A truck driver was gassed and parts for the production of ten thousand bicycles were stolen in an organized robbery in January.
The parts were stolen from the largest Czech bicycle producer, Bike Fun International, that produces full bikes under the Rock Machine and Superior names and components through ONE Bikeparts. BFI says that the thieves stole important Shimano components and as a result, customers will have to wait almost a year longer for some of its models in future.
MTBnews.de reports that brakes, rear derailleurs, Di2 batteries, various e-bike parts, hubs and displays were among the parts stolen totalling around €270,000.
The well-planned heist took place on the night of January 21 at a motorway rest area in Germany during a truck driver's break. The cargo was being taken to an assembly plant and it's believed that the truck had been followed from the time it was loaded. It's claimed that the perpetrators waited for the driver to take a rest break then put him to sleep with gas let into the cab before taking the cargo. Finally, the thieves sprayed the cargo area with a fire extinguisher, which is believed to have been to disguise the evidence and make it harder to trace them.
BFI says it will be able to replace some components from stock or from its next production but the impact of the crime on future production was described as "significant" as
it compounds the supply chain issues facing the whole industry.
Petr Krkoska, BFI supply chain director, said, "From the consignment loaded mostly with expensive e-bike and bike parts only nine boxes of low-end components were left in the truck. This will delay production of some models by almost a year, as there is no alternative on the market for many of the parts from this shipment. We are a strong and stable company, so this is just another obstacle out of many we are facing last years, but would this happen to smaller manufacturers, it would be liquidating for them.
"We really haven't seen this situation before. Even Shimano has not faced with a targeted robbery of a shipment on a similar scale. We hope that due to the shortage of parts, these cases will not be repeated, because despite all the measures we have set up, no insurance cover can compensate us for the loss and especially the reputation for late delivery. We decided to communicate this matter to warn other producers, because it could happen to them also."
Definitely the type of person who calls the cops on kids who use sidewalk chalk calling it "Vandalism".
Jokes people... they're just jokes...
I think your opinion is dumb.
!!!Freedom of opinion!!!
Sometimes.... I swear, I hate to even admit I'm from the US.
I'm with you that people spout off way too much in the age of social media. But freedom isn't freedom if people can't tolerate that with which they disagree. For a society, freedom is frustrating -- that's why dictators always quash it -- but being okay with agreeing to disagree can help ease the frustration.
BTW: for sale: shimano Altus 7spd long cage: 300€, brand new
... I'm not from an "eastern european country", but from the average north-american inbreds POV I am from an eastern country somehow...
This is similar to the bike theft rings in the US which move bikes and parts to Mexico for sale were they are less easily tracked or recovered.
You guys can calm down
If the OP had just said ‘blah blah blah Central Europe’ then everyone could have focused on where exactly these drivetrains were being sold cheaply and not on continental geography.
And living close to that line, I can unfortunately confirm that the vast majority of organized crime around here is not done by locals, but by foreigners from eastern countries. Our local criminals are more involved with politics.
I personally don't care. I am a Pole living in Sweden. But if Poland, Czech Republic or Slovakia are Eastern Europe, then what is Ukraine? Far Eastern Europe? That would confuse everyone on CNN and Fox. You'd think Ukraine has oil and weapons of mass destruction. I think we should ask Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson what they think. If you want to ask someone from Europe though: Danish and Dutch know everything! they figured out sea level after all. Florida pay attention.
First....we make Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den....we sell Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den....we steal Dee Biek Partuhs.
Den...we sell Dee Biek Partuhs AGAIN!!!!
"Mom....you're going to be Verry, Very PROUD!!!!"
The driver most likely slept through it all, or was in on it, or was threatened and is keeping his mouth shut. Or was in a bar somewhere. The gas thing is pure fantasy.
Yeah thats nuts, who knows what his/her health status is, could probably have died if there is a weak heart or whatever involved
@Xenon303 : Last season a F1 driver felt robbed but from what I understand it didn't happen like this.
Want to buy a bridge?
A friend of mine used to re-sell stuff which came from such “sources” back then (never bought anything from him, am too honest for that, but he was offering things for good prices after such robberies appeared in the news… he was not involved in the actions, just in the “business”)
But I hope those wild times are long gone now in my homeland
I think Richard Hammond got gassed once. The thieves took his clothes and such. The next morning, evidence was found. “Gas canisters” oddly resembling gin bottles.
For now, there's no significant and unambiguous recorded evidence of this having happened, especially not in larger numbers which you would expect from gang crime, which most of the systematic robberies represent. However it has been found that most victims have slept too deep to wake up while they were robbed by "skilled" burglars.
"Gassing drivers" can be regarded as a common urban legend, which will most likely also apply here.
Call it an urban legend if you want, I prefer sleeping in campings or closed RV rest areas, with a gas detector always running overnight.
Of course it is a good idea to have such sensor in your RV for fuel gas leaks.
The people want to know what products were so bad, not even a thief would take them!
Also, I would imagine the gas would leave traces behind in the cabin so it can be confirmed he didn't just fall asleep.
I'd bet cab doors were left open when he 'woke' so gas 'dissipated'.
It seems crime is out of control all over the place.
It is very common for truck shipments to get lost, and the the truck driver makes up a fake story and is part of the heist itself. The give the truck driver a decent amount of money, he will make up a bullshit story.
This happened before with my previous company when we shipped Siemens PLC's to Brasil. As soon as the shipment was loaded off the ship, we couldn't track it anymore. 1 day later the truck driver made a police report saying he got stopped on the road by a roadblock, and people with guns held him captive until the truck was unloaded.
We found out at a later part, the truck driver was part of the heist and collected around $10000. While the shipment itself was worth over 240000.
Although that being said; Is 10.000 Rockrider "bikes" not being made actually a bad thing?
Shimano screwed up in the pandemic and did not bump production until it was too late. SRAM picked up on the trends sooner and bumped their production sooner. So they have WAAAAAAY more stock. That's why you'll be seeing a lot more bikes coming with either SRAM or mixed kits on them.... and more TRP in the market. Those guys are playing this smart and making moves at the right time.