Road Bike Racing - "Legalize My Cannondale"

I dont get this 'Legalize My Cannondale' stunt...

Pardon my ignorance since im a n00b at all things cycling... but is Cannondale the only company that can produce a lighter than legal bike? From what they're saying... it makes it look like they are the only bikes that can go under the legal limit.

I'm a Formula One fan before I started riding... and all of the teams... Ferrari, Williams-BMW, McLaren-Mercedes, BAR-Honda, Toyota, Jaguar, etc are all capable of producing racecars under the minimum weight limit so they just add ballast to optimize weight distribution... but no one in any racing series protest the weight legality of all theie equipment because everyone has to adhere to them.

And since Cannondale is the only one making a stir out of all this... are they really the only bikes that go under the UCI limit?

Nope!

No, but there were smart enough to get some free publicity out of it.

Thats it.

but no one in any racing series protest the weight legality of all theie equipment because everyone has to adhere to them.


And because, if there was no rule, they would just make the cars as dangerously light as possible.
Bicycles aren't nearly the same.

i think all of the major bike manufacturers can make a lighter than legal bike but the UCI are sort of set in their ways. i dont think they should abolish the weight limit but i think over the course of the next couple years they should drop it a little at a time. that and they let non-double triangle frames into track and time trials. but thats just my opinion on it (and in the scheme of things i have no say:D)

And because, if there was no rule, they would just make the cars as dangerously light as possible.
Bicycles aren't nearly the same.

well there are still mandated crash tests which have gotten stricter and stricter every year. mclaren, the people who brought everyone's favorite supercar, had problems passing it last year.

perhaps auto racing is indeed the wrong comparison because the average buyer is not concerned with weight unlike a potential cyclist. i just find it a bit strange that cannondale is marketing their bike like they are the first ones to be able to make a lighter than UCI limit bike.

i guess you guys are right... all about smart marketing.

Aren't they the only ones that sell a bike that is under the UCI limit?
If not, well, it was simply good marketing, because they made me think that! (although I wouldn't buy a bicycle based on weight...)

(I havent researched this at all)

I question why Cannondale hasn't either had it tested, or hasn't allowed it to be published by Engineering for Bikes (http://www.efbe.de/defbefrm.htm). All their other frames have stacked pretty high, so why not have this one tested as well? The message I personally hear when they talk about the weight limit is saying that in today's industry it can be light and safe. So why not prove that it is?

I question why Cannondale hasn't either had it tested, or hasn't allowed it to be published by Engineering for Bikes (http://www.efbe.de/defbefrm.htm). All their other frames have stacked pretty high, so why not have this one tested as well? The message I personally hear when they talk about the weight limit is saying that in today's industry it can be light and safe. So why not prove that it is?

They have.

I've ridden the bike. It is very lively and stiff. Much better than the LeMond spine bikes, IMO.

UCI is not listening because the weight limit, UCI believes, is the minimum weight for a safe bike.

Thus the campaign...

BTW, they did this last year, too at the Tour. That was the first time the Six13 was ridden in a grand tour.

Aren't they the only ones that sell a bike that is under the UCI limit?
(I havent researched this at all)

Brent, I haven't researched this either but last week on a cycling show (Sea Otter Classic, I think) they featured the new Scott Carbon which they claimed has a total weight of around 14 lbs and is therefore illegal.

A 14 lb road bike...

Here's a quote from cyclingnews:

"Perhaps Saeco was protesting the fact that the race judges wouldn't allow Gibo to start today on a special lightweight bike that weighed 6.8kg. Simoni's bike was within the UCI limits, so no clear reason he couldn't use it was given."

It was within limits??

UCI 1.3.019

The weight of the bicycle cannot be less to 6.8 kilograms.

They have.

I've ridden the bike. It is very lively and stiff. Much better than the LeMond spine bikes, IMO.

UCI is not listening because the weight limit, UCI believes, is the minimum weight for a safe bike.

Thus the campaign...

BTW, they did this last year, too at the Tour. That was the first time the Six13 was ridden in a grand tour.

I haven't seen any durability tests, do you know of a magazine or online site that has done tests?

I haven't seen any durability tests, do you know of a magazine or online site that has done tests?

Choose your country... (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/media/Six13/index.html)

Marcel Wust did one of the first reviews in ProCycling back in August.

The thing that impressed me a lot is that where the aluminum and the carbon meet, there is no "insert", no big lug there (like, for example where the stays insert on the 2000 series Treks). But unlike a carbon bike that I can push the bottom bracket around with my foot, I couldn't do it to this bike...couldn't do it to my Optimo, either.
It's really stiff, but very comfortable to ride.

Choose your country... (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/media/Six13/index.html)

Marcel Wust did one of the first reviews in ProCycling back in August.

The thing that impressed me a lot is that where the aluminum and the carbon meet, there is no "insert", no big lug there (like, fro emaple where the stays insert on the 2000 series Treks). But unlike a carbon bike that I can push the bottom bracket around with my foot, I couldn't do it to this bike...couldn't do it to my Optimo, either.
It's really stiff, but very comfortable to ride.

Well, I saw a lot of what appear to be simple ride reviews, but nothing mentioning durability statistics (like the Engineering for Bikes test). The reason you couldn't push the bottom bracket around on the six 13 or on your optimo is because they are more or less the same frame. Cannondale builds up a complete optimo frame, cuts out the sections the carbon will go in, and then bonds the carbon to the aluminum.

Well, I saw a lot of what appear to be simple ride reviews, but nothing mentioning durability statistics (like the Engineering for Bikes test). The reason you couldn't push the bottom bracket around on the six 13 or on your optimo is because they are more or less the same frame. Cannondale builds up a complete optimo frame, cuts out the sections the carbon will go in, and then bonds the carbon to the aluminum.

sheesh..what does the fact that the bottom bracket is stiff have to do with what you said?
I can't push the bottom bracket because they are the same frame?

No, I cannnot push it becasue they build it stiff...stiffer than carbon, by they way. It's not everyone's cup of tea..you have to be strong enough to be able to work with the stiffness and enjoy that type of feel.

BTW, there is engineering info on the stiffness of the frame...specifically the Optimo that I have linked before. So, following this logic, nothing else is necessary since they are the same... :rolleyes:

I know how the frame is built..I saw the first one ever made.

sheesh..what does the fact that the bottom bracket is stiff have to do with what you said?
I can't push the bottom bracket because they are the same frame?

No, I cannnot push it becasue they build it stiff...stiffer than carbon, by they way. It's not everyone's cup of tea..you have to be strong enough to be able to work with the stiffness and enjoy that type of feel.

BTW, there is engineering info on the stiffness of the frame...specifically the Optimo that I have linked before. So, following this logic, nothing else is necessary since they are the same... :rolleyes:

I know how the frame is built..I saw the first one ever made.

I never commented on the stiffness of the entire frame, just that the bottom bracket area on the six 13 and the optimo frames are the same and only after you mentioned it. I know that their frames are stiff, I've ridden an optimo before. Ignoring the stiffness of the frame as that's not what I'm concerned about, I have yet to see any durability tests done on the frame.