HAVERHILL, MA (BRAIN)—By now most in the industry know about VeloNews’s editor-in-chief Ben Delaney crashing hard on a Mavic second-generation, post-recall carbon-spoke R-Sys wheel while racing.
Earlier this year Mavic, in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, recalled about 12,000 of the first generation wheels.
“Mavic has been diligently investigating the incident Delaney described on VeloNews article on June 9 from the time Mavic was informed about the incident,” said Mark Leydecker, manager director for Mavic.
Mavic believes that the cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
“There are several key factors which may indicate that the cause of the accident was not the failure of the Mavic wheel,” Leydecker said. “Those facts and preliminary indications are explained in more detail in Mavic’s response to VeloNews article published on June 12 at the VeloNews Web site. The investigation into the causes of this wheel, tire, inner tube or frame failure continues.”
Mavic is also working in cooperation with the CPSC regarding this matter. At this stage of the investigation, Mavic has no reason to assume that new R-SYS front wheel would not be safe for consumer use, according to Leydecker.
“Mavic knows of no other incidents of wheel failures of the replacement R-SYS wheels,” Leydecker said. “There are at the moment over 20,000 wheels on the market since early April 2009. Replacement R-SYS wheels have been used by high-end users, cyclists and teams under strenuous professional cycling conditions. Mavic is in constant communication with these athletes and high-end users.
“Mavic believes through extensive field testing, consumer use, in-house laboratory testing and ongoing investigation of Delaney’s incident that the replacement R-Sys wheel is safe for consumer use,” Leydecker added. “Mavic has a history of many cycling innovations on the market. This permanent search for improved performance will continue to lead Mavic towards design and technological advancements. However, quality and reliability are major values of Mavic. The voluntary recall of the Mavic R-Sys front wheel announced on January 6 is one example of execution of these values in practice.”
Click on link to see Delaney’s story and Mavic’s response.
For more on the challenges recalls present to companies and what goes into them, be sure to read the cover story for the July 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
—Jason Norman
