[Edward08]

I try to avoid purchasing anything from China, particularly following the devastation caused by the Wuhan Virus.
Does anyone know of a brand of inner tubes made anywhere but China?

Topic

[jacknorell]

Any verifiable and reliable
Any verifiable and reliable sources for that astonishing claim?

[Edward08]

As srchar has stated above,

As srchar has stated above, there was a cover-up coupled with a lack of early action that could have averted this situation. 

No state is perfect, but very few have the appalling track record of China. This is just the straw that breaks the camel’s back. To defend China now is political correctness gone insane.

So I’m content to source from UK, US, Italy, Spain, France, etc. as I already do for food, clothing etc.

[fukawitribe]

Exactly this.

Exactly this.

[srchar]

The Chinese govt has outright

The Chinese govt has outright lied to the rest of the world. It’s estimated that they under-reported the number of cases by a factor of forty. In January, they were still saying there’s no evidence for human to human transmission. In December, they were arresting medical workers who reported suspicions of a new SARS-like illness.

Let me know when the governments of those more enlightened states do the same thing.

[mdavidford]

Presumably you’ll also be

Presumably you’ll also be avoiding purchases from the UK, US, Italy, Spain, France, etc., etc., etc. until they apologise for failing to control the spread of a highly contagious virus as well? I think your choices are going to be rather limited.

[Edward08]

Yes, the virus originated in

Yes, the virus originated in unhygienic cruel food markets in China, and was not properly controlled before it spread beyond its borders. We’ve yet to hear any apology or offer of redress.

[fukawitribe]

Edward08 wrote:

Edward08 wrote:

The global impact of this virus, coupled with the absence of any form of apology from the Chinese Government, results in me trying to avoid purchases from China.

Apology ?

[Edward08]

Thank you all for the

Thank you all for the responses. To clarify, my concern is not about contracting the virus from components shipped from China.

For a number of years I’ve tried to avoid Chinese products because they are out-competing other nations on price due to atrocious labour conditions. We’ve seen european textile workers losing their jobs (with decent welfare conditions) while the same garments are now made in Chinese sweatshops.

The global impact of this virus, coupled with the absence of any form of apology from the Chinese Government, results in me trying to avoid purchases from China.

Thank you for the tips on Schwalbe and Michelin; I’ll contact both for clarification. Conti tubes are made in China, but the tyres are from Germany.

[ktache]

I don’t think they tend to

I don’t think they tend to rush order them direct from china in 3 days.

[Simon E]

I think Schwalbe and Michelin

I think Schwalbe and Michelin both manufacture in Indonesia. However, I’d suggest that worrying about your bike components is misguided. They are surely some of the least likely items to carry Covid-19 all the way from the Far East. They would have been shipped from there quite a while before the outbreak while the virus only appears to remain active for around 24 hours on hard surfaces and less on porous materials.

[mdavidford]

Not sure how SARS-CoV-2 is

Not sure how SARS-CoV-2 is relevant, though. If you’re worried about catching it off your inner tubes, (a) that’s highly unlikely, and (b) wherever you get them from is likely to have an outbreak (unless you can find a supplier in Kiribati or somewhere like that).

[srchar]

You’ll probably find that

You’ll probably find that most tubes are made in Taiwan anyway, not China.

[Author]

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