CEN safety regulations and the demise of the steel hardtail?

can someone explain to me how a soul/456/PA/blue pig can struggle/cause wory to the designer when you can get a “moutnainbike” from tesco for £40?

are these no longer going to be called “mountain bikes”? OR, why cant Cy, Brant, Mike etc use the same loophole?

there are still some flaws in the test there are failure modes that aren’t covered and will still bust a frame Th CEN test will not mean that the frame is indestructable

no bike frame is indestructible.

can someone explain to me how a soul/456/PA/blue pig can struggle/cause wory to the designer when you can get a “moutnainbike” from tesco for £40?

Because if you buy a bike from Tesco it weighs about 30kg for a reason…

there are still some flaws in the test there are failure modes that aren’t covered and will still bust a frame Th CEN test will not mean that the frame is indestructable

Composite Pro – did you not get the memo about the addition of the “strap it to the roof of a car and drive into a car park barrier” test?

if it passes the CEN and weighs nowt and the cost doubles hopefully it will still be a moaning point but people will still give away their free money.

So that’s a £399 Carbon 456 on the horizon is it? 🙂 (And have you finished editing that post yet?)

pmsl at brant

i was going to add some stuffa bout european cocks but it was bad taste

monsieur spoon if the 40 quid tesco special cant pass muster its very likely they shouldn’t be selling it (as i would just go out and buy one hit my head on the pavement and never have to work again on the settlement)if it does pass i might just pack in designing stuff anyway

Maybe I’m missing something but have the current design 456’s Soul’s etc actually been tested and failed?

So does this mean that steel frames will have to be ‘overbuilt’, to pass tests? IE; my Rock lobster 853 weighs 4.25lbs. nice. I am small, weigh 9st, and ride a bit smoother than a fair few people on here. I’m not into big drops etc, or else I’d buy a bike suited to that. I want a nice, light, ‘springy’ steel HT. The RL is perfect for me. In fact, they could probbly take at least a 1/4lb out of the frame, and ittud still be perfectly safe for me. PeterPoddy, on the other hand, is a few pounds heavier than me, and found the RL too flexy. He swapped his Yeti for a Pitch Pro, for a similar reason. He needs a burlier bike than me.

So, horses for courses, as they say. At the moment, I can choose a frame according to my weight and riding style. Light is king, for me. I don’t snap stuff.

But does this now mean I will only be able to buy 6lb+ pig iron frames, because the new law means that companies will be terrified of litigation because some fat idiot with no skills gets mash-up, on a bike that is not strong enough to carry their obese, useless bulk around?

Why can’t the law require frames to have weight limits? IE, you’re fat, you ride a frame that’s too light for you, it breaks- tough. Lose weight/gain skill.

I can ride sub-20lb hardtails around as safely as a heavier person on a 25lb bike. Why should I have to schlep about with a weight penalty?

The Law’s an ass. And a fat, lazy KFC stuffed one, at that.

it is a little odd.

i can name at least one (4130 and sub £200) dirt jump frame that weighs less than Brants new steel hardtail. Which does kinda beg a question, is the frame underbuilt (not likely, never herd of one failing) or are the CEN tests overkill?

Dirt Jump frames don’t generally run 140mm forks.

Rudeboy

But does this now mean I will only be able to buy 6lb+ pig iron frames,

Nope, but you’re probably going to be a lot more limited in choice, and you might have to pay a bit more for the *right* thing

Cy

I’m working with Reynolds on a custom tubeset I’ve designed which should result in pegging the weight of the Soul at it’s current level-ish and certainly maintaining the ace ride quality

PeterPoddy, on the other hand, is a few pounds heavier than me, and found the RL too flexy. He swapped his Yeti for a Pitch Pro, for a similar reason. He needs a burlier bike than me.

True about the Yeti/Pitch, but my Lobster was always bought as a stop-gap frame before my 853 Inbred arrived. Yes, I could feel a bit more twang in the rear than the ‘bred has, but it didn’t detract from the ride like the Yeti’s flex did, and I didn’t sell it because of said twangyness
Those Lobsters are lovely lovely frames, but the Inbred is more ‘me’. That’s all really.

@ Brant, Cy, Mike – Well done for raising the game to keep the steel frames alive. 😀

Well peter don’t forget the others like mr Cove, mr Chromag, mr charge and so and so…

i am wondering what will happen to my very flexy but comfy handjob though…

brant: yeh but they do fall out of the sky from 20 foot with riders attached to them day in day out, which most hard tails don’t.

The CEN test is insurance underwriters bollocks, and nothing else.

PP – which RL frame did you get, just out of interest?

can someone explain to me how a soul/456/PA/blue pig can struggle/cause wory to the designer when you can get a “moutnainbike” from tesco for £40?

Because if you buy a bike from Tesco it weighs about 30kg for a reason…

Well, the only bike I’ve bent was my first ‘mountain bike’ 15 years ago – a £80 ASDA special – badly bent the top and down tubes at the headset. The only other bike I broke was my GT Outpost that replaced it, and lasted 10 years of bent forks and crashes before finally cracking the headtube. Whilst not light, the GT was a ‘proper’ MTB, and weighed a fraction of the ASDA special