Due to a quality issue with the titanium alloy used in the mountingbolt of a limited number of the new Force road group’s front brakes, SRAMhas issued a voluntary recall to consumers in possession of the brakes.Roughly 10 have failed.

SRAM asks consumers discontinue riding until the front Force brake caliperhas been replaced.According to SRAM' media manager, Michael Zellmann, the problem was identifiedthrough SRAM’s internal quality process. A small number of the titaniummounting bolts failed during the installation process. There have beenno injuries associated with the defect. Affected brakes can be identifiedby a manufacturing date code stamped on the back of the brake, to the leftof the mounting bolt.Date Codes/Range AffectedNo date codeOriginal date code range: 01JUNE06 to 15SEPT06 (date code indicated productionday, month and year)Current date code range: 35T6XXXXXXX to 39T6XXXXXXX (first two digits indicateweek of production, 2006)“It’s not a design issue, it’s a materials issue,” said Zellmann, SRAM’sPR and media manager. “We detected it through our quality process and weare being exceptionally proactive about it — we don’t want to take anychances — so we’re issuing a voluntary recall of [brakes with certain]date codes. It only affects a percentage, I don’t know what that percentageis, of front brakes that are out there.”An outside manufacturer supplied the affected titanium alloy and itsspecifications fell outside of those set by SRAM. The cause for failureis an incorrect grain structure of the raw titanium material. SRAM doescertify all materials used from outside suppliers and this particular materialdid not meet the standards set. SRAM is no longer working with this supplier.The recall does not affect the more economical Rival group; its frontbrake relies on a steel-mounting bolt, nor does the recall affect all Forcebrakes. The recall is limited to only front brakes within the above listeddate range.Consumers are instructed to contact their dealer or place of purchasefor replacement.

SRAM will conduct a voluntary recall of a limited number ofSRAM Force front road brakes which may have faulty titanium mounting bolts.This issue has since been corrected, and does not affect all Force frontbrake mounting bolts.
SRAM will replace any Force front brake assemblies produced withinthe specified time frame.SRAM is currently in the process of contacting all affected customers.While the expected failure rate is low it was determined that it is inthe best interest of our customers and consumers to be pro-active in replacingproduct in question. We have put in place personnel and logistics in eachcontinent to execute the recall as fast and smoothly as possible.SRAM is actively working with the Consumer Product Safety Commissionin the USA on this issue. A CPSC notice will follow this notification inmid February. Replacement brakes are in warehouses in the USA, Europe,and Asia to facilitate the replacement effort.  We apologize for theinconvenience to our customers, dealers, and cyclists and remain committedto providing you excellent quality.