Legendary frame builder Carl Strong says there is no such thing as a gravel bike. Or, rather, any bike can be a gravel bike. It all starts with tire selection. From there he explains how the rest of the bike's geometry falls into place and what you need to consider when choosing the right drop bar bike for your riding style. Whether it's road, all-road, gravel, or touring, Carl explains what the geometry numbers mean and how they affect a bike's handling.
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009 - Carl Strong explains gravel bike geometry

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The Bikerumor team recaps their favorite products, experiences and happenings at the Sea Otter Classic 2024. 
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Find the Bikerumor Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and through RSS, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Can't find it? Let us know which players you use so we can get them up to speed! And let us know who you want us to interview. Click here to send in your suggestions!
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101 - Sea Otter Recap

Silca's Josh Poertner gets his new product ideas from the craziest places.
Take the new Strip Chips, for example. These hot melt chain wax additives were inspired by the food industry, where they're trying to find a replacement for trans fats and hydrogenated oils.
Turns out, they can make it a whole lot easier to wax your chain, too!
In this episode, we geek out on how that product works, the nuances of wax temperatures for proper chain waxing, and talk a lot about where his ideas come from, what else he's excited about, and why his stuff costs more than everyone else's.
I always love talking to Josh, and I think you're going to really enjoy this one, too.
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100 - Silca explains their Strip Chips, Chain Waxing System & more!

While at the launch for the new Fox GRIP dampers, I pretty much had my brain melted by VP of engineering Bill Brown as he explained their inner workings.
So, naturally, I brought him on the show here to run through it again. The level of fluid dynamics and engineering discussed is still well above my pay grade, but I think we do a pretty good of of explaining how the new dampers are able to simultaneously offer more support and be more sensitive to small bumps.
It's all about pressure balancing, and we go deep on it. If you've always run your suspension wide open so it's as comfortable as possible, you may want to listen in. The new GRIP dampers provide better, faster damping so you have more control with less harshness. And they work phenomenally well.
Get ready to geek out!
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Hit like, hit subscribe, and hit play. Then just get out and ride!
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099 - Fox explains Pressure Balancing in 2025 GRIP Dampers

If you've ever wondered how route creation and ride mapping works, you're going to love this episode.
My guest is Eric Semianczuk, co-founder of Sherpa Map. I'm guessing you haven't heard of them… yet.
But the cycling route map service they're building is incredible, using AI and granular LIDAR data compiled over weather, surface type, and elevation data to create the most sophisticated route data you can imagine.
And they just keep improving it. It's wild, and in this episode, Eric explains how they got started, how mapping and route building works, and how they're using AI to predict everything from surface type to how many calories you'll need and even advise on tire selection for your next race.
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Hit like, hit subscribe, and hit play. Then just get out and ride!
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098 - Sherpa Map Routes us to Better Cycling Maps

So, apparently, not every cheap e-bike sucks after all.
Until recently I was firmly in the camp that cheap, hub-motor e-bikes with cadence sensors were all terrible and unsafe. Then I talked to Kevin Dugger, founder of Ride1Up e-bikes, and he changed my mind.
It's not so much the bikes that bugged me, although we'll talk about that, too, it was the cadence sensors that told the motor to start going. It turns out, there's a lot more to the "on" of "off" systems of the early days or the cheapest bikes.
Also, it turns out there are also some really good use cases for hub motors and cadence sensors, and that their performance, or lack thereof, really comes down to how their controllers are programmed.
Kevin and I get into the details of what makes a good cadence sensor system, when you might want one instead of a torque sensor mid-drive bike, and lots of other interesting details about making e-bikes affordable without sacrificing quality and safety.
If you're in the market for an e-bike but have a small budget, you'll definitely want to listen to this one.
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Find the Bikerumor Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and through RSS, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Can't find it? Let us know which players you use so we can get them up to speed! And let us know who you want us to interview. Click here to send in your suggestions!
Hit like, hit subscribe, and hit play. Then just get out and ride!
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Keep tabs on all the latest bikes, wheels, components, gear and tech on The World's Largest Cycling Tech Blog by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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009 - Carl Strong explains gravel bike geometry

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