Minimum bike weight, TdF question

<< Is this true?-yes Is there a minimum bike weight?-yes If so, what is it?-6.8kg If so, why?-who
knows... >><BR><BR>

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Monty Montgomery said:

On one of OLN's breaks, they stated one of the rider's bikes had to have weight added to it
(heavier seat post) because it was too light. Is this true?

Yes. It was Team Saeco's new Cannondale.

Quoted message said:

Is there a minimum bike weight?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

If so, what is it?

6.8 kilograms (15.0 pounds), including at least pedals and bottle cages.

Quoted message said:

If so, why?

I would imagine that the reason is the same why there are pretty strict regulations about other
aspects of the bikes. Road cycling regulations want to emphasize the man over the machine. I think
it also has a safety benefit, as there's no incentive to use _seriously_ light fragile equipment. I
doubt many bikes weigh much more than 7 kilograms in the mountain stages, but you could build sub-6
kg bikes out of standard components, if you really wanted to.

-as

Hi!

The Saeco riders were riding the new Cannondale (CAAD 8 I believe) which weighs some 6,6 kg. The
minimum weight allowed - by UCI - is 6,8 kg. This limit is set for security reasons. There is some
concern that the bike becomes too fragile if the tube walls are made too thin. If you saw the
first mountain stage in the Alps you may have noticed that the Saeco riders were wearing white
jerseys instead of their normal red ones. The white jerseys had the text "Legalize my Cannondale"
printed on them.

You can read more on Cannondales web site.

Morten

"Monty Montgomery" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On one of OLN's breaks, they stated one of the rider's bikes had to have weight added to it
(heavier seat post) because it was too light.

Is this true? Is there a minimum bike weight? If so, what is it? If so, why? Thanks Monty

Yuk, Yuk!

Thanks all Monty

"Morten" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The white jerseys had the text "Legalize my Cannondale" printed on

Qui si parla Campagnolo <[email hidden]> schreef in berichtnieuws
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<< Is this true?-yes Is there a minimum bike weight?-yes If so, what is it?-6.8kg If so, why?-who
knows... >><BR><BR>

The limit was established for safety reasons; lighter bikes would be too unsafe to ride, or so is
assumed. The exact limit itself was established by weighing all bikes and then designating the
lowest weight as the limit. I don't know when this happened, or which bike was the lightest (if I
remember correctly, this last bit was kept secret). So it's a very arbitrary limit, which explains
the anger of the Saeco team. But I suppose there's no way of measuring safety, and it is certainly
possible to make a heavier and at the same time more 'dangerous' bike. Perhaps the limit will be
lowered in the near future.

Jonathan.

Its easy to hit the 15lb limit.

My 58cm Trek 5500 w/ Record 9 and shamal wheels comes in at just over 16 lbs. With some Ti parts and
lighter wheels I could easily hit 15lbs.

Imagine the guys on 53cm or smaller frames!

Quoted message said:

The limit was established for safety reasons; lighter bikes would be too unsafe to ride, or so is
assumed. The exact limit itself was established by weighing all bikes and then designating the
lowest weight as the limit. I don't know when this happened, or which bike was the lightest (if I
remember correctly, this last bit was kept secret). So it's a very arbitrary limit, which explains
the anger of the Saeco team. But I suppose there's no way of measuring safety, and it is certainly
possible to make a heavier and at the same time more 'dangerous' bike. Perhaps the limit will be
lowered in the near future.

Jonathan.