Not too sure where should go or even if it should... if nothing else it does show the value of a large scale manufacturer holding their hands up.
Brompton has recalled three years' worth of fold-up bikes due to faulty brackets, an issue its chief executive said he has been aware of for three months, but one which he called a "hassle, a pain".
The manufacturer said it was recalling all of its bikes that were made between April 2014 and May 2017, totalling 144,000 bikes.
The issue with the brackets, which could prevent cyclists from pedaling, potentially affected one bike in every 5,000, it said. It has already resulted in one cyclist breaking their fibula, or calf bone.
"We've had an increased number of failures, not particularly high, but sufficient that it has given us concern," its boss Will Butler-Adams said.
On Brompton's website, it cautioned that if riders did not get the bracket fixed, it could fail "without warning... and result in a sudden loss of control for the rider, and this could lead to the rider falling off the bike".
The manufacturer first started to notice more failures with the brackets three months ago, but "just presumed it was bad luck", Mr Butler-Adams said.
"Probably around two to three weeks ago it became absolutely clear and there was sufficient evidence that made us feel there was a risk for our customers," he said.
Mr Butler-Adams, in a video uploaded to Brompton's website, said this was a "hassle, a pain and we're really sorry about that, and potentially we're going overboard, but it is critical to us to protect the experience of our customers".
"We are founded on quality, founded on really good engineering, so if we have the slightest concern, we will have to act," he added.
Brompton said the part met all the international standards, but despite that it had seen a rise in failures. It will be replacing the cartridge with a new part, free of charge. The faulty bracket was made by FAG, a division of German giant Schaeffler.
Mr Butler-Adams said that "no doubt [the company] will incur significant cost from this recall", though he said that as Brompton had never done a recall on this scale before, the size of that cost was not yet clear. However he said it was unlikely 100pc of customers would bring their bikes back in to be fixed, and could be as low as 30pc of riders.
The recall comes as Brompton's profits have been squeezed by its efforts to combat rising competition. Earlier this year it reported a 40pc slump in underlying annual profits, as more customers invested in electric bikes.
It is planning to launch its own electric bike at the end of this year and has been investing heavily in development.
In its most recent results, for the year ended March 31, 2016, Brompton sold 43,859 bikes.
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Brompton has recalled three years' worth of fold-up bikes due to faulty brackets, an issue its chief executive said he has been aware of for three months, but one which he called a "hassle, a pain".
The manufacturer said it was recalling all of its bikes that were made between April 2014 and May 2017, totalling 144,000 bikes.
The issue with the brackets, which could prevent cyclists from pedaling, potentially affected one bike in every 5,000, it said. It has already resulted in one cyclist breaking their fibula, or calf bone.
"We've had an increased number of failures, not particularly high, but sufficient that it has given us concern," its boss Will Butler-Adams said.
On Brompton's website, it cautioned that if riders did not get the bracket fixed, it could fail "without warning... and result in a sudden loss of control for the rider, and this could lead to the rider falling off the bike".
The manufacturer first started to notice more failures with the brackets three months ago, but "just presumed it was bad luck", Mr Butler-Adams said.
"Probably around two to three weeks ago it became absolutely clear and there was sufficient evidence that made us feel there was a risk for our customers," he said.
Mr Butler-Adams, in a video uploaded to Brompton's website, said this was a "hassle, a pain and we're really sorry about that, and potentially we're going overboard, but it is critical to us to protect the experience of our customers".
"We are founded on quality, founded on really good engineering, so if we have the slightest concern, we will have to act," he added.
Brompton said the part met all the international standards, but despite that it had seen a rise in failures. It will be replacing the cartridge with a new part, free of charge. The faulty bracket was made by FAG, a division of German giant Schaeffler.
Mr Butler-Adams said that "no doubt [the company] will incur significant cost from this recall", though he said that as Brompton had never done a recall on this scale before, the size of that cost was not yet clear. However he said it was unlikely 100pc of customers would bring their bikes back in to be fixed, and could be as low as 30pc of riders.
The recall comes as Brompton's profits have been squeezed by its efforts to combat rising competition. Earlier this year it reported a 40pc slump in underlying annual profits, as more customers invested in electric bikes.
It is planning to launch its own electric bike at the end of this year and has been investing heavily in development.
In its most recent results, for the year ended March 31, 2016, Brompton sold 43,859 bikes.
