i'm finishing up an article now on bike position type stuff, and what i say in it is that i can't find any real differentiation between road and gravel positions. except (and this is a big except) my drops position, which is much shallower on my gravel bike. i'm riding gravel bars, mostly by profile, and 3T, and zipp, and they all feature: very shallow drop, like 110mm; a flare on the drop, but a final jig back so that the bar end protrudes straight back; vertical hoods mount; short reach.
but i'm thinking about going right back to the same position, road and gravel, by putting a gravel bar on my road bike. now, i don't bike race anymore. but if i did, i can't find anything that makes my gravel bar illegal. except... in the UCI rulebook there's a max width of 50cm, and some of my gravel bars exceed that by a little, as in, 51cm or 52cm. that's a pretty easy fix, if you're a bar maker.
my questions are:
1. am i the only guy? i now hate my road bars. i'm certainly putting a gravel bar on my road bike. it sprints better, it descends better, it does everything better.
2. is there a rule you can find that i can't find that would disallow these in road racing?
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
but i'm thinking about going right back to the same position, road and gravel, by putting a gravel bar on my road bike. now, i don't bike race anymore. but if i did, i can't find anything that makes my gravel bar illegal. except... in the UCI rulebook there's a max width of 50cm, and some of my gravel bars exceed that by a little, as in, 51cm or 52cm. that's a pretty easy fix, if you're a bar maker.
my questions are:
1. am i the only guy? i now hate my road bars. i'm certainly putting a gravel bar on my road bike. it sprints better, it descends better, it does everything better.
2. is there a rule you can find that i can't find that would disallow these in road racing?
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman