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Surly Safety Notice: Remove 8-Pack and 24-Pack Racks immediately

Written by Zach Overholt Oct 21, 2019 4:00 p.m. ET

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Riding around with a Surly rack on the front of your bike? If it’s the 8-Pack or 24-Pack, you’re going to want to remove it immediately. While Surly has yet to announce an official product recall, they have posted a Safety Notice instructing anyone that has one of these racks fitted to their bikes to remove it immediately.

At issue is something that is causing the racks to loosen, and potentially contact the front wheel of the bike. This has apparently already led to a few crashes, so QBP and Surly are hoping to spread the word as they work towards a solution with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

According to the notice, “If you become aware of a rack failure or injury, please contact us at Derby@SurlyBikes.com or via phone at 877-743-3191. Our Customer Service and Warranty Support teams are ready to help.”

Please remove either of these racks from your bike immediately.
If you need assistance removing the rack from your bike, please visit your nearest bike shop for assistance.
Once you or your bike shop have removed the rack from your bike, please keep it, and the mounting hardware together until further notice from Surly Bikes, Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), or the bike shop you purchased the rack from.

surlybikes.com

Zach Overholt

5,633 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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16 Comments

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m f

4 years ago

Surly announced this 1 month ago (buried on their site, not on the product page itself), yet their site will still point you to a dealer to purchase. Haven’t seen any other info on this either (industry-type websites) until now. Good job QBP! Safety third!

Woody

4 years ago

Reply to m f

First messaging out (Sept 20th) made no mention of CPSC I’m guessing the lawsuits/reports must’ve been rolling in to elevate this to a full-on recall (hence the more public messaging). I’m still amazed at how these designs got off the drawing board. I hope QBP has enough cheques for front teeth.

Scott Matsuda

4 years ago

Reply to Woody

Part of the CPSC recall process, and whether or not a recall is warranted is the ability to recreate the problem so that a viable solution can be put into motion. It is likely that Surly has not been able to simulate why the rack hardware is loosening up, and that is likely because they are installing the rack properly such that there is no failure. Proper assembly may or may not happen at the dealer/consumer level. Some might find this step ridiculous, but you can’t offer a fix unless you know for sure what is causing the problem.

4 years ago

Myself, I used a 24pack rack for over a year, with no issues. My coworkers at the bike shop, 4 or 5 of them had these as well.
These racks ARE tough to install, no doubt about that, but I wouldn’t call it a design flaw. Bolts loosening happens, on every bolt on your bike. It is called being aware. So many people think installing things is easy and that a monkey can do it: well, those monkeys are the idiots that crash because they skipped a step or didn’t properly tighten down. Some world we live in, where a company has to issue this because some individuals don’t know what they are doing. One apple can ruin the whole batch…

Anonymous Coward

4 years ago

Reply to JG

I seem to remember a certain S company having to issue a recall because people didn’t know how to use a quick release. There’s a saying “you can’t fix…………..”

Astro Kraken

4 years ago

Reply to Anonymous Coward

Trek had the same thing too because someone pushed their QR lever into the rotor.

The whole “stop using it but we’re keeping your money” type of recall is pretty lame, but to be expected by the big bike companies pretending to be little guys.

Huffagnolo SuperMagna

4 years ago

Reply to Anonymous Coward

Uhhh the dumb QR recall was done by a lot of companies such as Trek, Scott, GT, Felt and many others. It was really dumb but unfortunately in this lawsuit prone land you best protect ya neck. Most major companies I have seen have had a recall at some point for something. It is not a good thing by any means but it is not the most terrible thing in the world.

This one probably is a case of loose bolts maybe not properly torqued and maybe overloaded racks as well but if Surly doesn’t say something then it could be lawsuit city even if not properly installed. Don’t forget about the hot coffee being hot.

roadstain

4 years ago

Reply to Huffagnolo SuperMagna

I am thinking we need to recall trees….a branch could possibly go into your spokes….

Aaron Goss

4 years ago

Bolts do NOT loosern if they are properly torqued with proper thread compound (Grease, thread locker or anti-Seize, depending on they type of metal.)

JBikes

4 years ago

Reply to Aaron Goss

Threadlocker works as an anti-seize for gall/corrosion prone parts at the torque value used on bikes.

Grease and anti-seize do not prevent loosening of fasteners. “Anti-seize” lubricant use can result in too high of tension on a bolt if the torque value was not spec’d for it (important for things like CF bars and seatposts where its used can result in too much clamping force for the given torque value)

Threadlocker can help prevent loosening, but if there is relative movement between part and nut/bolt, it will loosen over time. The only recourse is to check critical fasteners periodically, regardless.

Luckily, bikes are lightly loaded in that its rare a fastener fails, rather teh joints just starts to slip.

Sean Mankiw

4 years ago

Woah! I had mine replaced because of a crash for this very reason!

James P Kirk

4 years ago

If you’re injured that bad you should def call your lawyer before you call surly’s dept.
And JD… “Most people think things are easy to install…” ?? Most bike parts are very easy to install and maintain.

4 years ago

Reply to James P Kirk

Tons of forum posts out there about people that have “installed” things and then complain about performance issues.
Things are easy to install, it is much harder to properly install and adjust so that you aren’t fighting your bike frequently. You must be one of the lucky ones that don’t have a problem, but those ones calling lawyers are just a part of the new society that doesn’t have any responsibility and can blame someone else for every problem they encounter.

It is JG by the way….

JBikes

4 years ago

Reply to JG

Are you even aware of what is failing and the cause before throwing people under the bus.

My experience with shops shows me that most of the workers have poor mechanical acumen and don’t understand basic concepts of tolerances and mating surface alignment. I’ve met some that are very intelligent and conscientious but its sadly rare.

Dominic

4 years ago

Reply to JG

People calling lawyers is why we can’t have nice things. Screw those people to the ends of the earth

James P Kirk

4 years ago

Sorry > “JG”

I understand that lawyers are pretty horrible. I dont ever want to call one (again). My point was, if you were driving your car and your front wheel falls off, you wreck and are injured, what would you do? Go home, take a few aspirin & call the wheel company and see what they want to do?
I love Surly, there bikes and credo, but if I was injured because their beer rack malfunctioned, I wouldn’t call them first.
And yeah guys, Ive been an avid cyclist for 25 years, been inquisitive & proactive about my bikes and parts. When I get a new part, I read as much as I can to learn about it. I dont know everything about bikes but I know, with some patience and practice, they are pretty damn simple to work on.