Shimano Global Recall | Cycling Weekly
Shimano has announced what could be, the biggest product recall in cycling history. Over 2.8 million cranks have been subject to the recall with over 4,500 recorded failures which sees the delamination and in some cases complete separation of the cranks, sometimes with catastrophic results.
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00:00 Welcome to October's Tech of the Month where we discuss all the latest news and reviews.
00:04 After a brief hiatus we're back with new bikes and new launches and there is a lot to discuss
00:14 because there have been a vast amount of brand new endurance bikes hitting the market in recent
00:20 months but also what could possibly be one of the most significant product recalls in cycling
00:25 history. To be honest I want to get straight into this Shimano recall because the implications are
00:33 huge and there is actually quite a lot to unpack here. So Joe you've become a bit of an expert over
00:40 the past few days because you have been knee-deep in all of the context that has been coming out of
00:44 Shimano so I think a good place to start is what's actually happened? So on the 21st of September
00:52 2023 last week at the time of filming Shimano issued a recall in the United States of America
00:57 and Canada of over 760,000 cranks. This came after concerns were raised by the Consumer Product
01:05 Safety Commission of cranks failing and leading to injury and potentially crashes. Yeah okay and
01:11 what is that number? I mean how many recorded cases is that of you know the total that are
01:16 around there? So the current number of recorded failures is 4,519 and of the 2.8 million cranks
01:23 sold between June 2012 and June 2019 that works out at around a 0.7% failure rate. Okay so it's
01:30 a really small number but at the same time four and a half thousand recorded failures is quite a
01:35 lot. Exactly and recorded failures is the key there. There could well be more that have gone unrecorded
01:40 and I think it's very safe to say that there probably are. Yeah absolutely. So what does
01:45 that actually mean for the customer and the consumers of these cranks? So here's where the
01:49 waters are slightly muddied. In the United States a no ride has been issued so if you're in the
01:56 United States stop riding your cranks until they've been looked at by someone in a bike shop
02:01 by a mechanic. Yeah. Whereas in Europe as far as we can tell there has been no stop ride issued.
02:07 So although the same cranks went to Europe and the United States the goal posts if you like
02:12 are different between the two regions. Correct me if I'm wrong but the advice within Europe
02:17 is very much still to have your cranks checked out by your local Shimano dealer. Absolutely right.
02:23 So from the 1st of October Shimano will be rolling out an inspection program. This is purely cosmetic
02:30 which to me sounds slightly worrying bearing in mind all the failures that have been happening
02:34 are generally catastrophic with little or no warning. But as you said Sam Shimano is recommending
02:40 that everybody gets their cranks checked out under this program. Yeah and I mean it's quite helpful
02:45 because Shimano have essentially listed all of the cranks that are affected and will pop on screen
02:50 now all of the codes for the cranks that are affected so you can check just on the inside of
02:56 your crank arm whether you have an affected crank. But I think if there's any obvious signs of any
03:00 cracking or if the chain rings are kind of coming away from the arms if there's any weird gaps if
03:05 anything doesn't look completely flush and smooth I think it's probably worth getting it checked out
03:09 by your local dealer and then they can kind of take a more rigorous look at the crank set to see
03:13 if it's something that needs to be replaced. But Shimano have been quite good haven't they
03:17 because they've come out and said that if you have a faulty crank set they will replace it.
03:23 So that's good right? That's exactly right so Shimano has said that they will essentially
03:27 give you a free upgrade to the most recent crank so if you had an old Dura-Ace crank you'll get a
03:31 new Dura-Ace crank if you have an old Ultegra crank you'll be upgraded to a new one that is
03:36 certified to be safe they've now changed the manufacturing processes. The issue lies though
03:40 that you'll only receive that upgrade if your cranks prove to fail that inspection and once
03:45 again as that's purely aesthetic it's... Yeah because sometimes you can't always see when
03:49 things are failing so if there's something that you haven't quite noticed yet and that's why this
03:54 kind of stop ride notice in the US versus the non-stop ride notice in the Europe is kind of
03:59 just slightly worrying because you could inspect your cranks today but then in a year's time
04:05 basically you're gonna have to if you have one of these affected cranks you're gonna have to keep an
04:08 eye on it to see if any problems develop later down the line because you know the cranks that
04:13 did fail it's not like they happened on the first ride it happened over time so cranks that look
04:18 fine today could be you know broken in a year's time so I think it's one of those things if you
04:22 do really have to keep an eye on it. And that to me from Shimano is arguably almost negligent because
04:27 a very complex issue is sort of being made black and white and I think that's where the issue lies.
04:32 Yeah so I mean what do you think then it means for Shimano because I mean I think what's really
04:38 interesting here is that they are recalling products from a seven-year cycle and the other
04:43 really important fact here is that not all of the Dura-Ace 9100 cranks were part of the recall so
04:50 that means that they changed their manufacturing process midway through that product cycle
04:54 meaning they knew about the problem for quite a while and what was causing it.
04:58 Exactly and that's where for me the negligence comes in at the very least it's a massive kick
05:02 in the teeth I think the very fact that it's 2.8 million cranks affected over that period
05:07 of time globally which is such a huge amount and I think that yeah whichever way you look at it
05:12 it's going to be very expensive for Shimano but also pretty damaging to their reputation.
05:16 Absolutely I think this has been something with I mean there's a very pretty popular
05:20 Instagram account called thanks Shimano where essentially all of the failures have been logged
05:25 so big shout out to those guys but they've been on it for a really long time and it's mad that
05:30 the product cycle obviously it was made up until 2019 the 30th of June 2019 we're now September
05:38 2023 four years later it is in some ways it has taken too long. Absolutely. So what are the
05:45 implications worldwide? So this is where once again things get even more complicated we actually
05:50 spoke with Thomas Jervis who is a solicitor at Lead Day a very renowned company in the UK
05:56 and he sort of explained that due to the fact there's no global regulator for product recalls
06:01 basically there's different rules that can be applied all over the world in the UK in particular
06:06 because of the way our regulatory system works it's quite outdated it's actually going to be
06:11 really quite tricky to legally hold Shimano to account obviously you know arguably it's not in
06:16 their best interest to try and wriggle out of it because as I mentioned before their reputation is
06:21 on the line but just in terms of how much bureaucracy there's going to be how much
06:26 strain this will put on bike shops distributors bike brands everybody is going to be affected
06:30 just because of the sheer scale of Shimano. Now other than just visually checking the cranks you
06:35 can also listen to your cranks now funnily enough Shimano posted a video two weeks ago but it was
06:41 an unlisted video on YouTube and it's a demonstration of the noise that these cranks
06:46 can make if they are defective and it sounds a little like this...
06:50 Interestingly as well is exactly what you said that video was posted two weeks ago
07:02 which to me begs the question how long have Shimano known about this how long has the
07:06 pressure been mounting potentially from the CPSC? Well yeah I mean I reckon they've known about the
07:11 problem for a really long time like in some ways it's something that's been out in the wild for
07:15 quite a long time again thanks Shimano. So I think they've probably been preparing for this for a
07:21 really long time and again because you know replacement units will hopefully be available
07:26 from the 1st of October going onwards they've probably had to build up an inventory of stock
07:31 so that when all of these broken cranks start coming back to them they have units they can
07:35 send out to distributors so that essentially customers can have kind of a straight swap so
07:40 they must have been planning this for a really long time.
07:43 Now Joe you are fresh back from Italy just last week from Pinarello because they launched a new
07:51 bike the Pinarello Dogma X. So what do you actually think of the new Dogma X? Yeah so to put things
07:59 into perspective first the Dogma X is essentially a slightly softened up Dogma F so slightly slacker
08:06 geometry, longer chainstays, higher stack all of the main sort of candidates and I think they did
08:12 a pretty good job I think the ethos of the bike is brilliant yeah the geometry is also really good
08:17 it handles really well yeah the X-stays technology which they've brought in for a comfier rear end to
08:23 the bike did a good job of soaking up the larger bumps and the 35mm tyre clearance too made things
08:29 really comfortable. I did though notice a really distinct lack of stiffness from both the bottom
08:34 bracket and head tube when compared to a race bike. I guess it was created not to be a race bike but
08:40 to be an endurance bike so surely those attributes actually do make sense or not? They do make sense
08:45 absolutely I think Pinarello really marketed this as like the performance endurance bike if that
08:50 makes sense so for the person that wants to go fast but also be comfortable and while it does
08:55 the comfort pretty well I think arguably there's just a bit of a lack of stiffness and maybe a
09:00 tiny bit of the sort of true Dogma F character that could have been carried over. Okay interesting
09:06 now one thing that I'm wondering is the geometry that's found on the Dogma X is that the same
09:10 geometry that's found on the X-series bikes? Very good question so no it's not Pinarello now
09:16 essentially have two different endurance bikes the Dogma X sits a little bit closer to the Dogma F
09:22 and the X-series is slacker still so the chain stays the same length but there's a higher stack
09:29 and a shorter reach again so that really is aimed more at comfort. Okay so the Dogma X then makes
09:34 more sense to be slightly more performance orientated than the X-series themselves?
09:40 That's exactly right and arguably it's the Dogma most people should probably own I think a lot of
09:45 us get sucked into this wanting the latest and greatest race bike because Tom Pidcock rides it
09:50 because Philippe Ogana rides it but actually the Dogma X a little bit more slack a little bit more
09:55 tyre clearance but for the majority of us probably a much more usable bike. For sure but I mean we
10:00 don't have the flexibility of professional athletes or the power output so it makes sense that we
10:05 don't actually use the same tools for the job. One thing that does interest me though is what
10:10 implications does this have for the Dogma F? Now I'm predicting that a Dogma F could come either
10:15 next year or 2025 so what does this then mean for that bike? Does that mean that the new Dogma F
10:23 is going to be even more racy and it's going to be even more dialed in because it is essentially
10:27 being made to be just for the pros? That's exactly right so Chief of Operations at Pinarello,
10:32 Maurizio Bellin actually sort of told us over dinner quite informally but sort of said this
10:38 really lets the engineers off the hook now to do whatever they want with the Dogma F. The Dogma F
10:43 really is a bike designed for the Ineos Grenadiers and it's designed to be raced at the highest
10:48 level and having the Dogma X sort of allows the engineers to go all in on a true race bike.
10:54 Interesting okay so I mean it's probably fair to say that the jump she's probably going to get a
10:59 bit more aggressive probably going to be lighter probably going to be stiffer all of the usual
11:04 cues. The full complement of top jumps. Perfect. So overall then it kind of sounds like you were
11:10 kind of impressed by some features but also let down by others in other areas? I just wonder if
11:15 they could have explored other avenues to get the same level of compliance whilst keeping a higher
11:20 level of stiffness in the bike. Interesting okay I mean what makes this even more interesting is
11:24 the fact that this bike is landing in a year where there seems to have been a million new endurance
11:30 bikes. I mean I've got a small list here this year so far we have had obviously the new Dogma X and
11:36 the X series range of bikes from Pinarello. We've had a Specialized Roubaix, we had a new Trek Dumané
11:41 less than 12 months ago, we've had the new Canyon Endurace, we've had the new Specialized Alé which
11:46 was made to be more of an endurance platform, we've also had the Vitus Venon and finally most
11:52 recently the Giant Defy. So that bike is landing in a world of brand new endurance tech but what
11:59 this also then challenges is what's even happened to the endurance category because it feels like
12:05 the whole thing's just been obliterated and actually it just doesn't exist anymore because
12:09 I feel like you've either got endurance all-road bikes or performance endurance bikes and I'm not
12:15 really too sure you know what's actually the right thing to buy. Exactly right and it's very telling
12:21 isn't it that the Giant Defy actually shares almost the exact same geometry after getting a
12:26 little bit more aggressive as the Pinarello Dogma X. They compare for a given frame size within two
12:32 millimeters on stack reach and chainstay length and that really leads into what you were saying
12:35 about there being sort of two different types of endurance bike you've got, performance-oriented
12:40 endurance bikes and all-road endurance bikes and I think to be honest that's a really good thing
12:44 for the industry. As we were saying not all of us can ride a race bike and I don't think we should
12:49 be riding a race bike so the fact that we now have more choice in bikes that suit the majority of
12:54 consumers for me is a really good thing. Okay that's really interesting because yeah I guess
12:58 like with if you look at say like the new Specialized Roubaix or the Canyon Endurace
13:02 they are really clearly tapered more to that all-road category which isn't necessarily a
13:07 bad thing and if anything given the state of the UK roads actually is probably pretty ideal but I
13:13 think with the Giant Defy and the Dogma X I think it's going to be really interesting for us to
13:16 spend more time on those bikes because it would kind of make me wonder whether or not I'd actually
13:21 want to go back towards a pure race bike or whether or not it would actually give me all
13:26 of the performance I'd actually need. Yep I totally agree I think it leaves the consumer
13:30 with a real choice as to whether they want to go down that hardcore race avenue which for some
13:35 consumers is absolutely still going to be the right thing to do. The out and out race bikes
13:39 do feel stiffer they are often lighter and for some people that's exactly the right choice but
13:44 for a lot of customers I think there's going to be an interesting choice to be made. Yeah 100% so I
13:50 mean given all of the new bikes that have come out over the past 12 months which one would you choose?
13:56 Of the cohort of endurance bikes it has to be said I think I'd be most interested in trying
14:01 the Giant Defy. The slightly more aggressive geometry and 785 gram frame weight both really
14:07 interest me and I think as well the way Giant has opted for gaining compliance in the seat post which
14:13 is away from the frame away from the bottom bracket away from the head tube could make for
14:17 quite a stiff frame that's also compliant as well again coupled with 38 millimetre tyre clearance
14:22 as well. Yeah that's very true actually. How about you Sam what would you opt for? So either given the
14:27 list that kind of I just reeled off earlier I think I would actually go for the Vitus Venon
14:31 because it's very much got two personalities because you can buy that bike in a full kind of
14:36 road endurance build or you can buy it in a gravel build and I do quite like that versatility you
14:41 know maybe a couple of years ago I probably would have gone for the Defy but having got back from
14:46 riding a whole bunch of gravel in Europe actually the gravel bike is quite good so I think having
14:51 that versatility I think would be would be good fun so yeah Vitus Venon for me. Yeah that makes sense.
14:57 So in 2022 we saw plenty of race bikes released. We did. In the last 12 months we've seen plenty
15:03 of endurance bikes released. Yeah. What's coming next? My prediction given a couple of releases
15:08 that we've had this year already like the new Orbea and the new Factor I think next year is
15:14 very much going to be the year of the lightweight climbing bike and I've got a few models penned
15:19 that I think will be coming out so I think a new Scott Addict is on the cards I think a new Cervelo
15:24 R5 is on the cards I think a new TCR is on the cards and I think all of those are going to go
15:30 exactly down the same route which is basically strip all of the weight out and go really
15:34 aggressive so yeah next year you heard it here first year of the climbing bike. Bold claims.
15:44 For October's bike of the month you may have noticed this beautiful bike behind us
15:49 this recreation of a Rallye Chopper but very much made by Rallye. Joe tell us more about it.
15:55 Exactly right so this is a remake it's the closest they've ever got to the original
16:00 Mark II Rallye Chopper that was released in 1972. Rallye says that they've had to make a couple of
16:05 very minor changes just to bring the bike up to date but from an aesthetic point of view this
16:10 bike is the closest recreation of that Mark II Rallye Chopper. So why do you think they actually
16:14 went to the effort of making this thing? They've actually done a number of remakes over the last
16:17 few years due to the fact that it's got a huge cult following so as I said released in 1972
16:23 to an older generation there's a lot of nostalgia there things like ET, Goonies but also to a younger
16:28 generation as well with the bike being featured in Stranger Things. Yeah absolutely. So there's
16:33 a real rich history there. Nice and actually that cult following has led to some bikes being worth
16:38 quite a lot of money right? Absolutely yes so on the second hand market a mint condition one from
16:43 the sort of late 70s seems to be the the best era for these bikes. Bikes can fetch as much as or
16:49 even more than £3,000. £3,000 that is quite a lot of money. Happily though this does not cost as much
16:54 as that I think this is in somewhere in the hundreds so if you wanted to get one then I think
16:59 they did a limited run of production on this bike. They did do a limited run I did have a look on
17:03 Rallye's website earlier though and I think they're all sold out. Oh brutal. Now despite all
17:08 of these being sold out you will actually be able to see this bike in action pretty soon courtesy of
17:13 Joe. That's exactly right regrettably I must say I'm not looking forward to this but I will be
17:18 racing this bike in a very traditional type of British bike race. Interesting so keep your eyes
17:24 peeled for that one do let us know down below though what you think the state of the endurance
17:28 bike market is. If you enjoyed the video then please do drop it a like subscribe to the channel
17:33 for more content and we will see you again very soon.
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