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

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.

We also speak regularly in independent expert presentations about all areas of bicycle technology and the bicycle market. In addition, we are quoted by further special-interest magazines of the industry and the trade as well as increasingly by radio and television in their media reports, which shows us that we are spot on with our advice. The section "News" informs you about the latest news from our specialist areas. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to areas of interest.

TOUR 02/2025 and tour-magazin.de 2025/01/10
Reading time 7:00 minutes

The beginnings of a new era in road bike testing

30 years of TOUR testing – With measure and courage

30 years ago, TOUR began testing and measuring road racing bikes systematically. This has had a significant influence on the development of the road racing bike. A look back and into the present

(...)

The two engineers and former technical editors Robert Kühnen and Dirk Zedler were looking for a way to make reproducible statements about the riding behaviour of road racing bikes. Their point of view: “Ride tests are all well and good, but in order to make reasonable statements about road racing bikes, you have to expose them to extreme riding situations, i.e. preferably on fast and long downhill sections, at high speeds and on different surfaces,” says Robert Kühnen. “And it's all the more better if several riders do this so that they can compare their respective experiences. Of course, the effort involved would have been without any financial and personnel limits.” So in November 1994, after much thought and some experimentation, Robert Kühnen and Dirk Zedler presented a test stand that measured the torsion of the front triangle in relation to the rear triangle.

Not foreseeable at the time:

(...)

Author: Thomas Musch

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

Exclamation marks

Over the past 30 years, TOUR has examined carefully technical innovations and made important contributions to product safety and bicycle development. Here are a few examples

1995

In the December issue, TOUR documents that certain mudguard fastenings can lead to serious accidents. Both metal and plastic mudguards can get caught in the tyre tread of the front tyre, are pulled along by the rotating wheel and become wedged under the fork crown. The wheel blocks, a fall is inevitable. Together with TOUR and the consumer organisation “Work group tricky mudguard”, a round table was set up in the industry, which set itself the task of establishing technical solutions to the problem. Today, fastenings that can release the mudguard are standard.

1995

For a report in the September issue, TOUR collects examples that show the dramatic consequences that the relatively new technology of suspension on mountain bikes can have. Loss adjustors and experts certify that various products and designs show incorrect dimensions, materials and manufacturing defects. Some manufacturers and importers respond to the damage cases with recalls. TOUR also gives tips on what cyclists should look out for when using suspension forks.

1996

In a joint project with the Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences, TOUR is carrying out real data measurements on road racing bikes for the first time. Using sophisticated mobile measuring electronics, the technicians record the real loads to which the handlebars and the forks are exposed. Typical riding situations on a road bike are tested, such as downhill sections, emergency braking, jumping over obstacles, riding uphill and over cobblestones. These data and other subsequently determined data are also used to determine realistic loads for the TOUR test stand tests.

1997

In September, TOUR is focussing on road bike rims, which can suddenly break due to worn or worn-out rim flanks and cause serious accidents. The technicians raise awareness of rims as a wear part and give tips on how to handle lightweight rims and prevent wear risks; in addition they suggest to equip aluminium rims with wear indicators.

2000

In the August issue, TOUR documents that the then still relatively new technology of Ahead stems can cause problems if the products are not designed correctly in terms of material and load. Five out of 17 test subjects failed the static test for safety of the handlebar clamp and durability of the bolted connection.

2005

For the training camp in Sicily, TOUR is organising a unique test in which the camp participants can take part: Eight road racing bikes with frames made of steel, titanium, aluminium and carbon are made completely unrecognisable and the readers/testers are asked to find out whether and how the different frame materials affect the riding experience. One of the results: The material cannot be felt.

2010

Now for something positive: In a large-scale report for the March issue, TOUR can show and prove that damaged carbon frames are not necessarily ready for the scrap heap. Carbon can be repaired and specialised companies do this so well that carbon frames are functionally (and visually) as good as new.

Author: Thomas Musch

Falls Sie mehr lesen wollen, lesen Sie den Artikel online oder bestellen Sie das entsprechende Heft beim Delius-Klasing-Verlag online.