[Cyclist]

Now Johnson is pledging to do away with the "insane trade barrier" between mainland Britain and NI. A barrier which was created by, er, AB de P Johnson.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... 947172.amp

[The Red Arrow]

What's that, Sooty? "Useless, shameless, self-entitled, trough-slurping, pocket lining, verbally incontinent, duplicitous, doesn't give a shit about anything other than himself, psychopathic, egomaniac, fascistic cronyist lying racist prick and the morals of rabid hyena with the blood of hundreds of thousands on his grubby, grasping hands who would lose his job or liberty in any other walk of life" ?

[Nigredo]

He's treating us to a circus whilst his mates plunder whatever cash is left and the creeps slide draconian legislation under the radar.

[Bones McCoy]

But apart form the fishing industry collapse, the falling exports, the ridiculous charges on overseas purchases and Belfast being on fire; I through it was going rather well.

[Boiler]

[...] the ridiculous charges on overseas purchases

Repair to 'Mechatronic' unit (as used in ZF gearboxes) in Germany before 31/12/20: £500
Repair to 'Mechatronic' unit (as used in ZF gearboxes) in Germany after 31/12/20: £800

Ask me how I know this.

[davidjay]

[...] the ridiculous charges on overseas purchases

Repair to 'Mechatronic' unit (as used in ZF gearboxes) in Germany before 31/12/20: £500
Repair to 'Mechatronic' unit (as used in ZF gearboxes) in Germany after 31/12/20: £800

Ask me how I know this.

You bought a blue passport?

[MisterMuncher]

As to the great Japan trade deal, I was pricing up bike bits for my mate recently.

Shimano 105 group delivered from Wiggle to NI was £560
Same group delivered from Bike24 (DE) to ROI was €410. *

Turns out Japanese firms are going to continue distribution to UK via their extant EU subsidiaries and let the consumers deal with the costs rather than establish new lines of supply. I don't imagine consumer electronics and similar will be much different.


*Readers familiar with these suppliers will be aware that they are, in fact, the same bloody firm, and pre-Brexit their prices were functionally identical

[Boiler]

Looking that up, I came across the Shimano Ultegra - as namechecked by HMHB in Excavating Rita...

[MisterMuncher]

In context, Ultegra is the next step up the ladder from 105 and ran about 600 quid before this present darkness. 105 used to come in around 350, but COVID squeezed the supply and pumped the demand. The situation is pretty similar for the similarly not freely traded with the UK wares of Campagnolo (Italy) and SRAM (US/Tiawan), so if you really a bike with gears in the next half decade, good fucking luck.

Thing is, it was UK firms like Wiggle and former rivals/current merger partners CRC that were keeping prices low worldwide. It wasn't unknown for Americans and Aussies to order from the UK and take their chances on local customs but still come out better off than buying locally. That's gone, and between that and the higher prices, UK cycle retail is probably fucked.

[Youngian]

As to the great Japan trade deal, I was pricing up bike bits for my mate recently.

Shimano 105 group delivered from Wiggle to NI was £560
Same group delivered from Bike24 (DE) to ROI was €410. *

Turns out Japanese firms are going to continue distribution to UK via their extant EU subsidiaries and let the consumers deal with the costs rather than establish new lines of supply. I don't imagine consumer electronics and similar will be much different.


*Readers familiar with these suppliers will be aware that they are, in fact, the same bloody firm, and pre-Brexit their prices were functionally identical

You’ve probably heard the apocryphal story about the cyclist who went through Checkpoint Charlie every morning and the border guards couldn’t work out what he was smuggling. Bikes.