Sunshine and Light

From the department of "Don't You Have Anything Better to Do?"

Via Asymmetrical Information and straight from BRAIN

JUNE 15, 2007 -- TRENTON, NJ (BRAIN)--The New Jersey bicycle business may be in serious trouble unless retailers and suppliers take immediate action. State legislators earlier this week approved a bill banning the sale of all bikes equipped with current quick release wheels and tabbed tips.

Under the bill, it would be illegal to sell bicycles with quick release wheels unless they met performance specifications that are not commercially available. Assembly bill A2686, which was introduced in February 2006, passed in the assembly with a vote of 77-3 and is now headed to the Senate Commerce Committee.

While originally drafted to ban quick release wheels on children’s bikes, the bill was recently amended to include bikes with 20-inch or larger wheels. It also stipulates that the secondary retention device on a wheel meet certain specifications, including that it activate automatically and always prevent wheel separation.

I've been riding bikes and been around cyclists for 10 years, I don't think I've EVER heard of someone crashing because of their quick release wheel. I do know a lot of people who would have been stranded a bazillion miles from home because they got a flat (or like Chris's friends, 6 flats between 3 of them with only 3 spares!). Quick release means you don't have to carry a tool to take your wheel off. Believe me, on some of those long, hot summer rides, the less things to carry, drop, and try to remember how to use, the better. I'm hoping that I'm really late to the party because it appears that most of the data was from June, but my question is...how is that a body that doesn't know anything about bicycles (duh, obviously) feels qualified to legislate safety?

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 6:53 AM