Cycling equipment: the standards and the rules.

This section is about what equipment is built and tested to and what the rulebooks and road laws require. It is not about how to repair, adjust or fit a bike, or how to ride one. Maintenance and bike fitting are named in these pages, with who does them, but no procedures are given: that work belongs with a qualified bike mechanic or fitter, and riding skills are learned from a qualified cycle training instructor.

How to read these pages

Three things are kept apart throughout. A standard is a set of tests a product is built to, such as EN 1078 or the US CPSC standard for helmets. A rule is a named body's decision about what may be used, where and from when, such as a UCI article or a Highway Code rule. A claim is what a maker says about its own product, and it is labelled as a claim. Independent test results are given with the testing body, its method and the year.

Road rules are given with their legal status. In the Highway Code for Great Britain (Northern Ireland has its own), a rule worded "must" is a legal requirement and a rule worded "should" is guidance: the rule on lights at night (Rule 60) is a legal requirement, while the advice on helmets and clothing (Rule 59) is guidance.

A note on the UCI's rule text

We could not open the UCI's own English PDF of its technical regulation. The UCI articles in this section were read from a bilingual English and Japanese copy of the UCI's clarification guide, hosted by the Japan Cycling Federation and uploaded in March 2026. Its cover date is evidently wrong and its wheel article was modified on 1 January 2026, so it is at least the 2026 text, but its exact edition date is unconfirmed. Each page that relies on it says so. The UCI's current text and the commissaires at a race have the final word.

Dates to know

• 1 January 2023: the 3:1 shape rule for components was removed, according to BikeRadar; Cycling Weekly reports the frame-tube rule went earlier. The current text limits tube sections to 10 to 80 mm instead.
• 1 January 2026: new UCI limits for road and cyclo-cross under Article 1.3.022 (handlebars at least 400 mm wide, flare at most 65 mm, brake levers at least 280 mm apart, a figure under review during 2026), a 65 mm rim limit for road, fork and stay widths, and traditional helmets in mass-start races.
• 1 July 2026: front jersey pockets banned except one for a radio, and a revised sanctions table.
• 1 January 2027: the track limits for handlebars (with their own figures), fork and stay widths, and helmets.
• 1 January 2028: bike computers capped at 126 x 71 mm.
• No date: the 54 x 11 gear-ratio cap is suspended after the Belgian Competition Authority's decision of 9 October 2025; the UCI said in June 2026 it will appeal to the Court of Cassation. The 6.8 kg minimum bike weight is unchanged.

The pages in this section

1. Bike types: what the UCI defines, and road, gravel, time trial and mountain bikes.
2. Frames and materials: steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon, and the UCI frame rules.
3. UCI equipment rules: approval, dimensions, the 6.8 kg minimum and aero devices.
4. Handlebars, wheels and the 2026 changes: Article 1.3.022, rims and the gear cap.
5. Time trial position rules: Article 1.3.023's height categories.
6. Disc brakes in racing: from the 2015 trial to the 2018 rule.
7. Groupsets and drivetrains: the makers' claims and the UCI's rules.
8. Wheels and tyre sizes: ISO 5775 (ETRTO), rim types and racing wheels.
9. Helmet standards: CPSC, EN 1078, Australia, British Columbia and Snell.
10. Helmet rules in racing: UCI Article 1.3.031 and USA Cycling.
11. Independent helmet tests: the Virginia Tech and IIHS STAR ratings.
12. Lights and visibility: Highway Code Rule 60 and US reflector rules.
13. Clothing: the UCI's clothing articles and Rule 59.
14. Locks and security: Sold Secure's grades.
15. E-bike batteries and fire safety: fire figures and official guidance.
16. Recalls: regulators' recent notices.
17. Mechanics and bike fitting: who does the work.

For category gear guides with no brands and no prices, see the gear guides. The gear calculator works out how far one turn of the cranks takes the bike.