Your New Bike and Store of Purchase May Be to Blame for Your Crash
Big box stores routinely fail to properly assemble bikes. Improper torque on stems, bolts, or fasteners can cause sudden, catastrophic component failure.
By Attorney Dan D'Angelo
Trial Lawyer · Brain Injury Advocate · Avid Cyclist
We've unfortunately seen this happen before. Someone buys a new bike to exercise or commute. They visit a Big Box Store, find a bike they love, and trust the store sells safe bicycles. The customer buys the bike and is excited about the fun the new bike will bring.
Instead of fun, the first bike ride takes a tragic turn when the bike rider suddenly loses control and crashes. The bicycle and rider hit the pavement. The bike rider suffers more than a bruised ego, and suffers serious injuries from cuts, broken bones, to a brain injury. The bike rider, bloodied and battered, wonders if the crash was their fault.
It may not be poor bike riding skills that caused the cyclist to crash, but improper assembly of the bicycle by Big Box Store.
Bicycles are complex machines that must be assembled according to the manufacturer's specifications to be safely ridden. Almost all the components on a bicycle must be installed to the proper tightness, known as the specified torque value. If a fastener is under-tightened, the part may loosen. If over-tightened, the part may stretch, deform, strip threads, lose structural integrity, crack, or break, and that damage may not be visible.
Common bike parts with fasteners or that require tightening include the handlebar stem and headset, gear shifters/brake levers (hoods), brake calipers, brake disc rotors, seat and seat post, crank arms and spindle, pedals, drivetrain and derailleurs, and wheel centerlocks and thru axle or quick release skewer. If any of these components loosen, break, detach, or malfunction while riding, the rider could lose control, fall, and crash.
In one example, a Big Box Store assembled the bicycle but did not correctly tighten the bolts for the handlebar stem and headset, causing the handlebar to unexpectedly loosen during the ride. The store failed to properly train and supervise its employees to correctly assemble and inspect bicycles sold in its store. There are industry and manufacturer standards designed to protect against the sale of dangerous bicycles. The store may have even failed to follow it's own standard operating procedure for the assembly, inspection, and sale of the bicycle. Despite these known dangers, some stores put profits over safety putting the public at serious risk for injury or death.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a bicycle crash involving a new bike and you suspect a part failed, such as a pedal falling off, seat failing, or wheel or handlebars detached, and you have questions about whether the store where the bicycle was purchased may be responsible, please contact us for a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue a store if my new bike was assembled incorrectly?
Yes, if the improper assembly caused your crash. Stores have a duty to assemble bicycles to the manufacturer's specifications — including proper torque on every fastener — and to train and supervise the employees doing the work.
What bike parts most commonly fail from bad assembly?
Handlebar stems and headsets, pedals, wheels (quick release or thru axle), seat posts, and brakes. If any of these loosen, detach, or malfunction mid-ride, you can lose control instantly.
What should I do after a crash on a brand-new bike?
Don't repair or alter the bike — it's your key evidence. Photograph everything, keep your receipt, get medical care, and talk to a lawyer before the store or its insurer contacts you.
How do you prove the store assembled the bike wrong?
Through expert inspection of the bike against the manufacturer's torque specs, plus the store's own training records, assembly checklists, and standard operating procedures — which often show the steps were skipped.
Does it matter that I bought the bike at a big box store instead of a bike shop?
The legal duty is the same wherever you bought it. Big box stores frequently rely on untrained or poorly trained young employees who must assemble large volumes of inventory that lead to assembly mistakes. This kind of corner cutting to get product on the floor can lead to assembly issues and serious injuries or even death. Large corporations know these risks exist but may still place profits over customer safety, which is exactly why these crashes keep happening. If this happened to you, call me for a free consultation.
What if I bought my bike online instead of at a store?
Most bikes purchased online arrive partially assembled — you may still have to install some parts like handlebars, pedals, wheels, and seat per the assembly instructions that came with the bike or are available online. If you don't have the proper assembly tools like a torque wrench, etc., or you're not comfortable with torque specs and safety checks, have a local bike shop finish the assembly before your first ride. And if a part fails due to improper assembly, who's responsible depends on who did the assembly. It could be the store of purchase, the manufacturer of the part, the bike company, or another third party hired by one of these parties to assemble the bike for them. There can be many layers to the assembly process before the bike arrives in the customer's hands. Keep the box, all the paperwork that came with the bike like the manuals, instructions, and your receipt, and call me so I can help identify all the parties who may be responsible before it's too late.
Are all bicycle parts failure from improper assembly?
No. A part can fail for several reasons beyond bad assembly: (1) Manufacturing defect — the part was built wrong: flawed materials, a bad weld, a crack straight from the factory. The design is fine; your unit just wasn't made right. (2) Design defect — the product was designed unsafely. Even a perfectly manufactured and perfectly assembled part will fail because the design itself is dangerous. (3) Failure to warn — the product lacked adequate warnings or instructions about its risks, limitations, or proper use and maintenance. Figuring out which one caused your bicycle crash takes an attorney with experience with bicycle product liability cases and expert inspection of the failed bicycle and components. The bike and all materials that came with the bicycle are important evidence. Don't throw anything away. Keep the box, packing materials, manuals, instructions, etc., and don't repair the bicycle or the part that may have failed. Keep everything and keep it as it was immediately after the crash and call me so we can start the investigation process to find out what may have caused the failure and who may be responsible.
Have a question about your case?
Attorney Dan D'Angelo offers free consultations for brain injury and cycling accident victims throughout Colorado.
About the Author
Attorney Dan D'Angelo
Trial Lawyer · Brain Injury Advocate · Avid Cyclist
Attorney Dan D'Angelo founded D'Angelo Law Office, P.C. in 2009 and Bike Brain Law to focus exclusively on traumatic brain injury and cycling injury cases in Colorado. An avid cyclist himself, Dan combines deep TBI science knowledge with hands-on cycling experience to build winning cases against insurance companies and corporations that put profits over safety.
- Practicing Colorado personal injury attorney since 2009
- Focused practice in TBI and bicycle injury litigation
- Multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for injury victims
- Avid road and commuter cyclist
