Hibike, Starbike, no more Sram to Australia!

ChrisJC

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I wouldnt assume CRC et al are happy with the change either. But I'm sure the chosen ones able to supply won't rape this for all its worth. Bring on gearboxes.
I’m sure I wouldn’t be happy if a supplier dictated to me that “hey, We’re going to take several millions in sales (built up over many years) away from you and give it to the Australian distibutor!

Just realised Sturmey Archer and Sunrace are under the same umbrella! Could be interesting down the track!
 
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Kerplunk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
While I agree the whole geo block things completely sucks, both shimano and sram have been pretty ruthless.. it’s not like it’s just Australia only affected with the au tax on everything..
What is worse though is switching to chinese knock offs that have blatantly stolen their design from others. Years of R & D go into a product and it is reflected in the end user cost. If we want well designed blingy stuff we need to pay for it at the end of the day. Allowing certain chinese manufacturing to continue to flog designs then compete for the same consumers $$$ in the same market gives me the shits..
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Maybe we’ll just have to stop buying high end gear that we don’t need ?
Well l swine can just fuck right off! BAN!!!

The US market is a lot larger than ours and Ican’t imagine they’ll bendover and take it up the arse just because Shitmano says so!
US retailers have been supporting this sort of crap for a very long time. There has been a long lost of things they don't sell overseas.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
While I agree the whole geo block things completely sucks, both shimano and sram have been pretty ruthless.. it’s not like it’s just Australia only affected with the au tax on everything..
What is worse though is switching to chinese knock offs that have blatantly stolen their design from others. Years of R & D go into a product and it is reflected in the end user cost. If we want well designed blingy stuff we need to pay for it at the end of the day. Allowing certain chinese manufacturing to continue to flog designs then compete for the same consumers $$$ in the same market gives me the shits..
When I used to work in manufacturing, people copying your stuff, or even changing it enough to not infringe copyright, was a big deal. A big learning experience from this work was the pricing and market share models you'd adopt to avoid this. I could type a lot but basically in the position where you have market share, the risk is new entrants and copycats to which the appropriate response is to ensure produce prices are low enough to discourage new entrants and the consumer risking copycats. At this stage, with the way sram pricing is and shimano apparently following suite (crc prices jacked now) there is huge incentive for copycat products, the consumer will give other brands a shot (sunrace cassettes just got a whole lot more interesting), but the biggest risk is now at this price, new entrants might see the business preposition to develop their own line of products. To accelerate this is the backdrop of ever changing standards which levels the development costs for new players.
 

SummitFever

Eats Squid
Interesting @Calvin27. Sunrace did get themselves a niche going by building wide range cassettes that were not in the business interests of the encumbents.

Maybe the geoblocks will lead to more of this.
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
When I used to work in manufacturing, people copying your stuff, or even changing it enough to not infringe copyright, was a big deal. A big learning experience from this work was the pricing and market share models you'd adopt to avoid this. I could type a lot but basically in the position where you have market share, the risk is new entrants and copycats to which the appropriate response is to ensure produce prices are low enough to discourage new entrants and the consumer risking copycats. At this stage, with the way sram pricing is and shimano apparently following suite (crc prices jacked now) there is huge incentive for copycat products, the consumer will give other brands a shot (sunrace cassettes just got a whole lot more interesting), but the biggest risk is now at this price, new entrants might see the business preposition to develop their own line of products. To accelerate this is the backdrop of ever changing standards which levels the development costs for new players.
I sent a couple good photos of a 11 speed cassette to a 3D titanium printer in the USA. They suggest it might cost $1300 but want a 3D file to be sure.

When (not if) titanium printing prices come down, this is also an avenue.

Current IP laws don’t prevent the end user doing this.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Current IP laws don’t prevent the end user doing this.
I would imagine you would have a hard time protecting a cassette design because it's been around for so long. There are certain thresholds you have to meet to be granted a patent and making cassettes slimmer to go from 9 to 10 to 11 speed wouldn't be it. Also a lot of the stuff is also open so that other makes can latch on - for example I believe the xd driver is open so hub folks can use the design. This is all based on a sketchy memory though.
 

Binaural

Eats Squid
Current IP laws don’t prevent the end user doing this.
They do, if the design or elements of the design are patented. In the case of Shimano, I can see a number of these on Google Patent that would certainly be used to shut down any such business model.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
It seems R2 Bike haven’t implemented the geoblock thus far. Get in while it lasts!
Shhhhh!

I had a feeling that it was more difficult to 'force' geoblocking, minimum prices and cartel like arrangements on businesses in the EU - they are all about free trade - see here. Hopefully this offers some of the smaller online players some ability to resist the Shimano / SRAM imposed restrictions and dictate who they can and can't sell to. There must be ways around it though, if some online stores don't sell to us anymore - SRAM must have sweetened the deal perhap - if you only sell our stuff in the EU then we'll give you better wholesale pricing sort of thing (although that might be contrary to the EU rules).

Speaking of r2-bike and wide-range cassettes, how's this one from KCNC - 9-52 (578%) range, cheaper and lighter than an Eagle X01 cassette. And it's orange...
 

ChrisJC

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Shhhhh!

I had a feeling that it was more difficult to 'force' geoblocking, minimum prices and cartel like arrangements on businesses in the EU - they are all about free trade - see here. Hopefully this offers some of the smaller online players some ability to resist the Shimano / SRAM imposed restrictions and dictate who they can and can't sell to. There must be ways around it though, if some online stores don't sell to us anymore - SRAM must have sweetened the deal perhap - if you only sell our stuff in the EU then we'll give you better wholesale pricing sort of thing (although that might be contrary to the EU rules).

Speaking of r2-bike and wide-range cassettes, how's this one from KCNC - 9-52 (578%) range, cheaper and lighter than an Eagle X01 cassette. And it's orange...
That is s serious chunk of bling! Serious ptice too!
 

Warp

Likes Dirt
SRAM CEO has thrown in the towel. I wonder if this changes anything?
Nah, sounds more like "fark, time to retire and enjoy my millions"

I think he's still an important shareholder and part of the board? So, it's not like he just detached from SRAM completely.
 

discofrank

Likes Dirt
once i get rid of my crappy zees ( well crappy in maydena anyway ) for some hopes or better
i can say by to shitmano and scam! :)
 

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
You gotta be joking me, spent 10days selecting shit for my next order... everything but 1 item is now [NO SHIPPING TO AUSTRALIA]

They have just dispatched one to me 2 days ago with Shimano in it, I waited 2 weeks on this being filled as there was parts out of stock... just as well I stocked up on Shimano brake pads on the one that had just been sent.

Even Pearl Izumi is out of bounds now....

Goodbye HiBike, its been a good 2 years but we are now done.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
You gotta be joking me, spent 10days selecting shit for my next order... everything but 1 item is now [NO SHIPPING TO AUSTRALIA]

They have just dispatched one to me 2 days ago with Shimano in it, I waited 2 weeks on this being filled as there was parts out of stock... just as well I stocked up on Shimano brake pads on the one that had just been sent.

Even Pearl Izumi is out of bounds now....

Goodbye HiBike, its been a good 2 years but we are now done.
Take up running, we're going to be held at the clutches of local stores.
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
I assume those still selling SRAM and Shimano (ie Merlin) are grey importing from somewhere or would they be given some grace to clear stock?
 
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