Professional road racing will soon be using disc brakes!

It appears to be a matter of time that all road bikes will be fitted with disc brakes.  Backing this technological shift is the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which confirmed that it has approved the use of disc brakes for selected events in August and September 2015.  Each team has been given the green light to out-fit their bikes with disc brakes for any two events of their choice in the two-month time frame.

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In a statement to the press, UCI said: “If the experience is satisfactory, disc brakes will be officially introduced to the UCI World Tour in 2017.  The aim is to eventually introduce disc brakes to all levels of road cycling.”  President of UCI Mr Brian Cookson added, “Although disc brakes have been used for around a decade in mountain biking and for the last two years in cyclo-cross, their introduction to road cycling must be carefully studied in collaboration with all those who are directly concerned.  That includes riders, teams and manufacturers. This step is part of the UCI’s desire to encourage innovation in order to ensure cycling is even more attractive for spectators, riders, bike users and broadcasters.”

The selected use of disc brakes will be tested and reviewed throughout the 2016 season before any official introduction in 2017.

The decision to commence tests on disc brakes for road bikes came after the UCI and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI)  underwent consultation with various parties in professional road cycling.  WFSGI Secretary-General Mr Robbert de Kock, who is supportive of the shift to disc brakes, said: “This decision will further develop innovation and create new possibilities for the bicycle industry as well as additional performance for the riders.”  He added, “There is still some fine tuning to do on detailed requirements for the procedure, but it is very exciting to finally have reached this decision. The remaining open topics such as neutral race support or the UCI and Teams protocol will be tackled soon.”

Some road bike models have already been fitted with disc brakes within the consumer market.  With the adoption of disc brakes by professional racing teams, it is likely to ignite further interest from riders in the mass market