jefmcg

I've had a mezzo since 2008. It's done northwards of 17,000km and been all over south east England, to France a few times, Germany, Luxembourg (including a memorable day I rode in all three countries before breakfast) and Australia. We've done innumerable metric centuries and one imperial century together. Even though I have moved on to a road bike, the mezzo was still my go-to bike for shopping, multimode commuting and lugging stuff - the mezzo commuter bag has Mary Poppins like capacity.

Then two weeks ago, on one of my little trips to the supermarket, I went over a speed hump at about 12kmh and it folded on me. The front wheel popped out of the forks and I was flung onto the road hard. Hit my head (nasty lump that gradually morphed into a black eye, but no concussion) and my shoulder (broken clavicle - f*ck that hurt! - but I am healing well)

Today I flipped my folder over (told you I am healing well) and examined it. Definitely mechanical failure (as opposed to user error) as even when everything is tightened correctly, I can pop the front wheel out of the fork. There's a lot of wear in the fork area - bare metal smoothed out - plus of course damage where it hit the road. I haven't decided if I am going to ever ride it again. Obviously not before I replace the front fork.

Does anyone know a mechanic in London who could be described as a mezzo-whisperer? I'd love someone who knows the bike to examine it properly.

Mezzo owners: Please check your front forks for wear!!

bhkyte

I would see if can get the replacements fork,mudguard, front wheel qr set for 100. Else 10 pound a fork. Not sure how mezzo spares are now and if still available. Glad you are healing.

smallwheeler

photo document the damage and, along with a detailed account of exactly what happened when the failure occurred, contact mezzo.

tudorowen1

Does the bike have the little washers either side of the forks on the quick release ..called lawyers lips..to stop this kind of thing happening..? Have they been removed ? They have them on a Brompton .

Azreal911

I think the folding action of the mezzo wore out those lawyer lips. I think all bikes have them because i see it on my tern's front fork also. But the way the mezzo folds I think the wheel swings out of it and the OP said it's worn smooth by now. After 17,000km that's quite ALOT of folding and riding.

bhkyte

Problem with the mezzo is releasing the front wheel is part of the fold. The later bikes are better as they have more of a laywers lip arrangement and a better spring loading to the qr to push it to one side. (2008 ish onwards. )

cpg

Sorry to hear of you accident jefmcg and thank you for the warning. Please can you post a photo, I am interested to see the amount of wear and exactly which part of the forks it has affected. I had to replace my seat post clamp at the end of last year, I rang ATB sales and they said spares are available but only through your local Mezzo dealer. They will happily give you contact details for your local dealer. Hope you get it fixed and more importantly, I hope you continue to get better quickly.

fietsbob

Which London?


BTW Brompton has safety tabbed washers and a hole in the fork tip they engage in on both sides of Both wheels .

jefmcg

Thanks everyone. Further inspection shows the front skewer is bent. Question is, is it the result or the cause of the failure. I am thinking the former, because it makes it hard to tighten it past a certain point, but if I do, then the fork feels stable.

If i can't find a Mezzo experienced mechanic, I'll probably have to replace the fork just to be sure.

I was involved in a head on collision with another cyclist 3 or 4 years and 10,000km ago which destroyed my front wheel, perhaps that damage has just come home to roost. At the time, I took it for a safety inspection at a cycle shop, who told me the chain was stretched and the jockey wheels needed replacing (which they did not). I suspected they hadn't even looked at the fork, but left it at that and replaced the wheel.

I'll take some photos later. The thing is in the shed at the moment. It's the older model mezzo I believe, as front wheel is removed by hex key and not a spanner.

jefmcg

So a year and a bit later, I finally got the mezzo out of the shed. New fork acquired and fitted, so here are the photos I promised

I'm not sure this will be of use to anyone, turns out the fork has been redesigned at least twice since my bike was manufactured.

bhkyte

Yes, I damaged mine but no injury. I just forgot to close the QR. I damaged the older type fork like yours on my black mezzo. Pre2008 version. Then paid £100 for the new forks and sold the damaged one about £20.

The newer version are better and can stand up to repeating this mishap without damage. I have done it 2 other times at slow speeds with no issues or injuries. Its always been my fault after altering my folding routein moving the bike from shop to shop. Its also more secure and more obvious when its out of adjustment.
Any way glade you are well again.

Claudesbutler

Hi jefmcg,

First post for me here... I had an accident on my Mezzo and was looking to see if there were any other people who had issues with the bike... then found your post about your accident and the Mezzo fork issue... hope you are now well recovered...

What got me was that pretty much EXACTLY THE SAME thing happened to me... went over speed bump, the wheel came out, splat headfirst onto cobbles... Unconscious for a couple of minutes (I'm told) but then post concussion syndrome CT scans and a long slow recovery. Luckily I was wearing a helmet (which was dented from the inside!) otherwise there was a good chance according to the neurologist that I could have fractured my skull or worse...

I remember noticing in the morning of the accident that the quick release for the front wheel was a bit soft but still had some bite and didn't think much of it until after the accident. Obviously the failsafe latch failed to do its job... it must have been the lift from going over the bump...

It looks like there is a serious design fault with the bike for accidents like this to happen. The bike is unridable now since the fork that hit the ground is now badly bent... although won't be getting back on it ever!

When it worked it was a nipply little bike that could give Bromptons a run for their money etc, etc BUT....

People should be aware of the risks of riding one of these bikes... potentially life threatening...

BikeLite

Sorry to hear about your accident and glad you are okay.

jefmcg

Welcome "Claude", and sorry to hear about your injury.

I am sure there was design fault in our bikes, that is why they have radically changed the front fork design.

Don't get back on your bike. Mezzo are gone, so there is no replacing the fork, and you should never get on it with that fork.

I do believe I got off lightly. My clavicle never healed (I am the 10% that don't) but that's ok. It's not giving me any trouble. Except for a prolonged ride on cobblestones. That aches. But everything else in my life doesn't irritate it.

Hugs!

Claudesbutler

Hi jefmcg and BikeLite

Thanks for your messages!

Do you know what happened to mezzo?... did they get sold off/merge with ori bikes in Japan?

Apparently making contact with ATB who they are distributed through (manufacturered?) is near impossible...

I have been getting some pressure from friends to let mezzo know of the design issues with the bike (although i am sure they are already well aware... hence design changes)... also spoke to a claims solicitor some time ago who said that they wouldn't pursue a claim as there didn't seem to be enough of a case...

jefmcg

No, not at all. I've previously rung them on two occasions for parts - they told me what I needed and identified a retailer who was close to me as they don't do direct sales to the public. They could not have been more helpful or informed.

I just rang the same number and a nice man answered and said "ATB, can I help you?"

01424 753566

MezzoLew

Thanks for sharing this story and sorry that you have suffered both physically and the bike too.

Fortunately I have read this after riding the bike for 4 times and am very focussed on making sure the front wheel is securely clamped - I wonder why!!

ImplodingVoice

Is this design flaw related to the quick release / fork design flaw on the Ori AR20, in the 2016 Ori bike crash?
The Ori AR20 model was released in 2014, as I understand.
I cannot post the link here, as I'm a new user to the forum.

jefmcg

No. It's from a fork design that was superseded a decade ago.

bhkyte

Hi . Sorry I have been slow to get back .your message is not showing iin my inbox .

Indigo82

Did you guys contact lawyer to check if there's chance for a legal case against Mezzo? It's not your fault obviously if the bike has flawed design. You could've been long dead by now, God forbid. You bought bike new and working and safe. At least your medical bills should be reimbursed. Traumas will stay forever.

jefmcg

No. I don't think it's reasonable to expect something to take the amount of wear my bike did without parts wearing out. Sadly I was unable to ever get it satisfactorily serviced, so I ended up services the bike myself. I should have noticed the wear.

Luckily I am not out of pocket for medical bills, and didn't lose any wages. It was the most painful thing that has happened to me, but that acute pain only lasted 5 or 10 minutes. After that it was quite bearable. All in all, I don;t have much of a claim.