How the Pros get round the UCI weight limit
Moderator: robbosmans
- press hard here
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Heard from a guy in the cycle trade of a way that the Pros were getting around the UCI weight limit at the TdF this year, I wondered if anyone else had heard this.
Basically the team mechanics were putting ice cubes down the seat tubes before taking them to be weighed before the start of a stage. They had also drilled a drainage hole in the BB shell so that as the ice cubes melted during the stage the water drained away.
I'm not sure how true it is but if the UCI only weigh before a stage and not after it then can see how it would work.
Basically the team mechanics were putting ice cubes down the seat tubes before taking them to be weighed before the start of a stage. They had also drilled a drainage hole in the BB shell so that as the ice cubes melted during the stage the water drained away.
I'm not sure how true it is but if the UCI only weigh before a stage and not after it then can see how it would work.
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I very hard come to doubt this.
True is that Italian teams tested the possibilty of melting ice inside the seattube in the Giro a couple of years ago when the UCI introduced the weight limit.
Last year for the TdF uphill time trial (and some mountain stages) I know that they have weighted all the bikes (of the GC contenders) at the start and after right the finish. They eased on these controls this year, but nevertheless if you would be caught with a bike not meeting the UCI rules (here the weight) you would have to go home and I doubt any of the teams (or riders) would want to run into this risk (of a random control).
True is that Italian teams tested the possibilty of melting ice inside the seattube in the Giro a couple of years ago when the UCI introduced the weight limit.
Last year for the TdF uphill time trial (and some mountain stages) I know that they have weighted all the bikes (of the GC contenders) at the start and after right the finish. They eased on these controls this year, but nevertheless if you would be caught with a bike not meeting the UCI rules (here the weight) you would have to go home and I doubt any of the teams (or riders) would want to run into this risk (of a random control).
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- ElDuderino
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Basically the team mechanics were putting ice cubes down the seat tubes before taking them to be weighed before the start of a stage. They had also drilled a drainage hole in the BB shell so that as the ice cubes melted during the stage the water drained away.
Friggin Genius!
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press hard here wrote:Heard from a guy in the cycle trade of a way that the Pros were getting around the UCI weight limit at the TdF this year, I wondered if anyone else had heard this.
Basically the team mechanics were putting ice cubes down the seat tubes before taking them to be weighed before the start of a stage. They had also drilled a drainage hole in the BB shell so that as the ice cubes melted during the stage the water drained away.
I'm not sure how true it is but if the UCI only weigh before a stage and not after it then can see how it would work.
Great imagination you have there.
First of all there is the possibility of a post race UCI weight control.
And secondly, more important: only a few pros care about every last weight benefit on their bike! I've never heard a pro asking if a product is light; they allways wonder if it's strong enough.
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seems like an awful lot of risk to take... considering if you get caught from a suprise after ride check, you'll be booted out of the race without further process.
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i agree with the hairless one
it's a hell of a risk to take - and for these guys, a few hundred grams here or there is not a big deal. if it was 1 or 2 kg then I could understand, but i hardly think they would risk it for a few hundred grams....
it's a hell of a risk to take - and for these guys, a few hundred grams here or there is not a big deal. if it was 1 or 2 kg then I could understand, but i hardly think they would risk it for a few hundred grams....
- CaptainWilier
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Welcome to WW.
I put ice in my seat tube to keep my butt cool.
I put ice in my seat tube to keep my butt cool.
pros care more for reliability than weight savings most of the time. the trend of highlighting UCI limits has been developed mostly by the american brands which use this as a marketing plataform, they make a lot of fuss about weight, the add ons, how "illegal" their bikes can be, etc etc.
some pros do care a lot about weight though, but i doubt they would risk being able to compete for a few grams under the rules.
some pros do care a lot about weight though, but i doubt they would risk being able to compete for a few grams under the rules.
So that's what that little hole under my BB shell is good for - damn who would have thought about that!
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jmh wrote:Bike Mechanics should check the stories from NASCAR in attempts to get around the rules, some very creative solutions.
Very true.
A few years back Jeff Gordon easily drove a car to victory lane that was like a big patch of grey area. Ray Evernham, his crew chief, basically took out the rule book, found all the loopholes, and designed a car that could slip right through them. I think the project was known as T-Rex. It fit within the rules but did not meet the intent of the rules. So really it was completely legal but it walked a very fine line. NASCAR confiscated it and released all the information about the car to the rest of the teams. The next year they rewrote some rules to take out the loopholes. They did, however, like some of the innovation they saw in the car and allowed some of it to remain if other teams wanted to persue it.
If any of you ever get the opportunity to go to Daytona, FL, go stop by the museum at the speedway. They have an area that has parts on display that were confiscated by NASCAR. Such as a helmet that was filled with lead to get the car and driver through the weight inspection.
just click your shoes in the pedals
put 2 empty drink bottles in the cages
and attach your your communication equipment on your bike (just like Voigt under your saddle)
total = 1kg or something.
normally you have a 6.8Kg bike + this 1kg stuff
you can also take a 5.8kg bike with this 1kg stuff attached to the bike.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
put 2 empty drink bottles in the cages
and attach your your communication equipment on your bike (just like Voigt under your saddle)
total = 1kg or something.
normally you have a 6.8Kg bike + this 1kg stuff
you can also take a 5.8kg bike with this 1kg stuff attached to the bike.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by michael on Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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press hard here wrote:Heard from a guy in the cycle trade of a way that the Pros were getting around the UCI weight limit at the TdF this year, I wondered if anyone else had heard this.
Basically the team mechanics were putting ice cubes down the seat tubes before taking them to be weighed before the start of a stage. They had also drilled a drainage hole in the BB shell so that as the ice cubes melted during the stage the water drained away.
well, we saw plenty of them doing THIS lately.
BTW, how much ice would it take to get 200 grams? Quite a bit of volume I believe.
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