Scrutineers

[se]

Been meaning to ask this for a while - in the 80s there were scrutineers at races who checked your bike wasn't falling apart before you were allowed to race. How come this got stopped? Is it that modern bikes are deemed indestructable whereas we had lots of things wot fell off? 

[wolfybmx]

its all to do with health and safety. if you say a kid can ride his bike and they then fall of because of a failiure you can be held responsible.........who's gonna take that sort of responsibility in this day and age when you can get sued for anything...i think its crazy espesialy when you see some of the bikes ridden on the tracks....

it should be down to the parents or individuals to ensure bikes are maintained correctly but guidlines would be a good think to have in the rule book about how the bike should be

[Humps00]

British Cycling rulebook here http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/bcf/rulebook.asp which I doubt many riders have ever read - certainly my two kids haven't!!  Best we as adults can do is make observations to the younger generation about loose headsets, dodgy brakes and my oersonal favourite, no bar ends and point out the obvious, to us anyway, dangers.  As Phil says it's all about responsibility and I for one wouldn't want to be responsible for checking bikes and declaring them safe because far too many wouldn't be and I'd end up putting them right before half the kids at a meeting could race.  Parents should check their kids bikes and I'm sure many do but how many actually know what they're looking for, let alone be able to put right anything they found??  Humps

[se]

Bloody litigation! Makes sense though. Worrying, yet not as worrying as me being classified as an "adult".

[stidds]

When I raced bitd, my Dad always made sure the bike was safe, even though we had scrutineers.  I just can't see why parents would risk their childrens safety.

[bmxmatt1974]

When I raced bitd, my Dad always made sure the bike was safe, even though we had scrutineers.  I just can't see why parents would risk their childrens safety.

am i to old now to ask my dad to check my bike before i race

[Trev]

it's like wolfy said. too many people are being sued in this day and age for stupid things. you declare a bike fit for purpose then the forks snap, you can bet your life that someone will sue you. it's not worth the risk anymore. the best they can do is to ensure that everyone makes sure their own bike is safe.  because of tedious claims in all walks of life, everything decent is screwed.

[RATTY]

When we organize the races at Dagenham we get the local kids turn up, and tbh the bikes could have been pulled from the local scrap yard, brakes are the best, non existent or hanging off is the usual, but my favorite is the quite large trick pegs, 2 foot wide and looking like bodacia swords

Scrutineers used to be very harsh and would fail you just because a grip was split, I remember having to spend all my food and drink money just so as I could buy grips to race

[se bikes]

tbh the bikes could have been pulled from the local scrap yard, brakes are the best, non existent or hanging off is the usual,

, there's no need to put your mechanic skills down babe 

[KGB Matt]

When we organize the races at Dagenham we get the local kids turn up, and tbh the bikes could have been pulled from the local scrap yard, brakes are the best, non existent or hanging off is the usual

With the front cable wrapped around the forks 20 times ...............Take the bloody thing off for feck sake. 

Matt

[MartyC]

Perhaps what is needed is a statement of what will be checked for suitability to race e.g. effectiveness of brakes, loose headset, loose BB, NO PEGS, etc and a statement to say that the rider at all times is responsible for the condition of their bike and that a pre-race check for suitability is not an indication of the safety of the bicycle and cannot be relied upon should anything fail.  This would be exactly the same as the MOT for cars - it is not proof that the vehicle is fit for use, merely an indication that it was but only at the time the test was taken.  The scrutineer can then exclude any bike/rider until they are happy that the bike is suitable for racing; then no-one can be sued  .