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.

triathlon 02/2014
Reading time 1:30 minutes

"The devil is often in the detail"

Graduate Engineer Frank Leyrer of Zedler – Institut für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit about the recalls of hydraulic road bike brakes.

Frank Leyrer, how do you rate the recalls of the hydraulic road bike brakes that have only recently been launched on the market?

In my opinion, every recall is a positive thing, in principle, as improvable products are kept away from cyclists. Unfortunately, not every manufacturer has the courage to recall unsafe products.

Was it foreseeable that such systems would produce problems on road bikes? 

Every high value (disc) brake bears certain risks in the structure and the fabrication, as bicycles are highly weight optimized products. In addition, there should be no dragging which would slow down the propulsion and produce noises. All in all the challenge in this field is clearly more significant than in the field of motor vehicles.

Would it not have been possible to avoid a recall by drawing from the experience of hydraulic mountain bike brakes?

As it is presented by SRAM, it is not the brake as such which is called into question, but seals in the grip which have failed in cold weather. These components must, however, bear high pressures within a wide temperature range and be mobile at the same time. One has certainly tried to fall back on what has proved to be good with mountain bikes. But the devil is often in the detail. The only thing one can reproach is that one has apparently failed to try them sufficiently out in practice. Test stand tests always reflect only a part of the reality.

Inspite of the recalls: Do you think that hydraulic brakes are the brakes of the future, also in the field of road racing?

Yes, because the advantages of the hidden routing of lines, the low-loss transmission and last but not least the crisp pressure point will never be achieved by a system actuated by cables.

Author: Carola Felchner

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