“Did you see that? The Giant tower is the same shape as Taiwan.” At the foot of the world’s number one bicycle manufacturer’s headquarters in Taichung, Sherry Tsou, who works for the Cycling Culture Museum, pointed to the top of the building. She praised the work of star architect Joshua Jih Pan and the symbolism of its form. The island not only gave rise to TSMC, the global semiconductor industry giant, creating those chips that are crucial for our cell phones, computers and cars, it is also home to the world’s number one and two bicycle manufacturers, Giant and Merida (known in Europe under the Centurion brand). What’s more, behind them are a myriad of suppliers, also leaders in their specialties, producing the likes of chains, saddles, lighting, brakes, derailleurs and batteries.
Over the past half-century, Taiwan has quietly established itself as the island of the bicycle, adapting to overcome competition from countries with lower costs over the years – unlike Europe or the United States, which have let their cycle industries slip away. In all, 900 companies, many of them family-run SMEs, share the sector’s value chain, employing over 32,000 people and exporting parts worldwide. They are clustered around Taichung, the country’s second-largest city with over 2.8 million inhabitants, in the central-western part of the island.
Half of the suppliers are concentrated south of the metropolis, in Changhua, around Merida. The other half is to the north, near Giant’s historic factory. In 1992, French sporting company Decathlon established itself equidistant between these two hubs, at the heart of the ecosystem, to become a heavyweight and a center of excellence in cycling in its own right. Decathlon is now one of the largest clients of Taiwanese manufacturers, but not only that: Jean-François Guislain, who heads Decathlon in Taichung, oversees 19 stores, in addition to the production office.
Yet the bicycle is not a Taiwanese invention, nor even a tradition. The Cycling Culture Museum created by Yang Liu – also known as King Liu, the founder of Giant – gives credit where credit is due: The oldest two-wheelers on display there are European. For instance, the “draisienne” – a bicycle without pedals – was designed in 1817 by the German baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn. The tour continued with a postal bike from Japan. “In the 1960s, bicycles were still imported from Japan,” explained Tsou.
After the 1973 oil crisis
The industry expanded over the next decade and soon turned its attention to exports. In 1972, Liu founded the Giant group, and his rival Ike Tseng created Merida. Their timing was perfect. After the 1973 oil crisis, the market took off. “It peaked in 1986-1987, with over 10 million bicycles produced per year in Taiwan,” said Yucheng Cheng, production manager at Decathlon. It was also during this period that the northern French retailer designed its first model and entered the market.
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