UCI wheel regulations

[fredown]

Cycling Australia have announced that the UCI restrictions on what wheels can be used in mass start road races will be enforced from 1 September.
On the face of it this means that all custom built wheels with a rim depth greater than 25mm and any deep rim wheel not on the UCI approved list cannot now be used. As there are many wheelsets not on the approved list (including all the brand name wheels built up from the generic Gigantex rim - such as Token, Fast Forward et al) there is sure to be many unhappy campers out there.

[sogood]

This is funny. Mavic R-SYS wheelsets are on the approved list.

[Dunk]

Only one set of my wheels are going to be legal, they just happen to be the set I like the least.

Hopefully some more models of wheels are added to the approved list soon - hint hint Reynolds.

[531db]

A lot of club level racers will unhappy at being banned from racing due to having 'illegal' Velocity Deep V or TWE wheels.

I might be doing a lot of CA races on the singlespeed and saving the Deep V equipped bike for AVCC events.

CA and the UCI..... actively working to reduce grassroots particpation in cycling.

[JV911]

A lot of club level racers will unhappy at being banned from racing due to having 'illegal' Velocity Deep V or TWE wheels.

in reality i dont see it being enfoced at a club level. just like i've never heard of anyone not being allowed to race due to not having an australian approved helmet (which would require the comish to actually check everyone before a race...which i've never seen happen)

[fredown]

I think CA intends it to be applied at all levels.
There is a liability issue here. If any UCI affiliated body (and indirectly that includes local clubs) knowingly allows the use of equipment that the UCI has not deemed to be "safe" and there is an incident with a rider on such equipment then at the least insurance coverage would be jeopardised and officials might face personal liability.
Would you be happy to take such a risk if you are the commissaire at your local club race, and what would you do if on the start line a rider on approved wheels complained to you that the rider alongside him was on unapproved wheels?

[Alex Simmons/RST]

A lot of club level racers will unhappy at being banned from racing due to having 'illegal' Velocity Deep V or TWE wheels.

in reality i dont see it being enfoced at a club level. just like i've never heard of anyone not being allowed to race due to not having an australian approved helmet (which would require the comish to actually check everyone before a race...which i've never seen happen)

I have. Many times.

And as a commissaire I would check if I suspected a helmet was not conforming. And any club or race organiser that doesn't do their due diligence is creating additional risks for themselves. The fact that such helmets may or may not provide the same level of protection is irrelevant in that regard.

As for the wheels, CA and State federations for a long time have had wheel restrictions, and have generally tried to align with UCI regs for most things, including wheels. It's just that CA and State federation's technical regs, as required by their constitutions, need to be ratified by the members and that is a process that takes time, so often it's just a matter of catching up.

This is not a surprise change in interpretation (compared to say aero bars) and wheel manufacturers/builders/riders should be well aware of the regs. Ignorance is no excuse.

[Low Racer]

UCI is a dinosaur. They are heading backward rather than forward. Get yourself a set of wooden/stone wheels, that's what UCI wants you guys to race just like the flintstones.

[Wayfarer]

if it wasnt for the UCI, time trials would be ridden on recumbents with carbon fibre spokes..

[Low Racer]

if it wasnt for the UCI, time trials would be ridden on recumbents with carbon fibre spokes..

Imagine what speed Fabio Cancellera could get upto . Surely will be much..... faster than those excruciating painful looking TT bikes.

[jaffaman]

if it wasnt for the UCI, time trials would be ridden on recumbents with carbon fibre spokes..

Cool - now that would be a time trial worth watching.....

[Alex Simmons/RST]

if it wasnt for the UCI, time trials would be ridden on recumbents with carbon fibre spokes..

Cool - now that would be a time trial worth watching.....

I suppose that depends on what balance between the importance of the human performance vs the importance of the equipment you want to strike in what you watch or have to administer. In that case it comes down to who has the best designers / engineers / fuild dynamicists, not who has the best rider(s).

Cycling isn't alone in trying to wrestle with that issue.

Does the best driver win car races?
Are the best swimmers winning the races given the ridiculous number of records being broken with the suits used over the last few years?
Should we allow artificial leg attachments/enhancements in open field athletics (think Oscar Pistorius)?

My questions are rhetorical BTW.

[sogood]

Did anyone notice the front wheels used by the Astana riders during the final ITT? Through some fleeting images during the broadcast, they looked to be 3 or 5 spoked CF wheels. Did anyone else see it? I haven't found any more static photos of them yet.

Edit: Ok, should have searched harder. They were indeed tri-spoke CF front wheels by HED. But I thought these were banned by UCI (obviously I was wrong on this).

[alchemist]

Edit: Ok, should have searched harder. They were indeed tri-spoke CF front wheels by HED. But I thought these were banned by UCI (obviously I was wrong on this).

Only for mass start events.

[sogood]

Only for mass start events.

Thanks.

Then the other question is how much more advantage did these tri-spoked wheels give? Skil-Shimano had quad-spoked wheels while other teams just used deep rims.

[twizzle]

This is not a surprise change in interpretation (compared to say aero bars) and wheel manufacturers/builders/riders should be well aware of the regs. Ignorance is no excuse.

I don't think the issue (for the manufacturers) is ignorance - it's a simple case of not wanting to fork out the money for the testing. It does seem to be a strange rule that any rim with a section greater than 25mm has to be rupture tested. There must have been a lot of dodgy rims back in 2001 (I think?) when this rule was introduced.

I would care... but Vets racing doesn't seem to have any rules about the bikes other than what handle bars are allowed. They do say 'approved equipment' but then don't say what that is...

[DanielS]

It does seem to be a strange rule that any rim with a section greater than 25mm has to be rupture tested.

No kidding. My current race/tranining wheels have DT RR 1.2 rims which are 30mm.... so apparently they aren't 'safe' enough to be raced!!

[Richard.L]

I dont race yet but here are my thoughts

A problem for cyclist just starting out with their first road bike road bike ((AT) 1000-1500 w/ Shimano R500's) and spent all their money on the bike.

They have no idea about this rule and boom! cant race cause we/they dont have the money to get safe wheels.

At least limit this rule to grades or age limits UCI

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I dont race yet but here are my thoughts

A problem for cyclist just starting out with their first road bike road bike ((AT) 1000-1500 w/ Shimano R500's) and spent all their money on the bike.

They have no idea about this rule and boom! cant race cause we/they dont have the money to get safe wheels.

At least limit this rule to grades or age limits UCI

It is up to National and local federations to choose whether or not they are going to align with UCI rules.

So perhaps you could make enquiries of the CA technical commission.

[othy]

I dont race yet but here are my thoughts

A problem for cyclist just starting out with their first road bike road bike ((AT) 1000-1500 w/ Shimano R500's) and spent all their money on the bike.

They have no idea about this rule and boom! cant race cause we/they dont have the money to get safe wheels.

At least limit this rule to grades or age limits UCI

Pretty sure R-500s would be legal. 20+ spokes with 24mm rims, and are therefore considered 'tranditional wheels' which are exempt.

[Supe]

@OP. How about a link when posting an article for comment?

nvm. restrictions on posting url.

[othy]

http://www.cycling.org.au/?page=34391

[JV911]

good excuse to get those Zipp 606s

[sogood]

Pretty sure R-500s would be legal. 20+ spokes with 24mm rims, and are therefore considered 'tranditional wheels' which are exempt.

Rim depth of 25mm is the cut off. So agree with othy's post.

[Supe]

http://www.cycling.org.au/?page=34391

Thanks.

Approved wheel sets.

http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getOb ... c&LangId=1

This is funny. Mavic R-SYS wheelsets are on the approved list.

Yeah. What's that about? R -SYS spoke fragility a myth?