Geek Warning

Trek has just announced its fourth-generation Domane AL, and it’s even more of a budget-friendly workhorse than before. Over on the Bontrager side, its new ProV all-road/gravel models are the latest to switch to thermoplastic construction (courtesy of CSS Composites).

Also, want to know more about Columbus’s new Trittico component family for internal routing? We’ve got the scoop.

Timestamps:

3:22 – The skinny on Trek’s new (and very versatile) Domane AL entry-level “road” bike

13:50 – Bontrager’s latest road wheels signal a possible widespread shift to thermoplastic carbon fiber rims

25:35 – What the heck is a Reaver?

28:58 – Supacaz is getting into eyewear

37:59 – Columbus has a new turnkey internal routing system for small builders

48:18 – Dave exercises a remarkable level of restraint at Harbor Freight

55:25 – A dream comes true for James

1:00:06 – It turns out torque wrenches need time to warm up, too

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Two episodes of Geek Warning in one week? Oh yes!

This second episode has a more familiar format, but there’s still a twist. First, we have James and Dave chatting about what’s new this week and their thoughts from the MADE bike show.

And then, you’ll hear from famed frame builder and Escape Collective contributor Rob English about the show, plus thoughts on the handmade scene.

Timestamps:

2:35 – A brief recap of new gravel and road groups from Shimano

14:57 – Layoffs at Wahoo

17:50 – James and Dave chat Made.

32:18 – Hello Rob English!

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Welcome to a special episode, brought to you by the geeks of Escape Collective. In this deep dive, tech editor Dave Rome interviews Nick Legan and Dave Lawrence from Shimano about all that’s new (and not) in the latest GRX 12-speed mechanical groupset.

At some point in the chat it’s mentioned that new 105 12-speed mechanical is also inbound, and so the conversation covers that, too.

Tune in to hear about all that’s new, how HG+ works, an explainer on freehub compatibility, cable durability concerns, and a few bad (excellent) puns.

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This week’s Geek Warning episode sees James and Dave hanging out in a hotel room together with plenty to talk about and not enough sleep to do it professionally.

The MADE show is on the horizon, and James and Dave touch on some of the things they expect to see. There's a good conversation about the restraints that modern road design is forcing on consumers. And of course, much more.

Enjoy!

Timestamps:

2:35 – Driven raising equity.

4:15 – Moots teases a new wheel size.

9:48 – Trek’s Madone gets a slightly cheaper choice.

16:13 – New things from Wolf Tooth.

20:49 – Leap Components doing cool things and wobbly derailleur pivots.

25:45 – Still thinking about the woes of certain internally cabled bikes, proprietary cockpits, and fit limitations.

34:43 – James goes on an AliExpress shopping spree.

41:59 - A PSA to keep those freehub internals fresh.

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This week's Geek Warning episode is a little different. With James off racing bikes, and Dave travelling (for work), the Geeks instead gathered to answer a bucket full of tech questions from Escape Collective members. Joining James and Dave are former MTB World Cup mechanic Brad Copeland and dream bike builder Zach (of Boulder Grupetto).

Don't worry, the regular weekly show will return soon! In the meantime, enjoy and please let us know what you think of this format.

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James, Dave, and builder of dreams Zach are back and cover a broad spectrum of geeky topics. Specialized has a new iteration of the Tarmac. Ridley has a new bike with Fast in its name. Lezyne has even more products and Velocio clothing expands into mountain bike.

We also summarise our thoughts on the Classified two-speed hub system. And so much more geeking.

4:36 – A quick corrections corner, oops

6:36 – A speed sniffing bike from Specialized

23:00 – Ridley’s new TT bike and Ronan isn’t here

28:49 – A torque wrench for News Tools Day

31:04 – Lezyne and a lot of (too much?) choice

36:15 – Velocio goes mountain

39:45 – It’s Classified, but our thoughts are not

55:22 – Too many logos are on Dave’s mind

1:02:20 – Crazy track bikes from everyone

1:03:44 – MVDP, crashing, and Boas

1:08:55 – A PSA on cleats

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Santa Cruz has revamped its popular Stigmata gravel bike with a new MTB-inspired personality, Allied modernizes its Alfa road bike, Microshift’s new Sword gravel groupset looks extremely promising, and you’ll soon be able to track your bike with Apple’s Find My function without an AirTag. And what the heck is up with that hookless tire blow-off video that’s been going around?

The Geeks have questions.

1:50 — Santa Cruz has a new MTB-like Stigmata gravel bike

12:31 — There’s a new Alfa road bike from Allied

22:50 — Microshift’s new Sword gravel groupset looks fantastic

29:57 — Got a 4iiii power meter? Track your bike without an Apple AirTag

34:27 — Hookless road tires generally don’t just blow off the rim

44:47 — Dave is back to his tool-buying ways

45:18 — Tires are stupidly expensive

48:13 — Maybe suspension stems aren’t dorky after all

54:54 — The hot setup for Leadville 100

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Legendary French wheel brand Mavic is rumored to be gearing up to come back to the US market – but is the US market ready for them to come back?

The Geek Warning crew also had a mountain of new gear to discuss this week, including new bikes from Orbea, GT, and Polygon, stunning road wheels from Syncros, and updated cross-country suspension from RockShox. And what’s up with this giant pile of new go-fast gear the UCI just revealed? Ronan did some digging.

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As Dave and James recover from illness and injury, Ronan sits down with EscapeCollective member Marc Graveline to make sense of Jonas Vingagaard's stage 16 time trial performance. Marc was a data engineer before early retirement allowed him the time to moving into cycling and develop the Notio Konect, the first consumer available aero sensor on the market.

Marc is now a consultant to World Tour teams and counts time trial modelling and analysis among his favourite hobbies, not to mention aero testing some of the world's best riders. Finally, we wrap the conversation with a discussion on what the other World Tour teams can do to narrow the gap to Jumbo-Visma.

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Factor’s new O2 VAM sounds like quite the climbing bike: light, stiff, comfy, and newly aero. But is it too light for the pros? Maybe. There doesn’t seem to be any debate about wider tires at the Tour, though, as even 28 mm doesn’t seem like enough.

SRAM has also brought its innovative Transmission mountain bike drivetrain technology down to the GX level, an Australian company wants to bring high-tech carbon fiber inspection to the bike shop level, and James gripes about water bottles.

4:15 — A roundtable on the new Factor O2 VAM climbing bike

16:25 — Even Tour racers have adopted big tires in a big way

27:00 — GX is now the least expensive Transmission version, and it might be the best one

35:55 — Is ultrasonic carbon fiber testing coming to bike shops?

49:26 — Zach has some thoughts on ever-widening cranks

59:15 — Water, water, everywhere, and too many leftover drops to drink

1:01:05 — Check your chain wear, folks!

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