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1934 UCI 'recumbent ban' documents uncovered
The archives open and explain how the UCI voted to ban recumbents for being too fast...
Thanks to The Swiss HPV Club's News page for the link to: this report by Marc Tauss (in French) in which he explains how after several requests he finally got at the contemporary accounts of how the UCI came to ban recumbents in 1933-4 (and so, it's thought, help ensure the dominance of the upright bike pretty much ever since...)
He got his hands on the transcript of the 58th Congress of the UCI in Paris, 11 August 1933 and also a June 1934 brochure giving the UCI's updated definition fo a bicycle. The documents don't by the sound of it reveal anything very exciting, but allow a few details from other reports to be corrected. No documents were forthcoming about a further meeting in February 1934, at which technical details were probably discussed.
Tauss concludes with an appeal for signatures for a letter appealing for the UCI to include recumbents in their activities. He also says that he's scanning the original documents and they will eventually be posted at the French HPV Club website.
Some potted history of recumbents, mentioning the UCI ban, are for example here, here and here.
(Feel free to post corrections, dear readers, if my dodgy translation from the French isn't quite right...)
Posted on 10 November 2003
Your comments ...| From: jes (@pedalcars.info) on 10 November 2003 |
Banning recumbents for being fast?
Us pedal car racing types will be OK then folks!
Boom boom!
(This is irony by the way.)
(It means "sort of like made out of iron") |
| From: andy scaife (bike_rescue@youknow) on 12 November 2003 |
| Why not just fit a trailer as a handicap. I've still managed to seriously spoil some roadie's day even with the BoB on. Blasted a couple of them while on a Baby Brox once, then went round the corner to collapse and recover! HeeHee!! |
| From: Marc TAUSS ([email protected]) on 24 November 2003 |
The adobe version of the original 1933 -1934 UCI documents can be seen on this website : http://jeanpba.free.fr/Divers/uci_1934.pdf
And there is much more discussed on the subject on the BROL forum : http://pub65.ezboard.com/bbentrideronline
Take the racing section, and choose my message : UCI/recumbents relationship.
You will be able to read quite interessting remarks. And even an english translation of the old documents that I posted. The idea to be integrated in the UCI is highly controversed... And I change my mind too... Yet, I am for a collaboration with the UCI that might open the doors to us : For example, racing in main UCI events... Even in special category... May be not in the Tour de France ASAP... But in some races... The BROL forum discussion make some propositions... It's quite international, and to my opinion, give an idea of what is the opinion among HPV community... Especialy because I passed the message to the German, French, + Dutch recumbent forum so that they also give their advice on this forum in english...
Best regards !
Marc TAUSS
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| From: Bikesmith ([email protected]) on 28 November 2003 |
| Good luck getting the UCI to consider anything "unusual". These are the folks who recently disallowed the use of disk brakes for cyclocross events. It was even suggested that there might be "some danger associated with these brakes". They seem disinterested in progress of any kind. Val Kleitz, Bikesmith |
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