Ritchey Design shares the bicycle industry’s concerns about UCI regulations that could limit future innovation in bicycle equipment design
SAN CARLOS, Calif. - Ritchey Design announced today that its time trial handlebars, the WCS Carbon Hammerhead and WCS Carbon Interval, comply with the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) “3:1″ bicycle design regulation that the governing body will begin enforcing on all competitive bicycle equipment starting July 1, 2009.
“Ritchey time trial handlebars were designed with the UCI three-to-one ratio in mind, as are all of our products. We have used this design guideline to make great time trial products that are verified by elite teams on both the USA and European circuits,” said Steve Parke, Ritchey Design general manager. “Still, Ritchey is concerned about the impact UCI’s design regulations will have on the future of bicycle design innovation, and we’re committed to working with UCI and manufactures to ensure that competitive cycling develops in a way that is positive for the sport and the industries that support it.” Cadel
The 3:1 rule, a series of UCI cycling regulations, stipulates that all bicycle parts and components must be built with measurements that do not exceed a three-to-one ratio. Created in 2000 but not actively enforced until the beginning of the 2009 season, bicycle teams, riders and manufacturers had widely interpreted the rule to apply only to bicycle frame tubes.
