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.

BIKE 10/2002
Reading time 1:00 minute

Expert advice

Breakage of handlebar and stem are unfortunately still two of the failures bike experts have to deal with quite a lot.

Graduate engineer Dirk Zedler
BIKE expert

Unfortunately, breaks in stems and handlebars are still frequent failures bike experts have to deal with. It has certainly been known for some time that problems can arise with these parts. When the first sportbikes were equipped with aluminium handlebars more than 20 years ago, many of them broke. The reason being: The curved handlebars were constructed like those made of steel, but were made of a light metal much more flexible, less solid and very sensitive to notches.

It was the same with mountainbikes in the mid-nineties. The handlebars became lighter and lighter, but no sufficient tests were conducted. The number of recalls does not nearly reflect the number of handlebar types in danger of breaking when in use. My advise: Exchange mountainbike-handlebars after two years at the latest or even earlier if you fell several times. When doing so, you should also exchange the stem if it notches the handlebar.

The tests of DIN, ISO and ISO plus standards are not sufficient with view of today’s riding style in mountainbiking. As long as manufacturers do not exactly describe the purpose of their products, very strict standards must be applied. Breaks on test devices are informatory, breaking bones only hurt.

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