Recently I was sent James Thomas’s article from Bicycledesign titled, “Is TJ Tollakson the Graeme Obree of triathlon?,” regarding the use of a carbon fiber 1996 Zipp beam frame triathlon bike by T.J. Tollakson in numerous triathlon wins including Ironmans. Tollakson has been experimenting with different riding positions and use of materials, some non-cycling, to come up with his winning combination. The beam design that he chose has not been utilized for some time now due to its design not falling with the International Cycling Union (UCI) regulations, but this style of frame is still legal by the regulations of USA Triathlon.
As Thomas notes the UCI wasn’t nearly so kind to Graeme Obree, also known as “The Flying Scotsman,” when he created his bike “Old Faithful” using parts from a washing machine. As Tollakson used soccer shin pads to aid the unique design, we’re left wondering if the UCI would approve. But this is just part of the issue.
I remember when the double triangle rule was implemented by the UCI and thinking that it was the end for real innovation with road bike frame designs.
UCI Regulation – 1.3.020 c) Configuration
For road competitions other than time trials and for cyclo-cross competitions, the frame of the bicycle shall be of a traditional pattern, i.e. built around a main triangle. It shall be constructed of straight or tapered tubular elements (which may be round, oval, flattened, teardrop shaped or otherwise in cross-section) such that the form of each element encloses a straight line. The elements of the frame shall be laid out such that the joining points shall follow the following pattern: the top tube (1) connects the top of the head tube (2) to the top of the seat tube (4); the seat tube (from which the seat post shall extend) shall connect to the bottom bracket shell; the down tube (3) shall connect the bottom bracket shell to the bottom of the head tube. The rear triangles shall be formed by the chain stays (6), the seat stays (5) and the seat tube (4) with the seat stays anchored to the seat tube at points falling within the limits laid down for the slope of the top tube.
(text modified on 7.06.00; 1.01.05).
Tubes could still be shaped and geometry tweaked, but if there are no sales dollars to pay for these non-legal UCI bikes, the limited research and development dollars were shifted elsewhere. When I worked in a bike shop a few years earlier, the Trek Y-foil was a decent seller among those who wanted a road bike with a smoother ride or those who had back issues. Once the UCI regulations were announced, these frame designs were dropped by major manufacturers and they reverted back to the double triangle designs.
In the years that followed the 1.3.020 c. regulation, along with all of the others in chapter three of the UCI regulations, designs similar like the Trek Y-foil, Zipp 2001, SlingShot and Softride type of frames were effectively gone along anything else at the time that did not follow the double triangle rule. Manufacturers were certainly free to design and build whichever type of bike frames that they please, but most didn’t knowing that they are not UCI legal.
It could be argued that since triathlons do not fall under UCI regulations, manufacturers do have a market for designs that do not need to fit the double triangle rule, but the truth is that most triathlon bikes are also sold as time trial bikes.
In the years that have followed, manufacturers have done more to shape the tubes of carbon fiber and metal tubes in their frame designs. Most are pushing to the edge of the UCI regulations and some, like Specialized, have stepped over the edge just to be pushed back by the UCI. Back in 2010 the Specialized time trial bike that Fabian Cancellara used was banned by the UCI due to an aerodynamic nose cone.
After reading the UCI regulations, there seems to be some inconsistency.
Section 2: Bicycles – Preamble
Bicycles shall comply with the spirit and principle of cycling as a sport. The spirit presupposes that cyclists will compete in competitions on an equal footing. The principle asserts the primacy of man over machine.
Yet when it comes to cyclists who dope, most are handed a one to two year suspension. Those riders certainly do not follow the ‘spirit and principle of cycling as a sport’, but are only punished for a couple of years. Any new frame innovation that does not fall within the regulations are banned for life from use in UCI sanctioned events.