11 ms·

> So it boils down to this: how inefficient does my equipment have to be in order to follow the rules? Put a number on it, manufacturers can build to it, boom,

by rhcom2 10y ago

> So it boils down to this: how inefficient does my equipment have to be in order to follow the rules? Put a number on it, manufacturers can build to it, boom, sorted. I believe this is exactly what they do in car racing with restrictor plates.

mikestew 10y ago
Having grown up around Indianapolis, that was my inspiration for writing it. Which is why I get wrapped around the axle about this stuff when it comes to physical sports. Racing cars could be much faster, but we don't want drivers plowing themselves into the Turn 3 wall at 300mph at the Indy oval, so restrictions are carefully defined. Creating testing rigs, define sports shoes to only return 57.3% of energy on that rig. Define full-body swim suits to have a drag coefficient of 47.2 (I'm just making up numbers). But all this hand-wringing over whether this is fair, or that is fair, seems to just be something to keep people in jobs (because I'll need to do further study at $300K/year to decide if the UCI should allow that bike or not).
- jdietrich 10y ago
  > I'll need to do further study at $300K/year to decide if the UCI should allow that bike or not The UCI bike regulations are relatively straightforward, albeit somewhat eccentric. They're based on the principles of the Lugano Charter of 1996. This charter was created largely in response to the arms race between Obree and Boardman, which led to extreme and arguably dangerous riding positions. The charter sought to limit extreme bicycle designs and riding positions, whilst still allowing for safe and useful innovation. http://oldsite.uci.ch/imgarchive/Road/Equipment/The%20Lugano%20charter.pdf http://oldsite.uci.ch/imgarchive/Road/Equipment/The%20Lugano... We can see the impact of these regulations today. The Cervelo S5 is widely regarded to be the fastest UCI-legal road bike. It is a phenomenal work of engineering, but still broadly resembles the kind of bicycle that you or I might ride around town. By contrast, a high-end triathlon bicycle, unencumbered by UCI regulations, barely resembles a bicycle at all. The UCI regulations are a long way from perfect, but few cyclists would welcome a complete technological free-for-all. https://www.cervelo.com/en/road/s-series/s5 https://www.cervelo.com/en/road/s-series/s5 http://www.diamondback.com/shop/andean http://www.diamondback.com/shop/andean

by rhcom2 10y ago

mikestew 10y ago

Having grown up around Indianapolis, that was my inspiration for writing it. Which is why I get wrapped around the axle about this stuff when it comes to physical sports. Racing cars could be much faster, but we don't want drivers plowing themselves into the Turn 3 wall at 300mph at the Indy oval, so restrictions are carefully defined. Creating testing rigs, define sports shoes to only return 57.3% of energy on that rig. Define full-body swim suits to have a drag coefficient of 47.2 (I'm just making up numbers). But all this hand-wringing over whether this is fair, or that is fair, seems to just be something to keep people in jobs (because I'll need to do further study at $300K/year to decide if the UCI should allow that bike or not).

jdietrich 10y ago
> I'll need to do further study at $300K/year to decide if the UCI should allow that bike or not The UCI bike regulations are relatively straightforward, albeit somewhat eccentric. They're based on the principles of the Lugano Charter of 1996. This charter was created largely in response to the arms race between Obree and Boardman, which led to extreme and arguably dangerous riding positions. The charter sought to limit extreme bicycle designs and riding positions, whilst still allowing for safe and useful innovation. http://oldsite.uci.ch/imgarchive/Road/Equipment/The%20Lugano%20charter.pdf http://oldsite.uci.ch/imgarchive/Road/Equipment/The%20Lugano... We can see the impact of these regulations today. The Cervelo S5 is widely regarded to be the fastest UCI-legal road bike. It is a phenomenal work of engineering, but still broadly resembles the kind of bicycle that you or I might ride around town. By contrast, a high-end triathlon bicycle, unencumbered by UCI regulations, barely resembles a bicycle at all. The UCI regulations are a long way from perfect, but few cyclists would welcome a complete technological free-for-all. https://www.cervelo.com/en/road/s-series/s5 https://www.cervelo.com/en/road/s-series/s5 http://www.diamondback.com/shop/andean http://www.diamondback.com/shop/andean