Back in Stock and Price Increases

Let’s start with the bad news: Prices for many Rene Herse components and tires may go up in the near future. “Wait,” I hear you say: “Wasn’t inflation supposed to be over?” Yes and no. Many of our suppliers have increased their prices over the last two years: Costs for raw materials, labor and other factors have gone up significantly. However, for the U.S., the favorable dollar exchange rate has made up for those increases, as far as imported goods are concerned. That’s why our prices have stayed the same during this period of inflation. One economist called it a “holiday from inflation.”

Now the dollar is dropping back to previous levels, which means that these long-postponed price increases finally have to be passed through to our customers. There is some good news, though: The crazy-high shipping costs of the past two years are starting to come down. That works in our favor and helps counter the price increases. As you can see, there are many variables that will determine exactly which prices will go up and by how much. Fortunately, we don’t expect more price increases after that: We’re looking at past inflation that is still working its way through the system. It doesn’t look like prices will continue to go up after this round of increases.

Now the good news. When we visited our suppliers in Japan, we were presented with a pleasant surprise: Our long-awaited UD racks are finally ready. They come in versions for disc brakes (UD-1, above) and for cantis (UD-2). We carried a few with us on the plane, so they are back in stock for now. More will be on the way soon via the normal shipping channels.

We also have Nitto Bike Stands again. If you are looking for a great way to display a bike with quick release axles, look no further. (Unfortunately, the stand doesn’t work with thru-axles.)

We also got more Fender Edge Tools. This tool opens the rolled edge of metal fenders, so you can install our Rene Herse Mudflaps or run lighting wires inside your fenders.

And last, but not least, we’ve just received more chainrings. Most sizes are back in stock as spare parts.

What about the parts that are still out of stock? 165 and 171 mm cranks are in production. Complete cranks should be back in stock in a few weeks. The few chainring sizes that are out of stock should arrive shortly as well.

Nivex derailleurs, shift levers, dropouts and tools are being assembled as you read this. We expect those in early to mid-February. And with that, almost our entire program will be back in stock. After two years of supply shortages, that sure is a good feeling!