Equipment discussion, one step further

[ergott]

Imagine if Pro Tour teams had to declare their gear before the season. You get a TT machine, and a road bike, that's it .

Here are the rules:

You have to finish on the bike your started the race with.

Wheel changes for flats, that's it.
Teams have a limited number of spares.

You can only change a bike in the event of a crash.
Official inspection (safety check) is done and damaged parts are replaced post race while backup bike is only allowed for rider to continue.

Brake pads, bar tape, chain and cables are all wear items

Frame, bar, stem, drivetrain, and shifters all must make it through the season.

Time deduction for equipment change violations.
__________________________________________________ ______________

I think that there wouldn't even have to be a weight limit. If the same bike that is used to get over the toughest climbs had to ride in the Spring Classics then they wouldn't be making light bikes that were dangerous to ride. They would also have plenty of hard testing on them by that point.

I don't think for a second that this couldn't be done. Shimano, Sram, and Campagnolo could all make parts fit for this task. Is it really too much to ask from a frame to last the mileage they guys race? They could train on whatever they want.

I think there would be a nice priority shift in the bikes we see. The quality of racing would not suffer at all. The consumer wins as well. If the bikes had to last one season of pro racing then we mortals could feel real confident in them.

Thoughts??

[fierte_poser]

They've been making these sorts of changes in F1 the past several years...

it hasn't made things better atmo.

[stevep]

would the rider be penalized if someone operated the bellows when they had to repair their fork?

or do you not wanna go quite that far back?

[ergott]

Point is not to make things cheaper. The point is to make bikes that aren't disposable.

The technology is there to make a 16lb bike last a season. This isn't a step back in technology.

[samtaylor1]

Trek makes the madone that fits much of the multi use comfortable ride (I know that is an sacreligious thing to say on this site).

[ThasFACE]

Trek makes the madone that fits much of the multi use comfortable ride (I know that is an sacreligious thing to say on this site).

Not sure that people here necessarily hate trek or feel that it doesn't perform. My sense is that people who dislike the brand do so because they feel like treks (and the ilk) lack a certain amount of character.

[obtuse]

there is no way any cassette should be asked to last longer than 4000km let alone 40000km. include that as a wear item and i think you'd find that the bicycles really wouldn't change at all were any of these rules put into place.

obtuse

[ergott]

there is no way any cassette should be asked to last longer than 4000km let alone 40000km. include that as a wear item and i think you'd find that the bicycles really wouldn't change at all were any of these rules put into place.

obtuse

I was thinking the same thing about the cassette. I agree that there wouldn't be drastic changes. I think the main change would be that minor specs in the frame/fork, cockpit items might be a little more robust (honestly, I don't know if these parts are changed mid season much) and wheels. I would love to see what sort of wheels the big companies would produce to meet the needs of the various races out there. Some compromises would need to be made. Rims and bearings might have to go in the wear item category.

I don't think the entire wheel would have to be a wear item, what do you think? If teams had to rebuild their wheels rather than simply throw them away after a race (I'm not saying that this is that regular), I think they would pick their wheel sponsors very carefully. Cracked flanges/rims are part of equipment failures that would incur a penalty. If the rider has to finish the race so should the whole bike!

[Brian Smith]

protour technical trials yo?