Is it time to lower the UCI minimum bike weight limit?

[toutenhoofd]

Okay, we're preaching to the choir here, but it was 10 years ago that the UCI came up with the 6.8 kg minimum bike weight rule, and it's time to lower it.

This illegal bike has a PowerTap hub, Garmin 705 computer with cadence sensor, water bottle cages, clinchers, 7900 components, Dura Ace pedals, and EDGE post, bars and stem.

[hockinsk]

Not for me. I would be happy if they pushed the weight limit up to Merckx's era of around 8kg. AT the moment you can really only compare climbing rates of famous ascents back to the year 2000. Would be great to compare Contador with Pantani with Delgado with Lemond, but alas Contador rides a bike over a kilo lighter and much more aero too!

[NealH]

I don't believe it. One kilo difference it bike weight will be overshadowed by the stiffness, overall design and above all - the rider. Comparing riders in different generations is like comparing boxers in different generations. In the end its the better boxer that wins, not the one with the lightest gloves. I'm not saying weight has no effect, just that its not quite all its made out to be. Aero, well there is more to that.

That Storck looks really nice by the way.

[hockinsk]

Stiffness and frame/wheel/groupset material type doesn't actually make as much difference as the manufacturers like you to believe. I believe several tests have proven that just over 99% of energy applied to the pedals on any bike is left on the road and not absorbed or diverted anywhere else. 5mm less BB and wheel deflection while climbing up Galibier makes pretty much no difference to your time/effort. A 1.2kg lighter bike has been well documented and you can easily calculate the time savings / fewer watts required.

[Wingnut]

YES!

[KH1]

When Pinarello can build a 6.8Kg bike in it's biggest frame size I'll say yes......
Otherwise most certainly not

[Perfition]

It should be 6,00 kg.

[MisterEd]

out of interest, does anyone know how and why 6.8kg was chosen as the weight limit?

[mitre_tester]

There was probably an American on the committee who didn't understand either metric measure or decimals, so to save days of trying to explain things to him the rest of the committee just settled on 15lb and then back-converted to metric for the rest of the world

[HammerTime2]

out of interest, does anyone know how and why 6.8kg was chosen as the weight limit?

The UCI knew it was already hated, and having seen this shirt, the UCI, as a good will gesture to save the haters the expense of making new shirts, figured, what the heck.

[hockinsk]

6.8kg was the weight of an affordable road bike around 2000. Those against the limit often gloss over the fact that 10-15 years ago cycling was going down the old F1 path of basically, the bigger your bank account, the faster bike you could build aka Boardman + Lotus + £££ = Hour Record. To me that is not attractive long term in a sport with over 100 years of history primarily about the rider and not their bike. For example, who knows what the manufacturer of say Coppi's Hour Record bike was without Google? Exactly!

Weight restrictions are the only way you can retain some level technical development for manufacturers to make money from, but also make it possible for all UCI teams from lowest budget to highest budget, all competing with roughly equal equipment. Even with the current restrictions, money still buys you a tenth here and there in other areas other than weight.

[Raxel]

15lbs is just a arbitrary number that was regarded as 'too light' 10 years ago.. and nowadays you can easily build a sub-15lbs bike with $2000 budget, or using 100% mainstream components.

I think it is WAY more reasonable to replace weight limit with parts regulation that are a)commercially available and b)EN tested.

[Dilbert]

1. Imo limiting the bike mass to 6.8kg was not well thought through. To have the Jose Rujanos & Magnus Backsteads all ride 6.8kg bikes advantages larger riders and disadvantages lighter riders. Limit should be a % of rider mass.

2. It would make sense to review the mass every 2 years or so. If the rule was implemented in the 1980s, the peleton would all be riding 10kg bikes today If the UCI wants to eliminate the effect of technology on cycling, why not put the whole peleton on the same frames, wheels & gruppos ?

[Perfition]

Hmmm, % of rider mass is too advanced... Cause the weight is never the same

They should just remove all rules and let everybody ride prototypes

[mr_tim]

nowadays you can easily build a sub-15lbs bike with $2000 budget

Not to be awkward, but if that's £1500 GBP I don't readily see how it can be done.

I'd be interested to hear how you actually do it - to prove that >6.8kg weight is within the average joe's budget.