Anyone know? So far, in correspondence with Felt HQ, all I’ve gotten is that it is not on the UCI approved list because “Being that the B series is coming to end of its life cycle & the cost of UCI certification, the B series will not be submitted for UCI approval.”
Being on the list and complying with UCI regs are two different things. I’ve requested clarification from Felt but haven’t yet received an answer.
The 2015 Felt B description lists it as being UCI legal. The 2020 does not, and describes the bike as specifically designed for triathlon.
When was the bike (frame) first sold? If the mould is made after January 1st, 2011 it needs to be on the UCI approved frame list to be UCI legal. Whether or not it complies with the measurements in the rules or not doesn’t matter.
I assume some races might still accept frames that follows the rules on measurements (good luck actually checking that without technical drawings) but are not on the list, but they don’t actually follow the UCI rules in that case.
My daughter’s cycling team is sponsored by Felt. Some girls went for the B14 TT bike in 2019 (The 2020 looks to be like the same exact frame, only components change). It’s UCI Legal as the frame’s measurments allow the frame for TT races under UCI rules, but with a “lower” sanction ( regional, provincial or state, national).
But it’s not on the official UCI’s approved list. One of the team members was selectioned for the World Championships with the National Team. She did all her races, including winning the Junior National TT race, on her Felt B14. She had to find another bike for this “official” UCI sanctioned event though.
Hope that helps.
That’s good to know, although the “B14” is no longer alive. For 2020, it’s just the “B” with this description, “Designed exclusively for triathlon racing.”
You may want to check again with Felt. But, if you read between the lines through Felt’s answer, it means the actual 2019 B14 Mold, is the same mold than the 2020 B. They “shifted” their marketing to triathlon on this model, with a few different parts, but nothing on it makes it look like a dedicated Triathlon bike.
I know for sure the girls Team president wrote a letter to Felt HQ telling them he wasn’t very happy they (Felt) sold unsanctioned bikes to bike racers actually racing UCI sanctioned races at national ant intl. level.
So, if you plan on doing official sanctioned UCI TT events, and be certain your bike is ok, maybe steer away from this model and check for the last sanctioned list.
I did for my daughters even if I had to choose bike from another brand ( the DA’s were too expensive, and it was too much of a hassle to get 650c decent race wheels in Canada, etc…) https://www.uci.org/…?sfvrsn=ff041a35_180
If you race at national, state, or local level, I would be surprised if the race commissaires check for the official “UCI crest”. They measure bikes to make sure they’re under UCI regulations (following the sanction’s rules), but that’s about it. It allows a lot more people to attend bike races.
Sidenote: Makes me think of this funny event: Last fall I saw a few pictures posted on Facebook of this guy at the start of the TT at the 2019 World’s Masters Cycling Championships. On the pics you could clearly see the guy’s Guru CR901 ( wich is neither UCI legal, and certainly never been on the UCI list), and aero sock all the way up to his knees. The guy was on the big jig, with UCI race officials taking measurments. lol.
My daughter’s cycling team is sponsored by Felt. Some girls went for the B14 TT bike in 2019 (The 2020 looks to be like the same exact frame, only components change). It’s UCI Legal as the frame’s measurments allow the frame for TT races under UCI rules, but with a “lower” sanction ( regional, provincial or state, national).
But it’s not on the official UCI’s approved list. One of the team members was selectioned for the World Championships with the National Team. She did all her races, including winning the Junior National TT race, on her Felt B14. She had to find another bike for this “official” UCI sanctioned event though.
Hope that helps.
Louis :-)That actually means the frame is NOT UCI legal. In races under USAC the UCI rules aren’t enforced; in part because you can buy triathlon bikes from your local bike shop but getting a UCI legal fork just to name something is often impossible. So under USAC a Felt B-series will be fine even if not UCI legal. I’ve raced my old P2C this year for the State Championships in TT and TTT. That said, I replaced my TT bike this year and opted to get a UCI compliant bike ‘just in case’. You never know how the rules change. My position is not UCI legal (reach of the extensions is too long) but if the need arises to change it, at least I can do it.
Yes, from what I understand the “first” sanction will prevail (either USAC for USA, or CC for Canada, etc…) so look for these rules.
Felt’s B14 (or just B frame) meets all UCI’s measurments requirments, so like I wrote earlier, I highly doubt it won’t pass the jig test: https://www.uci.org/docs/default-source/equipment/clarificationguideoftheucitechnicalregulation-2018-05-02-eng_english.pdf?sfvrsn=fd56e265_92
Another event I was witness last summer at the National Champs (under CC rules, with UCI sanction, the winner gets official UCI points): The commissaires “turned down” a junior girl’s Trek Speed Concept, because they said the fork measurments weren’t UCI legal (on their jig, from what I heard the ratio width:lenght was too high). but the actual model was on UCI’s homologated list !! They had to check with the head commissaire to overrule the first decision.
Your mixing things up, much like in the aero thread.
The Soeedconcept is UCI legal of you buy the UCI legal model with the alternate UCI legal fork
The fork dimension rules were changed by UCI a couple of years ago, so I actually believe the standard/tri fork of the Speed Concept is perfectly UCI legal now. The commissaires probably didn’t know.
This is one of the reasons UCI made the list as that’s a much easier and more secure way to insure compliant frames than having the commissaires staying updated on the measurement rules and also actually being able to measure properly. Another reason is probably the money it generates…
Thanks for all the replies. So, to sum up, if it is a pre-2011 frame/fork and meets UCI measurements, or post-2011 on the list, it is good to go for all events. Otherwise, if meets measurements but not on list, likely OK for USAC (but not UCI) races.
Yeah, that sock thing drives me nuts. I see knee high at TTs all the time.
Your mixing things up, much like in the aero thread.
The Soeedconcept is UCI legal of you buy the UCI legal model with the alternate UCI legal fork
The fork dimension rules were changed by UCI a couple of years ago, so I actually believe the standard/tri fork of the Speed Concept is perfectly UCI legal now. The commissaires probably didn’t know.
This is one of the reasons UCI made the list as that’s a much easier and more secure way to insure compliant frames than having the commissaires staying updated on the measurement rules and also actually being able to measure properly. Another reason is probably the money it generates…
This is true…the old UCI fork is no longer needed and the new, common fork, is more aero. But no sharkfin and the UCI bar is needed, but rise/length, etc.
More from Felt:
“… was developed before the UCI regulations were in place… For events that have UCI regulation, we feel confident that this frame will fall within the standards, as it was designed alongside our DA, which is UCI confirmed. For events that have UCI regulation that require a sticker, the B series does not have an official confirmation, which could limit participation in this type of event.”
