Should 32” wheels be banned? Cycle sport’s governing body, the UCI, has said that yes, 32”in wheels should, on grounds that they could give an unfair advantage to larger riders, and they could complicate an already complicated marketplace.
Earlier this year the UCI sent a letter to its equipment and new technologies commission – comprised of many companies who make the bikes and equipment for bike racing – asking for a discussion on ruling that 700c be the maximum size.
28 Comments
Duck UCI
Unnecessary Cringe Incompetent = UCI 😂😂😂
If a 4'4" woman has to race on a bike with the same wheel at the same weight as a 6'4" man. Where is the fairness?
Maybe the UCI should do weight classes, or height classes.
Banned by the UCI for being too fast should be a great marketing angle, anyway.
Who care if I have or don't have UCI legal bike if I don't race?
UCI always try to bann something 😅
just wait for the 36
Так и всё запретят, лежачие велосипеды уже как сто лет))
Smaller riders have always had an equipment advantage, 32" just gives taller riders a proportional bike and evens the field.
pfft almost no 26" to find for small riders. you can find some 32 spoke classic rims and no good carbon aero rims. 155-160cm girls are fucked on 700C. that´s truely unfair!
Having owned a 27.5 MTB, then a 29er, and riding 27.5 wheels on my gravel/road bike then converting it to 700c, my opinion is the handling on the MTB was better or easier than 29, and on the road/gravel bike the wheel was slightly faster but the gearing was more a factor, i think the human is the limiter or enhancer more than the bike or wheel size, but im curious to see what comes of this, thank you for sharing
The UCI, they must be fun at parties 🫤
So anyone who opposes this ban is ok with coughing up the next 5-6 grand for a new bike "just to make the cut"?
Being a large rider 6’5 205. Maybe this actually evens out the field a bit
At this point UCI might as well ban Gravel all together 🙂
Can’t wait to buy a new 32er e-bike
Fk the UCI. Just keep them out of gravel racing. That's the real ban we need.
If the industry thinks that 32" wheels will sell more bikes then they will come out with 32" bikes regardless of what the UCI says. The UCI says you can't race a bike that is less than 6.8kg but plenty of companies sell bikes that are less than that.
I have no doubt 32" wheels will roll faster on gravel. On the other hand shorter riders can usually get more aero and benefit more from drafting. So maybe it could level out for gravel racing with shorter riders on 700c? It would be nice to get some solid testing before a decision is made for how fair 32" wheels are for competition.
Large riders are effectively penalized on 700c wheels, go figure.
Uggg f the uci. I’m gonna ban them.
They should be banned because they look totally munted!
Should the UCI be banned? Yes.
As I tall rider I do not buy the fairness line. A person on the same bike, with the same BMI, but half a foot shorter has a significant advantage over me in weight and aero drag.
ban 32" because they will roll faster, if we want bigger wheels then the frames should be the same but scaled up or down so they look exactly the same compared to today when a small size compared to large size, and the sizes of bikes(with the corresponding sized wheels) should be controlled by gearing. so that no size can roll longer by a pedal stroke than another.
Let the market decide the value of big wheels. As for me I was done at 27.5 would never get a monster wheel like a 32 and I am a tall rider.
I mean small riders already have a weight advantage and a aero one too why can’t bigger bigger people have a small sliver of advantage
I’m never going to do a race. I with the UCI would stop banning tech that would make bikes better.