Asymmetrical Information

Sorry, but I don't see how more school aid is a "good thing" as it is put in the article. The schools I see in my area do not seem to be hurting for funds. Many of them in the last few years have gone through large expansions that seem to be more about architectural oneupmanship than about actually delivery solid education for the dollar.

Should have noted the article I was referencing was the Herald News article linked to in the post.

Is there any statistical evidence showing that bicycles with quick-release wheels are especially dangerous, or is it all based on a few anecdotes? My money's on the latter.

All bicycles are dangerous. Any legislation that helps squelch bicycle use can only save lives.

Can't tell whether respondant "Henry" is just being facetious, or whether is complaint is actually about something else.

In any case, the only substantive risk posed by quick-release bike wheels is the risk of the mechanism not being properly secured. Of course, this is true for many other parts of a bicycle, so I'm not sure what problem this is hoping to solve.

The specification of a 20-inch wheel as defining a "children's bicycle" is also a bit strange, as there are specialty bicycles with smaller wheel diameters, also.

In any case, the only substantive risk posed by quick-release bike wheels is the risk of the mechanism not being properly secured. Of course, this is true for many other parts of a bicycle, so I'm not sure what problem this is hoping to solve.

The other risk would be that kids might play with the quick release mechanism themselves and leave the bike in an unsafe condition (the other part that it would apply to is the quick release seat post -- though a loose seat post would be less of a problem).

I distinctly remember all of us kids in my neighborhood in the 70's working on our own bikes (with wrenches) and one boy "popping a wheelie" and having his front wheel come off in the air. The rest of us thought it was hilarious. Then we thought it was cool and loosened our own front wheels so we could try it too and see how far we could get the front wheels to roll on their own.

Wonder what the N.J. nannies would have thought of that? But...passing a law against quick-release wheels on kids sized bikes? Yes, it's very silly.

The other risk would be that kids might play with the quick release mechanism themselves and leave the bike in an unsafe condition

I thought of that while writing my response, but honestly, if an adult correctly secures the nut before cinching the cam lever, the lever will be far too tight for a child to loosen without applying tools of some sort. And if s/he does know how to work at it with tools...it's a lost cause anyway.

Similarly, if the adult doesn't secure it correctly, there's a good chance said adult would have screwed up the assembly of the bike in some non-trivial way regardless.

I would recommend a lobotomy for the NJ lawmakers involved in this, but I fear the surgeon's time would be wasted due to an inavailability of the targeted organ.

Yes, in the spirit of the New Jersey Legislature, I was being facetious. As noted, there's lots of ways for bicycles to fall apart. My worst bike crash as a kid came when I was racing a friend's bike that lacked a working rear brake. On a hard stop I did a 180 over the front wheels.

My suspicion, though, is that most bicycle-related injuries are not caused by equipment failure. The few crashes I have had as an adult rider have been to avoid being run into by cars. But no legislature is going to outlaw bike riding across the board.

I see the shadowy hand of the powerful bike theft lobby at work.

With a name like Moriarty as its champion, could the deal have been anything but sinister?

What do you expect? You live in New Jersey.

Lawmakers said they are prone to accidents.

Surely this means that we should ban lawmakers!

Next up... Quick release training wheels.

You don't live in New Jersey, so they aren't your tax dollars. Why do you persist in telling other people how to live? Let the people in New Jersey pass whatever laws they want.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Mindless Dreck does live in New Jersey? (I was thinking of Jane.) In which case, they are his tax dollars. But I'm not very sympathetic: if you vote for Democrats, you get a nanny-state government. Stop complaining and get back to work.

Ironic, y81, that you would tell someone what to do in the context of telling him not to tell someone what to do.

Not quite poetic, unfortunately. But getting there.

I was confused. As a new person here, I didn't know there were multiple posters starting the thread...I think I understand there can be more, here.

Jersey - there are only a handful of places in the US that, when the name comes up, I have automatic feelings come to the fore that aren't ever sympathetic, and NJ is one...

There is a similar debate in many areas over banning aluminum bats from youth baseball. Ban proponents say that balls are hit faster from aluminum bats and can endanger pitchers. They point to a relative handful of incidents in which pitchers have suffered serious or even, in one or two cases, fatal injuries.

In reality, there is no statistical evidence supporting the alleged dangers of aluminum bats, nor is there any way to know whether the outcomes of the injury and death cases would have been any different had wooden bats been in use. Ban proponents have very strong evidence on their side, however, as just one injured (let alone dead) child is worth ten thousand pages of contrary statistics.

Outlaw quick release wheeled bikes and only outlaws....

Well, you know the rest.

another advantage of quick release hubs is that you don't need to carry a wrench with your flat tire repair tools. This applies even if you believe that you don't have to lock the front wheel, either because your workplace lets you park indoors [as mine does] or you live in an area where bikes might get stolen but reasonably ordinary front wheels won't [as I do].

-dk

They could have passed a law requiring the governor to wear a seat belt.

This law is more baffling than it looks.

The *huge* majority of 20" bicycles (the actual wheel diameter of most of which is less than 20") are BMX bikes, which don't, for numerous reasons, use quick-release hubs. Among those reasons: the QR hubs that actually exist *don't fit* on them; BMX bikes have shorter axles than pretty much any other bikes do.

20" riders just don't want their parts to come off easily, especially their wheels (which, with a QR hub, they might accidentally kick off just about any time, rendering the rider just about dead). The premium is on tightly matched and almost-un(re)movable parts. I know guys who *weld* their freaking axles in.

Serious 24" and 26" riders are moving toward that, too, as their riding comes more to resemble BMX riding, transforming many of the traditional conveniences of mountain bikes and cruisers into hazards. Except for road racers and throwaway-bike commuters, the QR hub is dead already.

This is definitely an "inside deal"--it is, after all, a law--for the makers of those annoying, useless fork tabs, but they hired idiots to do it.

Some Bike Guy:

I don't get it: if a bike doesn't have QR hubs, why would it need lawyer tabs?

I don't suspect nefarious purposes, rather just idiots all around. All legislators are too conservative (in the personal habits sense, not political sense) to ride regularly, but they're happy to regulate what they don't understand.

Of course no bike actually needs lawyer tabs, but at least their stated purpose is to correct purported deficiencies with QR hubs.