Caliper

Honestly, drop bar 29ers have been Gravel bikes for years, especially before there were gravel frames that would accept larger tires. In watching coverage of the race, I definitely thought that this bike looked like a great choice given the low CRR values available in some MTB tires.

unterhausen

It really depends on if USAC or UCI make people choose to keep their license and if it matters to the racers. In the past if they wanted to take over a niche part of the sport they have forced the the racer's hand by telling people they can't race if they do events not sanctioned by them.

Noonievut

I have zero knowledge of racing and governing bodies, but I had a question:

If I don't care about professionals riding in a gravel race, and if a governing body such as UCI 'owned' (not sure the terminology) a particular race, such as Unbound, or where I live in Ontario, Canada, Paris 2 Ancaster, why would I care...assuming the event is still open to non-professionals (I presume 99% of those in such events)? If it meant that someone with a racing license could or couldn't enter an event, what would it matter to me (or 99.9% of you). I'm not trying to be confrontational, rather, as I said, I have zero knowledge of this stuff and wonder what it would mean (in a negative sense) to the non-professionals.

unterhausen

The thing about a race like unbound is that it would still sell out even if all the sanctioning bodies kept their riders out of it. So it probably would still be held. Being a sanctioned race adds some requirements and expense that they might not want to put up with. OTOH, those licensed riders probably bring some sponsorship money that might not be forthcoming if they weren't there.

chas58

Answer: um, it matters a LOT to me if I can't race because I'm not a member of UCI. Occasionally I'll buy a day license, but I'll always gravitate to races that don't need a license.

That has lead to me doing a lot of velodrome, Cross country, and gravel races (non UCI) - but even still sometimes I need to spend the extra $ to get a day pass to race.

I'm fine with the roadies needing UCI license - I'll get a day pass when I really want to do one of those. But I would prefer not to have them do Gravel events.

Camilo

Very interesting.... How does, or does, the UCI distinguish MTB vs road vs gravel? Tire size? Suspension? Frame geometry? I guess I could look it up, but I'm curious if and what's been addressed. My vague rudimentary knowledge is that there's some frame and positioning rules for road and time trial, tire size for cross, but that's it (for my vague and rudimentary knowledge &#128521. I have no idea beyond that and know nothing about standards, of any, for MTB and gravel

chaadster

It has been addressed upthread, yes, and while the UCI is not sanctioning gravel now, it has said that it plans to, and based on the very stringent definitions of things like geometry and equipment which the UCI imposes on their existing disciplines, it is *extremely* likely they will tightly define what constitutes a gravel bike for their sanctioned events.

biketampa

for gravel, I don’t think matters very little. I think it’s cool when you get some of these former pro roadies involved but it doesn’t affect my decision to race or not race. Something like unbound is just a challenging event to complete. That’s the reason to enter.

mstateglfr 

Sure, they will place restrictions on equipment.

That doesnt mean gravel racing as a whole will change- nothing I enter will be UCI regulated. Maybe some events do change. Maybe current events continue on and new events are created for UCI racing.
Who knows. Your doomsday prediction earlier seems excessive.

Darth Lefty 

Noonievut Racing regulation reaches far down below the most prestigious races. (Hence jokes about "Cat 6" racers). If a race like Unbound is regulated, and very popular, then you need to qualify for it, and the demand for that means that smaller and smaller events also come under regulation so that people can earn their license, their categories, their points, etc. etc. And pretty soon you have the top event full of people on reasonably identical bicycles and all the innovations are how to beat the pee testing, shut out your opposing team so you star rider is the only one who gets to win, or otherwise evade the rules or not get caught cheating.

Hmmm

Chaad could be one of two people:

1. David Lappartient infiltrating these boards to test the waters of internet gravel culture by posting mysterious gravel sanction threats.
2. Someone who was riding a rigid fork at Unbound and Lael passed them comfortably on her amazing gravel rig.

unterhausen

Jan Heine interviewed Lael about why she rode the mountain bike instead of her gravel bike.
https://www.renehersecycles.com/lael...ut-unbound-xl/

Metieval

Man I love your bikes!

pipeliner

Look at that o-ring on her fork. Used 80% of the travel on a 2 day race...

unterhausen

I wonder if she ever messes with that o-ring. To my shame, I almost never do.

But the XL course had some rough spots on it from the pictures I have seen.

chas58

Thanks for that.

that description solidifies my opinion. If I'm doing a 24 hour (sleep deprived) rough road gravel race (in the dark), big tires and a suspension fork are going to be a big plus for me.
If I'm doing a 1-4 hour race, a lighter stiffer bike (40mm tires) would be my choice.
It seems like most people used 40mmish sized tires unless they were doing the 24hr XL.