Geek Warning

Recorded just after watching Tadej and Jonas summit Ventoux on aero bikes, this episode sees Ronan McLaughlin, Dave Rome, and Suvi Loponen discuss whether the latest and lightest road bikes are now designed for consumers, while aero bikes are for the pros.

Also within this week’s Geek Warning, you’ll hear Dave discuss why he thinks too many products are being released in an unfinished state. Of course, there’s a useful PSA, one that’s useful for anyone running disc brakes. And you’ll hear the geeks discuss some of the latest industry news.

The episode wraps with the Ask a Wrench segment. Here, Dave chats with pro race mechanic Brad Copeland in answering a number of member-submitted questions, including whether premium bottom brackets are less likely to make noises, a deep dive on SRAM’s newest ThreadMount power meters and the cross-compatibility available.

As usual, you’ll need to be a member of Escape Collective in order to listen the Ask a Wrench segment. You can sign up here and gain access to everything that Escape Collective has to offer.

Time stamps:

5:05 - Are aero bikes now climbing bikes?
14:25 - Unfinished products are on Dave’s mind
25:00 - PSA to check your rotors
30:00 - Rapha and EF-Education to part ways
35:30 - YT Industries’ “restructuring”
40:00 - Rouvy acquires BKool
48:00 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (Member Only)
53:00 - Are premium bottom brackets less likely to make noise?
1:07:40 - Schwalbe, pronounced
1:08:40 - SRAM ThreadMount power meter compatibility
1:16:30 - Mixing Shimano wheels and SRAM 12-speed drivetrains

We’re in thick of race season and there’s plenty to discuss on the tech front. The mountain bike world is rubbing their eyes at the sight of a 32-inch-wheeled full suspension. Meanwhile, on the road, it’s the Time Trial that continues to tease future tech trends. Join Ronan Mc Laughlin, Dave Rome, and Alex Hunt as they discuss these new sightings.

Outside of racing, you’ll also hear the geeks talk about a revised scoring system from the helmet test lab of Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, Dave has a PSA closely related to the latest edition of his Threaded workshop series. Plus there’s chat about news from DT Swiss, Pinarello, and Lightweight.

Members of Escape Collective get access to the popular Ask a Wrench segment at the end of the episode. This week, pro race mechanic Brad Copeland joins Dave Rome in answering questions related to narrowing down choices in buying a gravel wheelset, how to go about converting a certain suspension fork for use with dropbars, and whether there’s a difference between Shimano GRX and Ultegra brakes.

Time stamps:

2:00 - BMC’s big wheel testing
13:40 - Tour Time Trial tech
23:40 - Virginia Tech updates its helmet star ratings
32:00 - a PSA that every part is safety critical
41:00 - Lightweight’s big update
47:40 - Pinarello’s new gravel bikes
49:20 - DT Swiss’ stop ride notice
52:30 - Alex’s new bike day
53:30 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (member only)
54:45 - Thoughts on upgrading gravel bike wheels
1:10:00 - Converting a MTB to dropbar with a remote lockout suspension
1:20:00 - Shimano Ultegra versus GRX brakes

It’s Tour time and tech editor Ronan McLaughlin has been on the ground capturing all the latest little tricks and tidbits. In this week’s Geek Warning, Dave Rome, and Ronan get together to talk through some of the bigger tech stories and finds coming from the biggest race.

Within you’ll hear about new bikes from Merida and Cervelo, some behind-the-scenes sponsorship movements, how front derailleurs are becoming less common, and why the UCI’s handlebar width ruling is likely set to change (again).

In Ask a Wrench, members of Escape Collective will hear pro race mechanic Brad Copeland and Dave Rome answer questions related to rust-proofing steel frames, solving for a drooping chain, and how to solve the dreaded disc brake turkey gobble. As an added bonus, you’ll hear Brad’s impression of a turkey.

Time stamps:

2:00 - Merida’s unreleased Reacto
5:50 - Cervelo’s new S5 and Ronan’s early impressions
14:20 - Cervelo has a new R5 coming, too
18:30 - Musical Saddles of Sponsorships
26:00 - Updates inbound for the UCI’s handlebar width change?
37:45 - 1x gearing is on the rise
47:00 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (members only)
48:30 - Rust-protecting a steel frame
52:30 - Chain droop when riding in smaller cassette cogs
1:03:00 - Fixing the SRAM brake turkey gobble

The drowsiness of Eurobike has barely faded just as the Tour is about to kick off. This week, Escape’s tech team members Suvi Loponen, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Dave Rome are on Geek Warning to discuss the biggest tech of the week and some things on their minds.

A recap of Eurobike is provided by Suvi, along with pondering what the future holds for this event that seems to be in decline.

Ronan and Dave go deep on Enve’s new road wheels, which quite surprisingly, have a hooked rim. That’s big news from a company that pioneered the hookless road space.

Dave poses the impossible question of what coloured spokes he should choose. And there’s a fun PSA related to the countless problematic adverts seen from brands that create maintenance products.

The end of the episode wraps with our usual Ask a Wrench segment. This is typically exclusive to members of Escape Collective, but not this week! This week is a free week and so everyone will hear the full member-only version that includes pro race mechanic Brad Copeland answering a few member-submitted technical questions.

Time stamps:

1:00 - Eurobike recap and whether such trade shows are still relevant
18:20 - A deep chat on Enve’s new SES 4.5 Pro going hooked
33:00 - Canyon’s new Grizl and a new weird handlebar
38:30 - On Dave’s mind: Silver hubs, but what coloured spokes?
44:00 - PSA: Be cautious of maintenance product brands giving you maintenance advice on socials.
48:00 - Apidura’s Aero System
53:00 - Ask a Wrench (open to all for this week!)
54:30 - Footwear for mechanics
1:03:00 - How to find a mystery clicking noise
1:14:00 - General thoughts on hitch racks

In this special Performance Process x Geek Warning crossover, Dave Rome grills Ronan Mc Laughlin about every technical detail from his 3,000 km unsupported lap of Ireland. From aero bag hacks and drivetrain quirks to cleat regrets and a failed light, this is a deep dive into the tech setup behind a truly personal and punishing ultra-endurance ride. Ronan shares what worked, what didn’t, and what he’d change next time – all while reflecting on how the gear supported his mission to raise awareness for food allergy research.

The fundraiser is still open here, every contribution makes a real difference.

• £10 provides allergy education packs for a school
• £25 trains 50 teachers to support allergic kids
• £100 covers a life-saving dose of treatment for a child
• £1,500 funds six months on the life-changing Natasha Clinical Trial

Hitting the target, could fund 20 trial places for allergic children, and take a real step toward a future where no child has to live in fear of their food.

We’re not sure we’ve ever experienced a busier month in the world of cycling tech. All the major drivetrain manufacturers have released new things. We’ve had two custom bike shows and now it’s the world’s largest cycling tradeshow - Eurobike. And the tech conversations in the racing world have been a flurry of activity, too.

In this episode, you’ll hear the voices of the entire Escape tech editorial staff. Ronan McLaughlin, Dave Rome, and Alex Hunt share their thoughts on new Shimano GRX, Classified’s update, BMC’s new SLR01, and plenty more. Then, Josh Weinberg and Suvi Loponen tease what they’re seeing on the ground at Eurobike.

As usual, members of Escape Collective also get our Ask a Wrench segment, which this week sees Dave Rome and pro race mechanic Brad Copeland answer a handful of questions, including: when to rewax a waxed chain; repairing a crashed aluminium rim brake bike and perhaps what to repalce it with; and our thoughts on mini hooked road rims. Members can submit new questions here.

Time stamps:

2:40 - Shimano GRX 1x Di2
8:55 - Classified talking with Shimano Di2
17:30 - Aero gravel race bikes continue to come out
26:20 - Brembo returning to bicycles?
20:00 - Canyon’s Endurace AllRoad
35:00 - BMC’s 5th Gen TeamMachine SLR01
42:40 - Conti’s new Archetype race tyre
45:55 - Stages returns
49:10 - Eurobike intro from Josh and Suvi
55:00 - What’s coming up
59:00 - Ask a Wrench (member-only)
1:01:00 - When to rewax a waxed chain
1:09:00 - Chain dropping down the cassette on XPLR
1:18:45 - Our thoughts on Mini Hooked road rims
1:28:00 - A damaged Klein road bike and what to replace it with

Wow, what a week for those who love cycling tech!

If four new dropbar groupsets from SRAM weren’t enough, then Shimano certainly fills that glass with its sudden release of XT and Deore Di2. Join Escape’s Dave Rome, Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt as they discuss what’s new and some things to be aware of.

Meanwhile, the UCI released some upcoming rule changes that have many riders and cycling businesses upset. The geeks discuss why some of these rulings have been blown out of proportion, and why one of them is arguably just wrong.

Of course, there are a couple of new bikes (Cervelo and Orbea) to discuss, and CeramicSpeed has released its first do-it-yourself hot melt wax which promises a whole lot of distance.

As always, members of Escape Collective have access to the Ask a Wrench segment at the end of the episode. Here, Dave Rome is joined by pro race mechanic Brad Copeland to answer a number of geeky questions, including a trick for keeping valve nuts in place without over-tightening them, our thoughts on the best cone wrenches, mixing-and-matching chainring sizes on SRAM, a rear shock that’s fussy to inflate, and a Shimano front derailleur that’s hard to shift.

Enjoy!

Time Stamps:

2:15 - Explaining the UCI’s Handlebar width ruling and specifically where it’s wrong
17:00 - SRAM’s new Force and Rival AXS
27:30 - Shimano’s new XT and Deore wireless shifting
36:30 - Cervelo’s new Aspero 5
43:45 - Orbea’s Terra gravel bike gets overhauled
47:00 - CeramicSpeed’s new long-lasting hot melt wax
52:00 - Ask a Wrench (Member-only!)
55:00 - A tip for tubeless valve nuts in place
58:30 - A deep dive and our top suggestions for good cone wrenches
1:10:00 - Mixing-and-matching chainring sizes with SRAM AXS
1:15:00 - Rear shock inflation woes and shock pumps
1:21:00 - Fixing Shimano Ultegra front derailleur that’s hard to shift

In this bonus episode of Geek Warning, Suvi Loponen sits down with SRAM’s Dan Stefiuk and Paul Kantor to chat about the all-new Rival and Force AXS groupsets. From tech trickled down from Red, to the design philosophies that shaped these mid-tier offerings, we chat about how SRAM approaches performance, pricing, and compatibility.

For the full tech details and reviews of these new groupsets – or to sign up to get the full episode – head over to escapecollective.com.

This week in Geek Warning, tech writers Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt join Dave Rome to discuss their recent factory visits to SRAM, DT Swiss, Oquo, and more.

You’ll hear Dave and Alex debate about using full-suspension gravel bikes instead of a mountain bike. The geeks also discuss a whole lot of new and interesting tech.

As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the Ask a Wrench segment of the episode, and this week, Australian national team mechanic, Peter Arch, joins to help answer the questions. Members can submit new questions here.

Time stamps:

2:00 - Factory visits
18:00 - Full Suspension gravel bikes are coming back
25:00 - TRP Vistar with Classified is finally official
29:00 - Spoken comes to Sydney in a week
30:15 - Oquo now making its own hub
33:15 - Industry9 acquires We Are One Composites
35:00 - Leaked Roval Rapide wheels
37:30 - No.22’s new Drifter gravel bike
39:10 - Unno returns to XC with the Horn, room for 2.6” tyres
41:50 - Pro’s new internally routed MTB handlebar, please no
46:00 - Trek joins the electric air inflator world
48:00 - Ronan’s big ride
54:30 - Ask A Wrench with National pro mechanic Peter Arch (member-only)
56:00 - Solving a skipping hub
1:01:30 - What’s going inside a hydraulic disc brake?
1:05:30 - Mystery flat tyre
1:10:30 - Safer lubricants and lubing cables

June has started with a bang when it comes to new cycling tech. This week we’ve seen the long-awaited release of new Shimano XTR Di2, the next generation Super Record from Campagnolo, and a welcomed new power pedal from Favero. All are new products that Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin discuss, in addition to being covered in more detail on Escape Collective.

In addition to all that, Unbound gravel saw a whole bunch of unreleased bikes being raced, which Dave and Josh Weinberg (US tech and culture editor) discuss.

Of course, there’s also the usual PSA, Ronan has something on his mind, and the episode wraps with the member-only Ask a Wrench segment (with Zach Edwards of Boulder Groupetto helping to answer questions). Members can submit new questions here.

As a reminder, this week also brought a special episode of Geek Warning where Shimano’s North American MTB product manager, Nick Murdick, was interviewed about all things related to new XTR Di2.

Timestamps:

2:30 - New Shimano XTR
7:50 - Campagnolo’s new Super Record WRL 13
19:15 - Favero Assioma Pro RS road power pedals
27:45 - PSA on eye safety
32:00 - On Ronan’s mind, uh oh
40:00 - Unbound tech
42:30 - Specialized’s new Diverge
45:30 - A name suggestion for the new Pinarello gravel racer
47:00 - Factor’s two new unreleased gravel bikes
51:50 - Orbea’s also got two new gravel bikes going around
54:00 - And Vos on a new Cervelo gravel race bike?
55:00 - Euro versus US gravel racing seen in bike design
1:00:30 - A pre-installed backup tube
1:04:30 - Ask a Wrench (member-only)
1:06:15 - How to adjust eccentric bottom brackets on single-speeds
1:11:30 - A tip for finding dropped items
1:15:40 - Our favourite hand cleaner? Hello gloves.
1:22:00 - Removing the impossibly stuck crank