UCI wheel regulation - enforcement?

[rgmerk]

Has anybody heard of any actual enforcement of the UCI's new wheel regulations?

For those not familiar with the rule, it's on the UCI website. Basically, wheels with less than 20 spokes, or with carbon spokes or rims, are banned unless they've passed an "break test". The impact test essentially involves subjecting the wheel to an impact sufficient to break it, and ensuring it doesn't imitate the R-SYS.

The upshot is that a huge fraction of the carbon wheels out there on the market are banned until and if the vendors bother to pass the "break test" (assuming they will do so). The list of approved wheels is here. Presumably, the same applies to handbuilt wheels made from carbon rims, and it's hard to see how custom wheel builders can feasibly meet such a regulation.

In practice, I certainly haven't seen anybody checking wheels at the local crits, and as I understand it placegetters at national-level events in Australia have been seen using wheels not on the list without any sanction.

So I come back to my original question - is this rule being enforced anywhere beyond the European pro peloton? Is it likely to be?

 

[Greyhound Velo]

I can't say what is or isn't being enforced at ALL races, but I do know from first hand experience that the officials at this years Tour of California were not checking wheels to see if they were on this list. In fact, the team I was working for were at times using Edge Composite wheels that are definitely not on this list, and were never called out on it.

As for local amateur racing, I highly doubt you will have your wheels inspected, unless you're unlucky enough to have an over-zealous local official who is just being a d!ck.

 

[Master50]

I can't say what is or isn't being enforced at ALL races, but I do know from first hand experience that the officials at this years Tour of California were not checking wheels to see if they were on this list. In fact, the team I was working for were at times using Edge Composite wheels that are definitely not on this list, and were never called out on it.

As for local amateur racing, I highly doubt you will have your wheels inspected, unless you're unlucky enough to have an over-zealous local official who is just being a d!ck.

I think that most officials are not teck heads and couldn't tell the difference. Most officials are too busy with everything else they have to do to also check 120 bikes and the wheels against a list. As soon as somebody get hurt from a broken wheel we will go back to bike checks before the race. You can call it being a **** if you like but you agree to follow the rules when you get a licence so breaking them even out of ignorance makes you an Idiot. Even the officious commissaires are there for your benifit.

The UCI regularily sends officials reminders about equipment rules but the only time officials get to see every bike is at TTs. That is why there is a bike check there and not before every RR. Riders would have to be at the line 40 minutes before a stage to check all the bikes.

 

[skicigso]

The best that go together.