Spin Cycle

This week on the show: Jonny’s adventures in Asia, Geraint Thomas getting on the beers, and some doping news out of Spain. 

Unfortunately, the GCN+ news broke after we recorded this episode. We have a special episode on the topic coming tomorrow. 

The Geeks answer your questions.

The Geek Warning podcast is growing! Today, we’ve launched our first bonus episode exclusively for Escape Collective members.

While the weekly Geek Warning podcast remains unchanged, we’re now providing additional bonus episodes each fortnight. These bonus episodes will be a mix of Ask a Wrench, deep-dives, or interviews with the people behind popular products.

The Geek Warning Bonus eps are exclusively available to Escape Collective members. That means this free feed only gets part of the episode. You'll need to subscribe to the members-only feed to get the full thing.

If you are already a member, you can follow this link to receive a unique RSS link to add the Geek Warning Bonus Episodes to the library in your chosen podcast app (this is very easy, promise). If you are not yet a member but want to hear, support, and enjoy the Geek Warning Bonus podcast, join Escape Collective today. Your membership makes this podcast possible.

What do Aston Martin, Lizard Skins, Cinelli, Chris Froome, and bleed kits all have in common? We’re not entirely sure, but they’re all discussed in this week’s episode of Geek Warning!

Hot on the heels of Lotus’ new bike comes an announcement from Aston Martin – they too have a new superbike. Made with 3D titanium-printed lugs and carbon tubes, this one is built in true collaboration with custom frame maker J Laverack. Aston Martin previously dabbled in bicycles with the help of Storck, but this one is on a whole new level. See more of the new Laverack Aston Martin .1R here.

Iconic Italian brand Cinelli has announced that it’s bringing some frame-building back in-house, for the first time since 1981. It all makes sense once you know Cinelli and Columbus are under the one roof.

Finished the Beckham documentary and have nothing to do? Geek out on this impressively detailed and playful content from Bartosz Ciechanowski. Thanks to reader Frederik Bonde for the tip on this one!

In industry news, Rapha has seen “negative profitability” for a number of years, while it appears Lizard Skins’ parent company may soon come under the house of Fox Factory (the suspension company).

All that and plenty more discussed in this week’s episode.

Timestamps:

0:50 – More high-end car collabs, this time Aston Martin and J Laverack
9:28 – Cinelli brings (some) frame building back to Italy
13:50 – Advanced visualisations for nerds
15:50 – Rapha is in the news
21:10 – Fox Factory set to buy Lizard Skins’ parent
23:25 – Chris Froome’s fit is on Ronan’s mind
28:06 – The one must-have feature of repair stands is on Dave’s mind
33:45 – Pick one cycling computer
39:55 – Our unintended PSA related to hydraulic disc brakes
52:18 – There’s a new member-only bonus version of Geek Warning!

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss Tadej Pogačar's recent comments about his calendar and how he plans to keep targeting races beyond just the Tour de France. Plus, we get a cyclocross update and then the podcast debuts the first ever member showdown in the Weekly Pain segment.

Aerodynamics have taken over cycling in the past decade or two. From frames to wheels to clothing, riders can now aero-optimise every aspect of their ride. We also know aerodynamics are highly individual, a fast helmet for one rider might be slow for another. Despite the uptake and understanding of aerodynamics, individual testing lags way behind. 

In this week's Performance Process, we talk to Escape Collective member, Notio Konect aero meter inventor/founder, and World Tour aero consultant Marc Graveline. Marc takes us on a DIY aero testing 101, breaking down the various options, testing protocols and essential tips for optimising at home. 

Hear how Marc runs his tests, what to test, and how aero testing can on average save a rider 22 watts. Marc also breaks down to complexity that may present a hurdle to some aero-curious riders and explains how we can aero test at zero expense.

An unexpected stop-ride notice from SRAM, a new bike from Lotus, and thoughts on tyre widths and pedal choice gave our tech team plenty to discuss in this week’s Geek Warning podcast.

Rumours of a Lotus road bike have been circling for some time, but we didn't expect it to be an aero-e-road bike. The Type 136 takes design concepts from current Lotus-designed track bikes, adding a lightweight HPS mid-drive e-bike system for a complete claimed weight of just 9.8 kg. Lotus has launched the bike with a limited edition model with just 136 available at a cool price of £20,000 / €25,000, ouch.

Ratio Technology – the company best known for bringing new life to old SRAM DoubleTap shifters – have done it again. The company’s latest release is a new ratchet and pulley wheel kit for SRAM 10 and 11-speed mechanical road groupsets, allowing you to use a Shimano 12-speed cassette and chain.

Speaking of SRAM, the American company has announced a stop-sale notice (for North America) related to its aftermarket 12-speed road levers. Set to become a voluntary recall, the notice applies to all SRAM 12-speed road shifters manufactured prior to July 2023 (it’s a long list). And before you run to your local store, know the issue is simply that too much thread locker is applied to the clamp bolt, meaning the levers aren’t clamping as tightly as what a torque wrench says. If you’re already riding a bike with SRAM 12-speed then this one doesn’t apply to you, but we’ll keep you updated if things change.

The biggest news in the bicycle industry has been related to the loss of funding for Signa Sports United, the parent company to Wiggle, ChainReactionCycles, and countless other brands. Now, Wiggle/CRC is in administration with reports of widespread redundancies in business segments responsible for future product and growth.

The first mover in producing truly great kids bikes, Isla Bikes, announced it's ceasing production. It’s a brand that James has fond memories associated with the first Isla bike he purchased, and it’s a brand that will surely be missed by many.

POC Sports have launched an LED-equipped version of its Omne road helmet. Integrated lights have been done before and are often somewhat underwhelming in terms of brightness, it’ll be interesting to see how POC’s new integration goes.

After the news, we get into the recurring segments of the Geek Warning. We think that SRAM’s Transmission gearing favourability seems to be largely related to geography and riding style. We discuss our preferences related to road tyre width. And then our new ‘Pick One’ segment returns, this time we each share and justify our favourite road pedals.

The Placeholders crew talks Wout van Aert's GC chances, league talks, Saudi money, Quintana's return, and gravel at the Tour de France.

Abby, Loren, Matt, and Gracie wrap up the season by handing out some awards to the best team, best rider, best race finish, and more.

Merida and Polygon have just announced some interesting new gravel bikes, and Campagnolo's new Hyperon road wheels are a far better value than the flagship version. But what we're really interested in this week is Focus's new Izalco Max semi-aero road racer. It's supposedly faster, stiffer, and lighter than before (naturally), but also unabashedly less comfortable. Is that a good thing?

On this week's Placeholders, Dane Cash and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to discuss Sepp Kuss's victory parade in Durango, the Tour route unveiling, gravel, and more ...