bigger lawyer lips on the way?

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to
(_)/ (_) | them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.
-- J. R. R. Tolkein

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/

My suggestion of having a quick-release that does not engage to any extent
until a specific (high) pressure is applied seems to have gone unnoticed.
I'm waiting for my royalties! 😉

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In article <[email hidden]>,

David L. Johnson said:

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

Probably disc brake ejection.

--
Michael Press
The rest of the world.

David L. Johnson said:

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

I don't know, I've seen people tighten down quick-releases by using the
lever as leverage to screw it down -- like a wrench handle, they had no
idea you had to close it to tighten it down! And these were adults!!

-Nate

David L. Johnson said:

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

This article makes it seem as if _any_ bike with QR's is dangerous. OTOH,
it's hard to see any advantage for a bicycle-shaped-toy to have QRs on it,
anyway.

But this claim that the kid was JRA when the wheel fell off is absurd.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to
(_)/ (_) | them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.
-- J. R. R. Tolkein

Sigh.... Yeah, I too question the wisdom of Wal-Mart selling bikes with
QR's. Too many clueless parents who don't know any better (and their
correspondingly clueless kids) and who don't grok the concept of
personal responsibility.

This has to rank up there with the McDonald's hot scalding coffee on
lap lawsuit.

"damyth" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

This has to rank up there with the McDonald's hot scalding coffee on
lap lawsuit.

Which, when you look at it in any depth, was an entirely valid lawsuit.

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

But yeah, Wal-Mart has no business selling bikes with QR wheels.

Hank

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/

From shokbikes.org:

"Since the accident, Virginia’s had two heart attacks and a knee
replacement. Worrying about her son with his post-accident issues has
been difficult. She believes that parents and their children should be
made aware of the problems with these bikes, and that ultimately the
companies and manufacturers should be responsible for the products they
distribute and sell."

If those people are not able to use a quick release, wal-mart should
just produce one-piece fork-wheels. So when they puncture they replace
the whole bike and they are happy.
Anyway when you read those stories you notice they don't even know the
difference between wheel and tire.

Obviously, the quick release is a Darwinian evolutionary mechanism.

"Francesco Devittori" <frenkatfrenkdtcm> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM
http://www.cyclelicio.us/

From shokbikes.org:

"Since the accident, Virginia’s had two heart attacks and a knee
replacement. Worrying about her son with his post-accident issues has
been difficult. She believes that parents and their children should be
made aware of the problems with these bikes, and that ultimately the
companies and manufacturers should be responsible for the products they
distribute and sell."

If those people are not able to use a quick release, wal-mart should
just produce one-piece fork-wheels. So when they puncture they replace
the whole bike and they are happy.
Anyway when you read those stories you notice they don't even know the
difference between wheel and tire.

One of my riding buddies (about 50 years of racing) had a crack up one
morning. He failed to adequately tighten the QR on his rear wheel. Turned
out of the parking lot, stood up to accelerate and the wheel shifted. The
wheel pressed the tire against the chainstay and brake block. He went flying
off the front performing a perfect UCI style aerial roll before a
dentist-pleasing face plant. The plastic surgeon who rides with us felt an
actual surge in his wallet at the moment of impact.

My point here is that these sort of accidents can and do happen. People just
get sloppy or get distracted when they do stuff on their bikes, or cars for
that matter. But, to blame everything on the manufacturer is absurd... until
you speak to a lawyer. Then it becomes a matter of following the money to
try getting some. That is their business, like it or not. It is a simple
formula: something happened, follow the money, get some of it....

See, everything in life is clearly explained in this newsgroup if you read
it long enough!

Bruce

Hank Wirtz said:

Which, when you look at it in any depth, was an entirely valid lawsuit.

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

But yeah, Wal-Mart has no business selling bikes with QR wheels.

No it wasn't valid in any sense aside from some plaintiff bar attorneys
wanting to defend what isn't defensible.

Just because a bunch of parasitic lawyers say something is justified
doesn't make it so.

Fritz M said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

These appear to *all* involve a particular brand (NEXT) and type of bike,
which has been *recalled* because of defective quick releases. That has
nothing to do with QRs in general, it's just these ones that suck.

Jasper

Paul Cassel <[email hidden]> wrote in news:s7ydnd7aUMw2_PbeRVn-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hank Wirtz said:

Which, when you look at it in any depth, was an entirely valid lawsuit.

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

But yeah, Wal-Mart has no business selling bikes with QR wheels.

No it wasn't valid in any sense aside from some plaintiff bar attorneys
wanting to defend what isn't defensible.

Just because a bunch of parasitic lawyers say something is justified
doesn't make it so.

Huh? Serving something that can cause THIRD degree burns from a drive-
through window isn't reckless? Continuing to do so after HUNDREDS of out-
of-court settlements for other people with second and third degree burns
borders on criminal negligence.

And, yeah, Wal-Mart shouldn't sell QR wheels.

Hank Wirtz said:

Huh? Serving something that can cause THIRD degree burns from a drive-
through window isn't reckless?

Heh. I'm going to really frighten you, Hank. Pay attention:

I drink _tea_.

Yes! That horribly risky beverage that says, on the teabag wrapper, to
pour BOILING water into the cup! A full, rolling boil! And yes, I've
gotten tea at fast food joints!

Now, I'll admit I generally make and drink only one cup at a time, so
my riskiness has its limits. But I've heard of little old ladies and
little girls having entire _parties_ where they make POTS of the stuff!
What's worse, they actually pre-heat the pots with boiling water
(True! Look it up!) before they add fresh boiling water to make the
tea.

Why, each teapot is a veritable hot-water bomb! And these risk-takers
don't even have heat-proof frilly white dresses! The large, floppy
hats they wear provide almost no protection either.

Now, for me, there are limits. I'm not into the parties. I'm
definitely not going to wear the risky, frilly white dresses they use.
;-) And a full _pot_ of boiling, bubbling water is a little scary even
for me! But I stand up for their right to risk their own... um, laps.

Admittedly, I'm a little worried about calling attention to the thrills
of reckless tea drinking. There's bound to be some safety organization
that'll want to outlaw it. Or at least mandate asbestos aprons. But
meanwhile, we tea drinkers _revel_ in the risk. "Too hot for human
consumption?" HAH! If it's too hot, you're too old!

In fact, I think I'll go have a cup now!

- Frank Krygowski

"Llatikcuf" wrote >

Quoted message said:

I don't know, I've seen people tighten down quick-releases by using the
lever as leverage to screw it down -- like a wrench handle, they had no
idea you had to close it to tighten it down! And these were adults!!

-Nate

I remember my father (college educated, reasonably high paying government
job) trying to do that to my Peugeot PX-10. I've also seen bikes sold by
stores other than LBSs with the quick-release tightened down that way. A
quick release isn't completely self-explanatory, especially now that the
lawyer lips force you to loosen the adjusting barrel to get it out of the
front dropouts.
--
mark

"Fritz M" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

A mom in West Virginia is suing Wal-Mart for selling defective bikes.
The defect? Quick release front wheels. More info at
http://www.shokbikes.org/

Sue Wal-Mart for improper assembly or lack of instruction, but to sue
them for providing a useful feature is a bad move, IMO.

RFM

As long as Wal-Mart pays its drones piece rate to assemble its crappy
bicycles, the bikes are going to be badly assembled and unsafe to ride.
--
mark

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the quick release is a Darwinian evolutionary mechanism.

To be fair, some of the folks mention that no owners manual came with the
bike and they were not given any instruction on how to use a quick release.
For many people a QR is not intuitive. You would not believe how many people I
see riding bikes when the QR was just used as a lever to screw down skewer. It
is pretty easy to spot the open QR.
--------------
Alex

bcrow opined:

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the quick release is a Darwinian evolutionary mechanism.

Hah! Intelligent design is the obvious origin as Tullio Campagnolo
originated the QR.

D'ohBoy

"It isn't global warming - it's intelligent defrosting!"

Per Hank Wirtz:

Quoted message said:

Huh? Serving something that can cause THIRD degree burns from a drive-
through window isn't reckless? Continuing to do so after HUNDREDS of out-
of-court settlements for other people with second and third degree burns
borders on criminal negligence.

But don't I have to weigh that up against getting lukewarm coffee for the rest
of my life?
--
PeteCresswell

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the quick release is a Darwinian evolutionary mechanism.

For 7 year old kids? That's a tad harsh. Especially when the Walmart
guys putting these things together aren't exactly aces. I've seen
plenty of Walmart-type bikes with the forks installed backwards. Who
knows what they'd do with a QR?
At the least, Walmart and the manufacturer should have protected
themselves by offering instructions, both written and demonstrated.
/s