Shimano could face legal action over cranks MAN

Government finds cranks don’t measure up

-  Baker, Tom Davidson

A UK government report into faulty Shimano cranks could leave the company’s inspection programme open to legal challenge from consumers, an expert has told Cycling Weekly.

The Japanese component giant was first made to recall 760,000 cranks in the United States and Canada after concerns were raised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on 21 September, 2023. Since then, Shimano has launched a global ‘free inspection programme’ available for the 2.8 million cranks that were sold between 2013 and 2019, but crucially no ‘stop ride’ notice has been issued outside North America.

Now a UK government report has found the cranks don’t meet current safety regulations. On 4 October the UK government released a product safety report titled “Shimano Hollowtech 11-speed Crank Arms for bicycles”. The two-page document says the cranks present a “medium” risk of sustaining injuries.

Crucially, it also states that “the affected products do not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005”.