Breaking Your Bicycle

• Author: Craig Forcese; Nicole LaViolette
• Pages: 87-102

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Chapter 4

Breaking Your Bicycle

introduction

As consumers, we are becoming used to the scope of car recalls. Before the

year had even ended in 2014, North American automakers had recalled more

motor vehicles than in any other year on record. But if you look beyond the

automobile industry, you will discover that bicycles and bike equipment are

also the subject of recalls for a variety of manufacturing and design defects.

A quick visit to the website BicycleRetailers.com1 reveals the pace of

these recalls. In 2014 alone, a bicycle manufacturer recalled two of its

mountain bike models after receiving reports of broken hubs that could

cause the disc brakes to fail;2 a Canadian retail chain recalled bicycle hel-

mets because cracks were reported near the rivets securing the chinstrap;3

and 125,000 bikes were recalled by well-known bicycles makers because of

concerns about suspension forks used on the bikes.4 Nicole encountered a

manufacturing problem when, in her quest to counter the slowing effects

of aging, she invested in a very expensive set of aluminium alloy wheels

that promised her ride would be lighter, faster, and smoother. Within two

months, the rim was cracked on both sides of a spoke. The manufacturer

replaced both wheels, as it seemed this was a recurring problem with some

of their products.

Given that a top-end bike can be a pricey investment, it is understand-

able that cyclists fear faulty manufacturing. But more important, given the

kinetics of bicycle riding, cyclists need to be secure when riding their bikes:

their lives depend on it. Even the cheapest bicycle must be safe from defects

that could result in injuries, or even death. A cyclist relies enormously, there-

 » every cyclist’s guide to canadian law

this chapter’s takeaways

» Bicycles are a consumer product and bicycle sellers and manufacturers

owe duties to consumers. The government does not regulate bicycles and

bicycle equipment like it does cars, but there are some important consum-

er safety standards, especially for bicycle helmets.

» Bicycles often come with express warranties, which are contractual prom-

ises. These promises are binding when there is an immediate contractual

relationship between the seller and buyer (known as “privity of contract”).

Warranties offered by manufacturers (as opposed to sellers) to consum-

ers may or may not be legally binding — the law is a bit uncertain in some

jurisdictions — but at the very least consumer protection laws would likely

penalize deceptive warranties from manufacturers.

» Sellers retailing bicycles also sell with “implied warranties” that their prod-

ucts are reasonably f‌it for their purposes (that is, riding). Again, whether

an implied warranty exists depends on several considerations, including

whether a buyer relied on a bike seller’s advice and expertise in making

the purchasing decision.

» Whatever may be the case with these contractual rules, bicycle sellers and

manufacturers can be liable for negligent manufacture and design of bi-

cycles and their components.

» They also have a related duty to warn of any inherent dangers or dangers

associated with the use of their products, and since this duty is ongoing,

product recalls are relatively common (including with bicycle equipment).

fore, on the competence of bicycle and component manufacturers, and on

that of the retailers who sell and service these items. Cyclists may also ex-

pect (somewhat piously, as it turns out) that governments are regulating

safety standards for bicycle and cycling gear, and if not, that the cycling in-

dustry is at the very least setting voluntary safety standards that are widely

adhered to by manufacturers.

As we will outline in this chapter, the law says quite a bit about the dut-

ies of those who make and sell goods to consumers. The three key areas we

will focus on are: express contractual warranties; statutory “implied war-

ranties”; and product liability rules. But f‌irst, we will say a few words on the

regulation of cycling safety standards in Canada.