UCI targets bike computer size as SRAM gear ratio dispute moves to highest court

The UCI will introduce a maximum size for bike computers from 2028 and has confirmed it will take its legal fight with SRAM over gear restrictions to Belgium’s Court of Cassation.

Both decisions were announced after a meeting of the UCI Management Committee and form part of the governing body’s wider push on rider safety.

From 1 January 2028, bike computers used in UCI competition will be limited to maximum dimensions of 126mm by 71mm. According to the UCI, the measure is intended to prevent onboard technology from increasing the cognitive load placed on riders during races.

Modern head units are no longer simple speed and distance displays. They can show navigation, live power, heart rate, temperature data and nutrition alerts. The UCI argues that the expanding volume of data available to riders can add to mental workload in already chaotic race situations, and that limiting screen size is one way of stopping that data environment from growing unchecked.

The limit has been set at a level that broadly reflects the largest current products on the market, meaning the rule is less an immediate ban on existing devices than a line drawn around future development. Manufacturers have been given more than a year to adapt before the regulation comes into force.

The bike computer rule was not the only equipment measure announced. From 1 July 2026, front jersey pockets will also be banned, except for a possible pocket used solely for a radio communication device.

According to the UCI, several riders had been wearing jerseys with internal pockets on the front containing nutritional products that were difficult, or even impossible, to access during races. The governing body said the practice altered the riders’ body shape and followed studies showing an aerodynamic benefit.

The UCI links that aerodynamic gain to higher speeds and the severity of crashes. It also says the practice raises questions of sporting fairness.

The sanctions table for non-compliant equipment will also be revised from 1 July 2026, before the start of the Tour de France. The UCI says new penalties will be introduced for bike accessories and other accessories worn by riders, with the aim of making sanctions more proportionate and more consistently applied.

The more legally sensitive part of the announcement concerns the suspended maximum gear ratio test.

The UCI Management Committee said it had taken note of the Brussels Court of Appeal’s dismissal of its appeal against the Belgian Competition Authority’s decision from 9 October 2025. As a result, the Maximum Gear Ratio Test Protocol remains suspended.

The test, recommended by SafeR, was intended to gather rider feedback on whether gear ratio limits could improve safety in professional road cycling. The proposed limit was 10.46 metres of rollout per pedal revolution, broadly equivalent to a 54x11 gear.

The proposed rule would have had a particular impact on SRAM, whose current road gearing includes combinations that would fall outside the UCI’s proposed limit. As a result SRAM challenged the protocol before the Belgian Competition Authority, arguing that it would disadvantage its equipment, sponsored teams and market position. It also questioned whether the UCI had shown a clear link between higher gear ratios and crash risk.

In October 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority suspended the test shortly before it was due to be trialled at the Tour of Guangxi. The UCI appealed, but the Brussels Court of Appeal upheld the suspension.

The court did not reject the UCI’s right to pursue safety measures. It found that the process behind this rule had not sufficiently met standards of transparency, objectivity, proportionality and non discrimination, especially given its potential market impact.

The UCI is now taking the case to the Court of Cassation. That appeal is unlikely to decide whether gear limits make racing safer, but it could determine how much legal room the UCI has when technical safety rules affect equipment suppliers.