SHOK - Stop Hurting Our Kids and Wal-Mart bikes

I'm not quite sure what to think of this. Roxanne Berry has formed Stop Hurting Our Kids and is circulating a petition to get WalMart to stop selling bicycles because Wal-Mart "has been selling defective children’s bicycles that have a history of malfunctioning and causing permanent injuries to children."

The defect? The bikes are equipped with quick-release front wheels. Berry sued Wal-Mart after her ten-year-old son was injured while riding his bike to a friend's house. He did a face plant into the pavement when the front wheel popped out of the fork.

So, yeah, Wal-Mart is negligent in not providing an owner's manual and not providing instruction in safe use of the bike. They're also known for improper bike assembly. And Wal-Mart "Bike Shaped Objects" (BSO) are reviled by many cyclists as junk, though the vast majority of bike riders probably ride sub-$100 Wal-Mart bikes.

But to sue Wal-Mart for selling a bike with a useful quick-release feature will probably result in even bigger lawyer lips on our front forks.

Bikes R Not Toys. Tags: ambulance+chaser, frivolous, lawsuit, get+rich+quick, rtfm