Brompton Bottom Bracket Recall: Check the 2017 Notice by Serial Number
The Brompton bottom bracket recall recorded by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission is dated December 21, 2017. Its address contains a 2018 directory, but that is not the notice's stated date. Start with the bicycle's identifier and this exact record, rather than assuming that every Brompton or every replacement bottom bracket falls within the same recall.
Identify the Brompton bottom bracket recall range
The CPSC notice numbered 18-074 (https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/Brompton-Bicycle-Recalls-Bicycles-Due-To-Fall-Hazard) includes serial numbers 1403284144 through 1705150001 and describes manufacture from April 2014 through May 2017. It identifies a bottom bracket that can break in use, creating a fall hazard. Those are the scope and hazard of this particular notice, not a diagnosis based on a bicycle's colour or folded appearance.
The serial is on a curved plate or sticker at the rear of the seat tube. If its barcode sticker is faded or rubbed away, the notice directs owners to send Brompton the six-digit frame number stamped on the metal plate behind the bottom bracket and seat tube, so the corresponding serial can be found. Do not compare that six-digit frame number directly with the ten-digit range.
Follow the specified remedy and keep an individual record
CPSC instructs consumers to stop using recalled bicycles immediately and contact an authorised Brompton dealer for free installation of a new bottom-bracket cartridge. For an affected bicycle, an ordinary compatibility check or a seller's assurance is not evidence that the remedy has been performed. Ask the dealer to confirm the status of that individual bicycle and retain the resulting service record.
The notice reports about 8,400 US units and an additional approximately 1,300 sold in Canada. It is useful for this documented action, but is not a complete worldwide register of every Brompton safety notice. If a bicycle's identifier or remedy history cannot be established, resolve that uncertainty with Brompton or the authorised dealer instead of inferring clearance from an age estimate.
Manufacture and sale are different dates in this record. The stated manufacturing period ends in May 2017, while the notice describes sales through September 2017. A receipt can therefore support ownership history without replacing the serial check. When preparing a second-hand enquiry, request the identifier and any remedy documentation together; a general description such as a 2017 bike leaves both the exact recall scope and the individual repair history unresolved.
FAQ
Which serial numbers does this notice cover?
1403284144 through 1705150001, described as manufactured from April 2014 through May 2017. The actual notice date is December 21, 2017, despite the 2018 URL directory.
What if the barcode sticker cannot be read?
The notice says Brompton can correlate the stamped six-digit frame number with a serial number. Send that identifier to Brompton rather than treating it as the recall-range number.
What is the stated remedy for an affected bicycle?
Immediately stop using it and contact an authorised Brompton dealer for free installation of a new bottom-bracket cartridge. Establish the individual bike's remedy status before relying on a general parts description.
Keep serial identification, recall remedy and ordinary replacement compatibility as separate records. The crank-and-cartridge guide handles the latter question; the Brompton topic provides the wider collection of owner articles.
Photograph credits and permissions
Photograph 1
Original title: Brompton bicycle half folded and loaded
Creator: Bossphotography
Original source URI: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brompton_bicycle_half_folded_and_loaded.jpg
License / permission: CC0 1.0
License / permission URI: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Modification notice: Original photograph reproduced without alteration.