“Made in Taiwan” emblem on more bikes

The Chinese Economic News Service reports bicycle output up 24% and parts — such as wheel rims, spokes and lights —  up 23%.

The quarterly report also says shipment delays by Shimano, Japan largest bike component manufacturer, forced Taiwan bike makers to turn to Campagnolo of Italy, SR Sun Tour of Japan, and US-made SRAM parts.

Taiwan's bike makers have increased the export of high-end bicycles in recent years after investing in their own research and development, the report says. Two leading bike makers — Giant Manufacturing and Merida Industry — formed the “A Team” several years ago to share R&D as well as buy parts from shared suppliers.

The kicker is that Giant became Taiwan's leading bike maker after Schwinn signed Giant to make its bicycles overseas. Schwinn got “burned badly” when Giant started applying Schwinn technology and techniques to their own, cheaper lines,” according to a Washington Post article on bike exporters.

The Schwinn name is now a successful brand of Dorel Industries of Canada, Merida Industry owns a stake in US-based Specialized Bicycle Components, and both Merida and Giant have manufacturing plants on mainland China.

China exports about two-thirds of the 75 million bicycles it makes to South America, Europe and the United States, reports an article in a recent Hong Kong Standard.

The Standard reports that Taiwan turned to the higher quality bicycles after bike makers there could no longer compete against the low-priced Chinese models.

It's only one of the few multi-day races he's joined this year; he dropped out of the Paris-Nice in the spring and rode in support of Discovery Channel teammate Tom Danielson a few weeks later when he won the Tour de Georgia.

After the Paris-Nice, he admitted that his training was out of kilter and he needed to concentrate on training, not racing. Armstrong basically dropped from sight after the Tour de Georgia, only showing up during the Giro d' Italia to give moral support to the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (member Paolo Savoldelli won the Giro on Sunday).

Armstrong, whose six Tour de France victories is unmatched, says he is going to give No. 7 a shot this year. He plans to retire at the end of the race.

Although a number of competitors are gunning for him, Armstrong told Eurosport that Jan Ullrich, a former Tour winner and member of the T-Mobile team, is the cyclist he worries about most.

Meanwhile, Sportsbook.com, a UK-based online betting scheme, has posted odds with Armstrong as a 5-6 favorite to win the Tour de France this year.