Riese & Müller stops sales to the USA

[Base]

Just read a press release where they said that the dealers in the USA cannot order bikes and parts from R&M anymore. till they get dialed in the impact off the trade tariffs.

Major e-bike maker hits pause on US imports after new tariffs

In a move that underscores the growing instability in international e-bike trade, premium electric bike maker Riese & Müller has...

electrek.co

Riese & Müller pauses US e-bike imports because of steel tariff

MÜHLTAL, Germany (BRAIN) — Riese & Müller informed retailers Monday morning that it is unable to ship e-bikes to the U.S. because of the new U.S. import rules placing a 50% tariff on steel used in e-bikes."We need to take a few days to carefully evaluate this situation and its implications...

www.bicycleretailer.com

 

[Aushiker]

Not surprised. Even Australia Post is now stopping deliveries to the USA, apparently, due to the situation with tariffs on low-value shipments. It is getting messy for everyone.

 

[dblhelix]

I fully support this. Reporting from the DC Metro area, I can tell you that nobody wants to spend time outdoors any longer, to the consternation of restaurants, bars and the like. It's the opposite of COVID-19. Do not see how a company like R&M can forecast sales in such an environment. Coming soon to a city near you.

 

[mschwett]

I fully support this. Reporting from the DC Metro area, I can tell you that nobody wants to spend time outdoors any longer, to the consternation of restaurants, bars and the like. It's the opposite of COVID-19. Do not see how a company like R&M can forecast sales in such an environment. Coming soon to a city near you.

why don't people want to spend time outdoors!??!

 

[dblhelix]

why don't people want to spend time outdoors!??!

increasing militarization, checkpoints.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/dining/washington-restaurants-national-guard.html

 

[DaveMatthews]

Just read a press release where they said that the dealers in the USA cannot order bikes and parts from R&M anymore. till they get dialed in the impact off the trade tariffs.

Major e-bike maker hits pause on US imports after new tariffs

In a move that underscores the growing instability in international e-bike trade, premium electric bike maker Riese & Müller has...

electrek.co

Riese & Müller pauses US e-bike imports because of steel tariff

MÜHLTAL, Germany (BRAIN) — Riese & Müller informed retailers Monday morning that it is unable to ship e-bikes to the U.S. because of the new U.S. import rules placing a 50% tariff on steel used in e-bikes."We need to take a few days to carefully evaluate this situation and its implications...

www.bicycleretailer.com

What a sad state of affairs...

 

[fooferdoggie]

What a sad state of affairs...

Welcome to Murica.

 

[Chazmo]

Anyone know what %age of sales for R&M are US? I would’ve guessed not so much.

Having said that, while this might be the first (?), I’m sure it won’t be the last.

 

[Aushiker]

According to Newswire, other countries are now suspending delivery of parcels to the USA. That will make getting parts and accessories more difficult/costly.

https://x.com/NewsWire_US/status/1959961618520973820

 

[Chazmo]

That will make getting parts and accessories more difficult/costly.

Hah! Try living with a bike when the manufacturer surreptitiously disappears from existence. That’ll numb you all over.

Just kidding, of course. Ultimately, parts/price issues suck for those of us who like to ride a lot.

 

[JRA]

If people don't think that increased import Tariff's won't effect any brand of bicycle, e or otherwise, going forward they have their heads firmly in sand.

 

[dblhelix]

Anyone know what %age of sales for R&M are US? I would’ve guessed not so much.

Having said that, while this might be the first (?), I’m sure it won’t be the last. actions indica

Bikes/parts were prohibitively expensive pre-tariff with long support wait times.

I'm just glad I didn't get stuck with some sort of expensive Pinion setup with absolutely zero support. I imagine Bosch will stick around, at least for a while. Most everything else is commodity.

 

[dblhelix]

I just spoke to a dealer. He believes this is a legitimately a temporary pause with R&M remaining in the US market. Micah Toll's article is more negative in tone, stating that a return is less than certain, but I wanted to let everyone know there is a range of opinion.

 

[JRA]

How quickly we forget....https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/seattle-e-bike-company-says-tariffs-could-puncture-growth-of-its-50m-business.24874/

But Taco.....

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

If people don't think that increased import Tariff's won't effect any brand of bicycle, e or otherwise, going forward they have their heads firmly in sand.

Oh, don't be silly, tariffs won't affect US end-consumers. They'll be absorbed by all those magnanimous folks up the supply chain, right?
;^}

Wife recently bought a $150 item from a Swedish seller on Amazon. Paid $12 shipping. Arrived 2 weeks later. Then yesterday, 2 weeks after that, she got a bill from Fedex — on behalf of US Homeland Security — for $56 in unpaid import duties. Stated in no uncertain terms that the tariff was her responsibility to pay, and hers alone.

No warning about this extra expense anywhere on Amazon, at any stage in the process. So she called Amazon and spoke to a human who confirmed the lack of warning and issued a credit for the tariff.

Yes, Amazon effectively ate the tariff this time. But once the chaos subsides, and sellers get the right verbiage on their product pages, the end-consumer will clearly be on the hook.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Right now no one knows what's going to happen so some companies eat the tariffs as they don't want to raise prices, some raise them, some stop selling some items. Some Trump has been convinced to eat the tariffs.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

increasing militarization, checkpoints.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/dining/washington-restaurants-national-guard.html

Take it with a "grin of of salt".

I rode my bike in DC two weeks ago (see map) also just this Friday, about 27 & 35 miles. Started at Arlington Cemetery on the Virginia side.
Rode across the Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, down along the reflecting pool, past the WWII Memorial and up to the Washington Monument. From there I rode across the Mall up to the U.S. Capitol Building. Then straight out East Capitol Street to RFK Stadium. This area used to be notorious for crime. From there I headed down to the Anacostia River Bike path (formerly a "no go zone") to the Navy Yard. Stopped for a beer on the water. From there we made our way to Washington Harbor, to the Jefferson Memorial and along the tidal basin to the the FDR and MLK memorials. Then we headed to the Kennedy Center along the Potomac River, stopping at the Georgetown river front for Margaritas. From there we headed across the Key Bridge to Arlington and down along the Potomac River back to Arlington Cemetery.

Not once did I see a vagrant, a panhandler, a beggar, a homeless person, or shifty looking Ne'er-do-well. All the homeless encampments were gone. No tents, nada. It was wonderful. I have never seen DC like this, especially the Anacostia Area and the Navy Yard.

I did see about three groups of four National Guards and two Humvees. I chatted up a few of them. You had to look for them intentionally to find them. The police presence around the Capitol was normal for tourist season.

I hope it stays this way, and I hope other cities get to experience this change. It's more about attitude than police presence. At least for the last couple of weeks, in DC, if you "F" Around, you're gonna find out. FAFO.

 

[mschwett]

Take it with a "grin of of salt".

I rode my bike in DC two weeks ago (see map) also just this Friday, about 27 & 35 miles. Started at Arlington Cemetery on the Virginia side.
Rode across the Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, down along the reflecting pool, past the WWII Memorial and up to the Washington Monument. From there I rode across the Mall up to the U.S. Capitol Building. Then straight out East Capitol Street to RFK Stadium. This area used to be notorious for crime. From there I headed down to the Anacostia River Bike path (formerly a "no go zone") to the Navy Yard. Stopped for a beer on the water. From there we made our way to Washington Harbor, to the Jefferson Memorial and along the tidal basin to the the FDR and MLK memorials. Then we headed to the Kennedy Center along the Potomac River, stopping at the Georgetown river front for Margaritas. From there we headed across the Key Bridge to Arlington and down along the Potomac River back to Arlington Cemetery.

Not once did I see a vagrant, a panhandler, a beggar, a homeless person, or shifty looking Ne'er-do-well. All the homeless encampments were gone. No tents, nada. It was wonderful. I have never seen DC like this, especially the Anacostia Area and the Navy Yard.

I did see about three groups of four National Guards and two Humvees. I chatted up a few of them. You had to look for them intentionally to find them. The police presence around the Capitol was normal for tourist season.

I hope it stays this way, and I hope other cities get to experience this change. It's more about attitude than police presence. At least for the last couple of weeks, in DC, if you "F" Around, you're gonna find out. FAFO.

genuinely curious - where did all the ne'er do wells or unhoused people go? while i would totally agree that the prior situation was unacceptable, i am suspicious of the solution...

 

[dblhelix]

genuinely curious - where did all the ne'er do wells or unhoused people go? while i would totally agree that the prior situation was unacceptable, i am suspicious of the solution...

Morning after the bulldozing, I saw an unusually large number in Maryland border towns. You have to cross a river to get to VA but can walk into MD. I think these were 'self-deportees,' and nobody knows what happened to the homeless who were rounded up.

I've done a lot of bike touring on regular and e-bikes and have often been mistaken for homeless in areas unaccustomed to bike traffic. I've had people come up to me and press cash into my hand. I've been offered lunch. More recently this has happened while riding a Riese & Müller bike, which is quite the experience.

Biking goes hand-in-hand with noticing the homeless. One group took over Swain's Lock (h/b mile 16.7 on C&O) for months. I admit it annoyed me but looked away bc people need a place to live and sleep. This hiker-biker site is in an extremely wealthy area, so it's interesting that nobody was calling NPS for months. On the Montour (outside of Pittsburgh) I had a policeman ask me about a ragged abandoned tent next to my public camping site. Homeless live under bridges with their dogs in OH. Temporary workers took over city/public camping sites in Iowa. At 4:00 a.m. in CA state parks, I'd see guys ride in on beater bikes looking for phones charging in bathrooms. My worst experience was with a homeless encampment that took over a bike trail in north SLC. Dark, drugs, dogs and no choice but to ride through it.

Out in the open on a bike, you can learn a lot about how the homeless get by. It ranges from good to scary people. There are too many for these types of solutions. It's just a redistribution into somebody else's back yard or private prison fodder.

Years ago, I used to volunteer to connect Vietnam-era vets with volunteers nationwide who tried to help with VA benefits. I'd get some info like a picture or name of friend who dies in combat. I'd walk the memorial or look up names to find likely locations. Sometimes I'd find them next to the engraved names of their buddies. In 2013 I was returning to the east coast via bike and stopped for Labor Day in an Iowa town. The town that day hosted a replica of the Vietnam Memorial for those who can't get to Washington, DC. I listened to the speeches. I heard a lot of anger about college deferments vs those who served from rural America. The anger was coming from speakers of high school age.

It has always been the case that on a bike, I've co-existed with the homeless. I don't disagree with anyone who says it's a problem, but what makes me particularly uncomfortable is that for better or worse, I have always understood that Washington, DC is where Americans go to petition their government. Homeless encampments near or even in front of the White House are supposed to make the executive branch uncomfortable. These outta sight/outta mind sweeps just make me feel that those who tried to press money into my palm had better, or at least more compassionate solutions.

 

[Chazmo]

Biking goes hand-in-hand with noticing the homeless. One group took over Swain's Lock (h/b mile 16.7 on C&O) for months. I admit it annoyed me but looked away bc people need a place to live and sleep.

This is a very interesting point. I lived and biked in an area (Berkeley and Oakland, CA) for a few months where I had to ride by/thru some homeless camps to get to/from work. It was always uncomfortable for me and made me a bit anxious. I never had a direct run-in with any of these folks, but some of them gave me pause and I had to give them a wide berth because they were aggressive and angry.

Homeless encampments near or even in front of the White House are supposed to make the executive branch uncomfortable.

I get your point here, but I don’t think that reasoning has (or will ever) work. Forgetting politics or social engineering for the moment, the simple fact is this: If these were just peaceful settlements where the homeless set up camp, that would probably work. You’d get pity and local/national support. However, when you have the few (?) bad eggs screwing it up for the many, support goes away.

Sadly, there’s also the fairly modern issue with fentanyl aggravating the problem by creating a zombie population in a lot of areas. This is sort of the opposite problem to mentally ill, aggressive behavior. I don’t know how bad this is in D.C., but take a walk around San Francisco’s tenderloin district sometime! No easy solution here either.

I recognize that homelessness/drugs/mental illness are neither new nor simple problems. I can only say that if I were biking around D.C., I’d want to be able to take in the sights without being accosted.