bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:48:49 -0800, Fritz M wrote:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to
(_)/ (_) | them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.
-- J. R. R. Tolkein

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

Fritz M wrote:
A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/

My suggestion of having a quick-release that does not engage to any extent
until a specific (high) pressure is applied seems to have gone unnoticed.
I'm waiting for my royalties! ;)

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

In article ,
"David L. Johnson" wrote:

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:48:49 -0800, Fritz M wrote:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

Probably disc brake ejection.

--
Michael Press
The rest of the world.

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:48:49 -0800, Fritz M wrote:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

I don't know, I've seen people tighten down quick-releases by using the
lever as leverage to screw it down -- like a wrench handle, they had no
idea you had to close it to tighten it down! And these were adults!!

-Nate

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:48:49 -0800, Fritz M wrote:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to
(_)/ (_) | them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.
-- J. R. R. Tolkein

Sigh.... Yeah, I too question the wisdom of Wal-Mart selling bikes with
QR's. Too many clueless parents who don't know any better (and their
correspondingly clueless kids) and who don't grok the concept of
personal responsibility.

This has to rank up there with the McDonald's hot scalding coffee on
lap lawsuit.

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

"damyth" wrote in
ups.com:



This has to rank up there with the McDonald's hot scalding coffee on
lap lawsuit.



Which, when you look at it in any depth, was an entirely valid lawsuit.

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts



But yeah, Wal-Mart has no business selling bikes with QR wheels.

Hank

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

Fritz M wrote:
A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/



From shokbikes.org:

"Since the accident, Virginia’s had two heart attacks and a knee
replacement. Worrying about her son with his post-accident issues has
been difficult. She believes that parents and their children should be
made aware of the problems with these bikes, and that ultimately the
companies and manufacturers should be responsible for the products they
distribute and sell."


If those people are not able to use a quick release, wal-mart should
just produce one-piece fork-wheels. So when they puncture they replace
the whole bike and they are happy.
Anyway when you read those stories you notice they don't even know the
difference between wheel and tire.

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

Obviously, the quick release is a Darwinian evolutionary mechanism.

bigger lawyer lips on the way?
 

"Francesco Devittori" frenkatfrenkdtcm wrote in message
...
Fritz M wrote:
A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/



From shokbikes.org:

"Since the accident, Virginia’s had two heart attacks and a knee
replacement. Worrying about her son with his post-accident issues has
been difficult. She believes that parents and their children should be
made aware of the problems with these bikes, and that ultimately the
companies and manufacturers should be responsible for the products they
distribute and sell."


If those people are not able to use a quick release, wal-mart should
just produce one-piece fork-wheels. So when they puncture they replace
the whole bike and they are happy.
Anyway when you read those stories you notice they don't even know the
difference between wheel and tire.


One of my riding buddies (about 50 years of racing) had a crack up one
morning. He failed to adequately tighten the QR on his rear wheel. Turned
out of the parking lot, stood up to accelerate and the wheel shifted. The
wheel pressed the tire against the chainstay and brake block. He went flying
off the front performing a perfect UCI style aerial roll before a
dentist-pleasing face plant. The plastic surgeon who rides with us felt an
actual surge in his wallet at the moment of impact.

My point here is that these sort of accidents can and do happen. People just
get sloppy or get distracted when they do stuff on their bikes, or cars for
that matter. But, to blame everything on the manufacturer is absurd... until
you speak to a lawyer. Then it becomes a matter of following the money to
try getting some. That is their business, like it or not. It is a simple
formula: something happened, follow the money, get some of it....

See, everything in life is clearly explained in this newsgroup if you read
it long enough!

Bruce