Even I have problems with this

[LMN]

From rockyroads.net

"The Austrian Cycling Federation (ÖRV) has announced their decision to ban the 29-inch bikes for young riders, including those aged 17. The precaution was published on the website of the Youngster Cup. The decision was brought forth so that young riders stop investing in bigger bikes."

[torreyaz]

Wonder if they permit single speed?

[CB2]

How many Austrians under 17 are there riding 29ers?

[Mr Pink57]

I'm sure they will. Nothing like getting your ass kicked by person with 1 gear.

[bholwell]

From rockyroads.net

"The Austrian Cycling Federation (ÖRV) has announced their decision to ban the 29-inch bikes for young riders, including those aged 17. The precaution was published on the website of the Youngster Cup. The decision was brought forth so that young riders stop investing in bigger bikes."

Ridiculous. So where do you draw the line? Also, the rule is completely discriminatory against taller, larger kids, and frankly those who prefer the larger wheel size. IMO rules should ONLY be implemented to keep the sport safe and fair. This does neither.

[meltingfeather]

wow... that's pretty funny, in a ridiculously stupid sort of way.

[GChambers]

This is a perfect example of why I don't live in Austria.

[BruceBrown]

From rockyroads.net

"The Austrian Cycling Federation (ÖRV) has announced their decision to ban the 29-inch bikes for young riders, including those aged 17. The precaution was published on the website of the Youngster Cup. The decision was brought forth so that young riders stop investing in bigger bikes."

Hmmmm....that's odd. You can drink in Austria at age 16, but you can't ride the big wheels if you are 17 or under. Having lived and worked in Austria for many years - go figure as to the reasoning. And this is from the land that brought us shaped skis and took away our long and beloved 200 - 220cm straight sticks.

I would like to see the reasoning behind the decision outside of "brought forth so that young riders stop investing in bigger bikes.". Do they mean bikes that "fit" too large and therefore the young riders are at a danger of being out of control on an ill fitting bike (too big of a bike that is)? Or do they mean "big wheels"?

Here's the website: sterreichischer Radsport-Verband

Interesting timing considering all of the European bike companies that are introducing 29"er bikes in their 2012 line - including several excellent models from the well known Austrian bike company KTM. Hmmmmm.....it also looks like KTM is the only bike company (as in they make bikes) sponsor of the Austrian Cycling Federation. Odd indeed.

But hot damn - they've got a big beer sponsor!

On well, there are only about 8 million people in Austria (that's less than the population of Michigan) and the majority of those 8 million inhabitants have never even been mountain biking.

BB

[rkj__]

Strange.

[Spinnyspinspin]

Yeah, god forbid they invest in a bike that will fit them as well in fifteen years as it does now. Sounds like someone is interested in getting rid of their ever-growing overstock of 26" bikes. "Ve haff too many small wheeled bikes, but all ze kinders, they ride un zwanzig nuener bikes! Ban zem all!"

[syl3]

You MUST learn how to ride a 26", going straight to a 29" is too easy and it makes you too fast.

Europe is full of nonsensical **** like this. God forbid you should teach a child how to think for himself. I think it has something to do with the misconception that young athletes don't have the knowledge or self control to avoid high gears for too long, and they end up hurting their knees in the long run.

When i was a junior at the velo club, there were certain races where everyone under 16 years old was forbidden from using a gear greater than 39-14. They would take your FD away and screw in the limit on the RD. Of course everyone quickly learned how to pedal with the left leg and shift with the right... but as we all know, looking down when in the middle of the peloton is a big no-no. So they had to give up these stupid restrictions because it was only causing more problems.

[PeT]

Wonder if they permit single speed?

Don't know about the Austrians, but the relatively new National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) for US high school mtb racing has a rule that forbids use of a single-speed.. Here's a section from their rulebook:
---
4.2 MOUNTAIN BIKES ONLY
NICA student-athletes must compete using mountain bikes that have 26 (or 29) inch wheels (or between 26 and 29 inches) and the tires must not be narrower than 1.75 inches. In addition:
 Tires must have knobbies – no slick tires are permitted
 No road bikes (or mountain bikes with down-drop handle bars)  No cyclocross bikes
4.3 NO SINGLE-SPEED BIKES
Pushing big gears has been proven to be detrimental to the joints (specifically the knees) of young student- athletes. Bikes must have multiple gears including at least five cogs in the rear.
4.4 LOWEST GEAR RULE
In order to prevent injuries to student-athletes, a roll-out rule will be enforced. All bikes must have an available gear combination yielding less than an eighty gear-inch roll-out. Roll-out is defined by the distance the bike rolls for one full revolution of the pedals. As with Rule 4.3, this rule is to help prevent student-athletes from pushing gears that are too high and potentially damaging their knees.
----

That issue with pushing too big a gear -- what do they do, enforce down shifts on hills? Watching the local team practice, many of the novice riders would be better off/safer/faster on appropriately geared single speeds, then have them add shifting to the equation once they've managed riding on rough terrain. And it seems to me their "must have an available gear yielding less than an eighty gear-inch roll-out" statement is wrong -- 13 of the 14 gears on my geared bike are less than 80 gear-inches and I NEVER use anything over 80 gear inches in an off-road race (including the "tame" Leadville 100). Even crit road race bikes have an available gear combination with less than an 80 gear-inch roll-out. Race/federation commissaries have the same attitude everywhere...

[Schmucker]

I would be completely non-competitive without a 29er. I was 6'4" when I was 14.

[skitchy]

Selling 29ers to youngsters is akin to selling repeating rifles to comanches. Keep 'em on little bikes or we're all doomed.