Sport Equipment
Secure your sport equipement production with LPI
Sporting goods, brands and distributors have to face fierce competition to win market shares. At the heart of that competition lies the perceived quality of the products and the brand image you build around that. For that very reason it is crucial for any sport goods equipment to manage Quality in the best possible way.
We are entrusted with major retailers to conduct on-site inspections for all kinds of sporting goods including bicycle, protective equipment, trampolines, etc.
Our affiliated labs in Asia and in Europe are notified by the European Union to conduct a wide range of standards and has developed a well recognized expertise on bicycles, skateboards, protective equipments and a wide range of fitness equipments
LPI offers quality control services dedicated solutions for Sport equipment :
The tailored services we propose for sport equipement importers, manufacturers and brands are the following:
- Document review ( verifying existing certificates etc.)
- Project management, consulting
- Random picking services
- Laboratory testing
- Factory, social and environmental audits
- Inline inspection
- Final Random Inspection
- Loading Supervision
120 dangerous sport equipment flagged in the EU
Products pulled from the European market by the authorities in 2025.
Explore the alerts and photos- Made in China
- 61%
- Rejected at the EU border
- 15
- Recalled from consumers
- 38
- Main hazards
- Chemical 38Injuries 37Drowning 25
- Standard most often failed
- EN 13138 quoted in 18 alerts
What inspections keep finding on sports equipment
From January 2023 to October 2026, 289 sports and leisure products were the subject of a Safety Gate alert in the EU, and 185 of a recall in France since January 2022. Bicycles, swim seats and phthalates in plastic fitness gear come back every year.
| Product | Cases | Typical defect | Standard most often cited | What an LPI inspection checks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other sports and outdoor gear | 105 EU alerts61% made in China76 recalls in France | Phthalates and chlorinated paraffins in plastic parts, lead in electronics, boat portlights that fail. | REACH 42 | Lab analysis of plastic and electronic parts, function and strength checks, markings and instructions checked. |
| Bicycles, e-bikes and scooters | 71 EU alerts42% made in China78 recalls in France | Forks, stems or handlebars that break, brakes that are not effective enough, e-bike batteries and hubs that overheat. | EN 8098 13 | Brakes and steering checked, tightening torque on critical fasteners, frame and fork inspection, battery and charger documents (EN ISO 4210, EN 15194, EN ISO 8098). |
| Swim seats, rings and inflatables | 56 EU alerts86% made in China9 recalls in France | Swim seats in which a baby can tip over and stay stuck head under water; phthalates in the PVC. | EN 13138 24 | Design checked against EN 13138-3, warnings and markings, air chambers and valves, phthalate analysis of the PVC. |
| Fitness equipment | 49 EU alerts57% made in China3 recalls in France | Dumbbell coatings, yoga and gym balls with phthalates, sometimes at tens of percent by weight. | REACH 45 | Lab analysis of plastics and coatings (REACH), weight and dimensions checked, seams and burst resistance of balls. |
| Helmets and protective gear | 8 EU alerts75% made in China19 recalls in France | Wrist guards and knee pads that do not absorb impacts, helmet straps that come loose, ski boots that crack. | EN 14120 4 | Conformity with the PPE Regulation and the product standard (EN 14120, EN 1078), straps and buckles tested, markings and instructions checked. |
Sources: Safety Gate (European Commission) and RappelConso (DGCCRF, Licence Ouverte 2.0). Product families and typical defects: keyword grouping by LPI Quality. A product may appear in both sources. These figures reflect enforcement activity, not a defect rate.
Secure your production
Tell us about your project, we will design the right control plan.