Having just seen the STW vid of Cy and the new Soul at the London Cycle show, I wondered about these CEN regs…

Both Cy and Brant have commented on having to put a considerable amount of time and effort into designing their new frames to meet these new CEN regulations. These Euro regs seem to require physical testing and certification of new frames to meet some fairly stringent requirements, but are they compulsory?

When did they / do they come into force?
What sort of consultation was there in initiating these regulations, as they appear, on the surface to be a bit OTT – the Soul was not a delicate bike, so why do the new regs ask for so much?

Will we see all bikes having to conform and what will that mean?

its a long answer but basically…

are they compulsory?

No, if you state your frame is for racing only, otherwise yes if you want to call it a mountain bike. expect lots of mountain "style" bikes in halfords.

When did they / do they come into force

it comes into force end of this year but if you had an old design you are alowed a grace period where you can sell off old stock you had already ordered

What sort of consultation was there in initiating these regulations

very little, some industry people say its a good idea but poorly executed

so why do the new regs ask for so much?

its a fatigue test, it was seen that the amount was an accepted minimum.

Will we see all bikes having to conform

yes, unless its for racing

and what will that mean?

Bikes will get stronger but only predominantly in the areas the CEN requires