MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
With the tour just finished and those nice bits of archive that pop up now and then I was thinking about the roll the UCI plays and how they've been resistant to change at key points in cycling - for a long time resisting gears for instance, the barney they had with Graeme Obree more recently and so on. Theres talk now that they'll relax the minimum weight limit.
Now in the latter case its being pressed by marketeers rather than competitive riders. But apart from a few component details and materials, the bikes in the peloton aren't wildely different to one people rode in the war. And technology in the peloton is what trickles down to the rest of us. So if the UCI holds something down the stifle cycling for everyone
Now as a for-instance- reccumbents are faster than conventional road bikes. Could we see Voeckler take the yellow feet first next year if the UCI allowed it? Would we recognise him with a beard and sandals?
What else would/ could we see in competition and the mainstream if it were allowed?
reccumbents are faster than conventional road bikes
Not up the Galibier they're not...
iDave, you change bikes between stages and even on a stage so i guess he could do that!
Electric pedal-assist
Aero frames are pushing the boundaries of what is structural and what is a fairing. One of the production Giant Trinity's is not UCI legal for this reason.
Not that he rules are a bad thing. It means there is a level playing field otherwise it would be more about the bike and not the rider.
There should be modified and stock races though, like in many other sports. That would be fun. Also imagine how fun some races would be if you could have a defined amount of electric assist on tap? 🙂
I for one would be quite happy to watch rider modified races. They can drug themselves up, replace limbs with mechanical assists, have hydraulics operating their legs and computers operating their brains. I don't care, as long as I enjoy my hours viewing of the highlights that's all I'm bothered about.
One day, when computer graphics are good enough, you will be able to watch a computer simulation of a stage and not be able to tell. The riders would be controlled by teenagers. It'd look just like a real TdF stage except that half way through there will be weapons power ups and turbo pads.. and each rider will have a secret special skill...
Do you really think it would make that much difference? The mass market for bikes is in people who do not race and so do not need UCI compliant machines. If there were subtle changes which made riding that much better/faster/easier then people like me would happily pay for them even if it meant that people who shave their legs pointed and said we were cheating. I've never consciously bought a bike / component because it was a bit like a pro one. Just as I've never bought a sports car because it was a bit like an F1/touring car etc. Its a means for practical travel and enjoyment... I'm not convinced the marketeers are holding back because of the UCI - the benefits are just pretty marginal.
Even if it made that much difference there is nothing to stop a group of people forming their own "relaxed" rules competition - why should the UCI rules have the monopoly - the fact they haven't (or certainly not on a world stage) implies that the racing isn't more exciting etc.
A lot of (top end) production bikes these days way far less than the UCI's 6.8kg limit. Not that anyone really cares that much or probably rides tham at pro level. You can quite easily get bikes to weigh less than that limit as we've all tried to do.
Having a reasonable light weight limit is probably the only good thing the UCI has done, admittedly it's a teeny bit out of date now, somewhere near 6.0kg's is about right.
I think the UCI ought to concentrate on more significant anomolies in it's organisation than bike weights.