It’s over five years since the initial controversy over the safety of quick-release front wheels and disc brakes swept the internet. The potential issues were brought to prominence by climate scientist James Annan, but it was Russ Pinder’s accident in the Brecon Beacons that was the highest-profile front wheel ejection incident. Pinder, a BM member and contributor, crashed on the Gap trail, landing on his back in the rocks and sustaining spinal cord injuries that left him paralysed from the waist down.

His front wheel ended up some distance from the crash site, having apparently become detached before the crash. Now, after five years of speculation and discussion, James Annan’s wheel-ejection theory is being tested in the High Court, as Russ Pinder seeks damages under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and in negligence as a result of serious spinal cord injuries (resulting in paraplegia) alleged to be caused by the defective design of Fox Racing Shox bicycle forks.

A statement from law firm Davies Arnold Cooper says: “It is Russell Pinder’s case that the design of the Fox forks when combined with certain disc brakes, and when using a front wheel secured by a quick release mechanism create loosening of the front wheel after repeated brake application, followed by subsequent ejection of the wheel out of the front forks.” That, in a nutshell, is Annan’s theory.

Not surprisingly, neither the firm nor Russell Pinder will be making any further comment before the trial, which got underway yesterday and is expected to last a week.

Much has happened in the last five years – keen-eyed riders will note that most QR forks currently on the market now have substantially forward-angled dropouts, which is a much better idea from the point of view of wheel retention (although confusing when you first try to fit your wheel). And of course through-axle setups are gaining in popularity, with the Fox/Shimano 15QR system featuring on a lot of 2009 bikes.

So whatever the outcome of the trial, changes have already been made and we’re not expecting to see any big changes in fork design as a result of the trial. What results will there be? Well, that of course depends on who wins. The fact that it’s got to court at all suggests that neither side is thinking of compromise – if an out-of-court settlement was on the cards, it would probably have happened by now. We’ll just have to wait and see…