Dangerous feature on a new 20" wheel kids bike? EZBuild pedals

Question

TLDR: Rather than threading a pedal directly into the crank arm this bike maker has an EZBuild feature.   The pedal is threaded into a cast aluminum part at the factory that rotates around the crank arm. When shipped the pedals are in an upright position. When assembled the pedals is rotated to the correct orientation and held there by a spring and a pin.
Is this safe?
The pedals come already installed on the bicycle and look like this:

With the rubber boot off here's another angle:

The pedal is parallel to the frame rather than perpendicular.
To get the bike ready to use the pedal is rotated 90 degrees where the mechanism will be held in place by a pin and a spring.
Here is a picture of the pedal turned to a 45 degree angle:

End view with the pedal ready to ride:

The pedal mechanism with the boot moved out of the way:

The bike with the pedal ready to ride:

Bike makers want to ship a bike in a box that is as narrow as possible so they can get the most bikes possible in a shipping container or truck.
To keep the box narrow the pedals are not installed on the bicycle but are included in the parts box.
This feature is designed to:

Make assembly easier
Allow the factory to install the pedals rather than risk that the pedals be installed wrong and strip threads.
Keep the box narrow for optimum shipping.

But does this feature compromise rider safety?

mikes · Answer

I can think of three possible reasons for this design:
First, reduce the number of bikes returned as defective because the crank arm is stripped. While this would most likely be caused by poor assembly technique some stores have a generous return policy so they take them back anyway.
Second, I can think of is there are fewer people that can competently use tools. As the things we buy become more disposable fewer people fix there own things.
Third, most likely reason is lawsuits. If a child is injured because the pedal falls off the suit will be the fault of the person or company with the deepest pockets. So while shipping cost  and packaging do add cost, litigation is a big cost of doing business.
While this design is innovative I would have concerns about an injury if the rubber boot were damaged or became misaligned. I would have thought that rotating the pin 90 degrees would lessen the chance of the pin hitting the ankle bone.

David D · Answer

Is the EZ Build pedal safe?
This bike is sold without training wheels for kids 4 to 5 feet tall.
It depends on how aggressive the owner is when riding. Different people will classify "light" and "aggressive" in different ways, here are some descriptions.
For light street/trail riding this one way folding pedal feature will be fine. light meaning both wheels are always on the ground.
Here's the definition of riding type this bike is designed for per the manual provided with the bike.

For moderate to aggressive riding EZ Build should be avoided.
Moderate meaning bunny hopping up curbs, jumping off curbs.
Aggressive meaning hard street/trail riding with jumps.
If the kid has ever bent a pedal axle avoid bikes with this feature.

Dangerous feature on a new 20" wheel kids bike? EZBuild pedals

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