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.
This is bike racing, not formula 1. As long as your bike is mechanically sound and you know how to ride it, an amateur race WILL NOT be won or lost on a basis of how expensive, or technologically advanced one's bike is. Sure racers like to spend money or their bikes which might make an outsider think its necessary, but in reality it doesn't take much of a bike to get yourself on to an essentially level playing field.
the differences in skill and fitness levels are so much greater than the equipment for beginners.
The only place were big money can buy you a big edge is in elite time trailing.
No wonder few people transition into sanctioned racing with misconceptions like these floating around.