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A comment on Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using motors. Parent comment

Re:Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using... by lmm on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @04:20AM (#11525582)
> There's a very clear line in this case. Cycling is a human powered sport. Battery, gasoline, nuclear, and other power sources are not allowed. This is why mopeds are not allowed. Also prohibited is temporary power storage like a capacitor or spring, which might be used for regenerative braking.

Doesn't a derailleur have to have a spring in it? And any chain will have a certain amount of tension that allows it to store a (small) amount of energy. Heck, even standing up on the pedals is a way of storing energy to use later.

> Only a specific set of technology is allowed in a bike race. Under UCI rules, cyclist aren't allowed to use aeroshells, and recumbent bicycles are also prohibited, even though both are much more "similar" to a bicycle than your proposed monkey with a walking stick.

This makes me sad. Is there a formula/series that allows any kind of purely human-powered vehicle, whether it looks like a traditional bicycle or not? I'd love to watch that.

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Re:Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using... by J-dawg on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @10:44AM (#11527314)
> Doesn't a derailleur have to have a spring in it?

Indeed, a lot of them now have batteries and electric motors. I was surprised how easily electronic shifting was allowed into the sport.

So yes, many pro-racing bikes already have battery power, even though it's not directly driving the bike. It could be argued that some kind of KERS would be a natural evolution of this.

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Re:Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using... by jdietrich on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @08:14AM (#11526384)
Several organisations promote races for non-UCI bikes.

http://www.ihpva.org/ http://www.bhpc.org.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR9Nykvp_-I

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Re:Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using... by dalke on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @05:52AM (#11525869)
Like I said, "ever-present rules lawyering".

Even "purely human-powered vehicle" is suspect to rules lawyering. Rompelberg cycled at 268.8 km, in the wake of a dragster pace-car. Would your hypothetical race allow that, given that the vehicle is still human powered?

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Re:Thermal camera footage allegedly shows pro cyclists using... by lmm on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @07:15AM (#11526141)
> Even "purely human-powered vehicle" is suspect to rules lawyering. Rompelberg cycled at 268.8 km, in the wake of a dragster pace-car. Would your hypothetical race allow that, given that the vehicle is still human powered?

The dragster wouldn't be allowed on the course - that seems easy enough to rule out.

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