I am assembling the new frame from Carbonzone and wanted to know if anyone is up on the new UCI rules and if it is compliant? What concerns me is the front fork that connects to the handlebar neck forming what could be a fairing?
UCI rules banned Team Telekom paint schemes in 2009.
Was that for the name referring to a company? Or all "Team "?
I was fine with my Team Biemer bibs at Honu in Hawaii when I raced that since Biemer is my last name and represents me and my family. I will have to dig through the rules and check.
Thanks for the spot!
UCI rules banned Team Telekom paint schemes in 2009.
Nice, bravo.
This rule is confusing:
1.3.024 Any device, added or blended into the structure, that is destined to decrease, or which has the effect of decreasing, resistance to air penetration or artificially to accelerate propulsion, such as a protective screen, fuselage form fairing or the like, shall be prohibited
But then goes on to say:
A fuselage form shall be defined as an extension or streamlining of a section. This shall be tolerated as long as the ratio between the length L and the diameter D does not exceed 3.
With:
A fairing shall be defined as the use or adaptation of a component of the bicycle in such a fashion that it encloses a moving part of the bicycle such as the wheels or the chainset. Therefore it should be possible to pass a rigid card (like a credit card) between the fixed structure and the moving part.
I will measure my front tube/fork combo and check for compliance.
That frame was produced after 1/1/2011 so it has to have an approval sticker from the UCI.
Whether it technically meets the rules or not is not relevant if the regulations are followed correctly.
Factories selling open mould frames tend not to go to the expense of UCI approval so it may never be formally approved.
Carbonzone is getting fairly big now, I will contact them about it. Is the Trek 9 series uci yet? It has the same fork design style meeting up with the handle bar neck.
I will be competing in more than 20 - 30 races this year and would like to be compliant.
What races are you doing that would be big enough to have UCI checks?
Also, like others said, if it does not have a UCI legal sticker, even if it is legal, they will not let you use it(verification needed, but that is what I have heard)
For me I have noticed it is seldom and random for the checks. I just don’t want to be in a good race and get hit pre race with a bike fail. I will be traveling to Hawaii, Texas, Utah, Arizona and some overseas races to get a good year in. I do have second bike.
If you are going to be doing that many tris and travels, it might be worth it to get a bike like a p3. If the fork/stem is anything like my old speed concept, it will be a pain in the @ss to pack and reassemble every time you travel, and you would know you have a uci legal bike and a company to stand behind their bikes
Carbonzone is getting fairly big now, I will contact them about it. Is the Trek 9 series uci yet? It has the same fork design style meeting up with the handle bar neck.
Carbonzone is a reseller - unlikely that they will go through the expense of the approval process for something where they have no ability (or desire) to modify if it is outside regulation.
Bayonet style forks can be legal - Look, Felt and Trek have legal designs.
You have to realise that one of the reasons the UCI introduced the homologation process was to inhibit the low cost chinese frame market. If you are doing a lot of races that are run under UCI rules you are best to go with a brand that has played by their rules (noteworthy that a couple of taiwanese factories feature there).
As noted Carbonzone is just a reseller on ebay. The frame model is an FM069 and has been for sale for at least a year. Flybike, DengFu, Hongfu and others also sell it. Are you really doing world level races where UCI comes into play?
As mentioned, it lacks the UCI sticker so you’re likely to have issues.
Not sure if the fork/frame combo meets the 3:1 regulation, but the basebar certainly looks >3:1 and would be rejected. The seatpost may also have that issue.
Very few racers/races are subject to UCI rules, so see if you really need to conform.
Contacted Shenzen and Dengfu (Both manufactures of this frame model) through my seller from CarbonZone. Last year’s model got the EN certification and the 2013 model will have it also since sales are moving on it. As I have looked up/asked around, the EN certification will work in lieu of UCI sticker since the UCI uses EN for its testing purposes. Thank god I have friends at UL labs who can look up industry stuff (I know UL is not the same, but engineers know other engineers in the testing communities). Although the EN certification will be in place soon on this frame, I will still have to eventually get a UCI sticker with the cert number embedded under the clear coat (not a big deal since I have that in house for baking paints).
Again this all maybe lame and unnecessary, but I do not want to have that one unlucky day. I am building the UCI bike jig to make my own test set for this and my other bikes.
I am not a pro, but I am using this year to put a run on joining the US Army Triathlon team so being nit picky on rules now may save me later. An having an odd ball bike will help me discover all the crap I need to be familiar with.
Besides I have only paid up to $2000 for a full sram red group TT bike with carbon rims that is really comfy. My Specialized Allez was ok, but never felt nice after 70 miles (not much does, but every little comfort helps IMHO).
Dave.
I doubt that plan is UCI legal, you may get away with it but the stickers have to be put on by the mfg, not the buyer.
the EN sticker is nothing to do with the UCI certification… e.g P5-3 is UCI legal, the P5-6 is not UCI legal - both will have an EN certification -
Basically, if the design post dates 2011, you need to be on this list
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=NjczMDE&LangId=1
I doubt a Carbonzone frame will be UCI approved… ever… as they wont go to the expense of getting it UCU approved.
It is not an issue if you don’t need a UCI legal bike to compete, but if you do, then it is unlikely to get past scrutineering. If you make up a sticker and clearcoat it yourself, you would be liable for disqualification & possible further sanction for fraud.
basically - all the commisaire will need to do is check your bike against the list above - if it is not on it and you have a sticker… you will be in trouble.
my2p
I know… But sending to China for something I do professionally would bug me.
I am hoping UCI clarifies for post production certification in regards to sticker placement (i.e. Shiv, Trek 9, Blue, ect…) for new bikes sold prior to certification.
the shiv (with nosecone) is not and will never be UCI legal. The shiv which is UCI legal, has no nosecone, but will not appear on the list as it was in Production before 2011. irrespective of whether a sticker is on the bike or not, it still must conform to UCI rules,.
e.g. a specialised transition falls foul of UCI rules due to fins on seatstay which break the 3:1 aspect ratio rule, however if they are hacksawed off, the bike complies.
I don’t believe there are plans to retrospectively award stickers to older frames - but as said earlier - they still need to meet UCI rules - here - http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI2/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYwNzQ&LangId=1
The only way to get a sticker for an older design is to put it through the certification proce$$, and only bikes produced after going through the process get the sticker. That’s what we did with the SC 9 series. Didn’t need one based on original design/production date, and it would’ve passed any correctly executed compliance check (when outfitted with the UCI legal parts), but with a number of high profile teams/riders on the SC9 it was decided that the risk of (inconsistent) compliance checks at every UCI TT was unacceptable…so we got it certified. As others have mentioned, the likelihood that your open mold manufacturer (or re-brander) is going to see the math the same way is almost zero.
Spent most of the day going over all the information posted the last couple of days (Thanks!) and working on the bike to organize my plan for it now. Spent some time with the Wife to organize our budget for my next primary bike now. This frame will be my trainer and used at non-UCI events. (No big loss in that regards)
I am happy to hear the SC9 is good now, I wanted that bike in the beginning but opted not to get it (I was being cheap). Now the Wife is putting the plan together for buying one mid-2014 if I can keep up an aggressive race schedule and place decently on my other two bikes.
Dave