Just went to the website to look for some tyres, Can anyone confirm what i am seeing, the UK is not longer an option to export to?
I bought some brakes from bike discount in Germany last week if they are an option? Paid duty, though, so may not be worth it for what you are looking for.
But...I was told they needed us more than we needed them...
Re tyres - Merlin had some great deals on Schwalbe at the moment - I stocked up on Summer rubber last week.
R2 Bike are still shipping here, if you can't find what you want in the UK
problem with R2 and bike discount is the minimum order, Bike24 were, i understood, vat registered so were happy to sell small quantities at german prices.which were still cheaper than UK prices.
Bike Inn still, sell to the uk. I got some lights at a good price a few weeks ago. Had to wait a couple of weeks for delivery.
Damn the arseholes that caused this mess.
No Hayes distributor with spare parts in the UK.
All 4 of the big Germans are either high minimum order or not shipping at all.
Summary:
- bike-components - minimum 165 EUR
- bike-discount - minimum £175
- bike24 - no UK in dropdown
- r2-bike - minimum 160 EUR
But…I was told they needed us more than we needed them…
Right now, I clearly need a specific brake adapter more than anyone cares about supplying one to me.
BikeInn site still delivers to UK and they're set up to ensure that no extra charges or duties are payable. The price you see on their site is the landed price to the UK
I bought some brake pads from BikeInn on Wednesday last week - arrived yesterday..👍
No Hayes at BikeInn.
But…I was told they needed us more than we needed them…
It’s OK, we have the worlds biggest bike mail order company, right he… oh, right.
If BikeInn or the Chinese can do it why not the Germans?
If BikeInn or the Chinese can do it why not the Germans?
I'm sure they could if they wanted to.
They just don't want to.
why not the Germans?
They had a business model based on conditions at the time, those’ve now changed and they’ve decided it’s not worth it for them any more.
Not limited to the bike industry either.
Bikeinn are enormous, selling way more than just bikes, and the Chinese terms of trade haven’t changed.
Come to think of it, BikeInn may have already had infrastructure in place before the national self shafting took place, so the changes may not have had much of an effect
Still shipping to Northern Ireland, so could be onward shipped if needed. Obviously additional postage only, pay German/EU Vat.
I like Hayes products and there's clearly some love in the UK for dominion brakes, mezzer forks etc. but Hayes either don't know/care/value the market or their customers here. We shouldn't even be looking at circuitous imports, we need a UK distribution. How do we request this or put pressure on Hayes themselves? Ideas?
I like Hayes products and there’s clearly some love in the UK for dominion brakes, mezzer forks etc. but Hayes either don’t know/care/value the market or their customers here
I suspect it’s not that they don’t value the market or customers, it’s something else that gets in the way. They aren’t a charity, so if the numbers don’t stack up, they don’t supply.
I like Hayes products and there’s clearly some love in the UK for dominion brakes, mezzer forks etc. but Hayes either don’t know/care/value the market or their customers here. We shouldn’t even be looking at circuitous imports, we need a UK distribution. How do we request this or put pressure on Hayes themselves? Ideas?
The new distributor after Hotlines went is
URBANMOTOPARTS.CO.UK . They have the adapter to fit the Surron fork, they did to be fair see if they could order the one I wanted but it's unavailable.
In the period between distributors, Hayes Europe were good and sent pads and hoses to a few people, sometimes free of charge.
The inevitable brexit outcome of reduced access to markets and increased costs is progressively arriving.
I've not made things easy for myself by getting a non-mainstream brake that's too bulky to fit most caliper adapters (or any, in this particular dimension), and getting a fork with an unusual 160mm brake mount. But yes a PITA and the specific Brexit extra costs of getting this £15 part will be something like £15 delivery and £15 import fees/taxes.
Weren't bike24 part of the same group as chainreation wiggle, in this case it might no be brexit that is the problem.
Well just as I posted that, Hayes EU are sending me the part free. Hats off to them for not writing us off as a market.
Still I would prefer to just be able to order things from somewhere at my convenience at reasonable cost, like in a sensible country.
Weren’t bike24 part of the same group as chainreation wiggle, in this case it might no be brexit that is the problem.
That was Bikester
Wiggle owned Bike24 as well for a few years but sold it in 2019. I recall it was purchased so Wiggle still had access to Europe after brexit. They obviously changed their minds for whatever reason.
My last dealing with Bike24 was trying to return something for warranty and being sent customs and returns forms that they didn't know how to fill out any more than I did. The rogue customer service agent was quite bitter about the situation, blaming me personally for it even though I didn't vote for it. Eventually someone else read the emails and apologised, but it was a interesting insight.
being sent customs and returns forms that they didn’t know how to fill out any more than I did
I had the same... just kept the item I was trying to return, despite being too big. Turned out to be my favourite item of riding clothes! So worked out in my favour in the end... but I've never used them again.
Hayes EU are sending me the part free
10/10 - would recommend to a friend
So where is currently the best place to pick up Shimano groupsets? I'm shortly going to need to offload a GX group and find an XT one from somewhere.