No comment.......just a shake of the head.......silent rant

[kosmonooit]

Same can be said for most trades here & now, its generally a free-for-all, and one really struggles to get quality work done anywhere.

[Pin-it]

Ok ...not good..I hate that

So what is the shops details?

i'm nowhere near you,but i still want to know and i'll email a link of this to them,and ask them if i should bring my bike in...

i havent been back in the country long enough to know if a Bicycle mechanic here in RSA is an actual registered trade ,or even a certified occupation...

I mean brakes are brakes...etc

If I drive out the shop and my brakes fail and go through a red light and a car cripples me,who do I sue?

A car repairer/business?easily done,but would take ages

a bicycle repairer/LBS?Whats the deal there?

I think its the manufaturers duty to train bike mechanics on repairing their brands when sold,

Like have a seminar for all dealers to send their tech staff,get a certificate etc etc

I agree with you completely but with the pace technology changes in this sport they will be on training courses more then in the shop!

[Kranswurm]

I am so glad someone mentioned this.

And no, a local certification from a weekend course doesn't count.

 

Cytech Technical Three Road and MTB is a start.....

 

http://www.cytech.uk.com/technical/

[Mojoman]

A coroner is to write to an accident prevention charity about bicycle

safety after the death of a teenager who died when his front brake failed.

His family is now threatening legal action over the incident.

David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, spoke of the tragic loss of 14-year-old Kadian Harding as he said he would use his powers under Rule 43 and write to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Mr Ridley said he would be preparing a report for RoSPA detailing the

"lessons learned" and whether anything could be done to raise the

awareness of getting a bike checked before it is ridden for the first

time.

 

After the conclusion of the inquest Sally Moore, from law firm Leigh Day, said the Harding family would be taking legal action.

She said: "The coroner agreed that there had been catastrophic failure of the front brake and that the back brake was not working sufficiently so as to stop the bicycle in an emergency."

Mr Ridley, recording a narrative verdict, said: "The front brake suffered a complete catastrophic failure due to the pinch bolt, more likely than not, on the front yoke not being sufficiently tight, allowing the forces generated by pulling the front brake lever to pull the cable through the pinch bolt, causing the cantilever not to function at all.

 

"The rear brake had some function, but it is unclear as to the extent of its function, but the forces applied to the pads were not sufficient when pulling the levers to generate a locking of the wheel when fully applied as to generate a skid at any point over the remainder of the path or into the road.

"As I made clear at the outset of the inquest, Rule 42 prohibits me in relation to my findings, of finding any civil and criminal liability of any named person.

"An inquest is not a court of blame. It is not a trial.

"This case is a sad and tragic case. A lot of my work involves sad cases but this - in respect of a vibrant 14-year-old boy - is even more touching."

Kadian suffered fatal injuries when he was in a crash with a Mercedes van on the evening of July 25 last year on the A4 at Clatford, near Marlborough.

The inquest in Salisbury was told that the teenager was so worried about

the bike's brakes that just a few hours before he died he had taken it

to a repair shop in Marlborough.

Kadian, from the village of Steep, near Petersfield, Hampshire, then went on a bike ride with his family when tragedy struck at 5.50pm.

It was only a twist of fate that the group ended up on the track leading to the A4 because they had taken a wrong turn.

Kadian was riding down a steep path with five other people, including his father and aunt, when he was unable to stop as he approached the busy road.

Eyewitnesses described hearing Kadian screaming as he went down the path at a speed of between 25mph and 30mph desperately trying to slow the bike down before hitting the van.

He suffered catastrophic head injuries and died at the scene.

Experts agreed that the front brake of the bike had failed but were

unable to say whether the rear brake was working correctly at the time

of the collision.

During two days of evidence, the inquest heard that Kadian had taken the Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycle to a bike shop close to his home in Hampshire on at least two occasions in the weeks before he died.

On the day he died the teenager had taken the bicycle to the Acceler8

shop in Marlborough, having been told to get the brakes checked by his

father.

Thomas Harding, an experienced cyclist, told the hearing: "I specifically said: 'We are really concerned about the brakes. You must get the front and back brakes looked at.'

"He said they looked over all the brakes and replaced a cable. I didn't

have a go (on the bike) but I did try both front and back brakes.

"I noticed they were much firmer now. I noticed the pads were now about

1mm apart."

Witness Richard Knowles, who lives close to the crash scene, said he

heard Kadian screaming as he cycled down the path.

"From the moment he came out of the tree line to the moment he passed me was only a few seconds," he said.

"He was pumping the brakes and that made me realise he was in trouble.

"He was standing up on the pedals. He was applying so much force to his brakes that he was trying to keep the bike stable.

"I think I said to him words to the effect of 'come off'.

"He made no attempt to steer off the path. He made no attempt to come off the pedals and put his feet on the floor."

Philip Birkett, owner of Acceler8, said Kadian had come into the shop

and asked him to look at the gears and the rear brakes.

"I stand by my work and everything I did was correct. When that bike left the shop it was in a perfectly safe condition," he said.

Mr Birkett denied the suggestion from the barrister representing the Harding family that he had adjusted both the front and rear brakes.

He added that he did not hold any qualifications for repairing bicycles.

Experts agreed that Kadian's front cantilever brake had failed because the pinch bolt was not tightened sufficiently and the brake cable had slipped.

But experts Chris Juden and David Price were unable to say - due to the damage sustained in the crash - what condition the rear brakes were in at the time of the boy's death.

In a statement issued after the hearing, Kadian's parents, Thomas and Debora, said: "It has not yet been a year since our beautiful 14-year-old son, Kadian, died.

"During this time we have relived every moment of the events leading up

to his death.

"The coroner today issued a narrative verdict. As we heard, and the coroner found, the brakes did not work on Kadian's bike."

http://www.gazettean...ar_Marlborough/

 

http://www.dailymail...amily-ride.html

Edited November 12, 2013 by Mojoman

[Wyatt Earp]

I agree with you completely but with the pace technology changes in this sport they will be on training courses more then in the shop!

 

Not really, things change but a good mechanic would be able to adapt, when things become too hairy the boys get separated very quickly from the men.

[DACoetzee]

Yeah, like most people, take your bike in for every little thing you cant fix yourself = Cost over time is super high

 

OR

 

Initial high cost to buy the tools... and you wont get screwed over by bad service from Bike shops...

[fandacious]

Yeah, like most people, take your bike in for every little thing you cant fix yourself = Cost over time is super high

 

OR

 

Initial high cost to buy the tools... and you wont get screwed over by bad service from Bike shops...

 

do you fix your own car? because the same principle applies...

[kosmonooit]

Not really, things change but a good mechanic would be able to adapt, when things become too hairy the boys get separated very quickly from the men.

 

Its also down to base training / skills that you can draw from. That's what's really lacking, you see it everywhere.

 

Basic workshop skills is a start. Knowledge and use of hand tools.

[exsanguinator]

I agree with you completely but with the pace technology changes in this sport they will be on training courses more then in the shop!

Thats life..technology hasnt changed that quickly,improvements have,

If something has changed drastically,then a new seminar is due or not?

dont the manufactures make enough money to do this?

There should be a budget for this...

I meant its 2013 not 1993...

Doesnt toyota,mercedes,ford etc etc.. do it regularly?

Because its a bicycle,it doesnt matter?

The LBS should insist on it,put a certificate up in the workshop,and be accountable if something like this happens...

promoting a cleaner to tea boy to techie is not good enough,

If hes been around in the shops employ for that long,surely paying extra too train him(actaully seminars would be to the manuf costs anyway) is the least that could be done..

Edited November 12, 2013 by exsanguinator

[exsanguinator]

A coroner is to write to an accident prevention charity about bicycle

safety after the death of a teenager who died when his front brake failed.

His family is now threatening legal action over the incident.

David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, spoke of the tragic loss of 14-year-old Kadian Harding as he said he would use his powers under Rule 43 and write to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Mr Ridley said he would be preparing a report for RoSPA detailing the

"lessons learned" and whether anything could be done to raise the

awareness of getting a bike checked before it is ridden for the first

time.

 

I dont know about bicycles,but for vehicles the UK and OZ,has a law that any vehicle brought in for service has to have a minimum basic 20 point check up,free of course...

you cant just go in and say replace my oil please,

actually you can,but on your invoice the check up has to have been done,

and if brakes have a tick ok,and you have an accident,youre automatically covered for repairs and any other costs

and that goes for other things in the check up,like clutch cables,etc etc

A good example o/s,if a cop pulls you over as you drive out of the service place,and your hooter is faulty and issues you fine,guess whos liable?not you.. the mechanics business

But here,if your car has no brakes,and you take it in for a lube,thats all they are legally obliged to do,

You can drive right out of there...hooter or not..LOL

[BarHugger]

Two people should be pi$$ed off. YOU should be at the useless appi twat that tried to sort out your vrou's brakes. And your vrou should be angry with you for not noticing that her brake pads were shot after she complained about them. It's not aeronautical engineering ffs.

 

ffs = Full Functional Service???? Fault Finding System???? (!!!!)

 

For some Hubbers who are very critical of the detail about the post, here is the timeline of events:

 

1. 2 November (Saturday): Complete "Down and Dirty" race

2. 4 November (Monday):Training ride - wife comment on rear brakes.

3. 5 November (Tuesday) Bike booked in at LBS (morning)

4. 7 November (Thursday): Bike collected at LBS

5. 7 November (Thursday): Night race at Rosemary Hill (brakes not good)

6. 10 November (Sunday): ffs

 

The rest is history.

 

Edit: Wife went for group training ride today (Fort Klapperkop) - rear brake 100%. Big smile.

Edited November 12, 2013 by BarHugger