Originally Posted by
acoldspoon
I was referring to the possibility of purposeful equipment limitations in order to make riders more important than the expensive technology of what they ride, so as to make the sport easier to afford.
Like that affordable, entry-level NJS equipment? By labeling it as "competition-worthy equipment" (CWE henceforth), they are labeling it "special" equipment. CWE components will cost more than equivalent components without the CWE stamp on them. Sure, some new NJS frames cost less than the most expensive road frames, but the components cost about the same, once you account for there being FAR fewer parts on a tack bike and factor in the relative mechanical simplicity of the few parts involved.
Also if there wasn't a good reason (international professional-level competition) for developing crazy and cool space-age bikes, nobody would do it!