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The most common safety risks that we come across in our daily work around bicycle safety, technology and operating instructions are also published by us in articles in the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR (Europe's road bike magazine no. 1), BIKE (Europe's mountain bike magazine no. 1), MYBIKE and EMTB in order to make this information, which is important for the industry, available to a wider public.

For many years now, the Eurobike Show Daily, trade fair magazine of the annual Eurobike Show, has also given us the opportunity to publish our view of major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

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Bietigheimer Zeitung, June 16, 2005
Reading time 2:10 minutes

As you sit on your bike, you must ride on it

Bicycle expert Dirk Zedler gives advice on what to check when buying a bicycle.

BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN. These days, those, who are still looking for some adequate wheels for our newspaper’s bike fun, find a wide range of high-quality bikes equipped with technical components which answer all your wishes. But the number of gears, the material of the frame, the weight, the suspension – all these criteria should at first take secondary position when buying a bike. What is most important for feeling comfortable on the bike, also on longer rides, is to sit well on it.

"The way you put the human motor on the bike, the way he pedals", says Dirk Zedler, sworn bike expert in Ludwigsburg. The graduated mechanical engineer Zedler who worked in retail trade before going into business for himself and who has already helped many people into the bike saddle advises: "Sit on the saddle with upright hip and bring the pedal to its lowest position. When wearing flat shoes, the heel must only just touch the pedal." If you can fully stretch your leg when riding your bike, you are sitting too high and can no longer bring force onto the pedal. If you constantly try to pedal with your heel, this will be a hint that you are sitting too low.

(...)

Cue

Bike and technology

1. Mr Zedler, what about the quality of popular bikes offered nowaydays?

Bikes of the current generation offer a lot of technology for their money: derailleur gears up to 30 gears, hub gears up to 14 gears. Combinations of these two systems unite the positive attributes and are very easy-to-handle. In the last years, the brakes have been worked on the most. Even in wet conditions they work very effectively. Handling the brake therefore should be practiced. Regarding the riding comfort, two trends can be made out: Bikes are either equipped with suspension forks, suspension seat posts or full-suspension frames or with large-volume wheels, which roll smoothly. For all bikes applies: Only expert assembly and maintenance at least once a year conserves the safe function of the bike and the riding fun.

2. How can insurance claims be guaranteed after a bike theft?

Already when buying a bike you have to pay attention to the specialist dealer’s setting up a detailed invoice. It must be stored safely in order to be able to present it to the insurance in case of theft. In order to document the value, it is also recommendable to take pictures of the bike and its parts immediately after buying it. Components maybe added later, should be photographed as well.

3. How does a cyclist act after an accident in order to get damages?

First of all, you go to a specialist dealer to get a cost estimate for having the bike repaired. In case the insurance company does not accept it, it is advisable to contact a bike expert. Anyone, who innocently got involved in an accident, is entitled to a bike expert of his own choice. You should talk with your insurance about employing him. Anyway, it is important not to change anything at the bike unless the matter is finally sorted out.

Author: Michael Soltys

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