“Comfort and fit are some of the good things with technology, so I don’t want to eliminate carbon bikes if they feel better to some people, but they should be just as heavy as traditional bikes.”
Well, carbon can be just as heavy as steel- look at the Lotus bike. My Fox is kinda hefty; though light weight for the shape it is. Aluminum is cheaper and lighter than just about anything out there.
And if you’re down with technology, better ban comfort while you’re at it, though steel is still arguably one of the most comfortable materials out there, especially if the geometry’s right (albeit significantly heavier than other materials).
“I propose that we all go back to standard 32 spoked wheels, round tubed frames and everything must be heavier than a set minimum weight.”
Guess what? Some one will always find a loop-hole in the rules. Do you propose that a rider who weighs 120lbs should ride a bike that is suitable for a 250 lbs rider?
And as far as wheels go, I TT’d in the pre-deep section rim days. Until I could get a Sun Mistral rim in 18 spokes, I would skip-lace a 36 hole rim to use fewer spokes. Again, that was not high-tech, and frankly was just as fast as a deep section, low spoke count rim (in my opinions- who knows what it looked like in the wind tunnel).
A 140 pounder does not need 32 spokes unless s/he’s riding a criterium. I will only do a crit with 36 spokes.
"We are all so obsessed with technology on our bikes. We have deep dish front wheels, disc rear wheels, flat tubing, super light frames and everything else designed to make us go faster. What is the result of all of this? People who spend more on their bikes get faster for any given amount of effort over people who don’t spend the money. "
Not necessarily true. Some guys spend it all and get dropped by the guy on an old 12 speed Motobecane with drop handlebars, laquered cotton tape, and traditionally routed cables. All of this stuff is designed to get the most out of the fast guys and level the playing field for the rest. But for equipment to truly beat the others, intelligent choices must be made in equipment purchase and choices for the conditions at hand. My Fox would be a terrible choice for a really hilly race, as well as an 11-21 cassette for a hilly race.
In theory, your call for standard equipment could work, but only if every person was identical in every dimension and their power output. The standardisation would still be an unfair advantage to some and an unfair disadvantage to others.