You most likely have seen this freewheel, if only in passing:
It's Shimano's Tourney (MF-TX20) model, found on many lower-priced hybrid, cruiser and "comfort" bikes. It's made in China, like so many other bicycle components (and consumer products) on the market today.
Given that it is made in China, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it's made in the same factory as other low-priced freewheels sold under other brand names. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised to find out that some freewheel sold under another name is mechanically identical to Shimano's.
Even so, I was surprised to see this:
I had to glance at it a second time before I realized it wasn't a Shimano. I mean, how much more like "Shimano" could the logo on the largest cog be?
An eBay listing for it doesn't mention its brand name: Shimeng. The title of that listing, however, says "For Shimano."
Hmm...How close can you come to saying that your product is Shimano without saying it?
For what it's worth (pun intended), the Shimeng freewheel's $9.89 price includes shipping from Malaysia. On the other hand, "abaxo" is selling the Shimano freewheel for $15.87. To be fair, that price includes shipping--from one of their US warehouses.
It is indeed a small world. (You can add the "after all" if you like.)
And, yes, technology makes it smaller all the time.
Case in point: eBay.
I have bought and sold all sort of things, most of them bike-related, from and to people in Canada, England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy,the Czech Republic, Slovenia,Japan, China and Korea as well as places in the United States I'd never heard of until I encountered them on what's been called "the world's largest garage sale".
Occasionally the interaction involves more than just the sale or purchase of something. I have had exchanges about people's names (including one with a customer who just happened to have the same name as one of my favorite poets), hometowns or some aspect of cycling or local culture.
My latest such interaction, though, is one of the most interesting.
I sold a nice Nitto stem that, I finally admitted to myself, I'd probably never use. It was not the right size for a current project. Perhaps one day the "right" bike or situation would come along--but when?
I kept it mainly because it's a Nitto (Each of my bikes except my LeTour have at least one item from that company on it!) and because it's interesting. It's one of a brief run of TIG-welded chrome-moly stems Nitto made in the early '90's. Of course, being a Nitto, the welds were much cleaner, neater and less bulky and blotchy than on other welded stems of that time--including those of pricey after-market stems like Syncros and Control Tech. The stem I sold is probably one of the few welded stems that wouldn't look out of place on a vintage road bike.
The fellow who bought the stem e-mailed me. He said he received the stem and left nice feedback. Then this: "I noticed the name on the shipping label. Are you the gal with all of the Mercians?"
It is a small world indeed!
P.S. This is not the first time eBay has "outed" me. A couple of years ago, a fellow bicycle blogger (whom I read regularly) also connected my eBay ID with me when he saw my name above the return address on the package I sent.
Admit it: It's the site you go to when nobody's looking.
It's the site you click on to in the confines of your cubicle, when you think the boss is out to lunch.
It's the site where, every time you get your credit card bill, you're shocked at how much you've spent.
What site is it?
No, it's not Sexy Asian Ladies or Hot Firefighters. And it's not the offshore casino site.
You know what I'm talking about: eBay, the world's secret vice.
Today it turned 20 years old. It began when Pierre Omidyar wanted to find out what would happen if everyone in the world had access to a single global marketplace.
Over Labor Day weekend in 1995, he wrote the code for an auction website on which he listed a broken lazer pointer he was going to throw away. That lazer pointer, of course, became the very first item sold on AuctionWeb, as eBay was known for its first two years.
(Omidyar couldn't believe someone would buy a broken lazer pointer. He sent a message to the buyer reminding him that the pointer was indeed non-functioning. The buyer replied that he understood and was, in fact, a collector of used lazer pointers. Now that's a strange hobby!)
Within a week of AuctionWeb's launch, a pair of autographed Marky Mark underwear sold for $400. Other items sold on the site during that week included a Superman metal lunchbox for $22 and a Toyota Tercel for $3200.
I tried to, but couldn't, find out what was the first bicycle-related item sold on the site. I suspect it was sold not too long after AuctionWeb was launced. After all, AuctionWeb/eBay started in the San Francisco Bay area, which was arguably the most cycle-centric area of the United States before Portland stole some of its thunder. Also, eBay seems as if it was made for cyclists, as so many of us are selling our old bikes, parts and accessories as we acquire new ones, or are looking for replacement parts--or stylish jerseys and bags-- that are no longer made.
EBay has been called the world's largest garage sale. For cyclists, it's the world's biggest swap meet.
Now I'm going to look for a pair of neon yellow triathlon handlebars.
