Cannondale busted for not fitting a spoke protector disc
From Bicyling mag’s website: This Just In: The Roundup: Cannondale Issues ‘Six’ Recall.
“The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Cannondale is voluntarily recalling several of its “Six” elite road bike models because they do not meet federal safety standards …. Spoke protector discs, which are required on bicycles to prevent the chain from interfering or suddenly stopping the wheel, are missing from these bicycles, the CPSC reports. This poses a fall hazard to the rider. No accidents or injuries have been reported. The Commission recommends consumers immediately stop riding these bicycles and contact a Cannondale dealer for free repair.”
So every single rider I know who has owned a bike for more than a week has removed the spoke protector disc, which is a useless piece of plastic that performs no function on a modern bike.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a high-end bike, road or MTB in a shop in the last couple of years that does have that disc. But apparently leaving it off the spec altogether is not permitted.
I love the two statements that follow in the quote above: “this poses a fall hazard … no accidents or injuries have been reported”. Hmm.
The South Bank 11 rides again
Photo: Les Hewett
If you use Roman numerals, it sounds like a cricket team: the South Bank XI.
If you spell it out, it might be a caper movie, with special effects & explosions & George Clooney & Brad Pitt: South Bank’s Eleven.
To the ears of some it has the ring of a group of accused persons (the Bali nine, the Guildford four): the South Bank 11.
So while it must be fairly obvious which of us would be played by Clooney when they make the movie, nonetheless I must insist that there were no Hollywood-style stars on this ride. It was a team effort, and the team consisted of 11 riders and 4 support crew.
The riders, in no particular order: Peter Ferguson, Peter Sullivan, Mick Goldspink, Sally Johannesen, Ernie Tye, Rob Wilson, Dean Winchester, Andrew Demack, Tim Slack, Noel Ashford and Bruce Lanham.
The crew: Jane Clarke, Barbara Miller, David Clarke and Les Hewett.
And the challenge: the 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif. 225 km, 3800 metres of vertical ascent, one day’s riding.
Did it
Les took this photo of me while climbing on the Gibraltar Range, during the 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif.
The ‘South Bank 11′ all finished. A great day out. I’ll have more to say about it later!