This summer, we're getting a glimpse of the equipment different cycling teams will use as the 2024 Paris Olympics approaches. Most recently, the Australian Track Cycling Team announced that they will be riding Factor Hanzo track bikes, which are available now. British brand website $97,979 (AUD). This equates to approximately 60,000 USD.
according to GCN“The bike has been around for a few months now and was officially announced at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January, the same day Factor and AusCycling announced their partnership.”
But why should such a machine be priced at $1? UCI regulations (Article 1.3.006) states that all equipment used during the Olympics must be commercially available. This rule specifically states that “the entire material used must be accessible to all participants.” All components must be commercially available (i.e. available on the market or sold directly by the manufacturer) no later than 12 months after first use in competition. ”
Fairness and equipment regulations
The purpose of the UCI article is to make things more fair, as technically anyone can participate with the same equipment as everyone else, as long as they have a large amount of bike funds. The rule further states that “the use of equipment that is specifically designed for a particular athlete, event, or performance is prohibited. 'Specially designed' means that it is technically It means a bicycle with added value. ”
In other words, in theory, athletes can't compete just because they have a bike designed specifically for them. But when Factor releases a bike that costs more than most luxury cars, it certainly looks like it's flouting the rules. This type of pricing strategy for Olympic equipment appears designed to comply with the letter of the law while completely circumventing its intended purpose.
The rules also do not specify delivery dates or whether brands must produce enough to meet demand. It only stipulates that the bicycle must be available for purchase. Brands are not responsible for exorbitant delivery times or not having enough inventory to meet demand. This certainly creates a situation where there are rules that constrain the technological superiority of large federations with large R&D budgets. But in reality, this rule is laughably easy to circumvent, and there's no obvious way to fix it.
Other expensive bikes seen at the Olympics
Surprisingly, the Factor Hanzo isn't even the most expensive bike on the Paris circuit. GCN reported that the 3D-printed UKSI-BC1 bike, launched in November, costs £55,000, or about $106,000 (Australian dollars).
In the US, this is almost $70,000. Better than a fully loaded 2024 BMW 5 Series.
And Canyon's Speedmax CFR Truck is Team USA's TT bike of choice for its debut at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow. It costs $20,000, which seems modest compared to Hanzo and the UK's UKSI-BC1 bike.
Factor doesn't say much about why their track bikes are so expensive, but they are specifically designed for the tracking field, including team and individual tracking. The track cycling event will take place from August 5th to 11th, 2024.
Micah Ring is a freelance writer who lives in the mountains of Colorado. She divides her free time between mountain biking and trail running.
