This week’s episode of Geek Warning sees former World Cup mechanic, Brad Copeland, join the team to talk all things bike tech. With Brad onboard, it was time we kicked off the first "Ask a Wrench" segment, which answers questions from our live audience of Escape Collective members.Before the geeks get to answering questions, they discuss some of the latest tech seen at the opening round of the mountain bike World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Ask a Wrench

Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on how bikes work and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome and Caley Fretz, along with whoever else we can find, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, and whatever else catches our fancy.

Escape Collective is entirely member-funded. If you like this podcast please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/member/

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It's time for another bonus episode of Geek Warning. Typically, we keep these bonus episodes for subscribers and members of Escape Collective, however, this one is being left open to all as a teaser for the type of stuff you’re missing by not being a member. If you like this and want more, sign up here.   This episode is about gravel tire selection and trends in the thinking that bigger is better. It all came about through an Instagram post by former WorldTour pro-turned Gravel Pro Alex Howes, who had shared just how much he had been obsessing over tire selection for the 2024 edition of Unbound Gravel. And what makes this conversation all the more interesting is that Howes isn’t sponsored by a single tire brand, but rather an online retailer that sells all the brands - biketiresdirect. Dave Rome and Howes cover a lot of ground in this one, including chatting slicks versus treads, picking the biggest volume possible, inserts or not, what to carry on a self-supported race like Unbound, and why white bar tape.If you don’t care about why, where, when, or how, and assuming the weather holds, Howes plans to race on Vittoria Terreno Zero tyres, in a 50 mm width up front and a 47 mm rear with inserts. He expects to start the day with approximately 19 psi in the front, and 24 psi rear. Still, if you find these details interesting, you’ll surely appreciate the conversation. Enjoy!

Bonus: Picking Unbound Gravel tires with the pro who can pick any tire

Welcome back to Geek Warning, a podcast by the Escape Collective, that covers everything to know in the world of bicycle tech. James Huang said farewell in our past episode, and with that, Dave is joined by a new voice that knows a thing or two about bicycle-related things – Brad Copeland.With a mountain bike World Cup race at Nové Město freshly finished, Dave and Brad discuss things in use by the winners, technical problems by a race favourite, and trends in tyre tech.The geeks share their favourite tubeless tyre sealants and a PSA applicable to all.It’s a relatively light week in terms of tech news, still, Brad and Dave share their thoughts on DT Swiss’ new premium gravel wheelsets, new well-priced carbon wheels from Easton, and a new gravel race jersey with its own sweat-patch. Time stamps:
4:10 – Pre-Olympic tech spotted in use by Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Tom Pidcock
10:55 – Speculating about Victor Koretzky’s tech woes
15:20 – Are wider tyres always better for gravel and MTB? What does that mean for the future of tyre inserts?
37:25 - Pick one: tubeless tyre sealant
50:05 - PSA: test your spares!
57:10 - New DT Swiss GRC 1100 and 1400 Dicut gravel wheels
1:08:00 - Easton’s new EC90 ALX gravel and all-road hoops
1:10:40 - Castelli adds a hydration bladder to an aero jersey, so gravel

A new voice

Ever feel like you’d like a lighter bike? Now imagine what your current bike would feel like if it was half of your body weight. For all too many kids who are learning to ride bikes, that’s exactly what it feels like to them. Premium kids’ bikes are a relatively new category, but also one that’s rapidly growing with more brands, models, sizes, and genres than ever before. Are they expensive? As compared to what you’d find in a big-box store, sure. But when you really think about what your kid might get out of a nicer bike, what actually goes into them, and even what you might get out of them once they’ve outgrown them, the numbers become easier to justify. Fair warning: The full episode is only available to Escape Collective members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Bonus ep: Kids might need nicer bikes more than we do

It’s just a regular week in May, but you can bet the bike industry is its usual buzz of activity. James Huang and Dave Rome offer some strong thoughts related to Shimano’s latest release of GRX Di2. There’s chat about Felt clawing its way back into the spotlight. Of course the geeks can't ignore the return of Kona Bikes. And there are rumblings that the old Interbike tradeshow may be coming back, too. We’ve got custom bikes on our minds. We fail at picking one saddle. And there’s a PSA for all. The episode wraps with a round-up of new wheel-related things from Reynolds, Zipp, Roval, Chris King, and Hunt. And then James shares his own news. Indeed this is the last episode you’ll hear James’ voice as he hangs up his digital gauge. Time stamps: 2:00 - Shimano GRX 12-speed Di2
16:40 - Felt’s new VR endurance road bike
20:25 - Kona is back!
25:45 - Is the Interbike tradeshow coming back?
30:40 - On our mind: would we buy our own fully custom bike?
43:25 - Pick one: saddles
56:45 - You get accustomed to things being crummy
1:01:10 - Talking new wheel-related things from Reynolds, Zipp, Hunt, Roval, and Chris King
1:11:30 - James’ heart sinking news (tear emoji)

Is new Shimano GRX enough?

Not surprisingly given the big product launch this week, Dave and James have a lot to dive into with SRAM’s new Red AXS wireless road groupset: what’s different about it, what’s not so different, what’s been improved, and what’s stayed the same – and the thing everyone will invariably ask us, whether we’d choose that or the latest Shimano Dura-Ace. We also chat about the neat features embedded into the new Hammerhead Karoo GPS computer, and the significance of the new tire partnership between Zipp and Goodyear, Dave gets his thoughts about road bike cockpit reach off his chest, we choose our favorite tubeless plug kits, and we’re still worried about loose headsets. Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network. Timestamps: 2:05 – A neat detail about Chris King’s new hubs we overlooked
3:51 – A clarification on our position regarding road hookless tubeless wheels and tires
6:04 – The lowdown on SRAM’s new Red AXS road groupset
12:22 – Do we like it?
16:19 – SRAM Red AXS or Shimano Dura-Ace Di2?
21:15 – Don’t call it the Hammerhead Karoo 3
25:45 – Goodyear’s new tires are Zipp-specific, but we’re not entirely sure why
30:02 – Effective reach is an overlooked fit dimension
36:50 – Pick One! Our favorite tubeless plug kits
47:20 – We’re still worried about loose headsets
53:08 – Ratio Technology has a neat cage option for SRAM Transmission rear derailleurs
55:53 – Pirelli has gotten even more Italian

Introducing Ask a Wrench

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