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So they say their bike isn't going to be available to the public.
Doesn't that go against UCI guidelines therefore making it illegal to race?
And along the way what about Atherton Bikes? Any news on them coming on line yet?
I know THEY have plenty of time and have manufacturing experience, but for InSync to say they won't be selling means it shouldn't happen. Isn't it time that the rules got changed. I know they were there for a reason - looking at you Honda - but they clearly aren't working too well. There seems to be a few bikes that don't make it to production out there in the forms they are being raced.
ARTICLE 1.3.006
“Equipment shall be of a type that is sold for use by anyone practising cycling as a sport.
Any equipment in development phase and not yet available for sale (prototype) must be
subject of an authorization request to the UCI Equipment Unit before its use. Authorization
will be granted only for equipment which is in the final stage of development and for which
commercialization will take place no later than 12 months after the first use in competition.
The manufacturer may request a single prolongation of the prototype status if justified by
relevant reasons.
When assessing a request for use of equipment which is not yet available for sale, the UCI
Equipment Unit will pay particular attention to safety of the equipment which will be
submitted to it for authorization.
The use of equipment designed especially for the attainment of a particular performance
(record or other) shall be not authorised.
Upon expiry of the authorised period of use of a prototype (equipment not yet available for
sale), any item of equipment must be commercially available in order to be used in cycling
events. The requirement of commercial availability shall be understood as equipment having
to be available through a publicly available order system (whether with manufacturer,
distributor or retailer). Upon an order being placed, the order shall be confirmed within 30
days and the relevant equipment shall be made available for delivery within a further 90-day
deadline. In addition, the retail price of the equipment shall be publicly advertised, shall not
render the equipment de facto unavailable to the general public and shall not unreasonably
exceed the market value for equipment of a similar standard.
CLARIFICATION GUIDE OF THE UCI TECHNICAL REGULATION
7
Any equipment which is not commercially available and is not authorised (not authorised by
UCI Equipment Unit or authorised period expired), may not be used in cycling events
governed by the UCI Regulations. Any such unauthorised use of equipment may be
sanctioned by disqualification of results obtained when using the equipment and/or a fine
ranging from CHF 5’000 to 100’000.”
Text modified on 15.10.18
The entire used material must be accessible to all participants. All the components must be
available commercially (i.e. available on the market or sold directly by the manufacturer) at
the latest twelve months after their first use in competition. If such a deadline is requested
and accepted by the UCI, the manufacturer must publicly announce that the product in
question is being used in competition and when it will be available for sale. In all cases the
product must be in a final stage of development, very similar to the product that will be
marketed.
Thus, it is not allowed to use equipment in competition that is not either available on the
market or authorized by the UCI Equipment Unit and previously communicated by the
manufacturer (with a twelve months period for the marketing).
The use of equipment specially designed for a particular athlete, event or performance are
prohibited. "Specially designed" means a bicycle with a technical added value when
compared with other equipment.
No minimum production quantity or minimum price is defined for either bicycles or any
component parts.
It is also demanded to have reasonable prizes, meaning comparable to a similar product of a
same range.
Isn’t it time that the rules got changed.
Insync certainly seem to want it that way.
Aren’t those rules applicable to road only?
I think not.
Edit, obviously I may be wrong but I thought this is across all bikes as there is no exemption in the rule amendments that I can see.
I couldn't give a flying wotsit, in fact I think it's brilliant. How else are manufacturers supposed to improve the breed if they can't test in competition?
Who are insync anyway? Literally never heard of them before this article! And how do they think they're going to improve on bikes that have had years of development gone into them. It's not like it (the one shown in the picture) is breaking any new ground at all is it? Given the cost of developing and producing a bike in limited numbers this is bonkers.
I couldn’t give a flying wotsit, in fact I think it’s brilliant. How else are manufacturers supposed to improve the breed if they can’t test in competition?
There's an exemption for prototypes. No idea what the time limits or penalties are. Obviously TeamGB got arround it by getting Uk sport institute to sell them as custom bikes (so arguably you could never actually buy the teams bikes to copy anyway).
From my quoted text:
Any equipment in development phase and not yet available for sale (prototype) must be
subject of an authorization request to the UCI Equipment Unit before its use. Authorization
will be granted only for equipment which is in the final stage of development and for which
commercialization will take place no later than 12 months after the first use in competition.
The manufacturer may request a single prolongation of the prototype status if justified by
relevant reasons.