle manufacturers in Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and all other high-end bicycle manufacturers in Asia. You will be blown away by how much has changed in the last 3 years since your last visit to Taiwan. Sincerely Dan Sotelo, aka Mr. onZa

[@benjathi9248]

zipp is from sram???

[@15aac]

Shimano factory too!

[@spektrumB]

Really surprised how labor intensive some parts are made.

[@thelmaviaduct]

Out where the various frames are really made. What is the real difference in material quality from brand to brand???

[@simonrichardson5259]

In terms of material, not that much. In terms of output, massive. Engineering turns your raw materials into functioning products and it's the quality of this that is really key.

[@thelmaviaduct]

+Simon Richardson In the Giant factory say, is the Giant using the same materials and engineering as the Treks being made, or does Giant reserve the best engineering/design/r&d/materials for itself? Does the consumer have a right to know who is making the product they're buying?? Good vid btw

[@nicodanger13]

I'd like to see machining a Eagle cassette

[@jaysealenduro5618]

Sram has many factories worldwide for other components....they are based in one but nothing is different..its a strategy so they can sell worldwide but dont forget where is the sram originated😀

[@danial_s]

3:53 "...carbon dust which is pretty toxic to humans and Lasty."

[@ablackdog9181]

Da

[@caseychui4329]

only if into lungs

[@isaiasmalta3997]

Toxic as coal which is carbon also.

[@blablablablabittybla561]

Danial Arif, it’s going straight out the roof, into a big cloud that floats over to California. That aren’t filtering a damn thing.

[@timetrialist]

Sram etap the best thing to happen to cycling, no more wires!

[@wingtip76]

With SRAM being so expensive I really do hope that the employees get paid well

[@rajid]

Initially it Looks like a sweat shop. Hope the staff get paid well for their hard work.

[@kfach123]

they produce thousands of parts every day, they work for few bucks every day and you pay thousands of dolars for the grupset :)

[@disco.lemonade]

yeah... because labor is just a small part of the business. engineering, raw material cost, hundred of different kinds of employees, publicity, machinery, sponsoring, logistic... etc, etc all that adds up to final price, you dumb fuck

[@Murgoh]

IF labor is really such a small part then why not pay decent wages instead of outsourcing to third world countries where the workers can barely make a living working long hours with no vacations or social security? I think the biggest part of the price of any product (brand names at least) comes from the stock holders and top management expecting higher and higher profits.

[@Robin_S78]

dmk Engineering, designing, research...all are more expensive than the production costs. So I really don’t understand your point.

[@BenJamin-ou7kd]

@@Murgoh ask your dummy democrats why they tax big corporations to death to feed laxy people. All these companies don't have to move their production to other countries to stay alive

[@openwheelracing88]

@@Murgoh Taiwan is no "third world country". Please educate yourself.

[@ww3k]

wow

[@KiR_3d]

3:40 - all the dust... I can't understand these phrases clearly. Is carbon dust is emitting in atmosphere? Or it's filtering in that tower? I'm not so good in English. Sorry )

[@1312_PV]

It is filtered.

[@2Truth2you]

Maybe.