Always comes into play when you think you are on top of things!
So, this is a long story but i'll try to keep it brief, back in June, before my first trip back to GOC, I ordered and received a full set of replacement pads for the brakes on my touring bike. The plan was to refurb the brakes before riding the bike back to Brizzle, in the end I decided to change the brakes and so the new pads travelled back unused. We'll come back to the pads later, lets move on 8 weeks to last week.
Now I knew that the disc rotor on the front of the bike, an upgraded oversize, laminated, floating affair was getting pretty worn but last week i spotted that the it had worn through to the core material which is obviously not good. I duly ordered, on next day delivery, a pair of new rotors which failed to arrive on Friday, so I changed my plans on Saturday to a low braking intensity ride, they continued to fail to arrive, the vendor suggested they were lost (more likely never sent) so i ordered again on Monday which meant that yesterdays ride was another minimal brake job, the last thing you want is a high speed failure of the main brake!
Well the new rotor turned up last night so this morning I've been doing lots of chores, laundry, bike washing, cutting the grass ready to fix the brakes after lunch. So i got the requisite tools out, the new rotor and went to get the new pads - may as well kill two birds with one stone, but nada, they've disappeared. Which is really annoying, I know for sure that as soon as i buy more they'll turn up, okay its not bad to have spares at hand but i thought i had, well i know i have, just not where, I was even looking at them last week - grr!
Looks like I'll have to buy some more which may be easier said than done, because most of the UK bike wholesalers work on a JIT basis, delays caused by the pandemic and container shortage (?) hit hard and with a 6 month lead time combined with high demand, they still haven't returned to good availability on a lot of basics, tyres, tubes, chains, cables and, you've got it, disc brake pads! It was going to be a quick thirty minute job, now its turned into a major production.
The weather is typical English summer so far this week, mostly dry but overcast, the odd shower and struggling to reach 20c (which is why we Brits make a fuss when it climbs to 30c!). On Monday I set off to catch up on a bit of retail therapy at The Swedish Store, just a few odds and sods, then a quick visit to Tesco next door to buy 'instant' semolina - none of the other big supermarkets stock it anymore, why is this?. Anyhow, then it was off to the blackberry forest for some fruit picking - they really are in profusion this year and bigger and sweeter than i've ever seen, clearly they've enjoyed the cooler, damper weather we've had this year. It didn't take long to collect a kilo - I'll make another crumble later with some of our homegrown rhubarb!
Yesterdays ride, as I mentioned earlier, was brake restricted, so once again I stayed fairly local and flat, a ride out to Avonmouth then up the Severn to lunch at Oldbury. I just caught the community cafe so I had a cuppa and cake with my sandwiches - in real china! Then I followed some bridleways across the 'levels' to Thornbury before making my way back - 113km in total - well I did a fair bit of twiddling about on the way around. I've done over 9000km so far this year but that's a good 1000km less than this time last year so I've got some catching up to do to reach my 16000km target for the year!
No new scribbles today but there will be a Sunday posting of Ontario and there should be some new to BC stuff next Wednesday.
More moans from me soon
Tschuss
Madeline Anafrid
Comments
It never rains but it pours
sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations with your disc brakes. I hope that you do get them resolved ASAP.
I'm having problems getting my gas meter removed. I think I've heard all the excuses under the sun. Don't even talk to me about so-called 'smart meters'. Sigh. Dumb and Dumber if you ask me.
Ain't technology wonderful (woeful more like)?
Ride safely.
Samantha
PS
Sod was always a law unto himself.
As a professional logistician…….
I can explain the “container shortage” which you noted with a question mark. Due to the massive disruption in the world-wide supply chain since the beginning of the pandemic, there is in fact a shortage of overseas shipping containers in many locations of the world. For those who don’t know, overseas shipping containers, or simply containers (or “cans” to those of us in the industry), are those metal boxes which you see piled up on the decks of ocean going ships, or on a chassis being pulled down the highway by a truck, or stacked up in a port or rail-yard.
They are most commonly 40’ long, but also come in 20’, 45’, and even 53’ sizes for rail transport. They are basically metal boxes formed from corrugated steel and are used to transport pretty much anything by ship, rail, or truck.
Due to the pandemic, and probably primarily due to consumer demand in the US, the inventory of containers has become mis-aligned with the current needs. Due to high demand, and the ever rising rates to move them, ship lines are moving more containers from Asia to the US than they are returning. Simply put, they make much more money moving from Asia to the US than they do going back. So rather than wait for empty containers to take back, quite often they are sailing back short and reloading more to return.
Add in the fact that consumer demand is exceeding inventory in the US, and companies in the US are being forced to purchase ever higher volumes. This means that the incoming freight is exceeding the capabilities to handle it, so loaded containers are backing up at ports, rail yards, warehouses, etc. - which moves further up the supply chain, meaning that ships are sitting at anchor waiting to get into a berth to unload in the US, and then sitting at anchor waiting to reload in Asia due to the delay in the US upsetting their schedules, which means a missed trip and more freight backing up in Asia due to not having containers available to load.
It’s a vicious cycle that is so tightly stretched that any bump in the road causes disproportionate disruption; things like a ship getting stuck in the Suez Canal, or the port of Yantian being closed for weeks due to a Covid outbreak, or the rail yards in Chicago being overwhelmed, etc.
You have the peak shipping season that never ended this past year, and add in the current peak season which just started due to the upcoming holidays, and you have a recipe for shortages and high prices for at least the next eight to twelve months on consumer goods - and not just electronics due to a chip shortage, or your bicycle parts.
It is also starting to impact exports as the ocean carriers don’t want to be bothered to take loaded containers, which quite often contain agricultural goods which simply rot instead of being eaten.
So the ocean carriers post record profits, and the world burns around them. Mersk Lines posted a profit last quarter that was higher than they made in the previous five years! And they just added a surcharge of $2500 per container for all containers leaving Asia going to the US or Canada - due to congestion. If a ship carries 14,000 containers at $2500 extra per container……….. well, you do the math, but when I went to school they told us that was some $35,000,000 for one shipload. And that is on top of rates which are already roughly ten times as high as we were paying 18 months ago.
So yeah, getting your brake pads may take some time - and cost more.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
The cost of brake pads
I can testify that these have increased in price. I bought a set of pads (3 pairs) for my 2016 Triumph Trophy SE in 2019. They cost at that time £62.50. I bought a new set last May for the new price of £87.20
Thankfully, I won't need them until next year.
Samantha
As it happens
When I had everything stripped out I discovered that there's life in the old pads yet so i'm good to go, new pads are winging their way my direction as I type but I did have to change the back tyre as it was down to canvas in places - I like to get my money's worth! At least I had a tyre in stock so I'm good to roll tomorrow - a little roll out to RWB to add a bit more of Wiltshire to my cartographic palmares!
Madeline Anafrid Bell
the 40' container
Another great British invention!
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Unfortunately…….
Over 85% of them are now produced in China, as are the chassis to move them.
Ain’t off-shoring wonderful?!?
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus