The UCI is slowly preparing to scrap the rule stipulating the minimum weight of a bike which says a road or track bike must weigh 6.8kg or more. It’s about time given some teams have resorted to dropping chains or lead weights down the seat tube to add weight but if the rule is scrapped there are more profound changes to consider.
“What are those black things under the saddle?” is the most frequently asked question from readers and Twitter followers this week. Riders in the Critérium du Dauphiné have a small black stick poking out of the back of the saddle. Look and you can see them in the image above. It’s for beaming data, it’s on trial this week before an expected launch in the Tour de France.
When a breakaway goes clear in a major race like the Giro it can take a long time to identify the riders involved. It’s a problem for TV viewers and teams alike. Viewers can see something is happening but without knowing who is involved and teams have to know what’s going on for tactical reasons.
The technology exists to solve this and it’s coming to the peloton. We saw it already with the IAM Cycling team trialling a geo-location system in the Tour de Romandie where rider location could be tracked in real time. Is this good?
Wireless gear shifting and disc brakes are here whether as prototypes or esoteric options for a bike-build. We can see these trends and extrapolate from them to see the bike of the future.
Many saw my videos from the on-board cameras during the Tour Down Under and I’m grateful for it. Now I’ll explain how it was done, writes Jérémy Roy of FDJ.
This is the translation of a piece on Roy’s informative website jeremyroy.fr and he has approved its use here.
Cycling’s never a predictable sport, it can’t be in a contest where 200 riders can start together as opposed to the binary contests in other sports between two teams or just two players. Add to this the varied of geography, extreme weather and other variables and picking winners is difficult. Plus there’s all the activity outside the races, from tech to politics, business to doping scandals. With these excuses in mind, here are 10 predictions for 2015.
Here is the list of who is riding what in 2015. You’ll find all the pro team bikes for the 17 World Tour teams and the 19 Pro Continental teams.
The Bike Deconstructed: A Grand Tour of the Modern Bicycle by Richard Hallet
How many parts does your bike have? You can start counting the wheels, frame, bars, pedals and so on but it’s all the small pieces you forget about. Take the seatpost, it’s got clamping bits, bolts, fasteners and washers. Even a headset can have ten more component pieces when if you include any spacers and the compression nut and that’s before you count the individual ball bearings. The point is that even the lightest race bike is made up of a very large number of parts. Too much? That’s for later but first the book review.
Want to know who made your bike? Which companies dominate the sector? Who owns a particular brand? Here’s a guide that shows most of the main companies in the sector with a few surprises.
André Greipel was second on the opening stage of the Tour Down Under. Getting beaten by Simon Gerrans was an upset but Greipel’s presence in the front group was a surprise. Or was it? He’s often able to get over a short climb that others cannot. You might remember Greipel’s win in Le Cap d’Agde in the 2012 Tour de France when the bunch went over a steep climb in the port town of Sète and there are other examples. In fact “The Gorilla” has some mountain heritage, it’s a little known fact but a junior Greipel was German hill climb champion. It was in 2000 in the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, high in the Bavarian Alps. He remains a specialist sprinter but don’t confuse his hulk with bulk.