Today we're discussing the recent Shimano crankset safety notice, what you should know, and what to do if you're affected.

What's going on?

In September this year, Shimano issued a worldwide safety warning for their Hollowtech II road cranksets. 

There had been some highly-publicised failures where the two halves of the bonded cranksets separate, potentially causing an accident.

Shimano have finally seen sense and begun an "inspection and replacement" program...although they have stopped short of a complete recall.

We've taken a few weeks to report on this, as we wanted to wait until we could offer some definitive info.

What's affected?

The issues concern the following 11-speed Hollowtech II road cranksets, manufactured before July 2019:

ULTEGRA FC-6800

ULTEGRA FC-R8000

DURA-ACE FC-9000

DURA-ACE FC-R9100

DURA-ACE FC-R9100-P

If you have one of the above, check the manufacturing code on the inside of the arm. If it's one of the following, get it checked ASAP by your local Shimano dealer (like us!):

KF, KG, KH, KI, KJ, KK, KL, LA, LB, LC, LD, LE, LF, LG, LH, LI, LJ, LK, LL, MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, MG, MH, MI, MJ, MK, ML, NA, NB, NC, ND, NE, NF, NG, NH, NI, NJ, NK, NL, OA, OB, OC, OD, OE, OF, OG, OH, OI, OJ, OK, OL, PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PI, PJ, PK, PL, QA, QB, QC, QD, QE, QF, QG, QH, QI, QJ, QK, QL, RA, RB, RC, RD, RE, and RF

What should I do?

If you've got one of the affected products, Shimano UK dealers can inspect your crankset for free, and let you know if a replacement is required.

At present, info on replacements is a bit thin on the ground but it's believed that the new ones will be modified 12-speed cranks.

Bear in mind that shops are going to be really busy with this, so if you haven't noticed anything abnormal so far and you're confident enough to check for yourself, we'd recommend following the Shimano guide here and checking for yourself:

Of course, if you have any doubt at all, contact us (if you're local) or your nearest Shimano dealer.

If your crankset isn't in the list of affected manufacturing codes, Shimano say there's nothing to worry about.

What's next?

There are currently class-action suits being submitted to force Shimano to recall every single affected crankset, and we're waiting to see what happens next. 

Whilst this would be the best situation from a safety perspective, industry speculation is that this could bankrupt Shimano...or at least put them in the red for years to come and ruin their replationships with bike manufacturers.

We'll just have to keep you posted.

Ride Safe!

Greg

Thumbnail image courtesy of Hambini and his princess blanket