TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN) — U.S.-based White Brothers is assembling its newest generation Loop Series suspension forks in Taiwan to serve its OE customers.
The company had previously done all fork assembly at its facility in Grand Junction. It continues to machine most of the forks' innerds in Colorado, then ships them to Taiwan for assembly. Fork legs, steerer tubes and crowns are manufactured in Taiwan. White Brothers' aftermarket forks are still assembled in Colorado.
Global sales director Paul Aieta said Taiwanese assembly reduces costs and lead times for OE customers, who include Jamis and Salsa.
White Brothers is part of Mountain Racing Products, which also owns the MRP, Kreitler, Tamer and Power Grip brands. At Taichung Bike Week here this week, MRP is showing its wide array of chain guides, chain tensioners and bash guards — and two-in-one and all-in-one products for OE use.
Aieta noted that recent changes by drivetrain component makers have kept MRP engineers on their toes. SRAM's Type II and Shimano's Shadow Plus rear derailleurs reduce the need for extra chain tensioners, while dedicated single- and double-chainring cranks for mountain bikes require bash guards to be attached to the frame, rather than the crank spider. SRAM's 1x11 drivetrain, not in wide use yet, might reduce the need for tensioners and guides (but not bash guards).
