It happened again

Today another youngster arrived at a training session with a front brake
disconnected and the part that holds the cable in place completely
knackered and unusable.
Mum had said it was OK to ride, and "anyway I've brought my helmet".

I despair.

John B

In article <45E9BAD8.DD5A3F91@nowhere.com>, John B
nothing@nowhere.com says...
> Today another youngster arrived at a training session with a front brake
> disconnected and the part that holds the cable in place completely
> knackered and unusable.
> Mum had said it was OK to ride, and "anyway I've brought my helmet".
>
So what happened?

> or the noodle for some unexplained reason leaving the clip

My lad has a Raleigh Striker, the rear noodle on that keeps coming out
of the clip. I've never actually seen it happen though, it just appears
back in the garage needing attention. It's now got a small cable tie
round it, hopefully that will keep it where it should be. So far it's
only ever happened to the rear brake but if this is a regular fault,
well.. I'll have a thorough check later. The possible outcomes of him
having a front brake come undone are not pleasant.

Daughter also has a Raleigh, we never have any issues with that.

Tony B

Tom Crispin wrote:

> On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 23:08:50 +0000, John B <nothing@nowhere.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Tom Crispin wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:13:45 +0000, John B <nothing@nowhere.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >That's partly what had happened in this case, except the clip had been so
> >distorted as to make a bodge repair nigh on impossible, and certainly not
> >safe.
> >The quality of these brake parts are becoming a matter of major concern.
>
> Do you think it would be worth me calling trading standards about the
> Raleigh bikes?

I do. IMO this is starting to become a very serious problem, and with so many
parents being seduced by the glittering full suspension bike shaped lumps of
cheese, its not going to be too long before one fails catastrophically.

Standards for cycles seem to be abysmal - both in the quality of componets and
staff service and knowledge.
That shops like Tescos, JJB Sports and Woollies can simply sell a box of bike
bits with a brief diagram in a foreign language is incredible.
Raleigh may take some note if they receive a call from TS - that is if they
care about their reputation.

Meanwhile I will continue to carry the pair of pliers and check all v-brake
'noodle clips' and advise *all* users of such brakes to very regularly check
them.

> >As an aside, so far this year I had two sets of bars upside down and two
> >sets of forks reversed :-(
>
> Good grief!

Its frightening.

John B

In article <esekqd$q9s$1@news.freedom2surf.net>, naked_draughtsman
usenet1@petereverett.co.uk says...
>
> "John B" <nothing@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:45E9FFFD.903A4621@nowhere.com...
> > The quality of these brake parts are becoming a matter of major concern.
>
> I think my bike frames have always has a sticker on them saying they're
> built to meet some British Standard. I've taken that to just mean the frame
> is structurally sound - are there no British/European standards which apply
> to other vital components such as brakes?
>
>
There are British and European standards which address the structural
integrity and functional efficacy of most bits of a bike - BS6102 Part 1
covers things like brake performance, and it's (mostly) illegal to sell
bikes that don't conform to it. I wonder if Consumers' Association
could be persuaded to investigate.