The BMX bike company founded by one of the sports' prinicipal competitors is recalling 11,000 bikes because of faulty fork welds.
The Carlsbad, California-based MirraCo LLC bicycle company, founded by X-Games gold medal winner Dave Mirra, is making the recall in conjuction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Consumers should stop riding the bicycles immediately and take them to a MirraCo dealer for inspection and possible fork replacement. The bikes in question were sold between November 2006 and January 2007.
The bikes were designed and speced by Mirra and others at the company, founded just last year, and were built in China. In a letter to customers, Mirra explained:
“The problem didn't happen because we cut corners or used some shady company to build our forks. We speced high-end full chromoly forks on these models, but the welders left out something called filler wire in the process. What that means is the fork is weaker than it should be. They didn't follow our instructions and we didn't catch it until later because it's pretty much impossible to see the defect.
“Recalling bikes to fix a potential problems sucks.”
In his 15-year BMX career, Mirra won some 20 gold medals in X-Game competitions for performing stunts on BMX bikes.
The following models — made in China and sold between November 2006 and January 2007 — are covered in the recall: Blend 1, Blend 2, Blend 3, Blend 1s, Blend 16, Black Pearl 1, Black Pearl 2, Black Pearl 3, Icon Moto, Icon 20Forty and Fivestar Park. The bikes were sold at authorized dealers for $265 to $550.
The CPSC says front wheel forks on these bicycles could have been welded improperly, posing a risk that the weld could fail, and the rider could lose control and fall. Although no injuries have been reported, the firm has received four reports of steer tube rotation and one report of a fork separation.
For questions, call toll-free at (888) 431-7653 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday or Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Also, visit the Mirraco website.
3 comments
Really……just like many other american companys this cats pushing a product that was made at one of the superlow bids by an overseas company that uses inferior material and subpar manufactoring steps or leaves out certain key procedures at the cost of. American youths safety., and well being so money can be redirected into his pocket and spared on quality parts or procedures on something as petty as proper fork welds.
Im not a business tycoon or have a doctorate in business management but I wouldnt think your profit margine would really be affected one way Or another by cheapass sweatshop style forkwelds. Come on man, really. You cant spend another few $ for a decent pair of forks that are manufactored or welded properly? Or maybe the made in china thing would be a clue. Why cant we get some decent prices on a good quality American made fork or bike part.
Im not a Dave Mirra hater either, dudes got like 20 xgames metals and is a badass legend in bmx world. Pisses me off to see someone like that tryn to save a few bucKs putting hot off the boat parts on his rides. Guess the fact hes recalling them means I shouldnt be talking sh*t.
I recently came across this and didn’t realize that I never took my bike to get checked. I have one of the black pearl ones. Idk. But I’m in Tampa FL any advice on where I should take it?
Take it to the nearest dumpster and light it on fire. You are better off spending your hard earned cash on a WTP or Kink complete bike.