Canyon pauses UK shipments amid Brexit concerns

Canyon Bicycles has announced that it is pausing all shipments to the UK, including spare parts such as mech hangers, seat posts and handlebars – as well as complete bikes.

The German brand said on its website: "Due to the uncertainty and potential bottlenecks at the border, we are temporarily halting shipment of all bikes from 19th December until at least 11th January. We want your order to be tracked accurately and any hold-up at the border will challenge our ability to do this."

This comes as a result of the continuing uncertainty regarding UK-EU trade relations, as the Brexit transition period comes to an end at 11pm GMT on December 31 2020.

Canyon, which last week announced it had been acquired by a Belgian investor, has added a Brexit FAQ page to its website, stating: “We’re doing all we can to minimise disruption while we modify our processes to comply with new legislation as a result of Brexit.

“This includes changes to our pricing format to include any duties applicable to the products ordered."

Other German retailers have taken a similar line. Bike-Discount.de has stated that “shipping to Great Britain and Ireland is currently not possible”, with no further details on if or when shipments are likely to resume.

Rose Bikes, another direct-sales bike company with a reputation for great value, has added a pop-up for UK visitors to their website explaining that “due to the Brexit and the withdrawal from the EU domestic market without a Free Trade Agreement from the 01.01.2021, we can no longer fulfil any orders from the UK.

“If your goods can not be shipped, our customer support will contact you via e-mail.” Rose's Brexit FAQ is here.

Rose had already stopped selling bikes to the UK in September 2020, as UK law required that the brakes were set up rear brake left, front brake right – which is the opposite of how brakes are set up on the Continent.

Although the Brexit transition period ends in only 10 days, there are even more immediate hurdles to European trade. The new, more transmissible, strain of Covid-19 that developed in south-east England has prompted almost every EU member state to stop travel from the UK.

With the French border remaining closed, over 1,500 lorries are currently stuck in Kent, while European hauliers are reluctant to travel to the UK for fear of being trapped here and missing Christmas with their families even if freight to the UK does restart.