Shimano hits back at claims that it broke the law, despite agreeing to pay $11.5m civil penalty following crankset recall

Shimano has agreed to pay an $11.5 million civil penalty to settle a claim that it failed to immediately report that its Hollowtech II cranksets contained a potentially hazardous defect.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has this week announced that Shimano will pay the penalty to settle a charge that it "knowingly failed to immediately report to CPSC, as required by law", that its cranksets "contained a defect which could create a substantial product hazard or created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to consumers."

However, in a comment to Cycling Weekly, Shimano was keen to point out that Shimano rejects the allegations made by the CPSC, and that by agreeing to settle, it does not admit that it broke the law.

“The settlement resolves allegations by CPSC staff concerning the timing of reporting under the Consumer Product Safety Act," the spokesperson said. "Shimano does not admit the allegations, and the agreement does not constitute a determination that Shimano violated the law."

“Shimano cooperated with the CPSC throughout the process and remains committed to rider safety and regulatory compliance.”

The charge relates to the brand's bonded Hollowtech II cranksets, including Ultegra models with part numbers FC6800 and FC-R8000, and Dura-Ace models with part numbers FC-9000 and FC-R9100, as well as the power meter-equipped FC-R9100P model.

Those cranksets were all subject to a recall, first announced in 2023, which affected over 2.8 million units worldwide.

However, according to the CPSC, Shimano had received "thousands of warranty claims" dating back as far as 2013, with "dozens of reports" of injuries including bone fractures, joint displacement and lacerations as a result of the cranksets' failures.

The CPSC is an independent body responsible for setting industry standards, issuing recalls, and regulating all consumer-facing products in the United States.

It supported Shimano during the initial recall of 760,000 cranksets in the USA, announcing jointly on September 21, 2023. That initial release cited 4,519 incidents of cranksets separating, but that number relates only to North America and is expected to be significantly higher worldwide.

In addition to the $11.5m penalty, the agreement also requires Shimano to maintain internal controls and procedures that ensure future compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act.

As part of this, Shimano will submit annual reports regarding its compliance program, internal controls and internal audits relating to policies, procedures, systems and training.