UCI gives go-ahead for disc brakes at pro road races

Starting Jan. 1, 2016, as part of an extended testing phase, pro squads will be free to ride disc brake-equipped bikes at competitions across all professional divisions, the Union Cycliste Internationale announced in a press release on Monday.

The decision comes after a two-month initial trial by the global cycling body.

Professional Continental, Continental and WorldTour teams—both men’s and women’s—are affected by the change, with the regulatory body not specifying any details beyond the lifting of the restriction. During that two-month trial run late last season, the UCI allowed disc brake use, but with a limit of two races. Team Sky tried them out at Eneco and the Tour du Poitou Charentes; Trek’s riders, meanwhile, used them at the Vuelta.

In continuing its evaluation, the UCI set no such limits this time around.

The UCI to continue disc brake trials in 2016. Read our full press release https://t.co/dVH0Ma1ulY pic.twitter.com/C2kyxkumj7

— UCI (@UCI_cycling) November 30, 2015

For some riders, such brakes aren’t without their controversy. There’s the question of stopping time, for one, but then there are the safety considerations—something Gustav Larsson learned about rather painfully. Friction, of course, has the effect of heating them up dramatically. As Canadian Cycling Magazine reported, Larsson’s leg came in contact with the heated disc brake for barely a “millisecond,” he said. The result: a tattoo-like burn in the brake’s perfect likeness.

This next trial period, the UCI said, will involve a thorough monitoring of their use, with such safety concerns likely being front and centre for official observers. In the long run, however, the announcement’s language suggests that disc brakes for the pros—if all works out—may soon be here to stay.

“After extensive discussions with its stakeholders,” the press release said, “the UCI has decided to allow the use of disc brakes by riders across all divisions of UCI professional road teams. The use of disc brakes will be carefully monitored throughout the year with a view to definitively allowing them to be used in professional road cycling from 2017.”