Posted by admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 05-03-2009
Tags: art, delicious, design, graffiti, photo, streetart
A look at what is currently available on eBay
Paying an arm and a leg for a bike in Canada, what can you do?
Whether it is duties at the border, the tarrifs from American-made bikes, the cost of buying a bike in Canada is sometimes prohibitive of the likely bike enthusiast to put the pedal to the metal.
So why is it that Canadians pay so much more to hit the pavement on two wheels than four -- gas prices here in Canada, but not Ontario at the moment, are comparable to the United States' gas prices, and in some cases lower. This is inexcusable, there needs to be some barriers dropped if the cycling community is to thrive... why isn't there something being done to strike down what could be, for Canadians, something as enjoyable as playing outdoor street hockey, which requires a measly tennis ball and hockey sticks, or any other sport out there.
What can a lone Canadian do to fight these outrageous expenses to enjoy something that should be cheap, affordable and non-prohibitive?
I'm someone who lives close to the border, should I border hop or is there an alternative?
Thanks,
Av
It was almost a lot worse. The Canadian bike manufacturers Association (basically Procycle and Raleigh Canada) were asking for a 30% tariff on imports in May 2006 (see source link) that basically would have put more coin in the pockets of big retailers like Walmart.
"Currently all bicycle imports into Canada have a 13 percent import duty and some also have a 5-50 percent dumping duty applied. An additional 30 percent surtax against bikes from the Far East, as recommended to the Canadian government by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT), would have made Canada "the most taxed bicycle industry on the planet," said Guy Bombardier of Cybersport of Vancouver BC, manufacturer of Brodie Bikes."
Higher-end bikes from small Canadian manufacturers (Brodie, Rocky, Kona, Cervelo, Cove) are generally at their highest value per dollar over 2006 to now, versus what it was pre-2006. Good bikes may seem expensive, but value and technology has never been greater. A high Canadian dollar certainly helps in this formula.
If you really want a deal - get a part-time job at a bike shop. You won't get paid much, and all your wages will go into bikes - but you will be entitled to staff discounts, and you can drool over all the new bikes and parts every shift! Plus you will be looking at bikes that are competitive in the Canadian bike marketplace, instead of junk from two bottom-feeder companies fighting for the low-end of the bike market.