Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) of Washington state has announced a recall of Novara Trionfo road bikes (pictured to the left). The bikes have carbon fiber Aprebic forks.
There have been two reported incidents of the Aprebic forks separating from the steerer tube (the tube that inserts into the frame). In the defective bikes, the separated steerer tube causes the front fork and wheel to disassemble from the bike and the rider to fall. There have been two incidents involving the Novara road bikes with reported injuries.
This is the second recall by REI of one of its bicycles in the past couple of months. In May REI announced the recall of Dahon folding bikes. In that case the Dahon folding bikes had a faulty hinge at the handlebar that was capable of breaking.
A large number of posts on the Illinois Bicycle Law weblog have been devoted to reported the number of defective bicycles on the market. Many of these defective bicycles that are the subject of recalls have been by some of the best known and most trusted names in the business. And this illustrates an important point: no matter who makes the bike, it is a machine, and machine can break due to poor maintenance, inadequate design, or faulty manufacturing. Because of this, Illinois law provides a recourse to those injured by defective bikes through a case based on product liability.
A consumer may bring a case for their injuries when the bike or one of its parts is unreasonably dangerous, and that dangerous condition led to the injury. The law in these cases is often complicated and multifaceted. If you have been injured because of what you believe to be a faulty bicycle, please contact Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com.
