Shimano geoblock for USA and Canada

[ozzybmx]

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Shimano/embargo/

Interesting, 132 countries on the list but they can still ship to USA ?

Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Boznia Herzigova on the list as European countries but Turkey is not... none are European Union Countries.

 

[rangersac]

Sunrace cassettes for the win, both lighter and cheaper, and that Microshift 11 speed gear is looking real attractive all of a sudden...

 

[link1896]

Bike components bites the dust - boooo.

+1 for the interview with shitmano. See how much spin they can generate.

while it would be interesting, we can guess the thinking here.

online retailers have lower costs, bricks and mortar have higher. >50% of volume must still be via bricks and mortar (or perceived to be so), so they are offered protectionism.

protectionism never works. it delays the inevitable. who wins? not Shimano or SRAM. We've worked out there are viable alternatives, give them enough after market share, eventually bike assemblers will jump on board too.

I'll never spend anything more then the absolute minimum via retail when caught in a jam.

 

[droenn]

I'm all for disrupting major duopolies - but "Microshift" is terrible branding...

 

[Calvin27]

I'm all for disrupting major duopolies - but "Microshift" is terrible branding...

Chinese have never been good at marketing. I mean look at the other end of the spectrum and we have 'campaglogno'. Shimano is the quiet studious girl with glasses, sram is the loud mouth american jock, microshift is the new exchange kid who still isn't 20% compatible with local customs and campy is the italian woman who is always wearing red lingerie.

 

[Mr Crudley]

protectionism never works. it delays the inevitable. who wins? not Shimano or SRAM. We've worked out there are viable alternatives, give them enough after market share, eventually bike assemblers will jump on board too.

Manufacturers buying in volume do upset the cart IMHO. Bikes now specc'ed with large SRAMification and semi compatible standards which must push that it is almost cheaper to buy a new bike than renovate the old one.

I only need consumables in the short term now that I'm in remission from Bike Acquisition Syndrome that is a fatal wallet disease.
Will used Wippermann, Absolute Black and Sunrace for drivetrain consumables. Everything else can be maintained and should only need to cough up for the odd busted things.

Geo-blocking just creates bad will.

 

[cokeonspecialtwodollars]

Chinese have never been good at marketing. I mean look at the other end of the spectrum and we have 'campaglogno'. Shimano is the quiet studious girl with glasses, sram is the loud mouth american jock, microshift is the new exchange kid who still isn't 20% compatible with local customs and campy is the italian woman who is always wearing red lingerie.

I find you stereotypes rather








accurate.

 

[John U]

Years ago Shimano was way cheaper in Japan than anything that could be sourced in Australia. Worst case scenario could make a trip to Japan worthwhile. Just need to make sure you can find the bike shops. They were pretty hard to find in Osaka all those years ago.

 

[Nambra]

Ok, so I've just done a price comparison between bike-components.de and Pushy's for an XT groupset: 11-42 cassette, chain, long cage derailleur, I-Spec II shifter, boost cranks with a 32T ring and a BB. With bike-components the cheapest way to get this is to go for the upgrade kit (cassette, shifter, derailleur, chain) and then add the boost crankset and BB. Assuming an exchange rate of 0.62 EUR to the AUD (paypal will be more like 0.6), I get the following:

bike-components.de landed cost ~$540, no GST. If we paid GST on the b-c.de order, it would be ~$594.

Pushy's comes in at ~$663, but if they have one of their awesome 15% sales and you buy the groupset then, it comes down to ~$563.

I've also contacted them before about their groupset configurator on their website, as it didn't have all the options for newer components (eg. DUB), and got a friendly email reply basically saying "yes tells us which bits you want in the groupset and we can give you a 10% discount on the whole lot", which I take as meaning you could probably get a 10% discount anytime on a reasonable size order. The 15% off sales would be rare occurrences , but assuming you could get 10% off anytime, its a b-c.de $540 ($594 inc. GST) vs Pushy's $597 proposition. Small price to pay for local warranty.

TL;DR, our local Shimano pricing isn't far off ze Germans, so the looming geoblock isn't the end of the world in reality. As long as Shimano don't up their wholesale pricing to our local retailers and price gouge us all.

 

[ozzybmx]

As long as Shimano don't up their wholesale pricing to our local retailers and price gouge us all.

That would never happen, also the bike shops know we have no other option and would never take advantage either.

Pushy right now, a set of M7000 SLX brakes are $288 for the set, same from BC is €93 with the 10% off (~$150au)

Even normal price is €105 so call it $170au full price (Pushys have the finned pads too) so over $100 difference still allowing for the finned pads from Pushys.

For the record, I always buy from the Oz shops when I they have stock and the price difference is within reason.

On 2 occasions I have asked Pushys for a 10% off sweetener on a big order, one just under $1000 and the other just over.... one of them just before Christmas for 3 x Fox Proframes and they said no and that I would have to keep an eye out for their promotions.
Which is fair enough, I wouldn't say in any way that I was a loyal Pushys customer but I have still bought a lot of stuff from them over the years.

I waited around 2-3 weeks and a voucher came out , so I bought them in the end as they were still the cheapest here.

 

[Nambra]

Brakes always seem a much better deal don’t they. Might have to snaffle up a set before we’re blocked, throw in the parts bin.

 

[Litenbror]

Ok, so I've just done a price comparison between bike-components.de and Pushy's for an XT groupset: 11-42 cassette, chain, long cage derailleur, I-Spec II shifter, boost cranks with a 32T ring and a BB. With bike-components the cheapest way to get this is to go for the upgrade kit (cassette, shifter, derailleur, chain) and then add the boost crankset and BB. Assuming an exchange rate of 0.62 EUR to the AUD (paypal will be more like 0.6), I get the following:

bike-components.de landed cost ~$540, no GST. If we paid GST on the b-c.de order, it would be ~$594.

Pushy's comes in at ~$663, but if they have one of their awesome 15% sales and you buy the groupset then, it comes down to ~$563.

I've also contacted them before about their groupset configurator on their website, as it didn't have all the options for newer components (eg. DUB), and got a friendly email reply basically saying "yes tells us which bits you want in the groupset and we can give you a 10% discount on the whole lot", which I take as meaning you could probably get a 10% discount anytime on a reasonable size order. The 15% off sales would be rare occurrences , but assuming you could get 10% off anytime, its a b-c.de $540 ($594 inc. GST) vs Pushy's $597 proposition. Small price to pay for local warranty.

TL;DR, our local Shimano pricing isn't far off ze Germans, so the looming geoblock isn't the end of the world in reality. As long as Shimano don't up their wholesale pricing to our local retailers and price gouge us all.

Yeah it's no quite as simple as saying os is cheaper, it can look like it but it's worth having a close look. I'm looking at an XT rear mech from the Germans and with a 10%off coupon it's 55€ so $90 + 30 shipping. MTB direct has the same mech for $134 and free shipping and will have it within a few days not 2 weeks. That said my derailleur hanger is $25 from the Germans and $45 from Pushies and the Germans have some wild grip r tyres for $15 which look like they are worth a go. All said and done you can save money on a big cart of consumables and your Shimano parts but the individual part will probably come out about the same once you factor in shipping.

 

[tkdbboy]

Bike Components ≠ Ze Germans. Gotta take into consideration the other German sites also.

Hibike has always been cheaper than BC (unless BC does a clearance special) so use them a standard for comparing to your cheapest Australian source.

 

[Binaural]

@Nambra, local prices used to be far above the overseas price, and it was competition that drove local shops to offer comparable prices. As @ozzybmx noted, many of us will buy locally if the price difference and lead time isn't too different. Literally the only reason Shimano would take the PR, reputational damage and commercial heat to introduce this geoblock is so they can raise their wholesale prices and screw us all. They aren't even pretending to be providing better service, as their so-called local warehouse has about the same time to the customer as CRC in the UK. The whole exercise is a cynical exploitation of the SRAM/Shimano duopoly.

Has anyone used any good freight forwarding services other than friends and family?

 

[Calvin27]

The cassettes are the killer. Used to be aroud $30-$40 for a 10 speed SLX. Now looking at $70-$80. That's a consumable so sunrace might have to have a go. I also have one bike where I prefer 12-30t 10 speed and they are rare as hens teeth and going for $50 at BC vs $80 everywhere else.

 

[Litenbror]

The cassettes are the killer. Used to be aroud $30-$40 for a 10 speed SLX. Now looking at $70-$80. That's a consumable so sunrace might have to have a go. I also have one bike where I prefer 12-30t 10 speed and they are rare as hens teeth and going for $50 at BC vs $80 everywhere else.

I used a sunrace 1qspd and it was good, at least as good as the Shimano it replaced

 

[Flow-Rider]

There's some cheap xt shimano drive gear on Ali express, eleven speed backwards. You can pick up repair parts for a reasonable price too.

 

[Calvin27]

I used a sunrace 1qspd and it was good, at least as good as the Shimano it replaced

What's your supplier of choice? I'm struggling to find a reliable source for good money. Most seem to still want $60+ plus shipping.

Also side note, but are sunrace cassettes alu spider for he big gears? I refuse to buy not join cassette cogs because they destroy freehubs.

 

[Flow-Rider]

What's your supplier of choice? I'm struggling to find a reliable source for good money. Most seem to still want $60+ plus shipping.

Also side note, but are sunrace cassettes alu spider for he big gears? I refuse to buy not join cassette cogs because they destroy freehubs.

The 11-36 is similar to shimano, sunrace tell you on their site last time i looked.

 

[rangersac]

Cycling Deal stocks Sunrace locally