Bevin Chu
May 24, 2008
捷安特 CT 102 城市通勤車 / Giant CT 102 Urban Commuter Bike, 2008 Model
Technical Specifications :
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/zh-TW/bikes/lifestyle/2224/31946/
My new bicycle. I just bought it today. A Plain Jane urban commuter bike. Nothing fancy, but solidly built by Giant, Taiwan's premier bicycle manufacturer. Carbon steel frame. 18 speed Shimano derailleurs. Shimano brakes.
This is not a high performance bike. High performance bikes don't come with full fenders, front brackets for mounting shopping baskets, rear luggage racks, and kick stands.
Price? Under $4000NT. About US$130.
When I was living in LA during the 1980s I had a Pinarello racing bike. Italian import. Double-butted aluminum frame. 10 speed Campagnolo derailleurs. Campagnolo brakes. Sew up tires. Total weight 22 lbs. I could hold it up with one finger on one hand.
Price? US$800 in 1980 dollars. Money well spent. No regrets. It was what I wanted. It was what I got.
But that was then, this is now.
Now all I want is a dependable urban commuter bike. Something to get me to the office for work. Something to get me to the supermarket for a bottle of orange juice. Something that can withstand the punishment dished out by the badly paved roads here on Taiwan.
I went online to get a feeling for what was available at what price. Given my modest requirements, I decided this particular make and model was the one to get.
Could I have afforded a fancier bike?
Of course. But I didn't want a fancier bike. I would be too nervous leaving a fancier bike out on the sidewalk. Anything fancier would be far too likely to get stolen. It simply wouldn't be worth the aggravation.
In fact, I considered getting an even cheaper bike for just that reason.
The "big box" discount stores on Taiwan, such as Carrefours, Geant, and RT Mart, sell no name bikes for under $2000NT. About US$65. I looked them over. Let me tell you, when you go from $4000NT to $2000NT, the quality takes a big hit.
An even more serious problem with these $2000NT no name, discount store bikes, is that the frames are too small. I'm 6'-2" (187cm), and these small framed bikes simply won't allow me to position myself on the seat properly.
So in the end I settled for an entry level name brand bike by Giant.
Some friends suggested a folding bike, something I could take indoors with me so it wouldn't be stolen.
But given the size of the potholes on Taiwan, I really feel more confident riding a bike with large diameter, standard sized wheels, rather than the tiny wheels found on folding bikes.
With the tiny wheels, one gets the queasy feeling the front wheel could drop into a pothole. The bike would then stop dead, and one would go flying over the handlebars.
Giant CT 102 for 2010
Same price, same specs, different paint job
9 comments:
Just picked on up also. Very nice bike, thanks for the info.
Dear Bevin,
I like it very much, like you have said it is reliable, shifting is smooth, it is certainly rugged. There are only two drawbacks. It is heavy. It has no front shocks. But for the price it there is no other bike out there that meets Giants quality and dependability. The people in the shop have treated my very well performing maintenance for free. I am very happy.
Have a good one,
Cho~
Dear Cho,
It is heavy!
It's the old-fashioned carbon steel frame.
The upside is that it is durable. The downside is that it is heavy.
I don't really feel the weight when I ride though.
I only feel it when I have to lift it up three flights of stairs when the elevator is out of order!
To tell the truth I was tempted to get the much lighter aluminum alloy Giant Flight M1 for about $15,000NT.
But I was worried that it would be more of a target for thieves. So I deliberately bought a more downscale bike. So far, so good.
Dear Cho,
Also, I should mention that the bike paid for itself in bus fare saved many months ago.
A round trip bus ride is 30NT. Bus fare per month is a little over 600NT.
The bike cost just under 4000NT. That means it paid for itself in a little over half a year.
Since then I have saved nearly three times that much, over 10,000NT in bus fare.
Bikes are not just fun to ride. They are eminently practical, money-saving means of transportation.
Just curious:
Four years later, how's the bike doing? I recently bought a similar bike(Giant CS800)secondhand and am happy with it so far. Entry-level Giant bikes seem unreasonably cheap over here for the quality you get, but I know very little about bikes. Maybe it's because they're made locally.
Just curious:
Four years later, how's the bike doing? I recently bought a similar bike(Giant CS800)secondhand and am happy with it so far. Entry-level Giant bikes seem unreasonably cheap over here for the quality you get, but I know very little about bikes. Maybe it's because they're made locally.
It still works fine!
I haven't ridden it as much lately. I had a bad accident and hurt my knee. But mechanically the bike has been very rugged, very reliable.
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