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Comment by _ph_ | Hacker News Reader

Well, this is not about UCI regulations, it is about what is physically most efficient. But indeed, it is a pity that the UCI blocks any new bicycle designs.

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Their goal is to keep race bicycles close to bicycles used by normal people. They don't want to end up with Formula 1 or Indycar cars vs the car we use to go to the mall. Both have 4 wheels but that's it.

However there are competitions for non UCI bicycles. The speed world records are among them.

Although F1 & IndyCar both ban performance-enhancing technologies that every single road-going car is required to have, specifically ABS & traction control. They are a weird mix of extremely cutting edge & expensive and also intentionally outdated & bad technology.

And before someone jumps in about how those technologies are actually somehow bad for the track or race car drivers don't benefit from them, F1 actually had to give up their 1994 ban because every team was doing it anyway and the FIA couldn't adequately police it until the ECU itself was made standard in 2008: https://racingnews365.com/traction-control-in-f1-a-short-his...

I understand and I agree on the somewhat archaic technologies. My point is that a Formula 1 car doesn't look like a car whilst a pro's bicycle looks like a very polished sport bicycle you can buy for 500 Euro or less. Every single component makes a world of difference though.

That is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Bikes used by normal people look a lot because of what the UCI is mandating. If e.g. recumbent bikes were an option in at least some competitions, they would be much more common place, the same applies for velomobiles.

Nevertheless, there are a lot of normal people driving recumbent bikes and velomobiles already. The road I live in is part of a bike route and I can see both driving here regularly (I also happen to own a recumbent bike :) )

I never saw many of them even on bike routes but we're probably from different parts of the world. Velomobiles, maybe I never daw one of them, only on YouTube.

As the owner of a recumbent, how does it handle on dirt and gravel? Are they bitumen only?

UCI rules only govern certain types of bicycle races. Triathlon bike rules are much looser and allow unconventional frame geometries. However, they still ban velomobiles, partly for safety and partly to keep equipment costs from spiraling out of reach.

Where can I learn more about this?

The UCI regulations for equipment are at https://www.uci.org/equipment/bh2JJzw1eB0n876rX2iB1

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