gamby

Hey all--

Does anyone know if Shimano components are homologated for the entire world market or do they have euro and US-specific versions of the same component?

I ask because the company I work for (based in France) manufactures bikes (and has to jump through a lot of hoops to get them to market in the States.

Rev.Chuck

We get Euro market bikes in every now and then and they are different than the US bikes, mostly paint and spec but I have never seen a Shimano part on one that looked different than the stuff we get here.

gamby

That's what I figured. The big stepping stone ist hat a lot of the Euro paint still contains lead, so they need to re-paint them in order to sell them here.

Since the company I work for (Decathlon) manufactures their own bike and sells them in their stores, the rule might be different. We (the employees) are just curious as to why the homologation process takes so damn long. They make some killer stuff that is a pain to bring to our shores despite the fact that the componentry is Shimano or SRAM.

Cabrales

Just an idea here, but could you guys ship the bikes here unpainted and set up the painting/assambly here? That's what the Torelli guy does.

gamby

I think that was brought up, but Decathlon is a colossal company in Europe, but i don't think they're ready to sub out a part of the manu process to the States. It gets convuluted, that's for sure.

spunkyruss

I may simply be showing my ignorance of international business matters, but couldn't they just import lead-free paint and spray them in Europe?

gamby

That's waht they do at the moment. Unfortunately, their Euro market is WAY bigger than the US market, so the run of Euro frames is done first, while the US stuff takes a backseat in production. Thus, our stores end up waitng for the new model stuff.

I'm just not sure if componentry adds to this whole homologation slowdown.

Sheldon Brown

Some Shimano products are more readily available in Europe than the U.S. Germany, in particular tends to get firs pick of internal gear hubs and generator hubs. These were readily available in Germany long before Shimano USA brought any in.

There is no specific homologation procedure for bicycles in the U.S., it's all rather informal. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has some poorly written rules, but they don't actually have the force of law. Enforcement is by liabilty lawsuit, rather than by statute.

Many European manufacturers are timid about the U.S. market for fear of the perceived litigiousness of the U.S. consumer.

There's a company in the Netherlands who makes a very nice tool for on-the-road cassette removal. I wanted to offer them for sale, but the proprietor of the company told me that his insurance company wouldn't allow him to sell any products in the U.S. for fear of lawsuits.

The actual regulations for bicycles actually vary among the 50 states, further complicating things.

Sheldon "Good Luck" Brown

HillRider

The fact that Shimano's components come with the instruction sheet printed in about a dozen different languages implies they sell the same items everywhere.

gamby

I showed my boss this response and it illicited a big groan. Great info--thanks a million.

fmw

I think it is more than perceived. It is what we get for having less than 5% of the world's population with more than 70% of its lawyers.