THE NEW UCI RULES AND THE HYPOCRISY BEHIND THEM
http://ramblingfisherman.com/ace-2/ “The media are to blame”. Says Adam Hansen.
He claims the new UCI handlebar rules were misunderstood. That the outrage is overblown. That no one got it right.
No, Adam. The outrage is valid.
Because the rules are stupid.
Because they’re made for the bikes of big brands, not for athletes.
Because these new measurements don’t come from data, testing, or technical logic. They come from industry convenience.
“Well, last year at the Tour the wheels were max 65 mm, so we made the rule 65 mm.”
That’s science, according to Adam Hansen.
A software coder. Not an engineer. Not a physicist. Not a mechanic.
A guy who raced with DIY shoes and sat on his top tube during descents against every safety recommendation.
And now he gets to tell us what’s safe and what’s not?
Why doesn’t he mention Aerocoach, TOOT Engineering, WXR, SPEECO?
Why no word about real testing, real wind tunnels, real athletes winning with alternative legal setups?
Why is it always about the “world tour brands”?
Who exactly proposed these rules?
Who approved them? Why no names?
Meanwhile, in the UCI’s own safety report (source: official site), we read that 29% of crashes are caused by rider mistakes. 12% come from things like sprints, cobbles, corners, descents, wet roads, obstacles, feed zones.
Where are handlebars? Where are wheels? Where are forks in that list?
So let’s ban cobbles. Let’s ban sprinting. Let’s ban tubeless tires that blow off. Let’s ban roundabouts and street furniture.
Or maybe — just say it plainly:
“Guys, we’ve got warehouses full of 42 cm handlebars made in China two years ago. No one wants them. We need to make them mandatory.”
The real message is: “Hey you, designer or builder working on real performance: screw you. Either surrender your innovation to the big brands or disappear.”
And the best part? These regulators sit atop their ivory towers explaining everything with authority, untouchable, self-justified, and immune to criticism.
I know perfectly well this reading of the situation is pointless.
And honestly, I don’t care.
I come from a world where solutions go around desperately looking for problems where rules are boundaries to be explored.
And I have no problem playing the game of “I’ve got a title, I make the rules, you adapt or die.”
Resilience is one of the strongest principles we have.
Those who work for the athletes can’t stay silent anymore.
The Performance Manifesto starts here.
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