25-01-2013 Specialized recalls road forks on four models

nicklouse

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/s ... els-36271/

Specialized is recalling the forks on all iterations of the 2012 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Tarmac SL4, 2013 Crux and 2013 Secteur Disc bicycles and framesets. The forks are being recalled after a few instances of a carbon fiber steerer tube cracking or breaking. The recall affects approximately 12,200 bikes in the US.

All riders with one of these bicycles are asked to stop riding them immediately and bring them to a Specialized dealer, who will remove the fork and ship it to Specialized's facility in Salt Lake City for inspection. Specialized spokesperson Sean Estes said most forks will not need to replaced, but some may have a 40g carbon sleeve installed inside the steerer tube.

“We are proactively recalling these bikes as a precaution and out of safety for our riders, which is our highest priority,” said Mike Sinyard, Specialized's founder and president. “We take quality very seriously and are working with our dealers to inspect these bikes and get our riders back on their bikes quickly and safely.”

Specialized estimates that the recall process will take approximately two weeks per instance. All owners of the affected bikes will receive a $100 store credit for Specialized merchandise regardless of whether or not their bike requires a repair.

“We intend to make this recall as easy on our customers as possible,” said Chris Menicou, Specialized's director of quality. “We have fixed the problem at our manufacturing facilities, we have a systematic process in place to expedite the fork inspection and repair, and we will do our best to ensure our customers are quite satisfied.”

For more information about the voluntary recall, visit http://www.specialized.com under Support and Safety Notices. Within the US, call (877) 808-8154 for Specialized customer service support.

UK customers can contact the Specialized UK Customer Service team on 020 8391 3502 and speak with Mark Haylett, Alex Boyle or Scott Gridley. Or e-mail customerserviceuk@specialized.com. They will receive a store credit to the value of £100.