BikeBiz reports that the Bicycle Association has seen fit to publish safety advice regarding the need to use very specific brake blocks in combination with some brands of carbon rims.
“I have been made aware of a safety issue which can arise from the need for very specific brake blocks to be used on some brands of carbon rims,” writes the organisation’s technical manager, Peter Eland. “If the user manual is lost and non-approved aftermarket pads (even those advertised as “for carbon rims”) are used, there is a safety problem.”
Eland says he heard from a cyclist who bought a set of used carbon-rim wheels without the user manual, who then bought a set of brake pads described as “for carbon rims.” The components turned out to be dangerously incompatible and an accident occurred.
Eland makes three recommendations.
Firstly, he asks carbon rim/wheel manufacturers to clearly state if specific brake pads are needed on a durable label attached to the rim. “This means it will be obvious even if the user manual is missing that only specific pads can be used.”
Secondly, he asks both manufacturers and retailers to review their online information, urging the latter to ensure there is a warning visible to end users before purchase.
Finally, he asks distributors to request labels on rims and warnings on pads’ packaging from suppliers.
9 thoughts on “Bicycle Association warns of safety issue with certain combinations of carbon rims and pads”
So his evidence is second
So his evidence is second hand stories.
I bought a second hand car
I bought a second hand car that didn’t come with the manual, so I replaced the brake pads with cheese. Almost died on the A12, I wish there were clearer guidelines
Another good argument for
Another good argument for disc brakes!
Ynotmi wrote:
Why? See previous post for experiene of disc brake problems. What price stupidity?
So ONE person who can’t read
So ONE person who can’t read or thought they could chance their arm going with unsuitable pads had a bit of a cry to Peter Eland and he thought, right, that’s it, we need labels and to make a big deal out of this ONE person’s issues.
In fact his own statement isn’t factually accurate either “If the user manual is lost and non-approved aftermarket pads (even those advertised as “for carbon rims”) are used, there is a safety problem“
No, there might be a safety problem on some carbon rims, this is not an absolute as you’ve said in your statement, it “can arise”, meaning it may or may not so more accurately you should have said ‘there might be a safety problem for some people who are ignorant and don’t know what they are doing so should stay well away from rounded scissors never mind bicycles!’
Might as well put labels on absolutely everything, hope the manufacturers tell him to get a grip and that individuals need to sort their shit out when stuff is common knowledge and when the brakes don’t seem to work first time find out why, not carry on regardless until a worse problem arises!
But I’d like to see how many serious injuries or deaths have we had from incorrect brake pads on carbon wheels, say against other ‘safety’ issues relating to bike components?
A grapevine story with no
A grapevine story with no details. Just what BA and road.cc should be reporting. Once I fell off my bike when mychain snapped, should we all swap to direct drive? This is up there with nonsense like ‘lawyers lips’.
Maybe the warning should be
Maybe the warning should be something along the lines of “Don’t buy second hand kit that you cannot verify is safe to use, or which you cannot be arsed to ensure you set up correctly.”
Personally I’d be real wary of buying second hand carbon anything as I have little knowledge of this material and how defects might manifest, or be hidden by an unscrupulous seller. Let alone identifying what might be a fake of questionable manufacture.
I did run carbon rim tri spokes some years back. Lovely to look at, terrifying to stop on when wet. Disk brakes are a very compelling solution if you want carbon wheels.
Mungecrundle wrote:
I’ve found all three manufacturers rims that I’ve used to be just fine in the wet, Gigantex, Camagnolo (latest Bora’s) and Easton, apparently Corima CF are the daddies still. That said the pros manage to brake just fine from high speed in the wet, it’s always the tyres that are the limiting factor, not the rims.
well at least for me useful
well at least for me useful advice… prior to reading this I’d have probably assumed that a manufacturer recommend their pads just because thats what they do…..if pads are sold as carbon rim compatable I’d assume they were and all will be OK …lots of second hand carbon wheel sets on facebook trading site in my locale…some genuine with receipts some probably fake – different issue