On December 2, 2011, the Official Journal of the European Union published European Commission resolution 2011/786/EU, which concerned the European safety standards that bicycles, children's bicycles and bicycle racks must meet.
According to Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety, European standardization bodies are required to establish European standards to ensure that products sold in the EU comply with the general safety requirements of the directive.
Recently, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) announced revisions to European standards EN 14764:2005 for urban bicycles, EN 14766:2005 for mountain bikes, EN 4781:2005 for racing bicycles, and EN 14872:2006 for bicycle racks. As for children's bicycles not covered by the Toy Safety Directive, their European standard EN 14765:2005+A1:2008 will also be revised.
Bicycles sold in the EU must meet new general safety requirements, primarily targeting:
- Can the overall design of the bicycle be matched with the user's riding ability and physical condition?
- The degree of injury or damage acceptable under normal use;
- Information regarding potential risks and maximum load capacity;
- The requirement is that it must be equipped with lighting and reflectors.
Bicycles must also meet certain physical requirements, such as stability, durability, front and rear braking systems, and treatment of sharp edges.
Other regulations include mechanical characteristics of bicycles, such as requirements regarding folding systems and fasteners, to ensure the bicycle's practical safety and prevent user injury.
In addition, different types of bicycles have their own specific regulations. For example, children's bicycles must comply with the saddle height and average load limit, and the braking regulations are also stricter.
Bicycle racks must meet stricter requirements in terms of user and child safety, load-bearing capacity, size, and stability. Safety components for mountaineering and racing bicycles must be specially designed to withstand greater impact forces.
The Committee's resolution is published on the Official Gazette website at [website address missing].http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:319:0106:0111:EN:PDF.
Source: Taiwan Trade Development Council (TCT) website (2011-12-16)
