Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad brand’s safety

Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by sbm_au on Friday September 29, 2023 @07:10PM (#37711187)

Wow, I'm surprised that Keith Bontrager is quoted saying that quick release axles and disc brakes are not a design flaw.

This is absolutely known as a design flaw! Downhill mountain bikers have known for decades (since say the 2000s?) that combination of brakes and wheels is problematic, and it's known as an immediate red flag that a mountain bike is poorly specced and designed. It is done solely because quick release axles are slightly cheaper. Front disc brakes require a thru-axle design on the front wheel!

I also didn't see in the article, if the Rad bike had cable or hydraulic disc brakes. In my opinion, despite being very common, cable disc brakes are under-powered and unreliable for a heavy consumer e-bike. They are powerful but easily lose their adjustment (I have cable disc brakes on one of my own bikes).

I'm pleased to see someone taking these cheap, bad e-bike designs to court.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by fnfjfk on Friday September 29, 2023 @07:42PM (#37711429)

Wow, I thought QR axles meant that they had a handle rather than a hex wrench socket. They ship these with QR skewers??

Forget downhill MTB, no reputable bike company ships road bikes without proper axles these days.

Wow this company is crazy

[ Parent | on HN ]