Handlebars fell off

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Preferably B

Martin Dann said:

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Preferably B

That was all done.

John B

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or
c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

--
Ace in Alsace - brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or
c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Whilst I agree with you, it's only because I wouldn't trust *any* bike
shop to tighten a waistband. It still astounds me what comes out of
these shops. I agree, the more non bike they are, generally the worse
they are, but I picked up a bike from a 'reputable' bike shop to find
the rear brake was so badly adjusted it didn't work.

So in Aces defence, yep, I'd check every important nut, bolt and screw,
the brakes, handlebars and wheels. In John B's defence, it wasn't his
crotch fruit, so his parental care gland probably didn't kick in.

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or
c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Quite. A Big Problem is that many parents these days do not how how to
do this never having had to fettle a bike themselves :-(

At least the young girl had not tried to ride the bike which could have
caused serious injury.

John B

Tosspot said:

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B wrote:

> Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters
> brand-new
> bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.
>
> It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Whilst I agree with you, it's only because I wouldn't trust *any* bike
shop to tighten a waistband. It still astounds me what comes out of
these shops. I agree, the more non bike they are, generally the worse
they are, but I picked up a bike from a 'reputable' bike shop to find
the rear brake was so badly adjusted it didn't work.

So in Aces defence, yep, I'd check every important nut, bolt and screw,
the brakes, handlebars and wheels. In John B's defence, it wasn't his
crotch fruit, so his parental care gland probably didn't kick in.

Hey, hang on. I don't need a "defence".
The young girl was wheeling her bike up to the training group from her
parent's car and the bike fell apart as she was pushing it.
The session hadn't even commenced - and it *always* starts with a
comprehensive bike check which includes checking handlebar fixing.

John B

John B said:

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B wrote:
> Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
> bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.
>
> It came from Toys r Us :-((
Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or
c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Quite. A Big Problem is that many parents these days do not how how to
do this never having had to fettle a bike themselves :-(

I still find it hard to believe how many people in the UK have _never_
cycled. Spolied by the inexorable march of financial progress - when I
was young we didn't have a car (until I was about ten, I think) and
even after we did it was practically unheard of to get driven around
in it, so getting to school, scouts, youth club, etc. was always a
choice between cycling, using the bus or walking. And bikes didn't
grow on trees - getting one (often built from scrapped bits) and
keeping it running was down to me, not my parents.

Where I live in France it's still considered perfectly normal for
youngsters to cycle everywhere on their own, then often (for the boys
at least) get a putt-putt moped at 14 and a scooter at 16. So
practically everyone is used to cycling, and frequently will have had
to deal themselves with at least minor mechanical issues, like
tightening loose bits and adjusting cables.

It's perhaps still partly down to a relative lack of affluence, but I
think it's more of an attitide thing, and I hope that this will remain
the case over the next generation or two.

Quoted message said:

At least the young girl had not tried to ride the bike which could have
caused serious injury.

Indeed. Possibly better that it was _so_ loose, rather than just tight
enough not to be immediately noticed.
--
Ace in Alsace - brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom

Ace said:

John B said:

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>
wrote:

> John B wrote:
>> Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
>> bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.
>>
>> It came from Toys r Us :-((
> Tell the parents to either:
> a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was
> sold as, or
> b) contact trading standards.

Or
c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Quite. A Big Problem is that many parents these days do not how how to
do this never having had to fettle a bike themselves :-(

I still find it hard to believe how many people in the UK have _never_
cycled. Spolied by the inexorable march of financial progress - when I
was young we didn't have a car (until I was about ten, I think) and
even after we did it was practically unheard of to get driven around
in it, so getting to school, scouts, youth club, etc. was always a
choice between cycling, using the bus or walking. And bikes didn't
grow on trees - getting one (often built from scrapped bits) and
keeping it running was down to me, not my parents.

Where I live in France it's still considered perfectly normal for
youngsters to cycle everywhere on their own, then often (for the boys
at least) get a putt-putt moped at 14 and a scooter at 16. So
practically everyone is used to cycling, and frequently will have had
to deal themselves with at least minor mechanical issues, like
tightening loose bits and adjusting cables.

It's perhaps still partly down to a relative lack of affluence, but I
think it's more of an attitide thing, and I hope that this will remain
the case over the next generation or two.

will depend on the area, parts of my family who grew up in cities don't
drive after all why would you. but where i was brought up the distance
and type of land mean that to get any where most will use a car. a bike
is good fun but not transport. but then i grew up in a gorge with low
traffic and poor public tansport.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At least the young girl had not tried to ride the bike which could have
caused serious injury.

Indeed. Possibly better that it was _so_ loose, rather than just tight
enough not to be immediately noticed.

not good either way.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

"Tosspot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ace said:

On Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:54:21 GMT, Martin Dann <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

John B wrote:

>Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
>bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.
>
>It came from Toys r Us :-((

Tell the parents to either:
a) take it back to ToysRUs as unsuitable for what it was sold as, or
b) contact trading standards.

Or c) Get some common sense and apply at least some basic safety checks
before letting your progeny loose on something bought from a TOY shop.

Whilst I agree with you, it's only because I wouldn't trust *any* bike
shop to tighten a waistband. It still astounds me what comes out of these
shops. I agree, the more non bike they are, generally the worse they are,
but I picked up a bike from a 'reputable' bike shop to find the rear brake
was so badly adjusted it didn't work.

So in Aces defence, yep, I'd check every important nut, bolt and screw,
the brakes, handlebars and wheels. In John B's defence, it wasn't his
crotch fruit, so his parental care gland probably didn't kick in.

It may well in most cases be the parent's responsibillity to check a child's
bike; but many people nowadays haven't got a clue of what to look for or how
it should be.

OK in this instance it would have probably come apart in their hands so
wouls have been quite easy to see,b ut whether they could have fixed it is
another thing.

Dave

John B said the following on 08/08/2007 22:58:

Quoted message said:

That was all done.

It would be interesting to know what Trading Standards have to say, if
you ever get to find out!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

John B said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

The clue is in the name

Tony

Quoted message said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

I suppose there is a chance that it came 95% assembled in a box with
instructions on how to turn the bars. I can't believe that an employee
would miss such a basic check.

In article <[email hidden]>, Mark
pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid
says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Today the handlebar stem and bars all came out of a youngsters brand-new
bike as she wheeled it up to the cycle-training course.

It came from Toys r Us :-((

I suppose there is a chance that it came 95% assembled in a box with
instructions on how to turn the bars. I can't believe that an employee
would miss such a basic check.

Why not? Especially if one person was doing more than one job at a time
or more than one person worked on the bike. I'm not making excuses for
them, but I've seen how some places work and it's easy to see how this
sort of thing can happen. A classic case is when someone gets a bike
out of a box and throws it together so a customer can have a look or sit
on it, and another person handles the sale/handover and assumes that the
bike has been set up.

Dave said:

OK in this instance it would have probably come apart in their hands so
wouls have been quite easy to see,b ut whether they could have fixed it is
another thing.

Whether they could fix it is irrelevant, it is their responsibility to
make sure the item was safe for the kid to use. Anyone with a basic
grasp of life could see the ways a bike could "fail" and make sure
these basic methods were correct while letting their littlun out on
it. Sure they might not be able to adjust the gearing or be aware of a
cable fraying in a cable outer, but surely its common sense to check
that all moving parts are tight beforehand?

CoyoteBoy said the following on 09/08/2007 16:01:

Quoted message said:

Whether they could fix it is irrelevant, it is their responsibility to
make sure the item was safe for the kid to use.

No, no - you've got it all wrong. It's always someone else's fault so
that there's someone to sue :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

CoyoteBoy said:

Dave said:

OK in this instance it would have probably come apart in their hands so
wouls have been quite easy to see,b ut whether they could have fixed it is
another thing.

Whether they could fix it is irrelevant, it is their responsibility to
make sure the item was safe for the kid to use. Anyone with a basic
grasp of life could see the ways a bike could "fail" and make sure
these basic methods were correct while letting their littlun out on
it. Sure they might not be able to adjust the gearing or be aware of a
cable fraying in a cable outer, but surely its common sense to check
that all moving parts are tight beforehand?

One would think so. But life aint that simple.
Pushing a stem down into a steering tube could tighten it and it would then
'seem'safe - at least until any subsequent force was applied. Another example I
often come across are q/r mechanisms which have simply been screwed up finger
tight, rather than using the clamping mechanism.
.. . . and don't get me going on upside down handlebars and reversed forks, both
of which I've also seen this week.

Regrettably a ~"basic grasp of life" doesn't stretch to knowing the right way
to set or adjust these items, while at least an elementary training course
would.

However it seems that investing in such instruction for young Sharon or Wayne
behind the till is not in the plans of the Toys 'r Us beancounters.

John B

Tosspot said:

Whilst I agree with you, it's only because I wouldn't trust *any* bike
shop to tighten a waistband. It still astounds me what comes out of
these shops. I agree, the more non bike they are, generally the worse
they are, but I picked up a bike from a 'reputable' bike shop to find
the rear brake was so badly adjusted it didn't work.

When I bought a bike from Halfords they assembled it and did their
safety checks and adjustments. Got on it in the car park to ride
home and the brakes didn't work. They'd adjusted it so it would stop
the wheel spinning but with no weight on the bike. I should have
taken it back in but didn't for some reason.
Recently I took my bike to the LBS because my disc brake was rubbing
on the pads slightly and I couldn't adjust it enough to make it stop
so thought I'd let them have a go. They charged me £6 to 'reset it'
but had only made the problem worse! At least it was still safe to
ride.

peter