In which The Daily Bubble Tea Gets a Bike

I really enjoy shopping for bikes with other people. Get to learn a bunch about bikes and the people who ride them, and spend an enjoyable day thinking and talking about cycling. Not to mention snacking....except that we met a fellow cyclist at Terry's Cafe and he looked at us and said "You're the blogger!", pointing to Drew. I am never taking Drew anywhere again.....

Despite that heartbreaking blow to my ego, today Drew of the renowned blog Taiwan in Cycles and I took Todd of The Daily Bubble Tea fame around the Taichung bike shops in a quest for a new road bike. Pictured above is the bike he bought, though with a much bigger frame, of course. This bike was set up as a tester for the SRAM Apex groupset, with a 50-34 crank and an 11-32 cassette, at 185 Warehouse. The frame is alum alloy with a carbon fork and carbon chainstay. I took out for a test ride last week in the hills above my house and it has a smooth, stable ride that I fell in love with instantly, while the Apex makes hills a lot easier. My man James at 185Warehouse put it together for Todd for under NT 45K. If you are looking for an upgrade to a road bike, especially from a mountain bike, that can eat those Taiwan slopes right up, this bike is an excellent choice for a Taiwan road bike.

ADDED: Drew's wonderful post on our day is here.
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