NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Bicycle Recall Hotline: (888) 366-3828
July 30, 2001 CPSC CONTACT: Kim Dulic
Release # 01-212 (301) 504-0580 Ext. 1183

CPSC, Acetrike Bicycle Co. Announce Recall of Children's Bicycles

WASHINGTON, D.C.- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Acetrike Bicycle Co., of Taiwan, is recalling about 38,800 children's sidewalk bicycles. The frames of these bikes can break, causing the riders to fall and suffer injuries.

Acetrike and the distributor of the bicycles, Huffy Bicycle Co., have received four reports of the frames on these bicycles breaking. Two boys, ages 4 and 6, suffered abrasions and contusions, and a 5-year-old boy suffered a contusion. A fourth child was not injured.

The recall includes bicycles having date codes of April 2000 and earlier. The date code is molded on the bicycles' left rear frame, at the point of attachment of the rear wheel. The model name is written on the bike's frame. The following models are involved:

"Cool Taz", 12-inch boy's style

"Sweet Tweety", 12-inch girl's style

"Mudslinger", 16-inch boy's style

"Secret Treasures", 16-inch girl's style

"Rugrats", 16-inch boy's style

"Best Friends", 16-inch girl's style

"Space Racer", 12-inch boy's style

"Fairy Magic", 12-inch girl's style

"MX1200", 12-inch boy's style

"High Gear", 12-inch boy's style

"MX 1800", 16-inch boy's style

Discount department, toy, hardware and sporting goods stores, including Ace Hardware, Ames, Blain Supply, Kay Bee Toys, Meijers, Tru*Serv and Wal-Mart, sold these bikes nationwide from October 1999 through March 2001 for between $35 and $70.

Consumers should stop riding these bicycles immediately, and call (888) 366-3828 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or go to the firm's web site at www.huffybikes.com to determine if their bicycle is part of the recall. Consumers with a recalled bicycle will receive a replacement bicycle free of charge.
 

Picture of Recalled Bicycle

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. For information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call the above numbers or visit the web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/103.html. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.