Crit racing Rules?

FlyingOff

FlyingOff

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Hey fellow riders on two wheels,

I'm after some help with rules regarding racing road crits. Things like bike requirements and the like.

Main things are:
Are two brakes mandatory?
Can I race single speed?
Do I have to have drop bars?
Do I need to have "hooded brakes" on said drop bars?

And any other rules/tips would be great!

Thanks
 
Are two brakes mandatory? - Yes
Can I race single speed? - Yes
Do I have to have drop bars? - Yes
Do I need to have "hooded brakes" on said drop bars? - if the levers are exposed the referee could deem your bike dangerous and not let you race

Full details on cycling.org.au

Tips - sit in the whole race then take them on the line.
 
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Joemax, What do you mean by "exposed levers"?

And, what about bar tape? is this required? (couldn't find it in the pdf)
 
I got the same question as we are both thinking about taking up Crit racing

My brakes just sit on the flat part of the drops on the inside. Is this dangerous???

And I dont have tape either. Is this a problem???

And is Singlespeed legal???
 
FlyingOff said:
Joemax, What do you mean by "exposed levers"?

And, what about bar tape? is this required? (couldn't find it in the pdf)
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Sorry I wasn't sure what you meant by not having hooded levers. If you mean the ones on the flat part of the bar then I think they are disallowed by:

The brake controls attached to the handlebars shall consist of two supports with levers. It must be possible to operate the brakes by pulling on the levers with the hands on the lever supports.


Fixie God said:
And I don't have tape either. Is this a problem???

And is Singlespeed legal???
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There's nothing that says you have to have gears or even a freewheel. You have to have bar end plugs but there is no mention of bar tape.
 
Sweet!!!

But it looks like I may have to get hooded brake levers (is that what they are called???)

I have one and one cut in half....
 
A road bicycle must have two efficient and independent hand
brakes and handlebar ends must be plugged.

Looks like maybe I don't???

This is rather confusing
 
how do you plan in braking in the race? or are you planning on having your hands on the tapeless top part of the bar the whole time?
 
I'm planning on using my fixie as my race rig but with the wheel flipped over to singlespeed

Being stromlo I'm thinking I mightn't need to brake so much......meh, I'll figure it out as I go
 
Legal or not, why anyone would want to ride, let alone race, without bar tape is beyond me. Uncomfortable and dangerous. I doubt many commissaires would let you ride. Do yourself and the rest of the bunch a favour and get some tape hipster.
 
røhvul said:
Legal or not, why anyone would want to ride, let alone race, without bar tape is beyond me. Uncomfortable and dangerous. I doubt many commissaires would let you ride. Do yourself and the rest of the bunch a favour and get some tape hipster.
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Uncomfortable - yes, but dangerous? what do you mean? - as in maybe no grip, and therefore danger of losing control of the bars?
 
Hipster???

I ride fixed because it is efficient not as a fashion statement. My fixie is my commuter and I want to race crits with it. Is that a problem???

I ridden without bartape or a good six months and have never slipped or lost control. I now have two brakes and meet all the regulations.

Go have your period in another thread
 
I would say go along with your bike to Stromlo and watch and while your there ask one of the officials what your chances are in joining in with your current bike.

But just a quick question fixie god, what gear ratio will you be running for the crit course?
 
i too am curious what gear ratio you are thinking as i am considering doing a couple of crits races in perth on my s/s.
I wasnt sure whether to go an 80 or go larger.
 
joemax said:
There's nothing that says you have to have gears or even a freewheel. You have to have bar end plugs but there is no mention of bar tape.
Click to expand...

Actually the rules have changed (or are about to change) to prohibit fixed gear for mass start road & cyclocross events.

As for brake levers only on the flats & no bar tape being acceptable, that will depend on the commissaire's opinion on what is safe. You'll be surprised how much braking there is (unless you spend the whole race at the front)

As for gearing, I've raced a C grade crit a couple of times with 82" (53:17 just happened to be what I had). For the C*ck & Balls Track out at Stromlo I'd suspect you'd probably want a few inches higher.
 
To be honest I would be very surprised if you are still there at the final (lap). Crit courses require numerous decelerations and accelerations. On a singlespeed you are going to have to get the gearing exactly right to handle the grind back up from low speed and yet still have enough for the high speed last lap and finish straight.

I would really think that if you (for a simple example) entered C grade on a singlespeed and survived then you would actually be competetive in B grade on a geared bike.

I fully support the use of singlespeeds in the right conditions (for some people they are great for timetrials) but I don't think a crit is the right place for one
 
EzyLee said:
I would say go along with your bike to Stromlo and watch and while your there ask one of the officials what your chances are in joining in with your current bike.

But just a quick question fixie god, what gear ratio will you be running for the crit course?
Click to expand...

Cheers. Thats a good idea actually, might do that.

Umm....not sure about inches, but it will be 44:17 or 40:17 depending on how my testing goes.

And I race 24hrs etc. and am very fit so I'm thinking I'll be alright for a crit race. I'm gonna start at E Grade and work my way up till I find a suitbale level
 
Fixie God said:
Umm....not sure about inches, but it will be 44:17 or 40:17 depending on how my testing goes.

And I race 24hrs etc. and am very fit so I'm thinking I'll be alright for a crit race. I'm gonna start at E Grade and work my way up till I find a suitbale level
Click to expand...

40:17 is 60" 44:17 is 68" both are probably a bit small.

To look at it another way, 40:17 will get you to about 35km/hr at a cadence of 120 rpm. 35km/hr might be the average speed of maybe a C or D bunch with top speeds getting much higher. Some of the Canberra guys might be able to give you a bit of an insight into the average speed of the various grades.
 
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