AusCycling released an independent report Thursday on the Pursuit handlebar failure that occurred during the men's team Pursuit qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.

"As is the case with most failures, there is no single cause for this event, but there were key causes that had a greater impact than any other," the investigation states in its executive summary.

"The primary cause of the Australian Cycling Team's base bar failure was inadequate specifications and the fact that the base bar was exposed to rider forces 1.1.5 times greater than specifications during use. Subsidiary causes are categorized as poor governance, i.e., inadequate functional configuration management and physical configuration management.

Australian team Pursuit rider Alex Porter crashed onto the course after the Bastion Cycles CA-06 base bar on his Argo 18 bike appeared to have broken at the attachment. The team of Porter, Sam Welsford, Lee Howard, Kelland O'Brien, and Luke Plapp qualified fifth for the restart and fought hard for the bronze medal, although equipment problems cost them the opportunity to compete for the gold and silver medals.

The report on the accident and the events leading up to it, prepared by mechanical and aeronautical engineer John Baker, offered 19 recommendations. Fourteen of these were directed at Aust Cycling, all of which are to be implemented. We commissioned the independent report knowing full well that it could have unpleasant consequences," said Marne Fechner, CEO of Aus Cycling, in a statement.

"We also said we see this as an opportunity to learn and get better. Today is an important step toward that goal, and we are committed to ensuring that elite programs benefit from world-class systems, processes, and cultures."

Recommendations to Aust Cycling ranged from hiring qualified and experienced personnel to processes that include independent review and traceability of critical steps, as well as quality control. It also recommended that Bastion Cycle components with sufficient justification and a satisfactory operating record be brought back into full use.

"Operating at the limits of both human and technical performance always presents opportunities to learn and grow," said Bastion co-founder Ben Schultz in a statement. While it is encouraging that the quality of our product was not the primary cause of the failure, "there is work to be done to improve our capabilities and knowledge base."

The report also had five recommendations for the bastion cycle. These included identifying whether a 0.29 mm protrusion in front of the mounting bolt is acceptable and providing recommended fastener installation values that are compatible with the design and material type of the part.

"There is no failure until you give up. We have always said that whatever the outcome of the report, we will treat it as an opportunity to learn and become stronger as people and as an organization. In team sports, we win together, we lose together, and most importantly, we learn together." Bastion is committed to working with Australian Cycling and the team to address each of these recommendations and work towards the future"

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When the Australian Cycling team needed to change the geometry of their bikes due to changes in the Pursuit team's starting technique and the use of smaller bike frames to improve aerodynamic performance, Bastion Cycles, Inc. was asked to provide a base Bastion Cycles was commissioned to provide the bars.

"The Australian Cycling team specified the required base bars using electronic drawings of the computer-aided design of the outer skin and testing to international standards. The specified titanium material was lighter and stronger than steel, but more sensitive to fatigue damage." Fatigue Testing Reduced from 200,000 cycles to 50,000 cycles by an Australian cycling team.

According to the report, the 3D-printed bar mated with the machined steering fork and had a height of 0.29 mm just forward of the most forward mounting bolt, which increased the local stress.

"Even without this mismatch, the high rider forces would have caused failures elsewhere on the base bar," the report states.

"The design, manufacturing, and laboratory testing of the base bar were all properly controlled and completed as specified. State-of-the-art design methodologies for static and fatigue performance were used, while full constrained fatigue testing was performed and the results provided to the Australian Cycling Team.

The report states that the 200,000 test cycles were reduced to 50,000 by the Australian Cycling Team, as well as deficiencies in process and checks and balances that resulted in many missed opportunities to detect bar degradation prior to the Olympics.

"While the Australian Cycling Team had an organizational structure," the report's summary states, "there were few policies and processes in a technical sense, and each individual made them up as they went along." An equipment steering group was formed with a vision of "zero failure rate," but unfortunately, there was little documented structure to implement this vision and this vision was never communicated to Bastion Cycles. A comprehensive bicycle build book was drafted, but when it was published it only partially covered the technical aspects.