Bicycle frames ready for testing

EFBE Prüftechnik GmbH | Engineering for Bikes

EFBE. The leading lab for mechanical testing of bicycles, e-bikes and their components.

EFBE, based in Waltrop, Germany and Taichung, Taiwan, has been the leading test laboratory for mechanical tests on bicycles and components since 1995. Our expertise is reflected in both international safety standards and our own stringent EFBE TRI-TEST®. All frames and components certified to our, International ISO and European EN standards guarantee the maximum possible safety for you as manufacturer – and for your customers, the cyclists.

Our service portfolio guarantees world-wide certified safety for you and your customers:

Test service. Ensuring quality right from the start.

  • Safety tests according to international safety standards
  • Quality tests according to EFBE standards
  • Certification with recognised test seals

Test stands. Testing technology for your development and quality assurance.

EFBE test stands can be used to perform testing in accordance with ISO, EN or EFBE standards. EFBE test systems are used all over the world by leading bicycle and component manufacturers.

Consulting and services around safety and quality.

Manufacturer audits, training courses, measurements of operational loads and equipment calibrations.

We are there for you wherever you need us: EFBE tests and services in Waltrop, Germany and Taichung, Taiwan, according to internationally recognised and accepted standards. Strictly neutral and independent. Contact us now.

EFBE. Bicycle test lab and safety institution.

In theory we are just a test lab that performs mechanical tests on bicycles and their components. But in reality we are a little more than that. We see ourselves a kind of “proactive guardian angel” for cyclists. We make sure that cyclists can rely on their bikes with no risk to life or limb.

At the same time, we also provide manufacturers with the reassurance – and clear conscience – that, as far as humanly possible, their products pose no danger to other persons, but provide pleasure cyclists can rely on.

Besides our function as guardian angel, we still remain dedicated engineers who insist on absolutely relevant and valid parameters for every test. Of course it’s possible to test anything to destruction; but that’s not the aim of the exercise. We therefore devise realistic test criteria based on our expertise and experience – taking into account the «foreseeable use» and overload conditions above and beyond the intended use. These test criteria have proven to be so closely related to practical field use that they have been incorporated into European safety standards and are even regarded as de facto industrial standards. Of course this makes us a little proud. And it also makes cycling that little bit safer.

The reference test: EFBE TRI-TEST®

Our EFBE TRI-TEST® is the reference in bicycle testing, and goes far beyond the tests prescribed in the existing standards. Each test program is built from the three modules fatigue tests, maximum load tests and overload test in various load cases, all of which together replicate the stresses of a whole bicycle life. A frame must undergo a minimum of five and up to eight different test stages, in order to be awarded the EFBE TRI-TEST® seal.

About EFBE TRI-TEST®

Reasons why the world’s leading manufacturers rely on EFBE.

As long-term partner to the bicycle and e-bike industry, we not only know the market, but also continuously feed back new impulses to our customers. We contribute to European and international standardisation, we conduct trainings and seminars and organise workshops for the supply chain – in order to not only provide our know-how and experience in monitoring the product, but also to offer guidance throughout its design and manufacturing process.

Comprehensive service package throughout the whole process.

Prevention is better than cure – we help manufacturers to achieve a high quality standard during production and to prevent faults from occurring in the first place. In order to specifically improve the production process, we analyse potential sources of error and develop on-site solutions to improve quality already during the process. In this way, production waste can be minimised and the safety and profitability of the end product can be increased accordingly.

1. Quality management support

EFBE help you to improve QM systems throughout your supply chain. We provide training for your team and your suppliers, we enable them to carry out and interpret tests, help setting up safe and compliant laboratory facilities and audit them.

2. Development of quality standards

EFBE helps you in setting up your supplier requirements and guidelines and in monitoring them. We support you in optimising your processes in-house and strengthen knowledge and skills with your staff and suppliers.

3. Production and quality research

EFBE continuously researches and highlights potential for improving processes and to enhance production methods. Wether welding and heat treatment of aluminium or draping and curing of carbon fibre – the goal is to eliminate problems before they occur.

Science as fundamental requirement.

We only use testing methods that meet scientific standards, i.e. the validity, repeatability, and objectivity of the process must be guaranteed. The most obvious testing method is not always the most reliable and informative. We do not, for example, run durability tests of an entire bike on a roller bench. We apply particularly stringent standards for the EFBE TRI-TEST®.

Transparent processes.

The test methods which EFBE apply are by no means top secret, they are actually highly transparent. The methods, test samples and test results are all meticulously documented and recorded. EFBE’s activities are based on the quality management principles of ISO/IEC 17025 for test laboratories.

Precision measurement and control technology.

Small discrepancies in the applied forces of a fatigue test lead to disproportionately large differences in the achieved cycles-to-failure value. Therefore, only exactly defined and maintained testing loads deliver reliable and reproducible results. EFBE measures every single test force at high resolution and actively corrects target value deviations wherever necessary. This allows minor design changes, e.g. in the carbon lay-up or different welding sequences, to be compared with one another.

Evaluation of results.

Whenever benchmarking is practical and possible, our customer receives an evaluation together with the test report. The evaluation shows the results of comparable products in anonymised form. Customers then benefit from EFBE’s extensive experience gained over 20 years and its data pool compiled from many thousands of tests.

EFBE facts

Before it endangers a biker’s health, we’d rather test it to destruction.

EFBE tests bicycle frames and components to precise standards – according to national and international safety standards and the much stricter and realistic in-house EFBE standards. Through our many years of experience, we know what really matters during the tests. This means we can produce – and reproduce – in the laboratory the precise failure modes which will occur – or have occurred – in use. This is almost a predictive capability – but in actual fact it provides ample proof of how accurately our tests model field practice.

These safety-critical components are tested as standard in the EFBE laboratory. We would be pleased to offer other tests on request.

Our test stands simulate roads, trails and downhill runs – plus rider obesity on request:

1. Frame

The pioneers of frame testing offer standard tests based on international standards, the recognised EFBE TRI-TEST® and a range of additional tests, e.g. for full suspension bikes, various electric bikes, gravity bikes and many more. Go to the «Mechanical test of bicycle frames» test order form …

2. Fork

European and international standards together with the in-house EFBE TRI-TEST® guarantee safety – from track bikes to gravity bikes. Go to the «Mechanical test of bicycle forks» test order form …

3. Handlebar and stem unit

Standard tests and the EFBE TRI-TEST® for safe and lightweight cockpit designs. Go to the «Mechanical test of bicycle handlebars with stem» test order form …

4. Seatposts and saddles

For testing children’s and young adult bikes, city and trekking bikes, different MTB and racing bikes and the whole bandwidth of EPAC in accordance with European, international or EFBE test standards. Go to the «Mechanical test of bicycle seatposts» test order form …

5. Drivetrains/cranksets

Crank assembly and drive unit tests in accordance with ISO 4210, EN 15194, DIN 79010 and the comprehensive EFBE TRI-TEST® standard. Go to the «Mechanical test drive system» test order form …

Simply download the linked order forms and send them back to EFBE Prüftechnik GmbH.

Other assemblies and components

Pedals, headsets, etc. – contact us. We shall be pleased to offer a solution.

Material, component and damage analysis

Wall thickness measurement, crack detection and analysis, metallography, spectrum analysis etc.
Go to the »Component and damage analysis« price list …

Find out for yourself what your products can withstand – before your customers find out the hard way.

EFBE test stands for your design and quality control.

The importance of quality and safety tests is growing in all segments of the bicycle and e-bike market. The reasons for this are not only due to legal regulation governing product liability and safety. The growing importance of quality management for leading brands also plays a significant role. Advertising using objective performance data in the high-end market segment is an essential part of the entire marketing concept. The press in particular, uses stiffness as a comparative value when publishing bike tests.

The growing need for tests now makes even more economic sense for bike and component manufacturers to be capable of quickly running their own in-house tests. EFBE provides the bike-specific test equipment necessary for this.

Provided the safety standards contain the relevant regulations, the test stands are compatible with ISO 4210 and European standard EN 15194. They also allow for the application of new improved EFBE standards including the EFBE TRI-TEST®. All test stands are built to customer order.

We offer the following test stands:

  • Fatigue test stands for frame, fork, handlebar, stem, seatpost and drive unit,
  • maximum load and overload test stands and
  • stiffness test stands.

There is no substitute for experience: 25 years of EFBE test stands.

Our test stands are our core competency and the result of over 25 years’ experience and systematic optimisation. Test stands are designed as a modular system for performing seamlessly documented force and displacement measurements thanks to a high-precision servo-pneumatic control system. We can therefore offer 100% reproducible and cost-effective fatigue tests on all materials used in lightweight structures. We have also made a name for ourselves in testing fibre-reinforced composite materials.