News
QR-equipped bikes not banned in NJ. Yet.
Carlton Reid Jun 18 2007, 12:00pm
Blogger Fritz of Cyclelicio.us points out that the current worries in the US bike trade about bikes being banned in New Jersey are wide of the mark. Masiguy's Tim Jackson says text is "ambigious" and caution is still needed
Fritz says the reports on Bicycle Retailer and Bicycling.com's Boulder Report are wrong, quick-release equipped bicycles are not about to be banned in New Jersey.
There's a proviso most have missed:
"It shall be an unlawful practice for any person to sell a bicycle [intended for use by children] with a front wheel diameter of 20 inches or less, which is equipped with a quick release wheel, exclusive of specialty adult bicycles."
Fritz said: "I'm glad Trek and others are on the ball with this and I'm hopeful this won't make it out of the state Senate commerce committee, where this bill currently sits. Jersey residents should still contact your state Senators and let them know what you think of this bill. Just please be factual."
However, this is a reading of an earlier draft of the New Jersey bill. The latest one is "an infomercial for Montague's Clix 'quick release' retention device.
Tim Jackson of Masi Bicycles said:
"The problem is that the bill language is very, very ambiguous. In two locations it seems to exclude specialty adult bicycles and then in the amended section it seems to add them back in. Nobody at the New Jersey assembly seemed to know what the answer was. One staffer at the office of one assembly person believed that the "lawyer tabs" on the fork would be sufficient as a "secondary retention device"... but that he was totally unsure and was also seeking clarification on the point, as he'd taken countless calls about the bill that morning.
"What we have is a proposed bill that is vague and ambiguous at best. The language that gets me was the part about retention devices that are "not yet commercially available". WTF?
"At first read, it would seem that the bill excludes adult specialty bikes, but the language is self-contradicting as you read further along. Suffice it to say, it makes sense to call and urge folks in New Jersey to oppose the bill."
