UCI to review the 6.8kg weight limit rule

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eric
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by eric

I've never had my bike weighed or measured at a race. It'd fail the UCI weight as it's 13.something lbs depending on wheels.

USA amateur racing does not follow UCI regs except for a few championship events.

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CarlosFerreiro
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by CarlosFerreiro

Does not follow the regs, or does not enforce the regs?

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HammerTime2
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by HammerTime2

Does not follow the regs, with exceptions.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/forms/rules/2014-USAC-Rulebook.pdf pp. 35-36 wrote:(e) Bicycles must meet current UCI technical regulations at events that select 17-18, U23 and Elite riders for international competition or national teams. All bicycles used in National Championships (for age 17 and older riders) and NRC races must comply with the current UCI regulations. At the discretion of USA Cycling, UCI rules may be adopted or modified for Masters National Championships.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/forms/rules/2014-USAC-Rulebook.pdf p. 43 wrote:a) For Olympic and other international events, and the activities of UCI teams, the applicable regulations of the UCI shall take precedence over USA Cycling regulations.
(b) National Championships for 17-18, U23 and professional riders will be run under UCI rules, except as specifically noted elsewhere in these rules. At the discretion of USA Cycling, other races for 17-18, U23 or professional riders that are used to qualify riders for national teams or international competition may use UCI rules, either completely or in part.
(c) These Racing Rules apply to all races authorized by USA Cycling, including national championships.
(d) Whenever a specific rule is in conflict with a more general rule, the specific rule takes precedence.
(e) Exceptions to these rules may be made only with prior approval of the CEO in a particular race event. A request for exception should be made in writing to the CEO.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/USACWeb/forms/rules/2014-USAC-Rulebook.pdf p. 130 wrote:6F1. Bicycles and Wheels used in competition in all collegiate road events (criteriums, time trials, road races, etc) must conform to the current UCI regulations for mass-start legal bicycles and wheels. The UCI maintains a website with the information of approved wheels.

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itsacarr
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by itsacarr

I have done NRC races, UCI stage races of various levels and championships and to date I have had my bike weighed once in the past 5 years. And it was in a time trial at that. Definitely never had someone look for a UCI approved sticker either but had plenty of people tell me my saddle is too far forward on my tt bike!
Just ride ..

xnavalav8r
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by xnavalav8r

It seems common sense may be applied. Hopefully they apply some rule of proportionality to any change which allows smaller/lighter riders to ride a lighter bike.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/10/bikes-and-tech/cookson-technology-has-moved-on-from-6-8kg-weight-limit-on-bikes_349994

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djconnel
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by djconnel

I really look forward to 6.8 being dead & buried!

Proportionality is tricky because to what should the weight limit be proportional?

I like the idea of just going to a safety spec. At the finish, they drop everyone's bike from 3 meters and they still need to be rideable :).

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

Proportional makes no sense.. But I would be ok with 6.8 going away.. Getting my bike down on weight is not going to help my lack of climbing ability
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eric
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by eric

The problem with a safety spec is that the testing will be expensive and the cost will be bourne by the manufacturers, after a hefty UCI markup for "administration".
That will be a barrier to entry for smaller manufacturers. Only large companies will be able to get their equipment used in races. Keep in mind that in many places even low level amateurs bikes must meet UCI regs as their national associations blindly follow the UCI.

For this reason, even though a safety spec makes more sense from an engineering perspective I'd prefer a lower weight limit.

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Pokerface07
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by Pokerface07

I get my TT bike and track bike weighed at UCI events all the time. Never had a road bike weighed before.
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xnavalav8r
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by xnavalav8r

At a recent junior/youth race in the Netherlands, all bikes were weighed and roll-outs were verified in accordance with UCI rules. 10 year old kids were required to be on 6.8kg bikes. There was a lot of scrambling by parents before the start of the first stage.

sawyer
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by sawyer

Safety spec test alone is a poor idea.

Given parts have to be made available to the public they have to be safe

If you remove weight completely you will end up with hugely expensive (if they are still required to be available to the public) sub 500g framesets, 600g wheelsets etc.

Bottom line - pro level bikes will be unavailable to all but the deepest pockets

Who here wants that?

I do favour a reduction in 6.8kg as it would help stimulate WW part development, though it should be incremental - take it down to 6.3kg for a few years and see how it goes. Remember that aerodynamics etc have benefited from the headroom 6.8kg gives
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