Nerd Alert Podcast

By CyclingTips

What's Nerd Alert Podcast about?

The CyclingTips Nerd Alert Podcast dives deep into the bikes and tech we all love. Road, gravel, mountain bikes, we cover it all. Hosted by James Huang, Dave Rome, and Caley Fretz.

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Nerd Alert Podcast episodes:

11.09.2022
A new lease on life for clothing and bags
Much of the attention on the Right to Repair movement in cycling has been concentrated on hard goods, like bikes, wheels, components, and so on. But it’s also important to remember that you can often fix clothing and bags at...
11.04.2022
Advancing metal bikes with No.22
The Nerd Alert podcast had an unplanned week off, but rest assured we’re now back on schedule. In this episode, Senior tech editor Dave Rome chats with No.22’s co-founder Bryce Gracey. For those unfamiliar with No.22, let’s just say they’re...
10.20.2022
Suspension on gravel bikes
One fun fact came out during our discussions with Specialized engineering mastermind Chris D’Aluisio: much of his testing of the company’s new Diverge STR fully suspended gravel bike has been on tarmac with a full complement of road components. In...
10.15.2022
Dan Bigham explains how hour records are broken
This week's episode is all about aerodynamics, efficiency, Filippo Ganna, and how Dan Bigham engineered two hour records.
10.12.2022
3D printing a stem with Dimitris Katsanis
With the news that Pinarello's new Bolide F HR 3D track bike is the first UCI-approved 3D printed bike, Ronan visited Metron Dimitris Katsanis and find out how a bike is 3D printed and why.
09.29.2022
Dropper posts for gravel bikes – yay or nay?
We’re back in the studio for a group show after a whirlwind of activity at the recent UCI world championships, and we’re wasting no time with the heated debates. Do dropper posts (or even suspension posts) have a place on gravel...
09.23.2022
On the ground at Road World’s
Welcome back to the Nerd Alert podcast! This week sees Dave Rome and Caley Fretz together in Wollongong, Australia for the 2022 Road World Championships. And along with VeloClub community manager Andy van Bergen, this episode circles the topic of...
09.16.2022
You can 3D print that
Welcome back to the CyclingTips Nerd Alert podcast! This week senior tech editor, Dave Rome, gets to cover something that has become a personal hobby of his – 3D printing. Joining Dave is Brian Park, the editor-in-chief at Pinkbike and Chris...
09.09.2022
An extravaganza of new bikes
Do bike companies conspire to release a whole bunch of new bikes at once? It sure felt like it this week, as we saw the announcement of the new Trek Domane, the new Canyon Ultimate, and the new BMC Kaius...
09.01.2022
How to beat a World Record with Dan Bigham
This week’s episode of the Nerd Alert podcast is certainly a special one. Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin chat with the newly crowned Hour World Record Holder, Dan Bigham. Prior to besting Victor Campanaerts' 2019 World Record, the British track...
08.25.2022
The Superstrata doesn’t need your silly seat tube
Remember the Superstrata? That wacky looking 3D-printed custom carbon fiber bike that blew up Indiegogo a couple of years ago? Well, it turns out that the bike isn’t vaporware — and in fact, we now have one on hand to...
08.19.2022
What’s up with this new Giant Propel?
The Nerds are back with another group episode, this time with Ronan doing his best Aussie impersonation since Dave is away on holiday. On tap this week is a detailed introduction of Giant’s new Propel aero road bike — and its...
08.12.2022
Looking under the hood of Shimano Di2
Welcome back to the CyclingTips Nerd Alert podcast! This week tech editor Dave Rome chats about the things to know with Shimano’s new Di2 12-speed shifting and how it differs from previous generations. And what better guest to speak to about...
08.04.2022
Should more people consider a custom bike instead of a production one?
We finally have our full crew of Nerds back on this week’s episode, and boy, was there a lot to discuss. There’s a new custom bike show in the works for 2023 called Made, which will be based in Portland, Oregon,...
07.28.2022
Does it matter where your bike is built?
The Nerds are back with a long overdue group show, and they’ve got a lot to talk about! James recaps some of the highlights from the recent Eurobike show in Frankfurt, Dave chats about the pitfalls of modern e-commerce with...
07.22.2022
The future of aero wheel development might be a bit rocky
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnels have long been the primary tools used by wheel engineers and aerodynamicists. However useful they are, though, they’re still based on laminar airflow — those picture-perfect parallel lines you see in illustrations —...
07.12.2022
Tech from the Tour paddock
We’re a little late with this week’s Nerd Alert episode and for good reason – the Wi-Fi at the Tour de France is terrible. That’s right, Caley Fretz and Ronan Mc Laughlin are in France and chat about all things...
06.30.2022
Rim brakes aren't dead yet
The bike industry may have shifted entirely to disc brakes, but there are millions of happy rim-brake users out there with bikes that still have years — or even decades — of life left in them. Mainstream brands have already...
06.23.2022
Flat tires and sketchy brakes — it’s Field Test time again!
This week’s episode comes to you live from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where we’ve assembled four testers and a video team to evaluate ten different bikes. We’ve split them into six gravel and four road models this time around, with a...
06.16.2022
Only a crazy person would think we need yet another bike brand, right?
If you’ve got a decent chunk of change and are looking for a higher-end carbon drop-bar bike, there’s certainly no shortage of good options -- and probably too many of them, in fact. So why on earth would someone think...
06.09.2022
So. Many. New. Bikes.
June is turning out to be an exceptionally hot month in terms of new bike releases, and Ronan joins James and Dave as a special guest to help us talk through them all. Although we don't have official information just yet, we...
06.03.2022
Things that shouldn’t break
Modern bikes are marvellous creations that continually push engineering boundaries with a continued focus on lighter, faster, and sleeker. However, that raises a big question, is the bicycle industry flying a little close to the sun when it comes to...
05.25.2022
Free the feet!
Riders commonly complain that they can’t find cycling shoes that are wide enough, but when was the last time you heard someone say their shoes are too wide? Maybe that’s a sign cycling footwear should be wider in general. We...
05.19.2022
A little honesty goes a long way
Roval has finally cleared the air on why its earlier Rapide CLX and Alpinist CLX wheels weren’t tubeless-compatible when they launched in 2020, and while the final outcome is positive, it would’ve been nice if it hadn’t also come with...
05.12.2022
The future of helmet safety
Welcome back to the Nerd Alert podcast! This week we have a deep dive episode about something that’ll likely bring positive change to the helmets we all wear. Our guest is Peter Haldin, the Chief Science Officer and a Co-Founder of...
05.04.2022
To lug or not to lug? That is the question
So much to talk about this week! Colnago's new C68 is more modern-looking than any C-model that came before it, but it's also lost much of what made its predecessors unique. Headset bearings are still a pain to service on...
04.28.2022
Recycling carbon fiber is no longer a pipe dream
The topic of sustainability and carbon fiber has long been a black eye on the bike industry, but one company in Tennessee — called Carbon Fiber Recycling, of all things — is seemingly turning that around. Old broken frames? Random...
04.21.2022
Tubeless domination at Paris-Roubaix, and a look at the state of retail
This year’s Paris-Roubaix was all about tubeless tires and foam inserts — so much so that it’s easier to talk about who wasn’t on them than who was. But the best part of modern Paris-Roubaix tech? The fact that it’s...
04.19.2022
More fun new stuff from Sea Otter, and the future of traveling with your bike
Caley promised to be more prepared for our second Sea Otter episode, but his list of neat new stuff that he found at the show was a little… questionable. Luckily for him, we had a special guest on hand: Orucase...
04.11.2022
What were the coolest things we saw at Sea Otter today?
The Sea Otter Classic trade show is back for 2022, and the Nerds are on site with a special episode, recorded right on the expo floor! James, Dave, and Caley talk about the coolest things we saw at the show on...
04.06.2022
Inside the mind of mad scientist custom builder Rob English
Rob English is one of the most highly coveted builders of high-performance steel bikes these days, and he’s also an elite athlete in his own right. His distinctive function-over-form style is very much rooted in his engineering background, but much...
03.30.2022
High-end aluminum bikes and dropper posts for everyone?
Things have been a little wacky in the road bike world lately, with Specialized launching a new Allez Sprint high-end aluminum race bike that’s both heavier and more expensive (but potentially better?) than the one it replaces, dropper seatposts in...
03.23.2022
Confused about tubeless and tire pressures? You’re not alone.
This week’s Nerd Alert episode came about after consumer-direct wheel company Hunt released a 1,213 g ultralight disc brake road wheel with a hookless tubeless rim. Where some of the other more prominent hookless road wheels have 23 to 25 mm...
03.16.2022
Finding the best chain lube for your needs
This week we’ve got a deep dive episode on a topic that’s applicable to everyone that rides a bike. Chain lube. As we’ve covered plenty before, the difference between running a good chain lube suited to your riding conditions versus...
03.09.2022
LeMond is back in the road business, but is it for real?
We’re back with another group show this week, and taking a hard look at the new LeMond 8 carbon aero road bike that was announced last week. It sounds sweet, and includes a lot of intriguing features like structural foam...
02.28.2022
Custom options are great, but only if you’ve got the parts on hand
Lots of things have been hard to come by over the last year or two, and while it’s definitely been a big inconvenience for a lot of us, it’s potentially crippling if you’re trying to sell bikes — and maybe...
02.22.2022
OldGrumpyH8ters gonna hate
Roval and Specialized appear to be returning to road tubeless after last year’s curious non-tubeless tubeless wheel launch, we question the merits of Ratio Technology’s latest 12-speed conversion kit, and — no surprise — Shimano made a heck of a...
02.14.2022
Maybe slower is better when it comes to cycling clothing?
Apparel — apparel in general, not just cycling-specific stuff — is predominantly manufactured in bulk, with orders placed through contract factories well before anything will actually be offered for sale. It’s done this way because it’s cheap, but it also...
02.07.2022
Will all bikes eventually be sold consumer-direct?
Specialized rocked the industry last week with the announcement of its Rider Direct program, which allows buyers in select markets to have complete bikes delivered right to their door — either by a participating dealer or in a cardboard box. Dedicated...
01.31.2022
How do you know you’re not buying a used bike lemon?
Former MTB pro Nick Martin started The Pro’s Closet out of the back of his old VW van 16 years ago, and now it’s a multi-million dollar operation with nearly 200 employees, a monstrous warehouse, and roughly 2000 used bikes...
01.24.2022
Lights, camera… action?
The Nerds had quite a few new bikes to talk about this week, and a lot of details to debate, especially regarding Cannondale’s new Synapse. On the one hand, it’s strikingly normal now with no proprietary fittings whatsoever (even a threaded...
01.17.2022
Gravel tech Q&A with Geoff Kabush
It turns out Canadian pro Geoff Kabush is pretty good at racing bikes — first in XC MTB and cyclocross, then more recently, gravel and enduro — and throughout it all, he’s never been afraid to speak his mind. But...
01.10.2022
The 2021 CyclingTippies tech awards!
There are all sorts of awards handed out in the cycling industry. There’s the Arlo Pfeiffer award for most convoluted cable routing; the Emma Stouffy prize for the more pungent tire; and the David St. Hubbins trophy — the “Hubby”...
01.04.2022
The CEO of SRAM gives us the lowdown on the supply chain
If you’ve tried to buy anything bike-related over the last couple of years, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that no one has anything in stock — like, ANYTHING. But why is that? Has the pandemic really disrupted global production that much on...
12.20.2021
Is adjustable geometry a genuine feature or just another gimmick?
The Nerds are finally back with another group show! This week, one of the things we’re discussing is one of the hottest trends in gravel bikes: adjustable frame geometry. On paper, the idea of having multiple bike personalities in one sounds...
12.13.2021
The ins and outs of 3D-printed saddles
3D printing is the hottest new development in manufacturing, and as far as cycling goes, saddles have curiously emerged as an area that has seen the most widespread application with several models on offer from both Fizik and Specialized (and...
12.02.2021
Designing a cyclocross race bike that isn’t a gravel bike
This/next week’s episode of the Nerd Alert Podcast has dropped a little early. That’s because it’s a timely chat about the new Cervelo R5-CX cyclocross race bike that was just announced. Our guests for this episode are Cervelo’s director of...
11.29.2021
Loved products that didn’t make our top 10s
This week’s episode of the CyclingTips Nerd Alert podcast sees tech editors Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin take control of the airwaves. They chat about new headset bearings that apparently can’t be killed, some big industry news, and a few...
11.22.2021
Turns out some bikes are more sustainable than others
Trek released an inward-facing sustainability report a few months ago, and it’s eye-opening. The document doesn’t paint an especially rosy picture (e-bike haters will have a field day with this one), but it does provide some very useful information along...
11.15.2021
Are we finally getting turtle shells for indoor cycling?
The Nerds have been pining for some sort of Mario Bros and Zwift mashup that lets us toss turtle shells at our competitors, but Zwift still seems to be too serious for these kinds of shenanigans. However, a new indoor...

What's Nerd Alert Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Nerd Alert Podcast episodes:

A new lease on life for clothing and bags

Advancing metal bikes with No.22

Suspension on gravel bikes

Dan Bigham explains how hour records are broken

3D printing a stem with Dimitris Katsanis

Dropper posts for gravel bikes – yay or nay?

On the ground at Road World’s

You can 3D print that

An extravaganza of new bikes

How to beat a World Record with Dan Bigham

The Superstrata doesn’t need your silly seat tube

What’s up with this new Giant Propel?

Looking under the hood of Shimano Di2

Should more people consider a custom bike instead of a production one?

Does it matter where your bike is built?

The future of aero wheel development might be a bit rocky

Tech from the Tour paddock

Rim brakes aren't dead yet

Flat tires and sketchy brakes — it’s Field Test time again!

Only a crazy person would think we need yet another bike brand, right?

So. Many. New. Bikes.

Things that shouldn’t break

Free the feet!

A little honesty goes a long way

The future of helmet safety

To lug or not to lug? That is the question

Recycling carbon fiber is no longer a pipe dream

Tubeless domination at Paris-Roubaix, and a look at the state of retail

More fun new stuff from Sea Otter, and the future of traveling with your bike

What were the coolest things we saw at Sea Otter today?

Inside the mind of mad scientist custom builder Rob English

High-end aluminum bikes and dropper posts for everyone?

Confused about tubeless and tire pressures? You’re not alone.

Finding the best chain lube for your needs

LeMond is back in the road business, but is it for real?

Custom options are great, but only if you’ve got the parts on hand

OldGrumpyH8ters gonna hate

Maybe slower is better when it comes to cycling clothing?

Will all bikes eventually be sold consumer-direct?

How do you know you’re not buying a used bike lemon?

Lights, camera… action?

Gravel tech Q&A with Geoff Kabush

The 2021 CyclingTippies tech awards!

The CEO of SRAM gives us the lowdown on the supply chain

Is adjustable geometry a genuine feature or just another gimmick?

The ins and outs of 3D-printed saddles

Designing a cyclocross race bike that isn’t a gravel bike

Loved products that didn’t make our top 10s

Turns out some bikes are more sustainable than others

Are we finally getting turtle shells for indoor cycling?