Geek Warning

A report published by CyclingIndustries.com highlights an extreme shortage of skilled mechanics and the issues that presents. Dave and Ronan discuss some of the challenges behind this and what it may take to better retain skilled mechanics. 

Later in the episode, Dave shares why he thinks rim brakes will return in popularity, at least a little. Ronan argues why Dave’s crystal ball is faulty.

You’ll also hear a tech tip that’s perhaps more just an excuse to treat yourself. To wrap things up, and as per usual, members of Escape Collective get our Ask a Wrench section, where Dave and Zach Edwards answer technical questions from listeners. 

Happy geeking!

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Geek Warning is rarely about the chapter titles, but rather the expertise and information shared within. That sure applies this week, as the conversation covers the real story behind Pidcock’s recent wheel choice at Worlds, Ronan’s ideal rim widths for road racing, and what Dave considers to be the benchmark in SPD pedals. 

There’s also a relatively new Good Thing for SRAM Transmission, a tech tip for anyone turning a spanner, and plenty more. 
 
 As usual, members of Escape Collective (on the member-only feed) get Ask a Wrench at the end of the episode. This week, Zach Edwards of the Boulder Groupetto returns to help answer tech questions from our members. 

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Many brands within the bike industry often speak about higher-performing products being stiffer, lighter, more aero, and faster-rolling. And yet when it comes to off-road disciplines, it’s rare for brands to discuss smoothness as a performance metric. It’s an area many have dabbled in over the years, but it’s tough to market a product on. 

Berd, makers of rope-like spokes, recently published a white paper detailing why they believe their new gravel race wheels are the fastest for the off-road discipline. A big part of that claim relates to vibration damping and impact reduction, metrics that historically haven’t been included in the performance modelling used today to calculate a road cyclists’ speed. 

In its white paper, Berd proposes that vibration damping and impact reduction should be included as a component of rolling resistance. Geek Warning host Dave Rome has long shouted as much for off-road – smoother is faster – and thought that was all quite interesting. So he sat down with Berd co-founder and CEO, Charlie Spanjers, to hear more. 

An edited transcript of the conversation is also available at EscapeCollective.com.

Talk of big wheels continue to dominate headlines in the cycling tech world. This past week, Trek and Scott raced production-ready 32ers at the World Cup round in Utah, while Sea Otter Europe showcased other production-ready options. 

With that, Dave Rome chats with Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt about what they each saw in person at these respective events. For Suvi, Sea Otter Europe, with about 80,000 attendees this year, offered an opportunity for a vibe check from members of the European bicycle industry. 

Members on our member-only feed will also hear Ask a Wrench, this week with Zach Edwards. 

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Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week, Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin talk through Shimano’s new road pedal system, which will eventually supersede the now two-decade-old SPD-SL. Dave has been hands-on with the new pedals and offers insight into how nuanced the differences are. 

Dave is then joined by Suvi Loponen to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike along with a number of other standout bits of tech news from the week.

At the end of the episode, and for those listening via a member-only feed, we have an interview with Bill Alcorn of BikeFlights about how air freighting and door-to-door bike delivery have changed, and potentially how to mitigate those increased costs. 

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This week, Caley Fretz returns to Geek Warning alongside Jack Duncan and Dave Rome. It’s been a week full of big new bike launches (all of which Escape Collective attended) and there has been some equally big industry news. 

The geeks discuss new bikes from Scott, Factor, and Enve, and how each finds (or doesn't) a balance between performance and enjoyment. Plus, there’s a shift in product from WTB, some somewhat sad news out of an Australian business, and we speculate over why Specialized’s founder has returned to the helm. 

As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the exclusive member-only feeds of the podcast, and in this we answer a number of technical questions in the Ask a Wrench segment.

Happy geeking! 

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This week sees a big first for the Geek Warning podcast as the entirety of Escape Collective’s tech crew meet up in person over in Takayama, Japan. With that, we recorded live in front of a select group of Escape members! 

It’s certainly been a huge week on the tech front for our entire tech team to be away riding bikes at the annual Member Summit. Not only is the Vuelta a España in its first week (where new Dura-Ace prototypes were seen), we also had the last Mountain Bike World Cup round prior to the World Championships. And if that wasn’t enough, MADE was held over in Portland, Oregon, the past weekend. 

Given the special circumstances, our usual member-only ‘Ask a Wrench’ segment was replaced with an ‘Ask us anything’ from the live audience. Be sure to listen on the member-only feed for the full episode. 

So with that, join the tech crew of Alex Hunt, Jack Duncan, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Dave Rome to hear about the week in tech. And yes, Suvi Loponen was there, but sadly couldn’t jump on the recording. 

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It’s time for another bonus edition of Geek Warning. This chat is a brief opener to our upcoming coverage of Made, North America’s Custom Bicycle Show. 

Held this coming weekend (21-23rd of August), the Portland-based show has grown to be a key event on the calendar for bike lovers, tech nerds, makers, and the like. A show like this also consistently serves as a crystal ball into emerging segments and tech trends. 

One such trend is the emergence of custom frame builders offering pre-built options. In the USA, a number of local frame builders have reduced purchase barriers by offering set models and stock geometry options. The likes of No.22, Moots, and Stinner are all examples of this. Meanwhile, one of the most prestigious names in the titanium space has now joined the list - Mosaic. 

For this chat, Dave Rome is joined by Mosaic’s founder Aaron Barcheck, along with chief vibe officer (and founder) of Made, Billy Sinkford. 

A heads up that the timing of publishing this episode coincides with Mosaic’s announcement of a 32er gravel bike and its accompanying launch of its own carbon component brand – Zero. The news of this only broke after we recorded this episode and so these products aren’t discussed within. We may do a dedicated chat covering those interesting products in the future. 

This week on Geek Warning, Dave is joined by Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt to talk about the latest in cycling tech. 

Alex was on the ground at the Tour de France Femmes and came away pondering why 1x hadn’t hit the women’s field like it has the men. 

Meanwhile, Suvi has spent the past couple of months riding the new Trek Domane endurance road bike. Dave and Suvi discuss why this bike is likely to be a big win for Trek. 

Then, as usual, those on our member-only podcast feeds get access to Ask a Wrench. This week Dave is joined by Colin Williams to answer questions related to replicating fit dimensions between bikes, headset changes, and why high-engagement hubs aren’t more popular in road racing.

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This week, Dave and Jack from the Escape Collective tech team talk modern cross-country bikes and where the nuance between race and downcountry sits. Plus, Dave shares why he believes remote lockouts are a race-day product. 

Meanwhile, the geeks discuss why rounded bolts are most often user error and how to avoid them (also check out Dave’s Threaded #15 article on the topic). 

Like every week, members of Escape Collective (on the exclusive member-only feeds) get access to the full episode, including Ask a Wrench. This week Colin Williams is back on the mic to answer questions from our members, including tips for washing bikes with waxed chains and removing stubborn hub end caps.

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