vision tech aero bars

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:37:38 -0400 - Posted in ucla school of theater film and television





It's been one day since VisionTech USA came out publicly and recalled their four models of integrated aerobars, specifically the SuperMax, TriMax, TriMax Plus, and the Pro Integrated Bicycle Aero Bars. The hazard being "The centerpiece of these bicycle aero bars can crack or break, causing the bicycle rider to lose control and crash." The "centerpiece" being the stem. The last time I checked, nothing ever good comes out of a stem failure such as this.Why am I so interested in this recall? It's because it was my client who experienced the failure last fall and initiated the recall. Fortunately, he was able to walk away from it (he can tell you all about what it's like sliding along the pavement at 28+mph a second or so after cruising along tucked in an aero position...). My part of the process was to compile report that would include my professional opinion as to the nature and cause of the failure as well as photos. These photos clearly show, even to the untrained eye, that there were inconsistent stem wall thicknesses as well as voids in the casting that contained silca sand, that is used in the casting process. Neither of these deficiencies should ever be present in a cast aluminum component so critical in nature as a stem. It's clearly not only a bad cast but also a very questionable design.... This photo shows the failure from the riders prospective...

Here's a closer view...

Here a photo from the front looking towards the steer tube clamp...

And finally, a magnified view of the impurities found in the casting of the stem wall (the white granular material is the silca sand and the larger "pebbles" is wax...)

Needless to say, a picture is worth a thousand words... These photos tell the truth about what is the force behind the recall. Hopefully they do the right thing and get all of these off of the market and out from under the riders before someone gets more than just "minor scrapes and abrasions. " One final note, they stated in the press release that, " VisionTech has received two reports of the centerpiece of these aero bars breaking, resulting in minor scrapes and abrasions. " I find it hard to believe that they would conduct a national recall of a product that they received only two reports of failure. Something smells fishy... With all of this being said, it's needless to say that if you currently own a pair of these integrated bars, I highly recommend that you cease using them immediately. Spread the word.