To determine compliance, the wheels will be tested for “fatigue”
A series of national standards, in accordance with which bicycle safety will be determined, was recently adopted by the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology ( Rosstandart). The documents, in particular, determine what kind of tests the «iron horse» should be subjected to in order to find out that it does not pose a danger to those who ride it and others.
The standards require the testing of both bicycles as a whole and their individual parts. For example, pedals are recommended to be tested for strength. To do this, they will need to be screwed to a rigid vertical support and dropped onto them from a height of 40 cm with a special drummer weighing 15 kg.
In order to test the pedals for durability, they will need to be screwed to a rotating roller and weights hung on them, for mountain bikes — 90 kg, for all other types — 80 each. The pedals must remain intact after 100 thousand revolutions of the roller. Wheels should be tested not only for strength, but also for resistance to the «greenhouse effect». To do this, they will be placed in a chamber with a temperature of 80 degrees for 4 hours.
To test for fatigue, the wheels will need to be spun with special drums with projections that simulate bumps on the roads. A good wheel will have to ride over the ledges 750 thousand times and remain intact.
In the same way, it will check the assembled bicycles. To qualify as a «safe» bike, it will have to pass brake, strength, fatigue, impact and many other tests.
In addition, the developers of the standards have specified the maximum saddle height of a safe bike — at least 63 .5 mm. This is the general standard for city, mountain and racing bikes. For teenagers, stricter limits are set — from 63.5 to 75 cm.