Shimano Japan factory fire
03-27-18, 11:34 AM
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Shimano Japan factory fire
Saw the news of the factory/HQ/R&D facility fire.
Hundreds of employees evacuated as fire rips through Shimano factory and headquarters in Japan - Cycling Weekly
Fairly sure Nexus hubs are built there. I think all the models with more than 7 gears are/were manufactured there and the Nexus 7 production was split between Japan and Czech Republic although this was sometime ago so may have changed.
When Sram stopped producing hubs there was a huge increase in Nexus production as demand peaked so wonder if this will have an effect on pricing etc in the short term.
Old video of the factory here.
Hundreds of employees evacuated as fire rips through Shimano factory and headquarters in Japan - Cycling Weekly
Fairly sure Nexus hubs are built there. I think all the models with more than 7 gears are/were manufactured there and the Nexus 7 production was split between Japan and Czech Republic although this was sometime ago so may have changed.
When Sram stopped producing hubs there was a huge increase in Nexus production as demand peaked so wonder if this will have an effect on pricing etc in the short term.
Old video of the factory here.
03-28-18, 01:08 PM
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That is quite a factory there. I got a tour about a year ago. Interesting that it happened in the Anodizing area. Anodizing is a fairly nasty process, and was not on the tour.
Speaking of Shimano internal hubs. They have a sweet 5 Speed hub they produce and will only sell in Japan. They feel it will undermine the Nexus market I believe but my sense on it, they are making a big mistake not selling it in other markets. 5 Speed hubs are very practical and their build is lightweight and compact.
I hope all is well with the fire for them. Impressive factory. Very impressive.
Speaking of Shimano internal hubs. They have a sweet 5 Speed hub they produce and will only sell in Japan. They feel it will undermine the Nexus market I believe but my sense on it, they are making a big mistake not selling it in other markets. 5 Speed hubs are very practical and their build is lightweight and compact.
I hope all is well with the fire for them. Impressive factory. Very impressive.
03-28-18, 01:29 PM
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That is quite a factory there. I got a tour about a year ago. Interesting that it happened in the Anodizing area. Anodizing is a fairly nasty process, and was not on the tour.
Speaking of Shimano internal hubs. They have a sweet 5 Speed hub they produce and will only sell in Japan. They feel it will undermine the Nexus market I believe but my sense on it, they are making a big mistake not selling it in other markets. 5 Speed hubs are very practical and their build is lightweight and compact.
I hope all is well with the fire for them. Impressive factory. Very impressive.
Speaking of Shimano internal hubs. They have a sweet 5 Speed hub they produce and will only sell in Japan. They feel it will undermine the Nexus market I believe but my sense on it, they are making a big mistake not selling it in other markets. 5 Speed hubs are very practical and their build is lightweight and compact.
I hope all is well with the fire for them. Impressive factory. Very impressive.
03-28-18, 02:08 PM
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For instance the Dahon Boardwalk is sold at a premium price with that drive in Japan. I was hoping it might be able to be used in a baseline Curl but heard it was not possible for "market" reasons. Japanese are not small folks necessarily at all.
But hey, Dahon did give a 280 weight rating to the Curl and 250 to the Vybe Tour with the Delta Line. Transmissions may have weight ratings too. Worth an inquiry perhaps.
03-29-18, 01:52 AM
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I think it has more to do with Market positioning. I think it is a better drive with fewer speeds than the Nexus... Also, the Nexus model generally supply the European and American market and are made in Europe. Duties out of Japan are high and likely difficult to get enough money for a Japanese market model into other markets.
For instance the Dahon Boardwalk is sold at a premium price with that drive in Japan. I was hoping it might be able to be used in a baseline Curl but heard it was not possible for "market" reasons. Japanese are not small folks necessarily at all.
But hey, Dahon did give a 280 weight rating to the Curl and 250 to the Vybe Tour with the Delta Line. Transmissions may have weight ratings too. Worth an inquiry perhaps.
For instance the Dahon Boardwalk is sold at a premium price with that drive in Japan. I was hoping it might be able to be used in a baseline Curl but heard it was not possible for "market" reasons. Japanese are not small folks necessarily at all.
But hey, Dahon did give a 280 weight rating to the Curl and 250 to the Vybe Tour with the Delta Line. Transmissions may have weight ratings too. Worth an inquiry perhaps.
From what was written on bikebiz the Czech republic factory initially at least was only assembling nexus 7 hubs from japanese parts. Shimano was pushed for European assembly so European made bikes had a higher European content. I think the Netherlands has more bikes than people and Germany also has a very high ratio of 2 out of 3 people having bikes compared to the average of 1 out 3 in France and the UK. The Netherlands and Germany are huge markets for Nexus hubs. I thought the Nexus 7 production in the Czech Republic was mainly supplying to European bike assemblers and full manufacturers. I would of thought Nexus 7's sold outside Europe were more likely to be Japanese at least if not exclusively Japanese.
