Shimano brake cable recall

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles · Jan 25, 2005

Shimano announces recall of road bike brake cables that could fail (a very
dangerous situation)-

We received a semi-cryptic recall notice from Shimano regarding brake cables
the other day, and have put together a page that hopefully explains it
(along with photos so you can identify good & bad). It may be found at

www.ChainReaction.com/recallshimanocable.htm

Please note that this recall is essentially only for aftermarket cables, and
doesn't affect any cables sold prior to April of 2003. This means that
cables that were part of a component group, or found on a new bike,
shouldn't be defective. However, the same rules for determining whether
defective or not apply, so if you want to be safe, you can look at the
photos I've posted and make sure you're OK.

Also, if anybody finds anything on my page that's at odds with something
they've heard, please let me know so I can look into it. My info is based on
the recall notice mailed out, along with two conversations with Shimano
customer service people on 1/25/05.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles · Jan 25, 2005

Should have mentioned that the recall affects road bike cables only, not
mountain bikes.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

Phil, Squid-in-Training · Jan 25, 2005

"Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles" <[email protected]> wrote
in message news:[email protected]...
> Should have mentioned that the recall affects road bike cables only, not
> mountain bikes.

Here is a pdf with serial numbers and stuff:

http://plaza.ufl.edu/phillee/Consumer Recall Notice Final Jan 2005.pdf

Back when I had a kid's bike (not that long ago actually), I pulled my brake
lever hard and inadvertently pulled off one of the heads off a cable and was
a bit upset to find that my brakes no longer worked. We should have sued

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles · Jan 25, 2005

> Here is a pdf with serial numbers and stuff:
>
> http://plaza.ufl.edu/phillee/Consumer Recall Notice Final Jan 2005.pdf

Unfortunately, that info is only good for recognizing the cables in their
original point-of-purchase packaging, and no good once they're on the bike.
Shimano faxed me a sheet showing tiny pictures of the markings on the heads,
which was why I decided to take photos myself and put them up.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

Nobody · Jan 25, 2005

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles wrote:
> Shimano announces recall of road bike brake cables that could fail (a very
> dangerous situation)-
>
> We received a semi-cryptic recall notice from Shimano regarding brake cables
> the other day, and have put together a page that hopefully explains it
> (along with photos so you can identify good & bad). It may be found at
>
> www.ChainReaction.com/recallshimanocable.htm
>
> Please note that this recall is essentially only for aftermarket cables, and
> doesn't affect any cables sold prior to April of 2003. This means that
> cables that were part of a component group, or found on a new bike,
> shouldn't be defective. However, the same rules for determining whether
> defective or not apply, so if you want to be safe, you can look at the
> photos I've posted and make sure you're OK.
>
> Also, if anybody finds anything on my page that's at odds with something
> they've heard, please let me know so I can look into it. My info is based on
> the recall notice mailed out, along with two conversations with Shimano
> customer service people on 1/25/05.
>
> --Mike Jacoubowsky
> Chain Reaction Bicycles
> www.ChainReaction.com
> IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member
>
>

Mike, many thanks for the clear and concise explanation of the Shimano
brake cable recall. This is a real service and you deserve credit for
making this available. I was wondering, when was it exactly that I
replaced those cables? Probably in 2003 before the Sierra to the Sea,
but I can't remember for sure. Maybe it was in 2004. Now I have
something to look for.

Dave

Al Williams · Jan 25, 2005

One of our members (Alto Velo) found the recall notice that Shimano put out
for the United Kingdom. It is much more clear and informative than the
message provided in this country. It is
http://www.shimano-eu.com/cycling/recall/Recall_UnitedKingdom.pdf

--

__o
Keep on Ridin' `\ <
(*)/(*)
***********************************************
* Al Williams [email protected] *
* San Jose CA Chief Cyclist, DNRC *
***********************************************

Mike Jacoubowsky · Jan 25, 2005

> One of our members (Alto Velo) found the recall notice that Shimano put
> out for the United Kingdom. It is much more clear and informative than
> the message provided in this country. It is
> http://www.shimano-eu.com/cycling/recall/Recall_UnitedKingdom.pdf

Yes, that's what Shimano *faxed* to me. They said they didn't have anything
they could email (which seems silly, given that your link is to a .pdf that
certainly could have been!). And, interestingly, they included instructions
on releasing the brake cable from the cable guides, so you can inspect the
cable head... which was exactly what I was going to work on doing tomorrow
for our website. Guess I don't need to now!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

jj · Jan 26, 2005

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:25:32 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction
Bicycles" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Shimano announces recall of road bike brake cables that could fail (a very
>dangerous situation)-
>
>We received a semi-cryptic recall notice from Shimano regarding brake cables
>the other day, and have put together a page that hopefully explains it
>(along with photos so you can identify good & bad). It may be found at
>
>www.ChainReaction.com/recallshimanocable.htm

Thanks for the note, Mike. BTW, on an unrelated note, I recently
picked up a Trek road bike and noticed after I got it home that the
handlebar tape was not applied evenly, and there was a 1/4" gap at the
bend where you can see the metal bar.

Should I take that back and have it re-wrapped, and should there be no
charge? I thought since this was an obvious flaw and nothing that I
could cause by riding it, it would be ok to take it back in a week for
the first tune up of any cables that stretch and it would be fixed
free, but thought I'd ask in case I should do it sooner. Sorry for the
possibly naive question, first road bike I've bought in a while.

jj

Art Harris · Jan 26, 2005

Mike, thanks for the heads up. I wonder if there is something truly
defective about these cables, or if they just didn't go through the
normal inspection process.

The uk link says that Shimano is not aware of any actual failures of
the cables, but is voluntarily recalling them.

Art Harris

Bill Sornson · Jan 26, 2005

jj wrote:

> Thanks for the note, Mike. BTW, on an unrelated note, I recently
> picked up a Trek road bike and noticed after I got it home that the
> handlebar tape was not applied evenly, and there was a 1/4" gap at the
> bend where you can see the metal bar.
>
> Should I take that back and have it re-wrapped, and should there be no
> charge? I thought since this was an obvious flaw and nothing that I
> could cause by riding it, it would be ok to take it back in a week for
> the first tune up of any cables that stretch and it would be fixed
> free, but thought I'd ask in case I should do it sooner. Sorry for the
> possibly naive question, first road bike I've bought in a while.

I'd take it back, and ask to let me watch and learn how to wrap (or re-wrap)
a bar. They should appreciate your zeal for the sport and interest in
becoming "self sufficient" down the road.

(If the bike's working well otherwise, they can probably do the entire
"tune-up" then, too.)

Riding mountain bikes for years BEFORE buying a road bike worked out great
for me, as maintaining the latter is a piece of cake compared to the former.
(But I too would want help with bar tape! Haven't done it yet.)

Bill "no headsets, hubs or fork tear-downs; everything else I think I can
tackle" S.

jj · Jan 26, 2005

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:27:26 GMT, "Bill Sornson"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>jj wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the note, Mike. BTW, on an unrelated note, I recently
>> picked up a Trek road bike and noticed after I got it home that the
>> handlebar tape was not applied evenly, and there was a 1/4" gap at the
>> bend where you can see the metal bar.
>>
>> Should I take that back and have it re-wrapped, and should there be no
>> charge? I thought since this was an obvious flaw and nothing that I
>> could cause by riding it, it would be ok to take it back in a week for
>> the first tune up of any cables that stretch and it would be fixed
>> free, but thought I'd ask in case I should do it sooner. Sorry for the
>> possibly naive question, first road bike I've bought in a while.
>
>I'd take it back, and ask to let me watch and learn how to wrap (or re-wrap)
>a bar. They should appreciate your zeal for the sport and interest in
>becoming "self sufficient" down the road.
>
>(If the bike's working well otherwise, they can probably do the entire
>"tune-up" then, too.)
>
>Riding mountain bikes for years BEFORE buying a road bike worked out great
>for me, as maintaining the latter is a piece of cake compared to the former.
>(But I too would want help with bar tape! Haven't done it yet.)
>
>Bill "no headsets, hubs or fork tear-downs; everything else I think I can
>tackle" S.
>

Thanks, Bill. I'll do that.

jj

Diablo Scott · Jan 26, 2005

Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles wrote:

> Should have mentioned that the recall affects road bike cables only, not
> mountain bikes.
>
> --Mike Jacoubowsky
> Chain Reaction Bicycles
> www.ChainReaction.com
> IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member
>
>
I saw the recall notice in ProCycling (British) magazine. It said the
cables were only sold in the European market as replacements. Did they
backpedal on that?

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

Timothy J. Lee · Jan 26, 2005

In article <[email protected]>,
Mike Jacoubowsky <[email protected]> wrote:
>someone writes:
>> http://www.shimano-eu.com/cycling/recall/Recall_UnitedKingdom.pdf
>
>Yes, that's what Shimano *faxed* to me. They said they didn't have anything
>they could email (which seems silly, given that your link is to a .pdf that
>certainly could have been!). And, interestingly, they included instructions
>on releasing the brake cable from the cable guides, so you can inspect the
>cable head... which was exactly what I was going to work on doing tomorrow
>for our website. Guess I don't need to now!

Perhaps you can put on your web page a link to the above shimano-eu.com
PDF file, in addition to your enlarged pictures and explanations?

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Derk · Jan 26, 2005

Timothy J. Lee wrote:

> Perhaps you can put on your web page a link to the above shimano-eu.com
> PDF file, in addition to your enlarged pictures and explanations?

http://www.shimano-eu.com/cycling/recall/Recall_UnitedKingdom.pdf

Greets, Derk

Derk · Jan 26, 2005

Deleted

Mike Jacoubowsky · Jan 26, 2005

> I saw the recall notice in ProCycling (British) magazine. It said the
> cables were only sold in the European market as replacements. Did they
> backpedal on that?

Probably poor wording. Shimano says that none of the bad cables were used on
bikes or in groups or components; the only defective ones were aftermarket
replacement cables. So the only defective cables sold in the european market
were replacements. Same thing could have been said about any market.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike Jacoubowsky · Jan 26, 2005

> Thanks for the note, Mike. BTW, on an unrelated note, I recently
> picked up a Trek road bike and noticed after I got it home that the
> handlebar tape was not applied evenly, and there was a 1/4" gap at the
> bend where you can see the metal bar.

Sometimes the bar tape isn't wrapped tightly enough (or the tape stretches a
bit too much) and can slip a bit, opening up gaps like you're seeing. It
shouldn't take much to fix it (the tape needs to be unwrapped to that point
and then rewrapped). We spot this happening on 30 day checks and usually
take care of it before the customer has even noticed. I can't imagine anyone
charging for that on a relatively-new bike. Just mention it to them when you
bring it back in for the check-up.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

C · Jan 26, 2005

In article <[email protected]>,
Bill Sornson <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'd take it back, and ask to let me watch and learn how to wrap (or re-wrap)
>a bar. They should appreciate your zeal for the sport and interest in
>becoming "self sufficient" down the road.

Some kinds of tape are to fragile to re-wrap. You need to replace the tape.

maxo · Jan 26, 2005

On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:27:26 +0000, Bill Sornson wrote:

> (But I too would want help with bar tape! Haven't done it yet.)

cut two 4" pieces from the main pieces, wrap them around the brake lever
and towards and/or under the hoods (gently fold them back if you can).
Start wrapping from the end plug, do a figure eight around the brake
lever, and secure with included tape or plastic electrical tape up by the
stem. It ain't hard. If your cork tape has adhesive, you can leave the
backing on and try a "dry run" first to get the spacing right.

What's hard are those cool patterns a buddy of mine used to do with
contrasting colors of cloth tape on the same bar. Anyone ever do that?

Diablo Scott · Jan 26, 2005

maxo wrote:

> What's hard are those cool patterns a buddy of mine used to do with
> contrasting colors of cloth tape on the same bar. Anyone ever do that?
>

This describes the diamond shaped basket weave technique.
http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/rr_handlebar.html

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

Shimano brake cable recall

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