Advanced Sports International is recalling Fuji Bicycles. The recall specifically involves Advanced Sports International’s 2017 Fuji bicycles with Oval Concepts Rear Wheels. The aluminum or carbon fiber bicycles come in a variety of colors. The bicycle model name is printed on the frame of the bicycle. The wheel model number is printed on the rim of the wheel. The hub model number is printed on the drive-side hub flange.

The recall involves the following models:

  • Fuji Altamira CX 1.1
  • Fuji Altamira CX 1.3
  • Fuji Brevet 1.1 Disc
  • Fuji Cross 1.1
  • Fuji Gran Fondo 1.1 Disc
  • Fuji Gran Fondo 1.3 Disc
  • Fuji SL 1.3 Disc
  • Fuji Gran Fondo Elite Disc
  • Fuji SL 1.1 Disc
  • Fuji Norcom Straight 1.1
  • Fuji Norcom Straight 1.3
  • Fuji SL 1.1
  • Fuji SL 1.3
  • Fuji Transonic Elite

The recall was based on Advanced Sports International receiving four reports of freehub slipping while pedaling. No crashes or injuries have been reported yet, but the company urges consumers to immediately stop riding bicycles subject to the recall to receive a free replacement freehub body.

What is a freehub, you ask? A freehub is a type of bicycle hub that incorporates a ratcheting mechanism. A set of sprockets (called a “cassette”) are mounted onto a splined shaft of the freehub to engage the chain. The ratcheting mechanism is a part of the hub, in contrast to a freewheel, an older technology, which contains both the sprockets and a ratcheting mechanism in a single unit separate from the hub. In many high-end and midrange bicycles, freehubs have replaced freewheel systems.

A freewheel mechanism allows a rider to stop pedalling whilst the cycle is still in forward motion. On a cycle without a freewheel mechanism, the rider has to keep pedalling whenever the cycle is moving.