lotek 

Just read that Lances Time Trial bike for L'Alpe D'Huez did not pass
the weight limit for bikes by .020 Kg. His bike weighed 6.780kg and
minimum weight is 6.8 kg.
They had to add weight to the bike so he could ride it.
I'm not surprized as this was the subject of one of the
Lance Chronicles episodes.
You'd have thought that Bruyneel et al would have it figured
out and ensure that it passed the weight checks.

Marty

Joat

I found this a little surprising.

RainmanP

I'm not sure why it's a big deal. As long as it is legal to just add a touch of weight to make it legal why not bring it in a few grams under? This is pretty standard procedure in most competitions where there is a minimum or maximum weight, as long as last minute adjustments are allowed. Some pieces of sporting equipment come standard with easily adjustable weighting for this very purpose so if you change a component you can easily add or remove little weights to compensate. It is different if failure to meet weight requirement absolutely disqualifies that equipment, but I am not aware of a sport where that is the case.

Guest

Maybe where to add it is what the problem is. I mean, it's not like you're gonna be able to stick a brick on the front handlebars and not mess with the performance...

Koffee

shaharidan

could just come down to a difference in scale calibration too. in that Lance chronicle episode they were concerned about that. it was pretty squirlley the way they were trying to wiegh the thing in that episode too, they really didnt have the proper type of scale. i figured they'd come up with one at some point before the race, but who knows. atleast they wieghed it before the TT instead of after, which also seemed to be a bit of a concern.

glenghillie

I was wondering what effect it would have too. If Lance has been training on this bike how can the added weight now be felt. He is supposedly so in tune with the bikes he will notice it.

0.02 is nothing for most people, but for a pro rider it could feel like a 1/2 pound. I am taking a guess on that one.

You also have to wonder about the difference in scales. If one or the other is not checked for balance between weighings it could be off. I would be supprised if the team or the tour did not double check balance before weighing each time.

DVDaze

Maybe I'm a little cynical, but I think this is all a PR stunt by Trek. Kinda like Cannondale had their "Legalize my Cannondale" campaign, Trek is just doing the same thing, so that when people go out and want the lightest bike they can find - of course it is going to be the Trek SL.... "Did you hear they had to add weight to it just to make it legal" PLEASE... This is nonsense.

Redhed 

I work in the Quality dept and we have many critical measurements that are done on extremely sensitive scales. They have to be calibrated all the time. Hopefully, they are checking the calibration all the time before they are weighing the bikes. If the scale were to get bumped or jarred it could throw everything off. Plus, most scales have an margin of error.

glenghillie

calibrate...that's the word. I couldn't think of it.

RainmanP

.02 kg = 20 grams or about 0.7 ounce, about like an energy gel. He would carry more than that if he hadn't peed for a few minutes and will sweat that much off in a couple hundred meters. A 20-gram bit of lead tape added to the rear of the seat tube or something is not going to affect either balance or aerodynamics.

hollow

You might have a good point, except they showed this on the TDF coverage this morning. About an hour before he started they were weighing his bike and there was some controversy. I can't imagine that the Tour organizers were acting in concert with Trek and USPS to give them some publicity.

TXCiclista

I dunno, but I DID see Basso squirting water out of his bottle onto the course, not into his mouth. I can only assume he did this to gain a few grams. I guess 20 grams can make a bit of a difference.

I didn't see it in the thread, but what happens if his bike officially fails? Is it a fine or time or both? Not that losing a few seconds is gonna have any impact now

Big R

In keeping with the 0.7 oz analogy...a tablespoon of water weighs 0.5 oz. I don't care how sensitive LA is...he ain't gonna care about .02 kg weight differential.

hollow

If you use illegal equipment they can kick you out of the Tour.

TXCiclista

Well THAT wouldn't do at all!

DVDaze

Didn't he have areobars on that bike in the Lance Chronicles? I didn't notice them on his bike today. Could that have had something to do with it?

madopa

The Tour organizers wouldn't have to be in on it. Trek and the team would decide to make the bike a little light. I could see this happening just because it gets people talking. Any publicity is good. People I know that don't follow the tour or cycling in general know that Lance is riding a Trek. When they go to their LBS and see the Trek alongside another brand it's name recognition.

Smoothie104

The referee that made the call was American.

TXCiclista

OK, so was the bike too light BEFORE the TT or AFTER? Couldn't they just add a few weights if they caught it before the trail? They obviously let him ride and I didn't hear anything about it during the coverage of his actual run...

Smoothie104

Why didn't Jan use lighter wheels?

BigFloppyLlama

It sounds like it was before from cycling news:

He started at 16:58, so they probably added some weight.

roadbuzz

Jan, OTOH, was reported to have the heaviest bike of the day @ 7.2 kg. Had aerobars.

hollow

Yeah, they said he was the first American referee the TDF has had. I guess they figured that since an American has won 8 of the past 18 Tours it was only fair.

hollow

I wonder if the added weight, plus the possible inefficiency of the TT position cost him much time.

Iron Chef

Could difference in altitude account for the .02 Maybe the bike was legal before they took into the alps?