Handlebars, wheels and the 2026 changes.

The decision and its dates

The UCI Management Committee, meeting in Kigali from 22 to 24 September 2025, confirmed new limits on handlebars, brake levers and helmets for road and cyclo-cross from 1 January 2026, and set track limits from 1 January 2027. It said the handlebar limits aim to contain speeds by ensuring a certain amount of air drag. Article texts on this page are as reproduced in the Japan Cycling Federation's copy of the UCI clarification guide (uploaded March 2026; its exact edition date is unconfirmed).

Handlebars and brake levers: Article 1.3.022

Outside the time trial events covered by Article 1.3.023, only traditional handlebars may be used. Article 1.3.022 places them inside a box bounded by the height of the saddle support, a line 100 mm below the top of the wheels, the steerer axis, and a line 100 mm in front of the front wheel spindle. The figures:

Article 1.3.022 also bans extending or reconfiguring the lever supports for another use, and authorises combined brake and gear controls. The guide allows electronic derailleurs provided only the rider controls them.

The 280 mm figure is not settled

The September 2025 meeting asked the UCI's Equipment and New Technologies Commission to review the 280 mm lever figure during 2026, with a view to possibly increasing it. We found no later UCI decision on that review. The figure has also been reported differently: an undated UCI statement made after recommendations from SafeR gave 320 mm between the brake levers and a maximum of 50 mm from the inside of each lever to the bar's outer edge. The September 2025 decision and the clarification guide both give 280 mm, and the September 2025 figure is the later decision.

How the width rule grew

BikeRadar (30 November 2022) reported that from 1 January 2023 road handlebars had a minimum width of 350 mm and that traditional bars could reach 100 mm beyond the front wheel axle. The 2026 rule raised the road minimum to 400 mm.

Forearms on the bars

The same September 2025 meeting decided that riders may not use the handlebars as a forearm support, except in time trials on fixed extensions. This matches Article 1.3.008, under which a rider's only points of support are the feet, the hands and the saddle. The time trial rules are on the time trial position rules page.

Rims: 65 mm maximum from 2026

Article 1.3.018 says wheels approved for mass-start road and cyclo-cross must have a rim no deeper than 65 mm and at least 12 spokes, with no spoke section dimension over 10 mm. The UCI set the 65 mm rim limit for road from 1 January 2026. BikeRadar (1 January 2026) noted that one maker's 68 mm deep road wheel was 3 mm over the new limit. Wheel approval, the ISO impact test and the "traditional wheels" exemption are on the wheels and tyre sizes page.

Fork and stay widths

Article 1.3.017 limits the inside width between the fork legs to 11.5 cm and between the sides of the rear triangle to 14.5 cm. The UCI set these widths (115 mm front, 145 mm rear) from 1 January 2026 for road and 1 January 2027 for track.

Helmets

The September 2025 meeting also set specifications for helmets in mass-start events from 1 January 2026 for road and cyclo-cross and from 1 January 2027 for track. They distinguish a "traditional" helmet from a time trial helmet and set maximum dimensions; the detail is on the helmet rules in racing page.

The 54 x 11 gear cap: suspended

The UCI announced a test of a maximum gear of 54 x 11, which it described as 10.46 metres per crank revolution, to run in a stage race in the second half of the 2025 season. BikeRadar (1 January 2026) reported that SRAM complained to the Belgian Competition Authority and that the cap would have ruled out 10-tooth sprockets from SRAM and Campagnolo.

The Belgian Competition Authority's decision of 9 October 2025 suspended the test. After its meeting of 2 to 4 June 2026, the UCI said the Brussels Court of Appeal had dismissed its appeal against that decision, that the test protocol remains suspended, and that it will take the case to the Belgian Court of Cassation. No UCI gear-ratio limit applies now. We found no later UCI statement on the appeal's timetable or outcome.

How one federation applies the changes: AusCycling

AusCycling's announcement shows one national federation deciding how far the UCI equipment rules reach into its own events. It said on 1 October 2025 that it would apply the fork and stay width rule and the 10 degree lever limit in full, but exempt non-UCI national, state and club events from the 65 mm rim limit and from the handlebar and lever width rules.

• All the UCI equipment rules apply at AusCycling's Elite, U23 and Junior road and cyclo-cross national championships.
• Its U17 and U15 road nationals are exempt from the handlebar and lever widths.
• Its Masters road nationals are exempt from the handlebar and lever widths and also from the rim depth limit.

AusCycling's article numbers the fork and rim rules "1.3.107" and "1.3.108", which do not match the UCI's numbering (1.3.017 and 1.3.018) and look like a typing error. We did not check how other federations apply the changes. The national federations page explains how they relate to the UCI.