Anyone know why...

[Marklar]

Anyone know why you have to have a minimum weight of 14.96 pounds for your bike in the Tour De France? I've been wondering this for a while and can't find a reason for it.

[gmason]

I believe that it is a UCI issue, not a TdF issue.

Originally, the rule was intended to maintain a level of safety by limiting the weight to something that they felt was appropriate. In fact, the Cannondale Six13 marketing campaign was partly taking advantage of that for its success.

The UCI also has various measurement rules regarding bike parts as well. In any case, many people in the profession claim (and have done) that these are outmoded rules, and that they should go because technology has developed faster than the rules.

Reading the UCI Road Racing rules is an interesting exercise.

[Jakey]

Anything lighter would be awfully scary going downhill.

[ChAnMaN]

would it be to level the playing field? To Make sure the one team doesnt have an extreme advantage over any other.

[DVDaze]

I've wondered about this too. One of my theories with the weight and the other restrictions is to make sure that bike races contnue to look like bike races and not some science fair. Kind of like keeping wooden bats the standard in Major League Baseball.

[lala]

I've wondered about this too. One of my theories with the weight and the other restrictions is to make sure that bike races contnue to look like bike races and not some science fair. Kind of like keeping wooden bats the standard in Major League Baseball.


You mean cork bats?

[gmason]

would it be to level the playing field? To Make sure the one team doesnt have an extreme advantage over any other.
No. As I said, it was initially a safety issue.

[DieselDan]

I'd heard, from Paul Sherwin I think, the rule was put in place to keep big-budget teams from outspending smaller budget teams. Now, almost every bike in the peleton is at the minimum weight.

[doctorSpoc]

yeah it's supposed to be a saftey thing. the bad thing is that smaller riders disproportionately disadvantaged since the standard weight is a larger portion of their body weight than it is for larger riders

[Dolomiti]

I'd heard, from Paul Sherwin I think, the rule was put in place to keep big-budget teams from outspending smaller budget teams. Now, almost every bike in the peleton is at the minimum weight.

The main difference between them, I'm guessing, is how much weight is still and how much is for moving parts. Or are they all about equal in that sense too now?

[DVDaze]

You mean cork bats?

Hey, Sammy did that by accident :D

[lemurhouse]

yeah it's supposed to be a saftey thing. the bad thing is that smaller riders disproportionately disadvantaged since the standard weight is a larger portion of their body weight than it is for larger riders

I think they should start hanging weights on the smaller riders too.

[joejack951]

I think they should start hanging weights on the smaller riders too.

I think it should be more like Nascar where either the smaller riders have to wear a big, tall man suit so that their aero drag is the same as the big guys, or only guys who are 5'8" can ride. Plastic surgery would become huge for lengthening and shortening riders but the end result would be worth it ;)

[doctorSpoc]

I think it should be more like Nascar where either the smaller riders have to wear a big, tall man suit so that their aero drag is the same as the big guys, or only guys who are 5'8" can ride. Plastic surgery would become huge for lengthening and shortening riders but the end result would be worth it ;)

nah... you've got it backward... big guys have a bigger engine (leg muscles) and the same weight car (bike)... that's not fair.. it's the bigger guys that should have to wear balast

[DieselDan]

The bike is weighed as a whole piece, not part by part.

[thewalrus]

I'd heard, from Paul Sherwin I think, the rule was put in place to keep big-budget teams from outspending smaller budget teams. Now, almost every bike in the peleton is at the minimum weight.

There are some good quotes in this interview with Keith Bontrager about how cycling could become a "space race" with bikes under the 15lb weight limit:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004/features/bontrager

I think I agree with many of his points - do we really want to make the sport inaccessible to teams with budgets smaller than T-Mobile, CSC or Discovery Channel?

[gmason]

Read through these - they are interesting: http://www.uci.ch/imgArchive/Rules/2road-E.pdf

[Sco++]

Jeez, some of youse guys sounds like those race car drivers moaning about the weight of Danica Patrick in this year's Indy 500... :cry:

[Sco++]

That's what we need on TV - some elite womens' road bike races...

[Sco++]

A womens' TDF??

[TomM]

Are there any hot women racers?

[TomM]

would it be to level the playing field? To Make sure the one team doesnt have an extreme advantage over any other.

If this is the case, why not have the teams ride a standard issue bike?