UCI and cross bikes

I am not sure how to comment on the UCI.

The way the rules work is kind of odd. Disc brakes are what this is about so I will use them as my example.

Maybe 5 years ago Avid introduced a cable actuated caliper that works with the cable pull of a STI/ERGO shifter. This caused a big to do in the cross scene and quickly the UCI said you can not use disc brakes in a UCI event (that is Elite and for some races Elite masters). The odd part is it was not illegal to use the disc brakes but since they were never officially approved you could not use them. It required a company to pony up the money for the UCI to conduct a test that would legalize (or ban) the brakes for the events. Sounds odd right? Well, last week they approved the brakes. I don't think it will change much personally (even though less than one week in and here I am building a disc brake cross bike). Shai had been on the fence about wanting disc brakes but I talked him out of it. The UCI last week changed his mind back, and I agree this new rule will hopefully prompt new equipment and more options.

The one part of the equation I was stuck on was rear wheel spacing. I personally think 135mm is needed to run disc brakes. If this is going to catch on, people are going to need to make cross specific cranks (not normal cranks with different chainrings). These cranks need to allow for 135 rear spacing, tire clearance and the use of 10 (and 11) speed road/cross chainrings. The 130mm spacing makes for a lame hub selection, rotor clearance issues and, lastly, a weaker wheel. Shai's bike will get 135mm and he is accepting that he will not be able to use current (external bearing) road cranks. I think in the end this will be a rather cool bike.

The fork also requires some thicker blades for the disc option and the drop outs will be the low mount style for a cleaner look. Here are some shots of me working on the bike: