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

4 жыл бұрын

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

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

3 жыл бұрын

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

@fernandosaucedo9811

3 жыл бұрын

Totally agree. Its a handcrafted and hi quality product

@bigpoppa9721

3 жыл бұрын

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

@450dami

3 жыл бұрын

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

@jamescrawshaw71

3 жыл бұрын

@@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!

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.

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

@Euphorixxx

8 жыл бұрын

+Michael McDermott I don't get it.

@TheWaxChainFanClub

8 жыл бұрын

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

@taurus20077

8 жыл бұрын

+Michael McDermott Are you talking about the Canyon tour?

@TheWaxChainFanClub

8 жыл бұрын

Yes.

@gcn

8 жыл бұрын

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

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

Damn Simon back at again with standing in the road

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

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.

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

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

@HShango

8 жыл бұрын

+tobortine Indeed

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

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

Liking the factory tours. Thanks GCN.

Next video > Inside Shimano's Japan Factory

@verrysaputra3851

5 жыл бұрын

Yes. Shimano best

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?

Like these videos - more factory tours please

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

He's nailed it! :D

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

Awesome! Please do more factory tours!!!

I appreciate their effort.

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!

thanks, another great production!

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. 😁

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...

welcome to Taiwan👍

This place is literally next to my home :D

@girohead

3 жыл бұрын

Samples!

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

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

@phoenix1453

4 жыл бұрын

Carbon fiber is illegal bro do not use it

@patthewoodboy

4 жыл бұрын

steel is the deal (for frames)

@pakdhori2851

4 жыл бұрын

@@phoenix1453 qaqqqqqqqqqÀ

@nguyencong9007

3 жыл бұрын

i like titanium

@drsus0

3 жыл бұрын

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

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

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

He's nailed it!!!

Awesome episode.

awesome video want to see more!

Excellent!

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

8 жыл бұрын

+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

8 жыл бұрын

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

fantastic! thanks

Very interesting, "more please"

Superb insight...

cool, the sram sweatshop.

Very interesting!

So cool

What a set up.

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

really interesting :)

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

8 жыл бұрын

+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

8 жыл бұрын

+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.

awesome...thnx

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

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!

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

"He's nailed it!"

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

@indrapt3765

4 жыл бұрын

Same with me. So near with FSA factory

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

GCN meets periodicvideos :-)

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

SRAM OMNIUM CRANKSET LOVE

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?

Si should visit the Ridley factory!

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

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

wow

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

Si does: How It's Made

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.

Visit the Shimano Fabctory here in the Philippines!

Welcome to Taiwan .

taiwan's products No.1 Quality

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

@user-pb4tl5lx2l

8 жыл бұрын

that's not qc yet

@blablablablabittybla561

4 жыл бұрын

李佑珊, or ever.

I will keep my hand made Italian steel Colnago thank you very much.

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.

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.

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

8 жыл бұрын

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

@miniteichman

8 жыл бұрын

+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.

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

Shimano factory too!

nice

@vinnyterry3167

8 жыл бұрын

Meme

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.

I'd like to see machining a Eagle cassette

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

@gb4408

4 жыл бұрын

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

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

@ollieb9875

4 жыл бұрын

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.. 🤔

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Top

That factory should be in America...

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

Taiwan #1

6:58 the girl with a REAL Rolex :)

@sorino737

8 жыл бұрын

Taiwan made 😄

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?!?

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😀

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

6 жыл бұрын

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

@user-ok8gb7dp6n

2 жыл бұрын

Taiwanese labours are not cheap

I find this video a little disturbing considering what those poor people are going through for our riding pleasure.

@alexharris222

8 жыл бұрын

Look like highly skilled employees earning a good salary to me

@spektrumB

8 жыл бұрын

+Alin Iordache You may find it equally disturbing how many poorly paid people working at those gigantic Amazon warehouses.

@experiment54

8 жыл бұрын

+spektrumB even worse, those GCN employees in that GCN video making factory

@yoshyoka

8 жыл бұрын

Salaries of skilled workers in Taiwan are actually very good and the standard of living comparable to Europe (including good public healthcare). If you want to produce cheaply in Asia you go to China/Vietnam, if you want quality you go to Taiwan/Korea.

@karakand

8 жыл бұрын

+Alin Iordache Try to buy from companies that minimize their use of wage and labor law arbitrage, buy parts as you need them instead of as you want them, recycle the parts you aren't using anymore (if they can be) and minimize your consumption of carbon fiber. It's all you can do really.

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

No new eagle ?

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

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.

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

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

@ablackdog9181

7 жыл бұрын

Da

@caseychui4329

5 жыл бұрын

only if into lungs

@isaiasmalta3997

5 жыл бұрын

Toxic as coal which is carbon also.

@blablablablabittybla561

4 жыл бұрын

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.