AndyK 

I didn't realize this before, but watching the TDF, I heard Paul talk about how it takes longer for mechanics to change wheels on the road due to the lawyer nibs.

WHY do the pros not file these off? Is it some kind of liability issue with team insurance? Surely they don't worry about forgetting to tighten their QRs, right?

bikemig 

I had the same question when I saw that segment on TV.

jsigone

they used to file them off then the UCI passed a rule last yr or so saying that they needed the tabs on the forks.

It also helps keeps the bikes on the roof rack at 60mph in the mts

MKahrl

I thought the rule was that if production models had tabs the same bike model as raced could not have the tabs filed off. Is this correct?

Bacciagalupe

Yes, pros are required to keep the lawyer tabs during races.

oldbobcat

All frames that are used in pro races must be available to the general public and certified by the UCI and raced exactly as they are certified. All bikes that are available to the general public must have fork tabs. Therefore, the fork tab removal or any other modification to the stock frame is prohibited.

Reflectors, spoke protectors, and dust caps on valve stems are not part of the frame, so these can be removed. Someone is bound to ask.

kenji666

I'm surprised the manufacturers don't make custom frames for the teams. Must be a $$$ thing.

RJM

Not all. Both my Rivs came without lawyer lips.

surgeonstone

Dang lawyers.

achoo

1. Not true in all jurisdictions
2. Define "available to the general public".

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see pro's bicycles without lawyer tabs.

As far as "bound to ask", how many times do UCI officials actually weigh bikes before a race? Not that often - if at all - from what I gather.

David Broon 

All those poor lawyers without lips.

valygrl

^^ thanks for that very weird and disturbing visual.

It's a new rule, and a very un-popular one.

RJM what year did you get your Rivendells? I guess it wouldn't surprise me much if retroGrant delivered bikes without the tabs.

On a side note, I've been in the car when a lawyer-lipless bike came off the rack, and heard of 2 others. My bike had a sudden lip-ectomy in a crash, so now I don't really want to put it on a rack.

surgeonstone

I guess to live without lips would be too bad, might make me sad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1FGaCNN1aw

MattFoley

I was in the Alps a few weeks ago and rented a SuperSix....to my surprise, there were no tabs on the fork. I just assumed it was because they weren't required in Europe, but this thread has me even more confused now.

Christobevii3

Someone I know had a very bad wreck due to these tabs not being on their fork. You are crazy if you take them off.

hairnet

You can also learn how to use a quick release, position the lever, and check that it is secure.

Homebrew01

The UCI had a slow day ignoring drug use and decided it was more important to focus it's resources on fork tips so that something that had worked flawlessly for years, would now cause frustration to all the mechanics & riders.

surgeonstone

I cycled 30 years without them and with no problems. Just have to check things out periodically.

Christobevii3

Parts can fail too. This guy can never ride again and is lucky to be alive.

oldbobcat

1. To my knowledge, then, where required by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Bicycles that aren't marketed in the US do not need to comply with CPSC requirements, and there may be manufacturers that are exempt. The UCI rule only asserts that team mechanics may not modify frames as they are provided by the manufacturer. My source: https://velonews.competitor.com/2013/...n-qatar_274065. If you have a better source, I'd like to see it.
2. I should qualify this. The UCI homologation procedure involves submitting designs, molds, samples, if needed, and fees to the UCI to ensure that the design meets UCI design rules and the completed frame matches the homologated design. In the case of carbon frames, the full approval protocol adds several months to the production cycle of a frame and is limited to 8 frame sizes. Design changes require a new protocol. The protocol for frames built from welded or glued tubes is shorter and less expensive. My source: https://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/...ing-bikes.html. I've heard reports that abbreviated, less expensive protocols for modifications have more recently been added.

The net result is the right of the manufacturer to put a UCI sticker on the approved bike. The UCI sticker is required for the bike to be used in competition. So while the homologation process does not explicitly require "available to the general public," the homologation process makes custom carbon frames impractical for most manufacturers. The Trek "H1" Domane 6s that still appear unavailable to civilians and Specialized S-Woirks Roubaixs made for the Omega Pharma-QuicksStep pros, are the most obvious examples of builds that are not widely available.

Conceivably, manufacturers could provide pro teams with frames with forks that are not CPSC compliant, but that hasn't happened. So for now pro teams have to deal with lawyer tabs.

Given that most top pros are pretty cavalier about bike weight, I doubt many pro bikes weigh in below the UCI-mandated minimum. At a point weight reduction is more of a marketing tool than a means for winning races.

My Masi doesn't have lips either, as did my Bridgestone MB-4. The Masi was made in 1980, the Bridgestone in 1992 or so. I don't know when the CPSC started requiring a passive front wheel retention device, but my guess is sometime after 1992.

RJM

Yep, but even with lawyer lips not checking your quick releases is bound to get you in trouble one day. I was riding one day in a group when a guy's fork (trek Madone) just came apart. He either got something into the wheel or it just broke, couldn't really ever find out. He went away in an ambulance. Be careful out there and check your equipment every ride.

Sam Hillborne was bought in 2010, frame was probably made in 2009. The Roadeo was purchased in March of this year.

AndyK 

Have there been any quick releases that were put on properly, and failed? Or are the bumps there as a result of users NOT tightening thier QR properly?

oldbobcat

It has nothing to do with boredom or a new found concern for safety. The French federation has been strictly enforcing the UCI's "no modifications" rule, which led to slower wheel changes for French teams. French managers asked for uniform enforcement and this is what we got.

Homebrew01

yes

Same here. I removed mine.

There are people that don't know how to use qr levers, so lawyer lips might be a good idea for them.

redcon1

Being a mountain biker I have seen a QR lever opened due to a collision with another rider, where both kept going. The front wheel loosened, but didn't come off due to the fork tabs. He got stopped using the rear brake.

The same thing could happen in the peleton. I wouldn't file them off.