Indy Bike World Cup

I don’t see a way you can have a “Spec Racing” series and only control the frame. Tires would need to be standardized as well brakes and suspension. Drivetrain should be standard as well.
Individual component tuning such as damper setup, and pad/rotor selection will be rider/team choice. Certain spec components may need to have some level of tamper protection.

Personal choice components should be limited to wheels, cockpit/touchpoints, and apparel/gear.

I’ve kicked this ball around in my head a few times before and the structure is easy, the funding is not, as you’d likely have to convince a few title sponsors to foot the whole bill with such a narrow advertising space defined by fixed manufacturer participation.

i think ideas like this are sweet and it's awesome to bring them up! who knows what could come of it.

we've talked about an IROC type series before (as in what i remember IROC being from the 80's and camaros...not sure if it still exists or is different) where everyone races the exact same car. 

i've always thought a series with bike-and-build-specific races would be killer. every entrant has to race the same setup, choosing only products within the brand family (coil vs air, tread patterns etc). maybe it went all the way down to cockpit, maybe not.

example

round 1, everyone has to a race a trek/sram/rockshox/maxxis/

round 2 - specialized (frame and tires)/ohlins/DT/TRP/

round 3 - mondraker/fox/shimano/schwalbe

finals - riders choose from any of the previously used setups to race

the list could go on and obviously this would be a nightmare with sponsorship approval etc, but if loic participated, he could torpedo the results on a trek and win on a specialized to make specialized look good HA! if i was a billionaire, i'd fund this series paying 20 riders enough to make it worthwhile to participate in.

The adjustability  of the norco or the infinite sizing of the atherton would play well into the 2026 iroc

Make it so vital!

Could be really cool to have a specific frame required for a race.  Maybe a frame manufacturer could start a series of their own.  Any parts supplier can put together a program but has to use production parts available for sale to the public which can be tuned or modified but only within a certain rule set.  Then privateers can do the same to a degree.

Ultimately I think you’d have the same people at the top of the box if these rules were applied to the uci next year.  But it could be particularly cool for a development series.  Like if commencal held 4 races and supplied 20 frames to some up and coming frenchies and told them they just need to build it up and come race that would be pretty dang cool.

Let's get the continental series healthy and thriving before we divert attention away to some Busch league experiment 🤐

I've thought about this kind of thing a few times, might be tough to get top riders involved but at a local level could be fun to either -

- Use a total shitbox bike - some kind of ali express special so part of the challenge is to make it rideable and last several races or stages. Could be great fun to enter with your buddies

- A proper bike sponsored by a manufacturer/s but the series is intended for younger riders who may not have the money/access to a bike and entry fees. Kind of like W-series/F1 Academy where they would have a bike, entry and mechanic all given to them so they're on a level playing field. Winner gets some kind of scholarship or sponsorship afterwards

How about something F1 did to try and level the playing field, address excessive spending, excessive waste, marketing blah,blah, blah

Introduce a maximum amount of spares that can be used for a given item, for the entire year

you get 2 frames, 2 forks, 2 rear shocks (set number of rebuilds in a season) , 4 wheels, 4 sets of brakes (front or rear) 2 sets of drivetrain parts, etc.  A season of attrition for components and frames.....You fuck up and break too many frames, penalty points, or all teams get an additional item of their choosing.....

I always thought a "spec car" for F1 qually would be a great idea.  Make it a different manufacturer car for each race (like in Italy, youre qualifying the entire field in Ferrari 458's, or whatever the current Ferrari supercar is.  In Germany, Everyone gets Audi S3's)  that way the start grid is a mixed bag, and could make for interesting first 10 laps or so......

Let’s not turn dh into a season long enduro.

I think frame tyres and suspension would be enough to make it a "stock" series. 

Brakes would be a hard one, as some riders are so picky and have so much experience on some brakes vs others, that it would inevitably disadvantage people swapping for incredibly touchy saints/maguras to the spongy feel of SRAM brakes for instance (not hating on SRAM here, just highlighting a point).

Would be huge for frame manufacturer that won the chance to equip all them. Could put ex wc privateers on series with chance to win spots on wc teams. Lots of marketing and business opportunities with a new series. Also gaide a north america hardline, the series could run 6 dh courses in US and Canada over 4-5 months.

2centz

There's probably zero chance this 'spec series' ever happens on Enduro/Downhill bikes, but I could definitely see it happening in the XC world. The Lycra Crab Cometh!

Run it in NZ in the off season, a hand full of races easy to get a bunch of people to, have a manufacturer throw a big cash prize and you would probably get more bang for your buck than running WC team.

In DH racing there are many different designs that can win races, and honestly with that much suspension travel, the frame can be designed to work better in certain areas that you feel is more beneficial to your overall speed through rough sections and jumps.

In XC racing all the designs are already converging much more because it's all about reducing frame weight. And XC races are won by maximizing pedaling efficiency, not by carrying more speed through the rough sections and jumps like in gravity racing.

So basically because in DH there are very different designs which have won races, and the manufacturers won't want to give up their uniqueness. While in XC racing there are already like 3 or 4 bikes from different manufactures with essentially the same design.