A few years ago people starting referring to certain China wheelsets as not just "the best Chinese wheels" or "the best budget wheels" but simply "the best wheels". This year, Winspace released the T1600, a CDM (Chinese Domestic Market) product that costs more than a Madone or a Tarmac. It's UCI approved right out of the box (though you may need to tape some lead weights to it to get it to pass the weight restrictions). Western buyers need not apply, though they no doubt will try.
Western brands were folding right and left before the iron curtain 2.0 was raised, now the "tiro de gracia" has been fired and big companies like Trek are going to go bankrupt because their supply chains have been cut off by Import Substitution Industrialization, a popular third world development tactic pioneered by visionaries like Pinochet and Galtieri.
Is this the end of the western bike era? Will tomorrow's dentists settle for nothing less than Chinese bikes on 100% Chinese groupsets?
An entry level new bike, that is agreeable to ride, not dragged down by antiquated standards like QR, that you won't regret buying, nor immediately feel the urge to swap out half the components because of cut corners, cost approximately USD $1500 at standard retail prices as of late 2024, give or take a few hundred (depending on the finer details).
Now, the prices are going to go up by at least 20%, and the smaller independent brands are going to go under as only the largest players will have the spare cash to ride out the sudden loss of consumer confidence. The most interesting and original bike products will simply disappear from the market permanently until the next wave of prosperity (which may be entirely concentrated somewhere far away and foreign, so that only the wealthiest of your peers will be able to import and use such goods).
When Chresten Wilson was 12 years old, she and her mom drove past United Airlines' Flight Training Center in Denver. She looked at the building and told her mom: "I'll be there someday."
This year, she became the No. 1 most senior pilot across the entire airline, the highest position on United's pilot seniority list. She is the first woman in the airline's history to hold that honor. Wilson currently flies as a Boeing 787 Dreamliner captain, one of the most prestigious positions in the fleet.
At an airline with over 13,000 pilots, reaching the top of the seniority list takes decades of dedication, skill, and persistence. In the airline world, seniority is everything. It determines what aircraft you fly, what routes you get, what schedule you hold, and when you take vacation. Reaching No. 1 means you have been with the airline longer than every other active pilot on the roster.
United shared the moment on social media for International Women's Day, showing Captain Wilson at the gate in her uniform, clearly emotional. The post has been liked by Boeing and has received more than 42,000 likes.
From a 12-year-old girl with a dream to the most senior pilot at one of the world's largest airlines. That is what determination looks like.
These faggots should be strictly restricted to class F airspace, with well defined dimension and NEVER EVER LEFT OUT, sick and tired of avoiding them. Yesterday while flying a personal Cessna 310 from a buddy of mine and 3 weeks ago on the Dash 8 with the small airliner I fly for. >23 year old co pilot
