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Meet Zini, a bike brand developed specifically for the South African market by the folks at Omnico. Founded in 1987, Omnico is one of the largest importers and distributors of bicycles and cycling products in the country. While offering exceptional value for money, the Omnico team have placed emphasis on ensuring that each and every Zini […] View full article

In order to fall into line with Fox International worldwide best practices, we will now offer a direct servicing channel to end users (the consumer) for all Fox bicycle suspension components. This is simply an additional channel that you the customer will now have available to get your Fox Fork and/or Shock serviced as efficiently and professionally as possible. as servicing through our dealers, as is currently in place, will continue to operate as has been the case. Click here to view the article

Two wholesalers in bicycle price-fixing charges get R4m administrative fines each - 31 March 2016 Today, Tuesday 31 May, the Tribunal has issued both its order and its reasons in the Omnico and Coolheat Cycle case. It has awarded an administrative penalty to Omnico of R4627412 and to Coolheat Cycles a penalty of R4250612. The Tribunal has already confirmed six consent orders by wholesalers and 11 retailers in the bicycle sector who were implicated in a price-fixing investigation by the Competition Commission. The two wholesalers, Omnico and Coolheat, however, chose to oppose the charges and the matter was heard last year by the Tribunal. The Commission relied for its case primarily on a meeting held on 10 September 2008 where about 200 bicycle wholesalers and retailers attended a meeting at Midrand Conference Centre in Gauteng to discuss increasing their markup on bicycles to 50% from 35%, and the markup on cycling accessories to 75% from 50%. The wholesalers would give the retailers a higher mark-up by increasing the Recommended Retail Price to consumers. Prices to consumers would be increased so that retailers could make higher margins. Prices were set to increase on 1 October 2008, as it was the beginning of the new cycling season and new bicycles and accessories were usually launched at this time and new price lists issued. Details of these discussions had been posted on an online discussion forum called The Hub and was brought to the attention of the Commission. Evidence presented at the hearing revealed that both Omnico and Coolheat had attended the September meeting that there was agreement among wholesalers to increase the mark-up on wholesale prices for bicycles and cycling accessories in co-ordination. In determining the penalties the Tribunal took into account some mitigating factors for Omnico. However, it found no such mitigating factors for Coolheat, who had elected not to give evidence at the Tribunal and to explain its subsequent price increases. The other 17 companies who settled early with the Commission were not fined for the offence as they had admitted they had contravened section 4(1)(b) of the Competition Act. The Commission had withdrawn its case against one of the companies, Fritz Pienaar Cycles, because the business was liquidated. Issued by: Chantelle Benjamin Communications: Competition Tribunal --- Omnico’s official statement on this matter 1 June 2016 “Four years ago the Competition Commission commenced legal proceedings against a number of wholesalers and retailers contending that they were guilty of price fixing. 17 consent orders were obtained by the Commission ( ie these parties agreed to admitting guilt) and no fine was imposed on them. Omnico and another party denied any contravention as alleged by the Commission and as such refused to consent to an order as required by the Commission. Had Omnico simply consented, that effectively would have been the end of the matter and no fine would have been imposed on them by the Commission. The matter proceeded and the Competition Tribunal, after a lengthy and expensive legal process has ordered that Omnico contravened the Competition Act and imposed a fine. Omnico is disappointed at the Tribunal’s decision and maintains that it was not party to any anti-competitive agreement as alleged. In the circumstances Omnico has instructed its legal advisors to appeal the Tribunal’s decision.”

Final blow for bicycle cartelDec 22 2016 07:54 Cape Town - The Competition Appeals Court (CAC) has dismissed the appeal of two bicycle wholesalers, saying doing nothing amounted to agreeing to fix prices. The CAC upheld a Tribunal finding that Omnico and Coolheat engaged in conduct directly and indirectly in contravention of the Competition Act, namely agreeing as competitors to fix prices. This ruling brought an end to the long-running bicycle cartel case. In 2008, some 20 bicycle retailers and wholesalers contravened the Competition Act in that while being competitors in the market for the supply and delivery of bicycles and bicycle accessories, they agreed to fix prices. This resulted from a meeting held on 10 September 2008. In the meeting the parties agreed to increase gross margins by inflating mark-ups for cycling accessories from 50% to 75% and for bicycles from 35% to 50%. They further agreed to implement the increases from October of that year while stopping discounts and getting shops to stop undercutting each other. In addition, wholesalers would provide higher recommended retail prices to retailers and advertise these to the public. The Commission initiated a complaint in terms of the Act against all 20 parties that were at the meeting. Prior to the hearing at the Competition Tribunal, the Commission concluded settlement agreements with eleven bicycle retailers and six wholesalers. Among other things, the retailers and wholesalers agreed to settle the matter based on the following: · They admitted to having contravened the Competition Act; · They agreed to conclude the settlement agreements without payment of an administrative penalty; · They undertook to cooperate fully with the Commission in relation to the prosecution of any other party who are subjects of this matter; · They undertook to desist from engaging in similar conduct; · They agreed to refrain from engaging in meetings that may constitute cartel conduct; and · They agreed that their employees, management, directors and agents would attend competition law compliance programmes. Two more wholesalers, however, did not conclude any settlement with the Commission and decided to pursue the matter at the Tribunal. Omnico and Cool Heat Agencies argued that they did not "actively participate" in the discussions and were therefore not liable. The Tribunal, however, found the wholesalers did nothing to distance themselves from the discussions and that their silence amounted to an agreement. Administrative penalties of R4 627 412.00 and R4 250 612.00 were imposed on Omnico and Coolheat respectively. The two subsequently took the matter on appeal to the CAC, which has handed down judgment and concluded the long-running case. In dismissing the appeal, the CAC found that neither Omnico nor Coolheat distanced themselves at the meeting after consensus had been reached: “They gave no indication thereafter that they disagreed and they placed no evidence before the Tribunal that the increased recommended retail price, following the September meeting, was as a result of an independent decision without anti-competitive effect.” In dismissing the appeal, the CAC ordered the wholesalers to pay the costs of the appeal. Omnico was granted a 50% discount on its administrative penalty. http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Retail/final-blow-for-bicycle-cartel-20161222

I need to thank the guys at Epic Sports in Centurion and Omnico (Fox) for really Epic (pun intended) service this last week. When my bike was in for a major service last week at Epic Sports they picked up that my rear shock was broken. As the bike is less than a year old, we decided to try get it replaced under warranty. Epic Sports sent the shock down to Omnico and less than a week later I have my bike back with a new (and little bit upgraded!) shock fitted. Awesome service.

If you'll be at this year's Absa Cape Epic, as a participant or a spectator, be sure to grab your GoPro and share your experience. You'll stand a chance to win a GoPro prize valued at R 5,000. Click here to view the article

So after much fighting, frustration and still no resolution I am now taking to the Hub to warn other riders of OMNICO and their customer service levels. It has unfortunately been 13 weeks yesterday and I am still without a bike. I bought the bike at the end of March 2014, it is a GT Zaskar Carbon 100 9r Pro. My riding partner also bought one the same day, but more on his troubles later. This is a Carbon Full Suss, 100mm, XT, Fox marathon bike (+-R40k). The bikes are sold with a 3 year warranty. My troubles began on Saturday the 23rd of May (14 weeks ago) when I could feel movement from the rear wheel, I checked spokes, play etc whilst on a ride, but nothing seemed wrong. So Monday 25th May I took the bike to the dealer (Hattons) for a service, there I asked them to check rear hub, pivot bearings etc for movement as something was wrong. The next morning they phoned to inform me that they had found the fault, the rear triangle had 3 cracks in it. 14 months old, I was understandably a little bit pissed off. The next day (Wednesday 27th May) OMNICO approved the warranty claim, so far so good, but then the lying started. Firstly the triangle would take 14 days to arrive, needless to say nothing arrived. Then when I pushed the shop on it and they contacted OMNICO they were lied to again and told “just tell the customer 4 weeks”, which needless to say again passed by. When I then went into the store and they tried to get an answer again, someone at OMNICO acknowledged that no triangle had ever been ordered and nothing was coming. Then after some moaning from me they sent parts from the US, the wrong colour. When in writing I declined receiving the wrong colour they merely ignored my complaints and sent it to the dealer. I fully understand that spare parts might be limited due to availability, but having a blue and white bike, with a black and grey triangle is not acceptable. Surely you should be returned to the same position you were in or an equivalent. This incorrect part took over 4 more weeks to arrive and has now been at the dealer for going on 5/6 weeks as I refuse to be prejudiced by OMNICO and their faulty product and stuff you attitude. After I made a negative comment about them on the Hub a week or 2 ago they phoned the Dealer to enquire as to why I was upset with them and why the bike hadn’t been sorted. REALLY??. So now the Dealer (Hattons) has been trying to sort out my frame at their cost, they have sent the black/gray triangle off to a custom painter in Durban to get it matched up, so hopefully it will be ok. Bike 2 My riding partner has the same bike, bought on the same day. So needless to say when I informed him of my troubles he took his in for an inspection. No surprises, it was cracked too. OMNICO delayed for as long as possible to approve the claim (many weeks), probably because they knew that we had a case of faulty goods against them. His replacement triangle arrives and no surprises it was the wrong colour, his complaints of mismatching were also ignored. They have since sent him another triangle which we went in for it to be fitted yesterday, this time it was even better. Not only was it another wrong colour (black/blue this time) but its well used, has scratches, chip marks on it. Needless to say he declined that on the spot. I have during this ordeal bought a new PYGA, firstly because I wanted one, but secondly because of OMNICO and the ridiculously bad service. If it wasn’t so laughable I would think the whole sad saga was BS. I luckily through my own large expense now have a bike to ride. We are meeting with lawyers next week to find out our recourse here, for surely this type of service can’t be condoned. Sadly during this ordeal I have tried repeatedly to make contact with GT international to complain about the product and service, yet there attitude is extremely poor too, “go back to the importer”, but what use is that when they are the problem. Currently there is no resolution and I wait for what will hopefully come back from the painter in 3 weeks and be usable. No thanks to OMNICO. Funnily enough they have said they will give us an extended 3 year warranty on the replacement triangle, it’s taken them almost 4 months on this one to screw us around, the warranty is not worth the paper it’s written on. BEWARE, that is all I have in closing.

For those that missed it : http://www.thehubsa....rame-and-again/ I have had not one, not two but three frame failures on GT 29er bicycles in the last 18 months. After the last one Omnico is refusing to provide me with a replacement frame or refund me the R4000 I paid a year ago to upgrade from a cracked Karakoram to a Zaskar frame. Is there anything I can do other than make sure as many people possible know about this ? -------------------------------- EDIT : This story has a good end : https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/140906-omnico-and-my-3rd-gt-frame/page__st__48#entry2350479 Thank you Omnico

Omnico recently hosted their annual Roadshow exhibition last week to show off the 2015 bikes and gear. We went along to see what you can expect from Cannondale, GT, Crankbrothers, Mongoose, Bell, Stages and Fabric this coming year. Click here to view the article

Imagine a light weight, low-profile helmet with aerodynamic efficiency that rivals a time trial design and also provides awesome cooling power. A synthesis of the performance benefits you want, every time you line up to race, train or ride. Now, you can have those benefits in a single helmet, the Synthe. Click here to view the article

GoPro, enabler of some of today's most immersive and engaging content, has officially unveiled HERO4, the highest performance line of capture devices the company has ever made. HERO4 is available in two editions, HERO4 Black at RRP R7 499.00 and HERO4 Silver at RRP R5 999.00. Click here to view the article

I work in central africa and unfortunately for me emails seems to be the only method of communication with the outside world. Now on 2014/03/31 I sent Omnico an email. To whom it may concern. I am looking for a bushing/reducer to fit on a 2011 Scalpel 26er frame. I am in possession of a rock shock monarch shock. I do have the top bushing. I just need the bottom bushing. I also want to know what headset this frame takes. If you do have these parts available please direct me to a bike shop in PTA that can order these parts for me. Regards Meentb Up to today i havent recieved a reply. Is this the way they just do business or is my english so crap they did not understand me.