At a certain level. They are all done on bikes that conform to the race org or a governing organization’s regulations. Any advantage, would come from how much more the individual has trained for the event over their opponent(s) and a handful of other things aside from equipment.
Youbikes, as @marasan mentioned, are banned from most bike related competitions/races in Taiwan. They aren’t built for that and shouldn’t be used in that way.
They were, it was just crazy. So organization may have some to explaining to do.
I think it is a common thing in Taiwan.
This foreigner seems to have got away with stealing a youbike.
Not easy to catch someone like that. He blends in with the crowd.
that’s why bike storage solutions are vital.
Love seeing thieves getting caught in the act
This, I don’t mind cameras tracking everyones movements if it comes to a benefit to the public. In the UK the police would not look into such a matter.
Just tell them that they stole the bike because it was “colored” and they will pour in as many resources as possible
A total surveillance state bei g good or bad is pretty dependant on the states’ ethics/laws/enforcement etc etc.
If we look at say north Korea, china or in many peoples view now, even the USA and UK, the ethics belong monitoring, following and oppressing is viewed as either too extreme or not enough. Extremist thinking rarely ends well when total dominance of a (not the) system is allowed.
The surveillance is just the tool, like a gun, knife or keyboard. How they use it is 100% the point. Especially in countries that dont have a constitution based on ethics (if they have one at all). Which becomes more of a philosophical thing, but also a legal thing if people dont enjoy oppression. Countries like Canada have a “charter of rights” which set out, from the get, that if the government disagrees then this charteris worthless. Which makes these issues very real under the wrong hands.
Do check the Canadian charter of rights, it is online in French and English. It is disappointing how they negate it’s whole meaning from the very beginning. Now we just get a: if the government agrees, they will do this. If not, fuck you. This is dangerous. History has taught us nothing else.