Medienberichte und Publikationen rund um Fahrräder, Pedelecs, Technik und Sicherheit

Die häufigsten Sicherheitsrisiken, die uns in der täglichen Arbeit rund um Fahrrad-Sicherheit, -Technik und -Bedienungsanleitungen auffallen, publizieren wir auch in Artikeln in den führenden Fachmagazinen TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 und E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin, um diese für die Branche wichtigen Informationen einer größeren Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen.

Auch die Eurobike Show Daily, Messezeitschrift der jährlich stattfindenden Eurobike Show, gibt uns seit vielen Jahren die Möglichkeit, unsere Sicht auf wichtige Entwicklungen in der Fahrradbranche in ganzseitigen Artikeln auszuführen.

Darüber hinaus sprechen wir regelmäßig in unabhängigen Fachvorträgen über alle Bereiche der Fahrradtechnik und des Fahrradmarktes. Auch weitere Fach- bzw. Branchenzeitschriften sowie immer häufiger Radio und Fernsehen zitieren uns in ihren Medienberichten und zeigen uns, dass wir mit unseren Hinweisen genau richtig liegen. In der Rubrik AKTUELL erfahren Sie laufend alle Neuigkeiten aus unseren Fachbereichen. Diese Berichte und Publikationen sortieren wir für Sie chronologisch bzw. nach Interessensgebieten.

Eurobike Show Daily — Day 3
Reading time 9:40 minutes

Innovation or safety — why can't the bike industry have both?

BACKGROUND REPORT: STANDARDS — Most bicycle brands like to brag about how innovative they are; it’s an important part of their marketing messages. But too much innovation can be dangerous when it comes to consumer safety.

While innovation is healthy, a constant push to invent new products and new categories can cause problems, as products go beyond the bounds of established technical standards that are supposed to ensure that consumer products are safe when used as intended. Among bicycle safety experts, there is broad agreement that many of the safety standards for bicycles and components are no longer relevant. We talked to several of these experts about these outdated standards, and how the bicycle industry should address them going forward.

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Safety first. To reflect the complexity of loads as they occur on a cargo bike, the Zedler Institute for Bicycle Technology and Safety, a German bicycle testing and certification lab, is developing a dynamic test bay that can handle all types of cargo bikes. “Norms and regulations can give manufacturers some certainty and guidelines throughout their innovation process, but they can also become a problem,” founder Dirk Zedler said.

He added, “Too many norms and regulations can kill off the innovative drive within the industry, and that would be a real pity. After all, the bicycle industry has come a long way and has evolved the simple bicycle into a multitude of sophisticated types mainly based on passion and commitment.” As an expert in product testing and safety — and in investigating bike accidents that result from product failures — Zedler has helped several companies limit damages caused by faulty products through recalls. He says companies shouldn’t rely on existing norms and regulations that haven’t kept up with new product categories. Instead, he believes bikemakers should take responsibility for ensuring that their products can stand up to real-world use, even if it costs them more time and expense than merely meeting the standard. They should insist their suppliers do the same. “From my point of view, rules and regulations are less important than a safety-conscious mindset on behalf of the manufacturers and their suppliers,” Zedler said. “Serious and independent testing on a regular basis may cost some money, but it also saves a lot of costs for companies, as a recall costs much more and also can do damage to a company’s reputation.” He added, “My message is to better be safe than sorry: Now that the bicycle has grown up, it is time to step up the game for the industry. Get out of the garage workshops and professionalize your business.”

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Dirk Zedler, Zedler Institute for Bicycle Technology and Safety
“Now that the bicycle has grown up, it is time to step up the game for the industry. Get out of the garage workshops and professionalize your business.”

 

Read the entire article here.

Author: Laurens van Rooijen

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