When will the bike shortage in the UK end ?

[Blue Hills]

I think that particular one may be microshift.

do you rate microshift stuff?
I've never really been sure, in fact know next to nothing about them.

 

[C R]

do you rate microshift stuff?
I've never really been sure, in fact know next to nothing about them.

My RC500 came with one of those. Done just over 4000 miles and still going OK, on the third chain now, but cassette seems fine, as in no skipping with the new chain.

 

[Blue Hills]

My RC500 came with one of those. Done just over 4000 miles and still going OK, on the third chain now, but cassette seems fine, as in no skipping with the new chain.

thanks, that sounds perfectly good then, since many folks reckon a cassette change is needed after 3 chains. thanks.
Am hopeful that decathlon will keep selling some 9 speed stuff since they do a fair old range of bikes, not just fancy tour stuff, and doubtless hope to get some of them back in for workshop business.

 

[Milzy]

Believe me its not just the UK that have bike supply issues, and its not just bikes, pretty much everything mechanical component wise that has its manufacturing done in China currently has issues. I live in Taiwan, can't get bikes here either.. parts suppliers in China don't know where and when materials will arrive, so the big assemblers in Taiwan can't get components.... and its not just materials, containers for shipping are currently in very short supply, thus pushing up costs. Covid measures in factories in China and Taiwan have seriously slowed production. There is close to zero international traveling in Asia.. so technicians and engineers are not traveling.

As bicycle manufacturing is not seen as a priority for either China or Taiwan, governments are concentrating of other industries..... so these issues are going to go on well into next year and even beyond.

A friend locally here in Taipei has had a Surly Disc Trucker on order since last November, this week he gave up and the LBS have given him his deposit back. I have wanted a Merida Silex 400 for a long while, I gave up and bought a 200 that I found in a shop in my size, as no one could give me delivery date for new bikes in 2021 or now 2022.... I wanted the GRX drive train on the Silex 400, but now have settled for Sora on the 200.... I'll wait a couple of years and then see whats out there.

Why are containers in short supply? They’re robust. A simple metal factory can knock a container out in 7 hours and an hour to spray paint. It’s only a matter of tacking the steel panels into place then welding them up with MIG process.

 

[vickster]

Suez Canal…

 

[PaulSB]

Why are containers in short supply? They’re robust. A simple metal factory can knock a container out in 7 hours and an hour to spray paint. It’s only a matter of tacking the steel panels into place then welding them up with MIG process.

My understanding is it's not a shortage of numbers but that many empty containers are in the wrong place. Typically a ship delivers full containers to a port and picks up another load of full containers and so full containers are constantly moving round the world.

A lack of international trade has lead to empty containers being in the wrong place and no one will want to pay the cost of collecting them for delivery to where they are needed, China for example.

As for manufacturing them my guess is there are two issues. With limited capacities who will want to produce a probably low cost, low margin item? Secondly as trade gets back to normal those containers would become redundant.

I would have thought there was a killing to be made collecting empty containers but apparently not.

 

[Milzy]

My understanding is it's not a shortage of numbers but that many empty containers are in the wrong place. Typically a ship delivers full containers to a port and picks up another load of full containers and so full containers are constantly moving round the world.

A lack of international trade has lead to empty containers being in the wrong place and no one will want to pay the cost of collecting them for delivery to where they are needed, China for example.

As for manufacturing them my guess is there are two issues. With limited capacities who will want to produce a probably low cost, low margin item? Secondly as trade gets back to normal those containers would become redundant.

I would have thought there was a killing to be made collecting empty containers but apparently not.

Crikey!!!

 

[deaninkl]

Why are containers in short supply? They’re robust. A simple metal factory can knock a container out in 7 hours and an hour to spray paint. It’s only a matter of tacking the steel panels into place then welding them up with MIG process.

Its not a physical shortage, its empty ones being in Europe and the US, when they are needed in China and Asia, China came out of Covid ahead of the west, Taiwan never slowed down... many plants in Europe closed in Q3&4 2020 and Q1&2 in 2021.... So China, Taiwan and some other Asian countries used up the available containers, sent them off to Europe and the US and they never came back.

Manufacturing and raw materials were not being exported back to Asia... so no available containers to keep shipments comming. Its well documented and a google search will tell you in much more detail what is happening to supply chains world wide. Products and raw materials are only part of the issue.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Why are containers in short supply? They’re robust. A simple metal factory can knock a container out in 7 hours and an hour to spray paint. It’s only a matter of tacking the steel panels into place then welding them up with MIG process.

I've been wondering why the Far East don't fabricate more new containers, and sell on some more of the empty stranded ones in the West into the secure storage market. People with valuable equipment to lock up on farms, industrial yards, and construction sites are always looking for strong steel containers. I use one at work myself, it must contain at least £50k worth of gear.

 

[Dolorous Edd]

On the plus side, some people are discovering that when the gears go a bit iffy after 5 years of light use, it isn't actually necessary to buy an entire new bike.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

On the plus side, some people are discovering that when the gears go a bit iffy after 5 years of light use, it isn't actually necessary to buy an entire new bike.

Indeed just replacing the frame and wheels usually sorts it out

 

[Biker man]

I can see the second hand market being very buoyant before long - all those pandemic bikes coming up.

Its not easy to sell a used ebike people want them for nothing.

 

[Punkawallah]

I can imagine they are not willing to part with big money on something that may/not be reliable, and may/not be easily rectified. Especially by their flbs .

 

[grldtnr]

I took one of my bikes into my lbs to have a new chain fitted. The mechanic said he hoped it didn’t also require a new cassette because he’d been quoted a supply date of early 2023 for these! Although he did add that this was probably due to some of the big players preordering more than they actually required.

Panic buying all over again!

 

[sasquath]

If you were Mr Production Manager at Shimano how would you satisfy customer demand for everything, now:
Concentrate on tradtional cold forged mid-level groupsets for max output.
Concentrate on high end, complex, labour intensive products with high profit margins?

While running reduced production capacity high profit margin full stop. When highest margin market is saturated allocate spare manufacturing capacity to next most profitable line. No one cares about demand, so long produced goods are being sold and profits are good.