Swart Skaap

If you are running Shimano, there should not be any washers between the caliper and fork. Postmount forks with a 160mm setup doesnt use washers, unless you are running Avid.

Huh?

Its a carbon frame, so no holes,,, sorry dude. attach a small magnet to a spoke or something thin, You can use the Fulcrum magnets. They are VERY powerfull. Rock the frame to make the end cap slide into the magnet, and pull back slowly. If the frame has a insert, you should be able to remove it... and will make things much easier. Good luck!

Which shops want to ban CRC? First time i hear this.

Dont have links. Its info i got directly from SRAM. Ill see if i can get them to forward e-mails to me. Dont know if its confidential.

I guess Morewood is not local, or part of the Proudly South African group?

Denmark recently introduced 80% import duties on CRC. Australia banned CRC, dont know if its still in effect though. SA will soon have a few systems in place too. The list goes on.

Grumpyoldguy, both me and the other guy posting running costs on shops, did it to explain why prices cant always drop as low as we would like. This is not actual running costs or profits from our shop, and i dont think his either. So stop missing the point, and read what we are trying to expain.

Thank you! At least there is another hubber with a healthy brain.

Yes you are right. And Campy and Shimano are both over priced in SA. I cant comment on them though. I havent seen any proof that they are making large margins, but i know SRAM doesnt. Also keep in mind that SRAM grew by about 600% world wide, and that we see more stock bikes specled with SRAM than ever before. You can compare reccommended retail on parts in SA to other contries (not the online shops) and you will see SA is quite compettitive (ie SCOTT). The thing is, its not only SA whos got a CRC etc problem. A few contries have realised the problem, and saw how bad it is for local trade and economy. Some countries have introduced very high import duties on online shops like CRC (up to 80%). Companies like SRAM gets bronze, silver or gold ratings from SRAM international. This gives them incentives to get better pricing AND support to sponsor local teams etc.

http://www.nsrmtb.co.za/2009-urban-assault-race-report/ The orange and white SCOTT Gambler

Geez thats old! Second generation Morewood Prime 8?

Gatiepie, you are a wise man Ps. I dont know about the Joburg shops, but in Cape Town all shops were invited to a meeting. Not all pitched up, and it was a discussion to see how to save the trade. There was maybe 3 of us who disagreed with the plan, and a few that just kept quiet. Further than that, we dont actually know whats happened/happening either. So im impressed by the knowledge of the guys outside the bike trade.

As i metioned on another reply... my reply is a reply to comments made in this thread. I dont agree with the higher markups they wanted to impliment either! So do yourself a favour, and go read my reply WITHOUT preconcieved motives, ideas or conclusions. Thanks

I hear you. But it looks more like this. R2600 + 14%=R2964 R2964+35%=R4001 R4001-10%=R3601 R3601-R2964=R637 That is a 21.5% profit.... and then comes SARS and a free service after a few weeks. The wholesalers claim not to have a higher markup than the shops, but i guess in most cases we will never know. Cape Cycle Systems are working very hard with SRAM to keep prices low. I have seen some markups, and there are products where they run between 5% and 7% markup. Good thing is SRAM is growing VERY fast in SA, hence the better prices we are seeing. They are getting better pricing structures from SRAM International.

Very valid point!

Ok, valid point. So i guess all the businessis that went bank the past year was beacause of mismangement? Certain trades are down because of recession, other trade are down because of competitors. If guys in the cycling industry pay more from their wholesalers than from CRC, im sorry, but thats not mismanagement. You can cut overheads to a point. Please tell me where to cut/manage any further. Ps. We did all have the same markup, and we as a shop did NOT agree with the higher markup structure. But to understand why guys wanted to push up the margin, you need to go to the root of the problem. And that root my friend is no layalty to SA trade. More SA buyers= More competitive pricing.

My reply is based on the comments made on this page, and also in reply to "idea's" on how the shops must be run. Also my reply is to expain what we need to survive. Im sorry you missed it.

Now heres another scenario. Everyone supports the local "proudly South African" trade. Wholesalers gets more buying power. Wholesalers get bulk discount and company incentives from the international suppliers. Sponsors get back into the sport, shops get more involved. Shops gets better deals from wholesalers and pass it on to the consumers. SA bike trade doesnt lose millions (approxemitely R100 million last year) to international trade, and starts to boom! We have trails everywhere, we have more products in SA and stock is easy to get, because our wholesalers can afford to carry more stock. Local employment goes up, we have race support at all the races, maybe even some small stores or dispays at the races?? The possibilities are endless. But i guess CRC and all the others out there does the same. I mean, why would you support the local trade if its fun complaining and being unhappy about it?

Its funny how the cycle shop owners and wholesalers are always the bad guys. What about people doing the buying for big clothing chains? (personally told me they buy jeans for R17 and sell in store for R300) This is one of many. But people are happy to get ripped off when buying clothing name brands. Lets look at a average cycle shop. Rent R20000, mechanics R9000, phones, electricity, useables R5000, shop van to collect + deliver R3500. Total=R37000. Thats overheads EXCLUDING salaries for sales personel or managers or advertising or sponserships. So lets add sales personel for another R10000. We round it off at R50000. To break even at 35% margin, you need a approximate turnover of R150000. Try not selling anything, and covering your overheads doing only workshop jobs at R300 a service. Thats 500 services a month. Okay, services have a bigger profit (and higher taxes to SARS) So lets say 250 services a month??? Thats 125 services per mechanic, and thats 6.25 services a day. Please go open a bike shop, then we will see how quick you understand the CRC etc problems.