The UCI’s new rules, limiting handlebar width to a minimum of 400mm in road and cyclocross events, have caused uproar across the cycling industry – and our readers are equally unimpressed.
Published as part of a sweeping update to the UCI’s technical regulations, the rules – which also mandate a 320mm minimum hood-to-hood width – are set to take effect from 1 January 2026.
But many in the BikeRadar audience see the change as exclusionary, unnecessary and disconnected from the realities of modern bike fitting.
“As a bike fitter, this does my head in,” said Maxwell Buchanan in a comment on our Facebook post about the news. “Most women and lots of men also need narrower handlebars. This will just worsen people’s accessibility to the sport," he added.
Buchanan claims that 60 per cent of his clients are currently fitted to narrower bars. “This is just going to make bikes fit worse,” he added.
Another reader, Jan Mohyla, agreed: “40cm is actually too wide for a good third of men and some 90 per cent of women.
"Good job on the inclusion side, UCI. Morons…”
More on the UCI's new rules
- UCI rejects One Cycling with damning description of proposed racing reforms
- “It’s impossible” – How the UCI’s new controversial handlebar rules will affect pro riders and teams
Fit frustration
Many readers focused on the apparent disconnect between the UCI’s rules and modern bike-fit practices.
“If a bike fitter is recommending 38cm bars, that’s almost certainly at the hoods,” pointed out David R Wilkinson. “With these new rules, 32cm bars are going to look like gravel bars.”
Jacek Kaap was more blunt in his assessment: “If a bikefitter is saying 38cm, who the hell is the UCI to enforce 40cm? Who is the idiot behind it?”
'Marketing BS' or meaningful reform?
Not all readers were ready to dismiss the UCI’s rationale outright. One commenter, Shaun Timberlake, pushed back against claims the rule would damage accessibility: “How does a UCI competition ruling affect accessibility? They are opposing ends of the sport…”
Timberlake added: “As an industry that is all but driven by marketing and advertising, it deserves to get chopped down a peg or two periodically.”
Still, the dominant sentiment was frustration – especially over the short development lead time. “Six months [to implement changes] is wild from a development perspective,” said a source close to the decision. “It’s impossible, really.”
What’s next?
With the rule still two seasons from enforcement, many riders, teams and fitters will be watching closely to see whether the UCI issues clarifications or adjustments. But, as it stands, many BikeRadar readers feel that the latest round of regulations miss the mark – both in science and in spirit.
