Shimano set to provide extra two years’ warranty to US cyclists with defective cranks along with additional tools and training to retailers to “overhaul” its crankset recall process

Shimano has agreed to overhaul its crankset recall inspection process in the United States, provide retailers with enhanced training and tools, and extend the warranty for owners of the affected cranks by two years as part of a proposed class action settlement that stems from 2023’s high-profile recall of Hollowtech II cranksets.

The suit, led by California cyclist Jarett Hawkins and filed in September 2023, just two weeks after the recall was announced, argued that Shimano, Trek, Specialized, and Giant knowingly sold bikes with cranks that could suddenly break under load.

Plaintiffs claimed that Shimano had been aware of crank failures for at least 10 years and accused the company of providing “inadequate cranksets” that put riders “nationwide at risk of injury”. None of the named plaintiffs had been injured, but the complaint described the recall process as deeply flawed and a “nightmare for riders and bike shops”.

“Owners are left without usable bicycles while they get in line with hundreds of thousands of other impacted cyclists to schedule and await an inspection,” the amended complaint read.

“When the inspection finally happens, a local bicycle mechanic is tasked with making a complex engineering judgment… Consumers whose Defective Cranksets are judged not to warrant immediate replacement… are left in the frightening position of having to continue riding a dangerous bicycle.”

> Investigating Shimano’s snapping cranksets: What happened, unanswered questions and an engineer’s report

Under the proposed settlement terms, the Osaka-based company would extend its express warranty by an additional two years for the affected cranksets, starting from the date the settlement receives preliminary approval. US-based cyclists who previously paid out of pocket to replace cranksets judged as defective would be eligible for reimbursement.

Meanwhile, Shimano has agreed to provide an “approved enhanced manual” developed in consultation with an expert who reviewed internal documents and analysed the root causes of crank failure. Participating shops would also receive a magnifying device — previously recommended by Shimano but not issued — to help identify signs of bonding separation or delamination.

To support mechanics further, the company must make a “retail assistance agent” available to help retailers with inspection-related queries, and ensure that every participating shop has reviewed and understood the updated procedures.

Finally, the fourteen plaintiffs named in the case would each receive a $500 “Service Award”, and the terms of the settlement would be promoted to potentially affected cyclists via a targeted campaign run by legal notice specialist Epiq, beginning on 25 August.

> Investigation suggests workers at Shimano’s supplier subjected to “slavery-like” exploitation

A final approval hearing for the US class settlement is scheduled for February 2, 2026. However, as things stand, UK riders would still remain outside the scope of the proposed US settlement — including the extended warranty and reimbursement scheme — and continue to depend on the “inspection and replacement programme” for the same cranks, despite an estimated 2.8 million units being affected worldwide.

road.cc has contacted Shimano Europe to ask whether similar changes, including enhanced inspections, training materials, and warranty extensions, might be implemented in the UK and the rest of Europe. The company responded saying: “We understand there’s public interest in this case, and Shimano is committed to due process regarding the proposed settlement that is before the court in the United States. Shimano Europe awaits the outcome and will not comment further.”

Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN), which first reported on the proposed settlement, also reached out to Shimano but did not receive a comment.

This development marks the latest chapter in a recall saga that began two years ago when Shimano acknowledged that 760,000 cranks needed urgent inspection for signs of bonding separation and delamination — a manufacturing issue that can lead to catastrophic failure under pedalling force. The affected cranks were from the Dura-Ace and Ultegra Hollowtech II series produced between 2012 and 2019.

In 2023, we reported that Shimano had received over 4,500 reports of crank separation and at least six injuries, including bone fractures and joint dislocations.

> Shimano crank ‘recall’ cost £70m in 2024, as bicycle components giant’s sales drop again amid “weak” cycling market

In the UK, where Shimano issued only an “inspection and replacement programme” rather than a formal recall, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) concluded in late 2023 that the affected cranksets “do not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005”.

road.cc also sent broken cranksets from readers to Dr. Mark Bingley, a mechanical engineering expert at the University of Greenwich, whose analysis suggested failure often began at the internal bonding between crank arm layers — even in cases where no visible corrosion was present.

Mechanics across the industry have also questioned the effectiveness of visual inspections. In a statement filed in the US case, shop owner Roderick Russell said he refused to return inspected cranks to customers due to the lack of tools and clarity on safety. “I will not send cyclists back out onto the road with a crankset that may spontaneously fail in the future,” he wrote.

In February 2024, the bike components giant denied the claims in a motion to dismiss, saying: “There is a fundamental problem with this class action: it seeks to punish a company that has responded correctly to consumers’ concerns — standing by its products, its customers, and its warranty.”

It stated that 99.4 per cent of the affected cranksets functioned as intended, and that the company voluntarily recalled affected Hollowtech II units manufactured before July 2019 in coordination with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The brand insisted that it had gone beyond legal requirements by offering free inspections and replacements, with the CPSC approving its approach.

> Shimano sales down 12% in 2024, but cycling components giant points to “signs of progress”

Meanwhile, Shimano has spent over £160 million globally on the recall and inspection programme across 2023 and 2024 — £93 million and £70 million respectively — according to its own financial reports. Its bike component sales have declined two years in a row, and net income from its cycling division dropped 17 per cent in 2024 alone.

Shimano Europe just last week launched an initiative to address a “critical” shortage of skilled mechanics across the continent. Its ‘Nextgen Mechanics’ project aims to improve standards and stem the “skills drain”.