UCI Updates Approved Wheel List

AIGLE, Switzerland – Yesterday, the International Cycling Union (UCI) published an updated list with wheels which have been authorized for road, track and cyclo-cross competition under its new approval protocol.

Just before the start of the road race season, the UCI announced that more than 200 wheels of 70 brands in production have been labeled ‘UCI approved’. The approval protocol applies to ‘non-standard’ wheels. These have rims higher than 2.5 centimeters, fewer than 16 spokes or spoke thicknesses of over 2.4 millimetres.

Click here for the complete list of UCI approved wheels.

The ‘standard’ wheels must also comply with UCI regulations but don’t have to be submitted for the same strict testing. The aim of the approval is to test the impact strength of bicycle wheels. It is carried out on the “crash test” stand of the Cockerill – Sambre Research and Development Centre.

The stand comprises a weighted slide, or ram, moving at a constant speed and impacting against the wheel to be tested. The wheel is mounted on a device fixed to the frame of the test machine. Spoked wheels are tested in two different positions, with the impact occurring either directly against the spoke, or between two spokes.

The UCI wheel approval follows on the successfully introduced ‘UCI frame’ label in February last year. One year after its creation, the label ‘UCI frame’ has been awarded to 57 manufacturers for a total of 96 different models of frames and forks.