Eclectus

The whole UCI thing is dummkopf. Why not allow the lightest bikes to compete? On time-trial flats, why not allow recumbents?

"We cannot allow this kind of thinking, because we'll we just can't. We aren't interested in seeing the best times possible, we're only interested in CONTROLLING PERFORMANCE TO WHAT IS BELOW WHAT IS POSSIBLE."

celticfrost

UCI:

"EPO, Good"

"sub 15lb bike, Bad"

rangerdavid

the EVO is an awesome bike..... really quite an inovation. It has received quite a bit of praise from lots of folks.

vespoli

The point is to standardize the bike so that the RIDERS are being judged, not the sponsors' pocketbooks or the latest MIT whizkid in their employ. Whether that leads to doping is up for debate.

patentcad

You are my BF Ray of Sunshine.

celticfrost

And you are my BF Wizard of Oz. Despite all your bellowing, we all know you're a softy.

sleepy

This.

I'm hoping to see a racer win on a KHS or an open-mold frame. Otherwise, it'd just be Specialized or Cervelo or whoever has the most Dental Funding to blow on 1 pound plastic e-gruppo crap.

AdelaaR

For climbing the aero factor is not important ... the weight and especially the power to weight ratio is.

AdelaaR

It isn't because you fail to comprehend an argument that said argument automatically becomes a "troll".

AdelaaR

Why not allow knives in soccer?
Why not allow small electric motors in cycling?
Why not allow bionic replacement cyborg muscles?
Why not allow rocket boosters?
Why not allow dragcars in front of riders?
Why not allow springs that tension themselves while going down and then release energy going up?
etc...

A sport is a sport and all sports have restrictions to keep them the sports they are.
I like my bikes to remain bikes and applaud the UCI for outlawing anything that changes them too much.

MichaelW

For a mountain stage bike, there may be some advantage in using lighter wheels and transferring the weight to ballast on the frame.
I am surprised that metal weights are added to the crankset: a rotating part, rather than, say the waterbottle holders.
I appreciate the idea of lighter bikes for lighter riders. In pro racing this may not be do-able but for everyone else, it should be quite normal. I dont see why, as a 140lbs (64kg) lightweight, why should I have to buy bikes rated for 300lbs riders.

NathanL

Does any form of racing that involves a vehicle not have a minimum weight for the vehicle. I'm not sure but I know most forms of motorcycle and auto racing have minimums etc... I know bicycle racing would be diffrent from the power plant point of view but it is still a race vehicle.

patentcad

Firearms. The answer to eliminating soccer for good is allowing firearms in the sport.

Rowan

Did you miss something in the history of cycling?

Which Tour rider weighs in at 300lbs?

AdelaaR

If you would look at the history of cycling, my dear fellow, you would come to the conclusion that very light riders, contrary to popular belief, actually are not good climbers in general.

I'll give you the numbers:

Pantani weighed only 55kg and had an aerobic power of 357W ... this gives him 6,5W/kg ... his power to frontal area was 1073W/mē

Armstrong weighed 74kg and had an aerobic power of 481W ... this also gives him 6,5W/kg ... his power to frontal area was 1185W/mē

If we count all the variables except the bike ... both riders will go up something like "Le Mont Ventoux" at the same speed except that Pantani has a smaller frontal area and so he should win.

Now ... bear with me here.
If we count in the weight of the bike at 6,5 kilograms and we calculate the theoretical times on the Ventoux ... we will see that Pantani will lose by about a minute and a half!

Face it: the weight of the bike is unfair to lighter riders in climbs.

AdelaaR

This comparison is pointless since in auto racing all riders have the same engine specifications.

AdelaaR

That would make it too weird ... knives will be just fine and will make it more spectacular
The goalkeeper could be allowed to carry an actual sword or spear maybe?

NathanL

Not always. For those that don't they have a weight break system that regulates weight of car by displacement. I see your point but what other form of racing at all has no minimum weight on the vehicle? Most times it's to limit either how much technology can be introduced or to limit cost.

SlowOlympian

So you would be all up for a bike weighing 10% of the rider's weight? or a bike for everyone that weighs the same? a bike that is 10% of rider weight seems fair to me, since lighter riders dont have the weight to push down without pushing up their body(without a more concerted core effort to resist such motion)?

bratton

Fail to comprehend? Hahaha. Allow me to modify my accusation: typical pretentious BF troll

zigmeister

You mean, the bike still weight 14.99lbs minimum?

Pretty funny how they could tell the 500gms, then they rig it for the guy with the same bikes, he was no dummy.

Can I just suggest some diuretics instead of this bike weight nonsense?

2ndGen

lmfao!

Fiery

So that's why all the climbing specialists are big, strong guys!

AdelaaR

Instead of making more silly attempts at mocking me it would suit you better to bring arguments to the table.
In my post above I have come up with actual numbers proving my statement that the weight of the bike is unfair for lighter riders.
This is not just a random thing I say but it is backed up by logic and physics.
I might be wrong, but until proven wrong by logic I will assume I am right.
I have yet to see you come up with anything even remotely resembling logic or numbers or even a statement other than "you are a troll".
Maybe your childish behaviour is indeed "typical pretentious BF", I don't know.

svtmike

Seems like your interpretation of "equal" is "handicapped".

Under today's rules, all the bike riders have to ride a bike of the same minimum weight (among other restrictions) along the same course, regardless of their conditioning or body type. That sounds equal to me.

Coming up with a system that attempts to handicap particular riders relative to others is not equal competition, it's an attempt to stack the deck against the most gifted.