pmf said:
They should repeal those silly equipment rules. It stifles innovation. If manufacturers have an incentive to create lower weight frames then we all benefit. At the pro level, equipment is top of the line. There is no playing field to level.
I guess at least part of my point is that I'm not sure there's much actual benefit to creating lower-weight frames. And of course the existing pro frames pretty much ALL are already so "innovative" they have to add weight to the bike, so it doesn't sound like the weight rules are stopping them.
If it's like all other racing, and I think it probably is, innovation from manufacturers isn't really about a better product for consumers (or even the top racers). It's an arms race, brought on by a desire to have the company name on a winning bike, car, motorcycle, etc. They're not innovating to make better equipment--they're innovating to get an advantage over the next guy, an advantage they'll be lucky to hold for even one season before everyone else has it too.
The problem with arms races is this: How big does a nuclear bomb really need to be? When is a bomb so big, a motor so powerful or a bike so light it's kind of stupid?
And how about all of us benefitting? Can the above-average club racer take full advantage of a 13 lb. bike? Probably not. Can a dedicated recreational rider? Even less likely. Can either afford to crash and ruin their superlight bike racing it? There's some minimal case to be made that a top pro could take better advantage of a super-light bike than anyone else, and it's certainly no skin off their noses financially if they wad the bike, but what's the point if it doesn't actually confer an advantage, because the next guy will soon have a lighter one, if he doesn't already?
And you gotta admit, when you see what extremes people will go to for a light bike, and how passionate/nuts they are about it, that there is a potential safety issue at stake. Yes, current 15 lb bikes seem to have gotten sufficiently sturdy and safe, but the guy out there who wants a lighter bike than his competitor isn't going to stop there--he will go up to his own personal limit, and maybe even go far beyond good sense.
Fine, that's his own choice. But when he gets an advantage from pushing the safety margin, everyone else who makes their living by winning will also have to push the margin to stay competitive, regardless of their personal feelings. Pretty soon you have a peloton full of very light, very fast bikes made out of spider webs that could collapse and send several guys sprawling at any time.
If there's a safety argument to be made in equipment regs, it's really more about saving the rest of the peloton from the weight crazies than about saving the crazies from themselves.
It's all just so pointless, this arms race. If you like it, great, but don't kid yourself that it's doing us all some kind of good that you can build a 12 pounder.