This is a weird one. Or, well, it would be if it wasn’t the UCI.
The same organization that has rigidly policed sock height for nearly a decade now is opening a couple of new frontiers in rider safety. Cobbled u-turns a couple hundred metres before a Grand Tour sprint? Nope, that’s still fine. Lead motos going off course? Also fine. In fact, UCI’s new rule is going make sure it doesn’t get any easier for riders to correct course if such an event happens again.
The UCI, in all its wisom, is going after bike computers. Bike computers and pockets. Both must be strictly regulated. Why? To protect the riders, of course.
The two new announcements were burried deep in a press release about “the development of cycling in India” and “provisions governing the participation of Belarussian and Russian athletes.” After those two topics, and some lengthy paragraphs comfirming calendars that were set out earlier this year, are the two directions on safety.
Maximum bike computer size
First up, on-board technologies. Starting in 2028, “The maximum dimensions permitted for bike computers will be limited to 126 × 71mm,” the PR reads. UCI adds that this limitation is “corresponding to the largest products currently available on the market.” That is, indeed, larger than even a Garmin 1080 (60.2 × 118.5mm) or a Hammerhead Karoo (61.66 x 102.8mm). So this is more about limiting future growth than banning current models.
Why? Well, maybe UCI thinks riders are actually trying to run Zwift on their bike computers while racing. The cited reasons are as follows.
“This decision was taken in light of the impact of on-board technologies on the cognitive load experienced by riders. Several studies have shown that the increasing volume of data available to riders during competition can contribute to an increased cognitive workload, a key factor in the occurrence of accidents. Limiting the size of bike computers is intended to prevent an excessive increase in the amount of data available during races, which could significantly compromise rider safety.”
You know what else compromises rider safety? Shorter riders being forced to ride comically wide bars because the UCI can’t comprehend a standard not based around the men’s peloton. Or cobbled u-turns 200m from the finish line of a Grand Tour sprint. You know why riders have the course on their computers? Because race organizers somehow keep letting them get lost.
No front pockets for you
The second…
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