Shimano issues voluntary recall for 760,000 Hollowtech II cranksets

Shimano has issued a voluntary recall for 760,000 Hollowtech II cranksets sold in the USA and Canada between 2012 and 2023. The recall is specific to the two north American countries, with Shimano announcing a separate "inspection and replacement program" for Europe.

“With our dedication to safety and quality in mind, Shimano is issuing a voluntary recall of some bonded 11-speed Hollowtech road cranksets produced before July 2019 for a possible bonding separation issue,” Shimano announced on its website.

All of the cranksets affected by the recall are 11-speed, with 680,000 sold in the USA and a further 80,000 sold in Canada.

Shimano has confirmed to GCN that the risk in Europe - where a separate "inspection and replacement program" is being implemented - and the rest of the world is "medium", based on feedback from the EU Safety Authorities.

The European program has been initiated as "reports received by Shimano indicate that the outer cover of the crank arm may start to separate from the
main crank arm body, posing potential fall and injury hazards to consumers".

Both the recall and the European program apply to the following models:

• Ultegra FC-6800
• Ultegra FC-R8000
• Dura-Ace FC-9000
• Dura-Ace FC-R9100
• Dura-Ace FC-R9100-P

The production code for the cranksets is stamped on the inside arm of the crank arms, with the following codes affected: KF, KG, KH, KI, KJ, KK, KL, LA, LB, LC, LD, LE, LF, LG, LH, LI, LJ, LK, LL, MA, MB, MC, MD, ME, MF, MG, MH, MI, MJ, MK, ML, NA, NB, NC, ND, NE, NF, NG, NH, NI, NJ, NK, NL, OA, OB, OC, OD, OE, OF, OG, OH, OI, OJ, OK, OL, PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PI, PJ, PK, PL, QA, QB, QC, QD, QE, QF, QG, QH, QI, QJ, QK, QL, RA, RB, RC, RD, RE, and RF.

© Shimano

Model numbers and production codes can be found on the inside of the crank arms

For the recall, anyone with a matching production code has been advised to contact an authorised Shimano dealer to arrange a free inspection. These won’t be available immediately and Shimano estimates that they’ll commence on October 1 once it “has developed the crankset inspection process”.

Any products that “show signs of bonding separation” will be replaced by Shimano. These won't be like-for-like and may be aesthetically different, although they will still be compatible 11-speed replacements.

Customers in Europe with applicable cranksets are also advised to contact a local Shimano dealer as a part of the "inspection and replacement program", where it will receive a free inspection and be replaced if there are signs of "bonding separation or delamination".

In the meantime, Shimano has set up a helpline for customers with affected cranksets which can be contacted between 09:00 CET and 21:00 CET on weekdays, and 09:00 CET and 17:00 CET on Saturdays. International customers can contact the helpline via +31 792 077 017.

Further information for customers in Europe will be available on Shimano's dedicated web page, here.

Shimano

Shimano is a bike component manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. The company is one of the industry’s most popular manufacturers and it makes up around three-quarters of the bicycle component market by value.