All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

MYBIKE 06/2021
Reading time 1:30 minutes

A second life for bicycles

Just like cats, bicycles often also have multiple lives:

When its owner buys a new one, the old bike often goes into new hands for little money. In times of empty bike shops and faltering supply chains, a second-hand bike is an attractive solution, not just for scrimpers.

(…)

Author: Jochen Donner

Interview

Graduate Engineer Dirk Zedler
Officially appointed and sworn expert witness for bicycles and electric bicycles (CCI Stuttgart)

MYBIKE: Do second-hand bicycle purchases often result in law suits?
Yes, unfortunately, and the trend is on the rise. Moreover, the law suits are conducted more bitterly and are therefore often protracted. Often, however, these cases could be avoided.

What are they about?
Classics are the flawless or accident-free condition often described in the notes of sale. Therefore, I strongly advise sellers to extensively document the used bicycle with photos and to keep and disclose all receipts of repairs, maintenance work as well as the user manual.
A new issue is disputes about the range of e-bikes. Buyers should not only check the visual condition and e.g. the brake pads but also make a test ride. Especially with e-bikes, a few hundred metres are not enough because both lighting and drive will work. You will have to cycle 20 km at least to be able to estimate what the battery is still good for.

How can you protect yourself apart from that?
We often see informal purchase contracts which are not very meaningful. We recommend model purchase contracts, as they are for example made available by the General German Cyclists Club (ADFC) (download: adfc.de).
They include the basic facts and stipulate in particular the liability issues. In a private sale the seller typically excludes liability for material defects and guarantee. A dealer, on the other hand, is not allowed to do this; he can only limit the statutory liability for material defects from two years for new goods to one year for used bicycles. The positive thing for the buyer: Within the first 6 months, a commercial seller has to prove that the defect did not exist at the time of purchase, only afterwards the private buyer. It is up to the dealer to decide whether to provide an additional guarantee. The manufacturer's guarantee usually expires when buying second-hand, which means it is not transferable to the buyer.


If you want to read the entire article, order the respective issue from Delius Klasing Verlag online.

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