[I-Like-To-Bike]

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2007
Release #07-206

Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 245-3872
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Cannondale Recalls Bicycles With Carbon Crankset Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: Bicycles with Carbon Cranksets

Units: About 2,900

Importer: Cannondale Bicycle Corp., of Bethel, Conn.

Hazard: The bicycle's crankset could break, posing a fall hazard to
user.

Incidents/Injuries: Cannondale has received two reports of the cranksets
breaking resulting in one minor injury.

Description: Cranksets are the gears at the front of the bicycle chain
with pedals attached to the outer ends. The crankset spins on a bearing
and axle assembly called a bottom bracket. The recalled cranksets are
two piece carbon crankset with an integrated aluminum bottom bracket.
These cranksets were used on the following bicycle models:

2007 Road Bikes:
Synapse Carbon SL1 Compact drive
Ironman 1, Si Carbon Standard drive
System 6 Team 1 Compact drive and Standard drive
System 6 Team 3 Compact drive and Standard drive
Cyclocross SLl 1 Compact drive

2007 Mountain Bikes:
Taurine 1 SL
Rush Carbon 2

2007 Framesets & Cranksets:
Synapse SL Si
System 6 Team SI
Ironman 613 SL
CAAD 9 Cyclocross Si
All carbon Si road and mountain cranksets

2008 Road Bikes:
System 6 Liquigas 3 Compact and Standard Drive

Sold at: Authorized Cannondale dealers nationwide from June 2006 though
May 2007 for between $1,800 and $5,700 for the bicycles and about $475
for the crankset.

Manufactured in: Taiwan

Remedy: Cannondale dealers will inspect the bicycle cranksets to
determine if a free replacement is needed.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Cannondale at
(800) BIKEUSA (245-3872) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through
Friday or visit the firm's Website at www.cannondale.com

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the
recalled products, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07206.html

[The BikeForums Team]

This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.

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Cya on the forums,
- The BikeForums Team
- http://www.bikeforums.net

[Boss Moniker]

They had a problem about two months ago with their carbon two-piece cranksets with aluminum spindles. Seems the aluminum was improperly heat-treated and was prone to fracture near where it joined with the drive-side carbon.

Looking at the CSPC website, it's the same cranks they have pictured. I don't know how to go about looking for any more info, but this is definitely old news.. maybe the CSPC got ahold of it late?

[Blue Order]

Carbon breaks? Who knew?

[sgtsmile]

2 replies...

[hotbike]

Seems the aluminum was improperly heat-treated and was prone to fracture near where it joined with the drive-side carbon.


In this case it seems the aluminum broke and not the carbon.

[hotbike]

For the record, I do not think cranks should be made of carbon [fiber].

I am quite experienced with composite materials and have built a fiberglass bicycle to demonstrate how "fiber" can be used for frame building. Anything that can be built out of fiberglass can be built from carbon fiber. Have you seen the photo of the prototype Fiberglass Ladies Bicycle, designed by my daughter Mellisa? I'll show it again, as there may be new BF members, or you may have missed the thread:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/hotbike/00000024-1.jpg
I would like to build a carbon fiber version of this same bike design. The advantage of this design over most diamond frame carbon fiber bicycles is the elimination of the aluminum lugs, which is where carbon frames tend to fail. I'm sticking with a cro-molybdynum fork however.
I may make some changes, such as changing the frame "rail" from 4"x6" rectangular to 3"x5" oval, and not molding the fairing in as part of the frame.
I sold this bike for $1,200.00 (twelve hundred dollars). But the cost of the raw carbon is higher than that, at around $70.00 an ounce. One of the design parameters was to eliminate the protrusion of the seat "horn" into the step-thru area of the frame, to eliminate the chance of a back injury when the girl is straddling the bicycle.
As I said , if it can be done with fiberglass, it can work with carbon fiber. Money restraints are holding me back(from buying a large quantity of raw carbon), but this photograph shows how fiber reinforced plastic can be put to good use.

[hotbike]

And I have this to say, although I know some of you won't like it:
Carbon fiber would be a good material for a one-piece crankset.
I know that statement doesn't seem logical; "how do you make a cheap part of expensive material?" you ask.
The idea is that the fiber would be continuous strand, from the left tip to the right tip, and follow with two 90 degree bends through the bottom bracket.

I must be the only one who thinks this way, as in my last post I described how to make a ladies bike out-of carbon.

[dobber]

bike for $1,200.00 (twelve hundred dollars).

Thanks for clarifying, could you give me that figure in sickles, or perhaps knuts?

[recursive]

The advantage of this design over most diamond frame carbon fiber bicycles is the elimination of the aluminum lugs, which is where carbon frames tend to fail.

Does anyone still use aluminum lugs for carbon bikes?

[recursive]

Carbon breaks? Who knew?

Sounds like it was the aluminum from Boss Moniker's post.

Personally, I've broken more aluminum bars than carbon anything. (1 to 0, an excellent sample size from which to draw statistical conclusions)

[hotbike]

Thanks for clarifying, could you give me that figure in sickles, or perhaps knuts?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_in_Harry_Potter

If you go to this page, there is some discusion of converting Wizard money into British pounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_in_Harry_Potter

[KrisPistofferson]

Wal-mart bikes are still crap, though.

[dobber]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_in_Harry_Potter

If you go to this page, there is some discusion of converting Wizard money into British pounds.


Fantastic, just what I was looking for.

[I-Like-To-Bike]

Wal-mart bikes are still crap, though.
Some things never change. Like the Nittany Lions 20; Tennessee 10 in the Outback Bowl.:)

[KrisPistofferson]

Some things never change. Like the Nittany Lions 20; Tennessee 10 in the Outback Bowl.:)Actually, the Lady Vols are the superstars of the moment down here.

[I-Like-To-Bike]

Actually, the Lady Vols are the superstars of the moment down here.
They done good, but let's not change the subject. Basketball is fine and dandy but it ain't football!
Besides only a dummy would bad mouth a successful women's basketball team for dim witted laffs.