Spin Cycle

It’s time for another episode of Geek Warning. Dave and Ronan are back to discuss the latest happenings in the world of cycling tech and what’s on their minds.Ritchey and Factor have new bike (frame) releases that sit near polar opposites of the road market. Ritchey has brought back its well-loved Road Logic frames, while Factor’s Ostro VAM, a bike we’ve looked at before, is now officially official.There are new shoes from Trek and Specialized, with the former leaving Ronan a little confused over what size his feet are. And Dave shares what’s on his mind (hint, tools), and then there’s a quick wrap of other interesting tech and industry news.Timestamps:5:03 - Ritchey Logic brings back its rim brake road frames8:03 - Factor’s new Ostro VAM is now official and Ronan has built one23:43 - Black Inc’s 1,270 g aero wheels26:45 - Specialized’s new mid-price helmet and shoes28:45 - Trek’s many new shoes, many new fits41:45 - On Dave’s mind46:58 - 4iiii’s new Pro 3+ dual-sided powermeter50:40 - KMC gets into cassettes52:05 - F+B Shift wheels bring thermoplastic carbon to a lower price point54:52 - Giant Bicycles to be sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods

Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on this week Placeholders to cover all of the big news as racing is heating up around the world from Oman to Colombia.

In episode one we heard about the unexpected windfall that the cycling industry saw at the start of the pandemic and how many needed to react. Of course that didn’t last forever, and in this episode I’ve titled ‘the storm clouds’ we talk about the early signs that this new demand was coming to an abrupt halt, and the types of behaviour that was happening and the causes of that behaviour that led to the catastrophe that the industry would later see.

Loren Rowney is back to discuss all the action from the UAE Tour with Gracie and Abby. They try to answer questions like: Will Kopecky’s form impact Vollering’s Classics goals, and what will that mean for SD Worx - Protime as a whole? And is there a cuter couple than Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (there isn’t)?

In this 4 part series, I wanted to explore the events that took place that led the bike industry to the troubling point it’s at now. I spoke to over a dozen industry professionals from all parts of the supply chain. From well run bike shops, forecasting analysts, distributors, the biggest bike brands in the world, and manufacturers. It’s well known that the bicycle industry went through an unprecedented boom during the pandemic from 2020 - 2022. Jump ahead to 2024 and much of the bike industry is in trouble. New demand has come to an abrupt halt. New entrants into the bicycle market have not stayed as the industry had hoped.We’re seeing massive inventory overruns at bike shops. Big bike brands are taking on extra warehousing space. Businesses such as Niner, Orange, Wiggle/CRC, have gone into bankruptcy. Otherwise profitable big brands have taken on debt to keep afloat. There are brands out there who are doing well, but they’re the exception rather than the norm. In general , I don’t think many would disagree that the situation in major cycling markets, aside from China, is pretty dire.The episode is this first of four. We’re going to bring you on a journey through the COVID feast, the storm clouds, the famine, and the lessons learned in hindsight.In this episode, The Feast, we speak to a bike shop owner, a demand forecasting analyst for a distributor, company CEOs, and a manufacturer to hear about what they experienced during the initial stages of the pandemic in early 2020.

JP Ballard joins us once again for part one of our Performance Process deep dive into all things aerodynamics.Ballard is founder and CEO of aerodynamics specialists Swiss Side. The Swiss company produces wheels and aero calf sleeves, but the majority of its work is in offering its aerodynamic expertise to other manufacturers in the cycling industry.Ballard first joined us for a pit walk critiquing bikes and equipment of the 2024 WorldTour paddock during the recent Tour Down Under. He had also sat down with us before that race to record three hours worth of discussion and advice on aerodynamics and performance. In part one of that conversation Ballard gives us an insight into some of Swiss Side's unseen consultancy work and we discuss performance simulation tools, sail effect, the future of cycling aero, and why Ballard thinks we are not even half way to "peak aero."

Welcome back to Geek Warning. In this episode, Dave and Ronan talk through a bunch of the biggest tech news in the cycling world and cover a few test products at the top of their minds.It’s hard to find a new racing product today that doesn’t at least tease the “aero” word, however, TuboLight may just be the first to make such a claim for a product that goes inside the tyre.The recently seen shoe and pedal system from Ekoi caught unwanted attention from the UCI, but them’s the rules. One that is UCI-certified for racing is Ridley’s new X-Night RS cyclocross machine.SRAM has officially issued a recall related to all aftermarket 12-speed dropbar levers, but the fix is one you can likely do yourself. Another you could probably do yourself is convert an existing Specialized Crux or Roubaix to run SRAM’s 1x Transmission (typically requires a UDH-frame); it’s a new product offered by 5Dev.The conversation then turns to the weirdly named premium thermal skinsuit that Ronan is testing from Q36.5. And Dave has a little rant related to the new Trek Domane AL just reviewed.All that, and more, on this week's Geek Warning.Timestamps:3:55 - Tubolite gets aero, inside the tyre11:35 - Ekoi pedals and UCI rulings21:08 - Ridley’s new X-Night RS, aero(ish) meets cyclocross28:49 - A DIY recall related to SRAM’s brake lever33:07 - 5Dev’s adapter to install SRAM Transmission on a Specialized Crux or Roubaix.36:53 - Ronan is testing a £808 thermal skinsuit from Q36.543:05 - What Dave is testing and a rant on entry-level bikes53:35 - A PSA related to dropbar levers, and another related to crockpots58:30 - A quick wrap of other news, including Amer Sports, Curve’s carbon Walmer handlebar, and BeSpoked to be held in Manchester.

Ronan Mc Laughlin, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to discuss the rumors of a potential (and large) investment in bike racing from a Saudi Arabian firm as well as the news of the UCI banning a pedal and Zdeněk Štybar's retirement.

Helen Wyman joined Abby for this fantastic episode of the Wheel Talk Podcast. The two talk about all the action from the U23 and Elite races at the World Championships over the weekend, answer listener questions about families in Cyclocross, Lucinda Brand, and more. Plus, lots of laughter. This was such a good episode we’ve even got a longer version exclusively for the members of Escape Collective.

With much of the industry languishing under the post-Covid, brands are trying harder than ever to carve out a niche for themselves to stay afloat. Colnago’s new C68 Gravel bike is super premium by design, but based on their sales figures, the focus on luxury is clearly getting the job done. Campagnolo seems to be falling into the same strategy almost by accident, but is it working as well? That’s not so clear. Hunt also debuted its latest aero wheels and they look like they could be quite the performance bargain – as long as you’re ok with hookless rims – and just when you thought clipless road pedals couldn’t get any better than they already are, French brand Ekoi’s new road pedal-and-shoe system might actually move the needle.And finally, have we finally reached a stable point for road bike tire sizes? Maybe. Or maybe not.Timestamps:6:45 – Colnago’s got a fancy new gravel bike, and they’re ok if it’s out of your reach20:19 – Campagnolo’s new aero road wheels are absolutely gorgeous27:53 – Hunt’s new Sub50 Limitless Aero Disc road wheels could be an incredible performance bargain38:45 – Ekoi has a truly novel new road pedal-and-shoe system in development, and they might actually be good48:04 – Noble Wheels tools are back! Well, sort of49:55 – More musings on using candle wax to lube your chains51:39 – Vittoria’s got a new Corsa Pro Speed go-fast tire52:52 – Want to stand out from the crowd? Bossi has expanded its range of titanium gravel frames54:28 – Orange Bikes is back in business56:49 – Road tire sizes seem to have stabilized (and yes, James is getting old)

It’s time for another gathering of the geeks for an episode of Ask a Wrench. In this member’s bonus episode, Zach (of Boulder Gruppetto), James, and Dave answer more technical questions submitted by Escape members.This week, the geeks answer questions related to using alternative cassette options, fitting bigger cassette ranges than allowed, selecting parts for the Paris-Roubaix sportive, replacing a Cannondale Lefty, and using saddlebags with carbon saddle rails. Then the conversation continues with questions related to swapping Shimano brake components, bike packing with waxed chains, learning to bleed brakes, and torque wrench calibration testing.Our weekly Geek Warning podcast remains unchanged and open to all, we’re now providing additional bonus episodes each fortnight. Only members and paid readers of Escape Collective can access the full versions of these bonus podcasts. These bonus episodes are a mix of Ask a Wrench, deep-dives, or interviews with the people behind popular products.

Abby Mickey, Dane Cash, and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz to talk Red Bull, MyWhoosh, Ekoi, and more ...

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast, Tils (Matilda Raynolds) is back to chat with Gracie and Abby about the Deakin University Road Race.

This week's episode of Performance Process delves deep into the topic of heat and how it can be both a powerful, free, and accessible training intervention and a major problem.In the podcast, we speak to Chris Bloomfield-Brown, a performance engineer for most of his life, in everything motorsport to pro bike racing and with plenty of work in triathlon along the way. Chris is perhaps best known in the WorldTour peloton for his work in recent years with CORE, the company behind those small rectangular white sensors attached to almost every heart rate strap in the peloton. We talk to Chris about all things heat training, cooling, and better warm-ups and dissect some of the adaption, acclimatisation, strain, and other terminology with regard to heat.

There’s always something going on in the world of cycling tech. This week, James and Dave discuss a bunch of news items, what their favourite clothing is for shoulder season, and a little safety warning related to new tyres.It’s been a busy week of tech news out of Europe and the UK. First up, the heritage brand of Eddy Merckx is back, but looking at the range today, it looks a lot like business as usual from when we last saw the name on downtubes.French cycling brand Look has officially released its new Keo Blade pedals. Meanwhile, the two-speed hub maker Classified has updated the rims of its carbon wheels.In the UK, Mason has a new version of the Definition aluminium dropbar bike. Plus we cover further news regarding Schwalbe, Holding, Wolf Tooth, and candles, yes, candles.Timestamps:5:25 - Eddy Merckx bikes are back11:25 – Our obligatory segment related to chain waxing16:50 - Look release its new Keo Blade pedals22:30 - Picking one, our favourite shoulder-season kit (all disciplines)34:45 - PSA on brand new tyres40:20 - Classified’s own carbon wheels get lighter and wider rims41:12 - Schwalbe consolidating its manufacturing42:39 - Mason’s new aluminium dropbar bike43:54 – Hovding files for bankruptcy45:15 - Wolf Tooth ReMote Pro now in colours

There’s an undeniable truth that an overnight success takes about 10 years, not a single night. Almost no one comes up with a winning business idea all at once. And if you’re not Peter and Tom Marchment or those around them who created the aftermarket wheel brand Hunt, you might be mistaken that they came out of nowhere. Tom and Peter are brothers who grew up riding in a small fishing village on the Isle of Man and like most of us at the beginning, cycling was a way to get around and a source of freedom. That progressed to mountain biking and then cross-country racing then road racing and time trialling - as you do in the UK. At University Peter got some background in materials sciences while Tom took a degree in ergonomics, which is human psychology and physiology applied to design, which he admits that he really didn’t like. Their paths diverged after university when Tom started working in a bike shop where he got some cycling industry experience, while Peter went to work at a bank. Peter and Tom have been slowly putting the building blocks of their steadfast aftermarket wheelset business together for nearly a decade now, all starting with an online store called The InnerTube Shop back in 2013. Here’s Peter and Tom Marchment who started InnerTube Shop telling about how it all began.

Dane Cash, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to talk about where the Ineos Grenadiers find themselves in 2024, the latest from the 'cross scene, and whether pro cycling should have a draft.

Matilda Raynolds, or Tils as she’s known to the members of the Wheel Talk Podcast Discord group (available to members of Escape Collective), joins Gracie and Abby on the podcast this week with some insider information on the Tour Down Under and some thoughts on the upcoming Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.And, as promised, here is a link to G Flips's cover of Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift.

Rupert Guinness, Ronan Mc Laughlin and Matt de Neef breakdown a fascinating final stage of the men's Tour Down Under and discuss the race's biggest winners and losers. Plus: a look at the logistics of moving the WorldTour peloton over to Victoria for the upcoming Cadel's Race.

Join Rupert Guinness, Ronan Mc Laughlin and Matt de Neef as they dissect stages 4 and 5 of the men's Tour Down Under. The first, another sprint stage where even a messy lead-out couldn't disrupt Bora-Hansgrohe; the second, the much-anticipated return to the iconic Willunga Hill.

The 2024 WorldTour season is under way at the Tour Down Under and Escape Collective is on the ground all week bringing you the latest news, tech, and Escape podcasts. Today we've got a combined Geek Warning and Performance Process tech special episode as Jean Paul Ballard of SwissSide joins us for the first of two podcasts with the former F1 aerodynamicist. In this episode JP takes us on a wandering roam around the Tour Down Under pit zone talking us through which teams and manufacturers are optimising and which are compromising. JP breaks down some aero myths, explains the true benefit of aero bikes, wheels, helmets, critiques some of the latest tech, and whether a "do-it-all" all rounder can really do-it-all as we discuss each team's setup.Timestamps:07:06 – SwissSide's AG2R partnership and a conflict of interest.12:12 – Bora Hansgrohe & Soudal Quickstep setups from Specailized.14:59 - Arkea's dedicated aero and do-it-all bike choices. 16:08 – UAE's Colnago V4RS, handlebars, wheel, and tyre choices.19:38 – Do wider tyre rolling resistance savings offset the increased aero drag? 21:05 – Cofidis team bikes and their "catastrophic," double digit watt penalty tyre choice.23:31 - Jayco's bikes and why rider preference isn't always best. 27:06 – Are hookless rims more aero?28:37 – Aero versus vented helmets.30:05 – The counterintuitive effect of helmet visors.31:58 - One of the best aero bikes on the market and handlebar sail effect.33:52 - Varying rim depths and tyre widths front to rear and a common mistake. 34:51 - The "detrimental for performance" design elements of the Ineos Pinarello Dogma F.37:54 - Is there an aero gain from smaller front brake rotors? 39:58 - The importance of textiles. 41:55 - The other "aero interesting" design element of the Trek Madone.

Dave and Ronan are in thick of the Tour Down Under and have a whole lot of new (and old!) race tech to discuss. The industry has woken up from the holiday break with a flurry of new products worthy of discussion. And, as usual, the geeks cover so much more.Timestamps:3:00 – Spotting three new helmets on rider heads.11:10 – Trek working on a knit shoe.15:15 – New Look pedals, and more from Time.19:50 – Enve’s new InnerDrive hub and SES AR one-piece handlebar, including a quick tangent on measuring lever angle.27:10 – Budget smart trainers from Decathlon.31:25 – Explaining Australia’s two competing custom bike shows.34:20 – Last year’s race bikes are on our mind.39:08 – Pro mechanics making do with things from a hardware store.43:32 – Our PSA.47:55 – Rapid fire of tech news including new Fulcrum Speed 25+ wheels, OneUp’s V3 dropper seatpost, BlackHeart’s new Gravel AL bike, and Leap Components’ Blip button adapter.

Rupert Guinness and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Matt de Neef to dissect stages 2 and 3 of the men’s Tour Down Under. Daring late attacks, super sprint lead-outs, a nasty crash - the last few days have had it all. The trio also look forward to the next few stages. Could wind be on the menu before the much-anticipated return to Willunga Hill?

Jonny Long, Abby Mickey, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on this week's episode of the Placeholders to discuss the latest in the apparently unending stream of transfer chatter involving Bora and Visma, salads, what we can expect from Sarah Gigante, and so much more. Plus, members will get to hear another installment of the Placeholders After Dark ...

Rupert Guinness and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Matt de Neef to kick off the first men's race of the season. The crew talks takeaways from the pre-race chatter, the fast finish of stage 1, and what's to come across the next week in Australia.

Dave Rome is back on hosting duties with Matt de Neef and Gracie Elvin to chat about stages 2 and 3 of the women's Tour Down Under. Both days delivered potentially unsurprising but incredibly exciting victories, with some teams having to shift focus while others held firm to the plan. In its second year as a WorldTour event the Tour Down Under delivered a race worth watching, but will they add stages in the future? And what can we take away from TDU into the rest of the season?

Performance Process returns for 2024 with the latest in our series delving into how and why World Tour racing is getting so much faster. Coach Jacob Tipper is our guest discussing various aspects of the training that goes into modern performances. Covering everything from the importance of fatigue resistance to off season binges, Tipper talks from his vast experience as a rider and coach to many. Tipper has coached EF's Ben Healy since the under 16 categories and talks us through some of the steps and plans that Healy has implemented in becoming one of the hottest prospects in the World Tour and why other aspiring athletes shouldn't throw the towel in when they see young mega-stars siging pro and winning big right out of the junior categories. Time stamps for the episode:04:06 – UCI lever angle rules09:24 – Is World Tour Racing getting faster?14:59 - Is it just speed increasing, or is power increasing also? 16:51 – Modern training and increased professionalism28:00 – Power training and its usefulness. 34:29 – The difference between pros and U23 riders and the key performance metric we should be talking about41:11 - On recovery44:38 – Altitude training49:14 – Heat training56:32 – A theory on how better fuelling may be heloping younger riders break through1:04:04 - How it's now the young riders leading by example1:06:53 - On how slower burner riders shouldn't look to emulate the teenage pros1:12:03 - Athlete development

Dave Rome takes Abby's place leading the podcast on the ground in Adelaide to talk about the first stage of the women's Tour Down Under. Our favourite tech expert is joined by former professional Gracie Elvin and Escape Collective's managing editor Matt de Neef. The team discusses the event's growing prestige, why the Europeans are showing up to win, how the Aussies can compete, and how the new team kits look in person.

Dave and James have lots of spy photos to discuss this week! Factor’s got a revamp of its Ostro VAM lightweight road bike about to break cover, and Specialized and Trek have some enticing new road shoes roaming about in the wild. Lazer also brings its Kineticore technology to its popular Z1, we debate the pros and cons of anti-seize vs. grease, and we chat about what we look for in our favorite gravel shoes.Timestamps:1:52 – Ostro’s new Factor VAM may be fast, but it’s not especially pretty – and it’s not alone7:03 – Lazer brings Kineticore technology to the revamped Z112:01 – Even tools aren’t immune to hacking15:27 – Blurring the lines between auto mechanics and bike mechanics18:17 – Dave (anti-)seizes the day26:12 – Pick One! Our favorite gravel shoes, and what we look for in them32:54 – PSA: dried sealant and wheel imbalance36:02 – New lightweight S-Works road shoes coming from Specialized?37:09 – Some very intriguing mid-range road shoes are definitely coming soon from Specialized37:58 – And some new flagship road shoes from Trek/Bontrager, too!38:15 – Ratio Technology is at it again with a new aluminum cable spool for SRAM DoubleTap levers38:46 – Iconic UK MTB brand Orange is in serious financial difficulty40:24 – Enve parent company Amer Sports Inc is going public41:12 – Brompton with a capital B!41:19 – 9point8 has angle-adjust headsets for IS-style frames

Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to take the inside line into Plugge corner and continue the ongoing conversation about Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross form, among other things.You'll also hear the first Weekly Pain of 2024, while Escape Collective members will get another edition of the Placeholders After Dark.

Abby, Gracie, and Loren are back to talk about Tour Down Under, what Willunga means for the race, our dream teams, and more. Have questions for us? Let us know on the Escape Collective discord!Also, check out the Wheel Talk Newsletter for a stage-by-stage preview ahead of the TDU.

Geek Warning is back for the new year! In this week’s episode, Dave and James chat about some mysterious Boa dial failures and how some pros are using gravel bikes this cyclocross season, how 3D-printing is becoming just as much a marketing tool as a manufacturing one, and what we look for in our favorite handlebar tapes.You might also just want to head out to the shed and check your disc brake rotor thicknesses, and the story of a lost bike in Colorado may help restore your faith in humanity.Timestamps:5:01 – What’s going on with Boa dial failures this cyclocross season?11:54 – Even the pros don’t think gravel bikes are all that different from cyclocross bikes16:35 – Everything that can be 3D-printed is being 3D-printed20:40 – Pick One! Our favorite handlebar tapes, and what we look for in them35:45 – PSA: Disc brake rotors don’t last forever40:04 – A lost bike, and restoring your faith in humanity44:30 – Rotor’s got a new dual-sided power meter for Shimano crankarms45:45 – Look, ma, no ears! Kask has a mysterious new aero road helmet46:30 – Bora-Hansgrohe has officially confirmed they’re on SRAM and Hammerhead this year46:40 – Chris King has added a new Microspline freehub body option for its R45 hubs

This week on the show: Red Bull's buy-in at Bora-Hansgrohe, Mathieu van der Poel's spit, Ronan's beard, and our New Year's resolutions for professional cycling. To get access to the members-only Escape After Dark segment of this podcast, sign up here.

Following a break for our inaugural Awards episode, Dave and Ronan return with an episode of a familiar format. There’s plenty on the minds of the geeks, plus a sprinkling of new tech to know in this final Geek Warning episode for 2023 ...The biggest news is that the UCI wants to control just how weird racers can get with the angles of brake hoods. Dave and Ronan discuss the claimed safety concerns, and what are arguably the far larger concerns, too. For a detailed report, check out our coverage of the latest tech rulings.The geeks discuss whether the term “endurance” may be holding people back from buying the best bike for them. Ronan dreams of adjustable crank length being more mainstream. Then, the conversation turns to road tyres for the Pick One segment.In other news, it looks like a new SPD-compatible powermeter pedal is on the way from Favero, although for now the Assioma Pro MX is only available in Italy. Tacx recently released a new flagship trainer, the Neo 3M, a now motion-based trainer comparable to the Wahoo KickR Move – a comparison that DCRainmaker has already made. Meanwhile, Classified now has an app for its Powershift hub, although its limited usefulness may be a better tease of what’s possibly to come.In mountain bike news, Niner is being moved out of Colorado and to the not-so-cycling-destination of Ohio. We're also seeing further examples of integrated cable routing on mountain bikes, with the Bike Ahead Composites Wonderbar being an example.Timestamps:2:05 – Biggest tech trend7:59 – Biggest surprise12:13 – The “It’s about time” award16:42 – The “most wanted” award20:00 – Our favorite bike-related purchases of the year25:46 – The “What the hell were they thinking?” award32:10 – The “problem solver” award36:20 – The “more of this, please, bike industry” award38:49 – The “meh” award43:36 – The “I am so here for this” award45:59 – The “Oops, I put my foot in my mouth” award48:04 – The most exciting new tool of the year53:57 – What products are we anticipating most in 2024?

The Geeks are back for another round of Ask a Wrench. In this member’s bonus episode, Zach (of Boulder Gruppetto), James, and Dave answer a bunch of technical questions submitted by Escape members. This week, our geeks discuss how to find a good mechanic, how to torque bolts when there are multiples, change of crank bolt material for easier removal, servicing of cartridge bearings, rattling saddle bags, how to prep a bike for winter use, and plenty more.

Jonny Long hosts the final Placeholders episode of the year, a quiz showdown with Iain Treloar, Kit Nicholson, and Ronan Mc Laughlin. Who will emerge as the end-of-year champion? Listen to find out ...

For our final episode of the year, Gracie, Loren and I chat the recent Giro d’Italia Women route announcement, development pathways from Australia for women, the UCI’s weird wildcard decision, and more. Plus we answer a handful of your questions.Stay tuned for an exclusive members only episode with the three of us coming next week.

This week's Performance Process is the latest in our series delving into how and why World Tour racing is getting so much faster. The first of our deep dive episodes on the specifics of how racing is getting faster, Dr Tim Podlogar is our guest to discuss all things "high-carb."The jokingly self-professed Mr Carbohydrate, Podlogar is an exercise physiologist at Birmingham University focusing on sports nutrition, exercise metabolism, environmental physiology and endurance performance. He is a former rower turned 5.5 w/KG cyclist and head nutritionist at Bora-Hansgrohe World Tour team. Podlogar has tested low-carb diets in the past and is now a high-carb advocate. In this episode we discuss the benefits of a high-carb approach, why the simple carbohydrate is having its day all over again, how to fuel your own rides, and why we still need to consider supply and demand. Podlogar even gives us a grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight for various breakfast timing options.The Performance Process is a members-only podcast from Escape Collective. If you're not a member, you'll need to become one (insider or supporter level both apply – monthly or annual both apply) to listen to the full show.Timestamps:08:00 – Changing from low carb to high carb16:00 – Advancements in nutrition products 17:40 - Doing your homework25:00 – Pros v amateurs26:32 – Post ride window27:51 – Fuel the activity 32:30 - All about the balance35:10 – How many crabs and when38:04 – Why you are always hungry post ride47:10 – How to fuel for early morning rides and races

We’re skipping the usual news this week because it’s once again time for our annual tech awards! 2023 was certainly a memorable year for a multitude of reasons, but what were the cycling tech-related things that stuck in our minds of our resident geeks, James, Dave, and Ronan? What were the biggest trends? What were our favorite products? Who was doing things right? What was the biggest flop? What was the best thing we bought this year?We’ve got all of that – and much, much more – in this don’t-miss episode of Geek Warning.Timestamps:2:05 – Biggest tech trend7:59 – Biggest surprise12:13 – The “It’s about time” award16:42 – The “most wanted” award20:00 – Our favorite bike-related purchases of the year25:46 – The “What the hell were they thinking?” award32:10 – The “problem solver” award36:20 – The “more of this, please, bike industry” award38:49 – The “meh” award43:36 – The “I am so here for this” award45:59 – The “Oops, I put my foot in my mouth” award48:04 – The most exciting new tool of the year53:57 – What products are we anticipating most in 2024?

On this week's Placeholders, Abby Mickey, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Iain Treloar cover the uncertainty surrounding where up-and-comer Cian Uijtdebroeks will be riding next year as well as comparing Classics and discussing Belgian cycling awards.

On this week's Members Only Escape Collective Wheel Talk Podcast (phew), Abby chats with Floorje Mackaij about moving from DSM to Movistar after 10 years with the same team, alongside her close friend Liane Lippert, and riding for Annemiek van Vleuten, plus Bella, her adorable dog who has become a honorary member of her Spanish team.

Hoo boy, it’s been a big week in tech, and our resident geeks had a lot to talk about.It was just a matter of time before Cervelo jumped into the e-bike market, and that day has finally come with the new Rouvida. The same frame is used for two road and two gravel models, but Cervelo has incorporated flip chips in the front and rear dropouts to adjust the geometry accordingly. Despite the sizable battery hidden away inside the down tube, the carbon fiber frame looks pretty good, too – not entirely unlike Cervelo’s original Soloist Carbon, in fact. All versions are powered by Fazua’s Ride60 mid-drive motor for smooth and quiet running, and James has just received a gravel test sample so stay tuned for a proper review in the weeks ahead.Looking for some marginal gains on your SRAM Transmission-equipped mountain bike? CeramicSpeed has released a new version of its OSPW oversized pulley cage assembly with 14T upper and 20T lower pulleys, smooth-running hybrid ceramic bearings, and a novel self-cleaning design. But while the eye-watering price is getting all the attention, what you might really want to think about is the lifetime warranty.Fulcrum’s new Red Zone Carbon+ mountain bike wheels tick a lot of boxes: low weight, an inventive rim design that supposedly produces perfectly even spoke tensions, a solid outer rim wall for easy and reliable tubeless setup, and low-friction adjustable angular contact hybrid ceramic bearings. The pawl-type rear hub engagement is on the slower side, though. Does that matter? Maybe – or maybe not. It depends.Gravel bikes have unquestionably been the hot segment of the bicycle market for the past several years, and the progression in the product has been astronomical. But with such a narrow gap between road/all-road bikes and XC mountain bikes to fill, how much space is there really for innovation? Not that it’s at all a bad thing to reach this level of maturity this quickly, but have we already hit peak gravel?The geeks are rarely in agreement over everything, but in our Pick One! segment this week, there’s surprisingly little debate among us when it comes to our favorite mountain bike pedals.James just received a bike he’s especially excited to test, and it’s also one of the least-expensive ones he’s tested, too: Trek’s entry-level Marlin 7 aluminum hardtail. It might not be fancy, but it’s arguably far more important than any bike that costs ten times as much.And finally, Wiggle has dramatically contracted its business, the MADE handmade bicycle show has also announced its dates for the 2024 event, Strava has launched a new direct messaging function, Campagnolo is out of the World Tour, Ag2r moves to Van Rysel bikes, TotalEnergies is now on Enve, and Bora is supposedly switching to SRAM components.Timestamps:3:24 – Cervelo’s new Rouvida e-bike looks pretty good9:40 – CeramicSpeed is coming for your Transmission rear derailleurs18:03 – Are Fulcrum’s new Red Zone Carbon+ XC mountain bike wheels fast (engaging) enough?23:09 – Has the bike industry reached peak gravel in terms of product development?31:55 – Pick One!38:12 – Cheap bikes are good42:40 – Wiggle’s mighty fall from grace44:22 – MADE is coming back for 2024!45:27 – Strava is sliding into you DMs46:33 – Pro team sponsor musical chairs

It's time to treat our members to another bonus episode of the Geek Warning podcast. This week, Brad Copeland – former World Cup pro mechanic and now service director at Hush Money Bikes – joins James and Dave to geek out on all things related to building a dream home workshop.In this episode, you'll learn about how to build out a tool kit, our thoughts on tool organisation, what to do if you don't have a dedicated workspace, and a whole lot more.While the weekly Geek Warning podcast remains unchanged and open to all, we’re now providing additional bonus episodes each fortnight. These bonus episodes are a mix of Ask a Wrench, deep-dives, or interviews with the people behind popular products. The Geek Warning bonus episodes are exclusively available to Escape Collective members, though select segments of certain episodes will find their way into our free feed.

Ronan Mc Laughlin, Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Joe Lindsey all join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to talk Campagnolo, the media landscape, swords, milk, and more.

With 2024 just around the corner Abby chatted with EF Education-Cannondale’s new General Manager Esra Tromp about the process of building a team from scratch, the hurdles the team might come against in the new year, and more.

This week's Performance Process is the first in a series delving into how and why World Tour racing is getting so fast. Year after year we see average records increase and record times tumble.Alex Dowsett is our guest on this week's podcast. Alex is a former pro, former World Hour record holder, the only known elite professional sportsman with haemophilia, not to mention six time British National Time Trial champion, two time Giro stage winner, and YouTuber. Having been a pro for 12 years, it's safe to say Dowsett is well qualified to talk us through the advancements that have resulted in greatly increasing speeds. Dowsett kicks off the discussion on this topic with some direct insight into an accidental analysis he conducted on his own progression throughout his own pro career and how results in an event he has done since he was a kid correlate with the advancing World Tour peloton. Dowsett gives us a break down of some of the hows and whys. We will now take this list and begin a deep dive series looking into each in all our geeky detail.The Performance Process is a members-only podcast from Escape Collective. If you're not a member, you'll need to become one (insider or supporter level both apply – monthly or annual both apply) to listen to the full show.

Good chain lubes can extend the life of your drivetrain, and bad ones can shorten them – but do you know how much that might actually cost you? A new online calculator using Zero Friction Cycling’s data aims to tell you just that. Our crew of geeks also pick their favorite road helmets, Ronan has some thoughts on stock component sizes, the UCI is at it again, 3T and Bianchi have some fancy new gravel bikes, and if come across some new Pinarellos that seem way, way too cheap, there might be a reason for that.Timestamps:6:03 – The UCI has updated their penalties, but it’s probably not going to change anything10:07 – That cheap bottle of chain lube might actually cost you $5,000.17:20 – More bad news from the bike industry18:19 – Pinarello needs a better fence – and maybe a stronger door20:25 – Stock component sizes, chickens, and eggs32:54 – Our favorite road helmets47:50 – Bianchi’s new Impulso RC gravel bike actually looks really good48:21 – 3T is going really, really big with its new Extrema Italia gravel bike

On this week's Placeholders, Dane Cash, Kit Nicholson, and Abby Mickey join Caley Fretz to bid farewell to AG2R's iconic brown shorts, discuss some late-breaking transfer stories, analyze the Rigoberto Urán telenovela, and more.

Surprise. We are interrupting our usual fortnightly episodes of Performance Process to bring you a bonus episode with Frank Overton of FasCat coaching. When we announced Performance Process a little under two months ago, we promised we'd bring you some of the insightful conversations we would be having anyway with experts and industry insiders. That's exactly what we are doing in this episode. It's less a performance process and more an insight into an interesting offering. Hence why it is a bonus episode and not a bi-weekly deep dive.As a long time listener to the Fascat Coaching podcast I was pretty interested when I heard Frank and the team had developed an app for combining wearable sleep data and on bike training metrics to provide a traffic light, red, amber, green, training readiness score for any given day. It was the promised simplicity and actionable insights that really caught my eye. So, when Fascat reached out looking to setup a meeting to tell me more about the Optimize app, I gladly obliged. About two minutes into that call, I decided to start again and this time we'd hit record on the Google Meet. This week's episode is that meeting. Enjoy.

This week's regular (and free!) episode of Geek Warning has James Huang, Zach Edwards (of the Boulder Grupetto), and Dave Rome back on the mics. With only a small amount of news to discuss, much of the conversation surrounds bigger and broader-reaching topics. Seeing so many sales out of the bike industry is great for those in the market for a new bike, but it's a worrying sign of financial struggles ahead. It's obvious the boom is over, and it may be a few years for stock glut to clear. The mountain bike brand Guerrilla Gravity (GG) quietly ceased operations in September. Now fellow American company Canfield Bikes is providing aftermarket product support for owners of the thermoplastic bikes.Zwift has announced new annual pricing options for those looking to save a little with a year-long commitment.The episode then turns to what's on our minds, including Dave's recent boiling point over squealing brakes and a deeper conversation about lower-cost race bikes off the back of Caley Fretz's Trek Emonda ALR 5 review. The geeks then discuss their favourite mountain bike dropper posts.The episode wraps up with Dave Rome at a Wera Tools media event, where he interviewed employees Lutz Buchholz and Ralf Joesch about the company's increasing presence within the cycling market.Geek Warning is produced with the support of our members. Join as a monthly or annual Escape Supporter today, and pay only $1 for the first month. Not only will you receive full access to all Escape Collective content, you’ll also have access to our new exclusive podcasts. Simply head to our join page, select the monthly subscription, and enter the code PODCAST at checkout to redeem this special trial offer.Timestamps:5:03 – It’s a buyer’s market at the moment14:17 – Guerrilla Gravity is closing shop17:03 – New pricing options from Zwift19:45 – Squealing brakes are on Dave’s mind24:19 – Lower-cost alloy road race bikes used to be better36:39 – Pick One, our favourite dropper posts45:55 – a PSA related to tubeless valve stems49:30 – an interview with Wera Tools