"It's a bit of a mess": A solicitor's take on Shimano crankgate + the history of road.cc on our latest Podcast

It's the unfortunate saga that just keeps rolling on (or coming to a very abrupt halt if you're one of the unfortunate cyclists affected), and now we've got the view of a specialist product recall solicitor on Shimano's failing cranksets and the "mess" that has ensued since the recall and inspection program was announced. 

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Since we published our investigative feature and first podcast episode on the case of Shimano's failing cranksets two weeks ago, the UK government's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has now published a product safety report that concluded the affected Shimano cranksets "do not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005." We've also seen a class-action lawsuit filed in the US, which accuses Shimano, Specialized and Trek of being aware for "years" that the bonded components of previous-generation Shimano Dura-Ace and Ultegra cranksets could fail. 

Thomas Jervis, a partner at Leigh Day Solicitors, didn't hold back in his assessment of the situation: 

"It's a bit of a mess," Jervis told the road.cc Podcast. 

"I personally don't understand why it's still acceptable in the eyes of Shimano for consumers to be using this component as part of their bike until it basically fails.

"It's lose-lose for cyclists. Shimano can't have it both ways." 

Jervis suggests that in the UK, the government should have stepped in and demand that an official recall and 'stop ride' notice for the affected products is issued, as the cranksets have been deemed a 'medium' risk and do not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

"They [the government] are potentially open to legal criticism themselves, because they are admitting in this notice that the products are not safe." 

Saying that Leigh Day has already been contacted by cyclists who have had Shimano cranksets fail on them, Jervis says "the number 1 priority for Shimano should be that no more riders are harmed." 

"I think the focus should be on preventing these accidents happening before they do, I see too many of them in my job," says Jervis. 

"They can be totally life-changing for people, with spinal injuries and brain injuries. I really hope we don't get into that situation, and Shimano and/or the government... sharpen this up." 

If you didn't know already, road.cc turned 15 recently. To mark the milestone, George catches up with Dave and Tony about what it was like to see the site grow from its humble beginnings to the biggest road cycling website in the UK. It's been one heck of a journey, so thanks for reading, listening and watching for the past 15 years!

The road.cc Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music, and if you have an Alexa you can just tell it to play the road.cc Podcast. It’s also embedded further up the page, so you can just press play.

At the time of broadcast, our listeners can also get a free Hammerhead Heart Rate Monitor with the purchase of a Hammerhead Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io right now and use promo code ROADCC at checkout to get yours.