Surprised by # of bike-related recalls

[mntbiker12]

Happened to land on CPSC's homepage on a toy-related recall I was reading about, so out of curiosity, I typed in "bicycle" and the search returned a surprising amount of results.

http://search.cpsc.gov/query.html?co...icycle&x=0&y=0

What was even more surprising was the amount of well-known and respected brands that have announced numerous recalls.

Thought it was interesting.

[2wheel_lee]

What I find interesting is that the boutique companys never do a recall. When their products fail it's because of customer abuse, although sometimes covered under warranty. If you're out of warranty, you're usually screwed, whereas the larger companies back up their recalled items long after the warranty.

[J_Sims]

Just in a quick scan I see Stem and fork failures... now that brings up images of a good time

[mntbiker12]

Originally Posted by J_Sims

Just in a quick scan I see Stem and fork failures... now that brings up images of a good time

Yeah, I saw both of those. Pretty scary.

Interesting that Specialized and Cannondale were on there. I don't ride either, but don't they manufacture many of their own components? Seems like that would open the door to more possibilities of failures/defects/recalls - which is probably offset by more profit as well.

[2wheel_lee]

This recall for the Park floor pump is kind of a funny visualization:

[FONT=Arial]Name of product: Professional Bicycle Floor Pump

Units: 4,000

Manufacturer: Park Tool USA, of St. Paul, Minn.

Hazard: The bicycle pump can become over-pressurized with air, forcing the handle to quickly and unexpectedly rise upward, possibly injuring the user.

Incidents/Injuries: Park Tool USA has received reports of three injuries. They include a chipped tooth, a small laceration on the chin and bruises. [/FONT]

[J_Sims]

I have a Park floor pump... I may need to install some kind of safety straps to limit the upward travel of said pump... and I thought riding over rocks and down drops was the hazardous part of our sport....

[2wheel_lee]

Ouch...I never thought of a kid hanging themself while wearing a helmt (this is a must read): http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5121.html

[CalEpic]

Smaller, privately held companies are in many cases less interested in initiating a recall on a potentially hazardous product since their liability exposure is much less. Larger or publicy traded companies will often proactively initiate a campaign to lower their exposure.

[.8down]

Lee and Cal you guys are bringing up good points...as much as all of us like Ellsuner I do wonder if they would pro actively recall anything

[SAR_boats]

I think the differences have more to do with testing, numbers and liability.

Examples:
First, lets start with two well known and very different sized bike companies, Trek and Lynskey. (I ride neither of these brands,BTW)

Trek makes tens of thousands of bikes every year they have a multi-million R&D program and huge testing facilities and programs. Lynskey Custom on the other hand makes mabye 100 frames a year, and their R&D program is their backyard. Simple statistics state that all other variables being equal, Trek will have at least 100 times more frames break than Lynskey.

When you have the larger volume of frames being produced (and the subsequent breakage and return) it is easier to define a pattern in the breakage. I.E. if five Lynskey frames broke it could be contributed to rider error or inferior materiels. But those five Lynsky frames are statistically equal to 500-5000 Trek frames. It is a lot easier to identify a flaw with that kind of volume.

Trek is a publicly traded company with a huge customer base. They are internationally sold and regulated. Thus organizations like the CPSC regulate them frequently, whereas small companies like Lynskey are privately owned, small volume, and less well regulated. Additionally, large companies like Trek are very pro-active when it comes to damage control. If they even think there is a problem with a frame, it is cheaper to recall and replace it than lose a lot of buisness in sales. Plus they can tout that they have the customer in mind, their testing department worked tirelessly to examine the flaws, their customer service is top notch, etc, etc. Basically, even if it was a crap design they still come out smelling like roses because they were proactive about it. A small company like Lynskey has way less customer base, and are less well known, so they have less to lose. Plus, since the volume is low, they can deal with problems individually. Lynskey would still come out ahead, but in their case issuing a blanket recall would actually hurt them. It is in their best interests to deal with each customer's recall, thus they get good word of mouth press for it.

Further obscuring the lines between the two is the quality of the work and the perception of said work. Trek bikes are made in Taiwan by one person (or machine) shipped to another factory where components are put on, then shipped to the distributor who ships it to the shop. Lynskeys are hand build by one of 20 people. You can call the shop and talk to whomever made the frame. It is shipped directly to you (or your LBS). The difference is: If Trek and Lynskey had the exact same design and production run of bike model, Trek would experience more frame breakages than Lynskey due to machining errors, shipping damage and stress, material variables and fabricator inexperience.

Finally, the perception of the work of a small company, like Lynskey, is held in higher regard than a large company like Trek. People know that their Trek was made by a machine overseas operated by an unknown person, and are quicker to wave the warranty flag. People who own bikes made by a small company know that it was made by hand with great attention to detail. So if the frame were to crack or break they would be more inclined to consider the possibility that they may have misused the frame.


[SIZE=1](I chose Lynskey and Trek randomly out of the plethora of large and small bike companies out there. I have no affinity whatsoever for either brand. I could have just as easily chosen Specialized, Giant, Bianchi, GT, Fuji, or Rocky Mountain for a large brand and Curtlo, Erikssen, Quiring, or Fetish for a small brand.)[/SIZE]

[mntbiker12]

First, as a Homer I resent being lumped in with Ellsworth

You know the story, we're natural enemies or whatever

I will say that when Turner had the issues with the defective Highline stays, Dave Turner himself posted the recall on MTBR (don't know about other sites, but he reaches a big part of Homer nation there). In fact, he is still proactive about it. IIRC, last week someone posted a shot of some of the older stays and he was johnny on the spot letting the guy know he needed to get them replaced.

Originally Posted by .8down

Lee and Cal you guys are bringing up good points...as much as all of us like Ellsuner I do wonder if they would pro actively recall anything

[BrewMaster]

I'm not sure where the line is drawn between boutqiue bikes and big brands, but there were plenty on the recall list that I would consider boutique. Companies like Felt, Norco, Haro, and Rocky Mountain all have recalls in those first few pages.

I don't think boutique bikes are less responsible with their products. But I do think Boats is right. Big companies make more bikes and they are more likely to have defects in those masses of bikes. Also, the mass production of those big company bikes may also lead to quality problems.