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news
Fixed gear bike running brakeless © Simon MacMichael.jpgAussie bike shops face $1.1 million fine in fixie clampdown
Bicycle dealers in Australia selling fixed gear bikes, as much a part of bike culture there as elsewhere in the world, are now being threatened with fines of up to $1.1 million if they do not comply with consumer safety standards, including the provision of both front and rear brakes.
In a July 2010 bulletin, government trading standards body the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) warns that some bikes being sold by retailers could contravene consumer safety legislation and legal safety requirements.
"Having no brakes or only a front brake can cause the rider to lose control and be propelled over the handlebars to the ground," the ACCC said in its bulletin.
"Whether this occurs in mixed road traffic or elsewhere, the rider can suffer serious head injuries, broken bones and/or lacerations and bruises,” it continued.
"Pedestrians and other bike riders are also at risk of serious injury or death if someone riding a fixed-gear bike loses control and collides with them," the ACCC added.
The ACCC is now calling on members of the public to let it know of bike shops selling bicycles that contravene safety standards, such as those without bells or reflectors as well as brakes.
According to the section governing brakes of the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1927:1988 Pedal bicycles— Safety Requirements:
- At least two brakes are fitted, one on the front wheel and the other on the back.
- Hand brakes are accessible to a rider in the normal riding position.
- The right lever connects to the front brake and the left lever to the rear brake.
- Brake friction pads are securely attached to the backing plate or holder and, when applied, touch only the wheel rim.
- For bicycles with cantilever brakes—a safety device is fitted to prevent the stirrup cable from touching the tyre.
- For children’s bicycles (with a wheel base of 640–765 mm)—a back-pedal brake is fitted.
Last year, we reported how police in Germany had confiscated fixed gear bikes that did not comply with the legal requirement to have two brakes.
In the UK, The Pedal Cycles Construction and Use Regulations 1983 require pedal cycles "with a saddle height over 635mm to have two independent braking systems, with one acting on the front wheel(s) and one on the rear".
One common interpretation of this is that having a front brake and a fixed rear wheel satisfes this requirement.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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45 comments
I'm not quite sure what the Australian argument is about. The UK and Australia have a similar level of cycling - about 1% of all journeys are made by bike. Perth has the highest level of cycling of Australia's major cities, Sydney the lowest. London is above average for the UK.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to my visit to Melbourne in October. I'll take in the UCI World Champs in Geelong, participate in the Around the Bay in a Day ride, and check out the many new cycle paths which appear to have been created since I last visited 10 years ago.
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And those posts of yours seem to confirm what I thought about Australians, and it had nothing to do with them being fat (which is something I have never associated with them until now).
I mean, just because you are Australian doesn't mean you have to defend everything that your Government imposes on you. I certainly wouldn't be defending my Government if they imposed yet more unnecessary restrictions on me and my life.
Are you sure you found the right ones this time - you needed a little help there, what with it being listed under the heading Cycling Data. Tricky stuff, I can see why you were confused.
So we agree that cycling decreased in Australia over a five year period and is considerably lower than London as a mode of transport.
I'm glad it's all been cleared up at last.
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So basically your point would seem to boil down to:
"Australia is better than the UK ya boo!" – It might well be, I've never been there;
Nanny knows best - especially if nanny is an Aussie;
Brit cyclists spend all our time whingeing about helmets laws (surely you're falling for a cultural stereotype there… what was that about soft racism?);
And when we're not banging on about how we don't want to wear lids (which we don't have to anyway) we're chuntering on about how fat Aussies are – you're the first person to mention that on this site – all the Australians I know are skinny as rakes;
Finally all we talk about are Australian helmet laws - can't find much mention of them in these parts either though.
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So if there's no relationship between helmet laws and bicycle use, and those countries with the highest levels of cycling don't have helmet laws why are you so keen to tell us that we should be forced to wear helmets seeing as it'll make damn all difference?
Oh and not wearing a helmet in these parts is not 'fighting the man' cos 'the man' doesn't believe in helmet laws either.
I am vain though.
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Perth's down as 1.2% modal share for cycling on the data from 2000-2006. assuming the total level of journeys hasn't changed the 2010 stats from blundershot's post suggest it's upped it's share to about double that, so top marks to Perth for pulling their fingers out. That's better than London. It's hardly Assen though.
here's the paper it relates to, if anyone's interested
paper10-Mees.pdf
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http://www.theonion.com/personalities/herbert-kornfeld,1019/
you might want to take a quick look at the modal share stats in this article:
http://chartingtransport.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/urban-density-and-publ...
it might all be lies, of course. but the author doesn't seem to have any particular axe to grind. i don't know if he wears a helmet on his bike, or even if he rides one
Melbourne riding was like a race with loads of riders commuting it was great but all had helmets as it is the law.
Didn't Oz see a decline in cyclists with helmet use becoming law?
I guess we can frown but there are many idiot cyclists who can crash into a elderly walker killing them or losing control and killing themselves.
Nothing will stop 100% but 2 brakes is fine by us roadies!
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nobody mentioned helmets until you did, since it's not what this story is about. why do you keep going on about them?
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certainly if you've got a particular bee in your bonnet, that's the assumption you'd make...
Actually I am Australian, but of course you just made an assumption without any facts.
Second, the stats I quoted came from the Cycling Resource Centre, part of the Australian Bicycle Council which is charged with implementing the National Cycling Strategy - and what a fine job they appear to be doing.
Any more holes you want to keep digging into ???
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Do you make a habit of questioning other people without any evidence or contrary facts, or is it just something you practise occasionally ?
Here's the link - it's under Cycling Data.
http://www.cyclingresourcecentre.org.au/15/Cycling_data
You're welcome.
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no, the Dutch don't seem to see any relationship either
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Err, actually the average percentage of passenger journeys by bicycle in Australian capital cities is 1.3% compared to over 2% in London.
That, BTW, is a decline since 2001, when it was 1.4%.
Even in Melbourne, which is by far the biggest cycling city, it is only 1.6%. Sydney is a pathetic .8%.
But don't let facts get in the way of the right of every Australian to an utterly misguided sense of superiority, blessedly preserved by blind insularity.
Wow, sounds great over there. Maybe one day you'll have cycle usage on a par with the Netherlands or Denmark where they are all forced to wear lids too… oh hold on
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