Should the tour de france allow recumbant bicycles?

seems there already is recumbant racing and no one watches it.. am i wrong? i imagine no peleton and too much tech, as others have mentioned. cool machines for what they - and great for people who have problems with uprights - but it seems anathema to what the tdf is all about.

 

There is Pro racing in the USA too and no one watches that either... am I wrong? Should we get rid of all racing except for the TdF. If the Best of the Best are not using it there will be no advancement in the industriey.

The restriction dose not just affect the Pros it affects all sanctioned racing except for HPV events. Remove the restrictions and let the teams decide what works best.

If the restriction on recumbents was not there we may now be saying that DF bikes are anathema to what the tdf is all about.

 

i don't mean we should 'get rid' of any sort of racing.. yeah, no one watches domestic U.S. racing, and probably no one ever will (if it's not happening during the lance era, it's not going to happen at all.. although 1/2 million spectators at the SF Gran Prix isn't bad.. and I think that, although upright bicycle racing is a minor sport in the U.S., it's many many times more popular than recumbant racing). but the TdF is over 100 years old and - pardon the cliche, but, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

the only situation i could see it happening is in time trials, where road racing strategies are not part of the game. they could just make it a free-for-all -- allowing teams to use any technology they like, be it HPV or unicycle or TT or fixed-gear or whatever, so long as it's pedal-powered -- but, personally, i think that would put to much emphasis on engineering instead of athletic ability. Sure, there is already a lot of technology involved in bicycle racing, but it's within certain limits, so that the technology does not transcend the human element. I think allowing HPVs would push it too far.

In any case, this is all academic, because the reality is that - good or bad - it will never happen.

 

Exactly what I was going to say. So true!

 

Oh c'mon Meehs... You know you're dying to trade your ride in for a recumbent! Admit it!

 

Hell no! That is like asking gay marriage to be made law. The world and I are not or ever will be ready for that.

 

Obvious bias you obnoxious one. I have a recumbant as well as an aluminum and a soon-to-arrive full custom carbon DF bikes. I get a much workout on the recumbant. It also saves my crushed back. Idiots who are against them are narrow minded and never rode one.

 

Is your name Archie Bunker?

 

He must be pretty freaked out about gay marriage if he thinks of it when talking about recumbant bicycle technology.