RHRoop (Team Higher Gear)

I read the proposed changes to the Juniors rules a couple of days ago. At first I wasn’t very impressed but then after thinking about it I believe it makes a lot of sense. Racing at that age should not be about the equipment.

As a promoter I never had any sympathy for the parents who whined about race fees whilst preparing Junior to race on a carbon bike with carbon wheels. More so if this was a TT where the kid was a TT specific rig with a Zipp disc and deep dish wheel on the front.

BMX is already fairly democratic from the POV that the amount of money you can spend on a bike is somewhat constrained by the rules. Keeping the barriers to entry low and making the competition about ability and participation may disappoint the Richie Rich types but will ultimately benefit the sport if more young riders make the transition to competitive cycling as young adults.

RHRoop (Team Higher Gear)

Your implied point is quite good- a high quality aluminum wheel can be more expensive than a poor quality carbon wheel. Quite a conundrum for a rule maker.

The rule includes a line about a minimum number of spokes. Perhaps that would be sufficient along with a maximum rim depth.

Val (Bouledogue Tout Noir)

The Junior restrictions didn’t pass. 

The other thing that I was interested in was not allowing women to race in men’s championship events.  I’m not sure if this was intended to only cover Nationals or all championships (it wasn’t specified in the document USAC sent out).  I received clarification today that it will only be for Nationals, women can race in men’s state championships, just can’t medal.