Spin Cycle

Don't you dare call it a tire; it's "endurance engineering"!

Jokes aside, Specialized and Vittoria are upping their games when it comes to high-end road tires that (supposedly) won't leave you stranded, Chris King is expanding its range of thermoplastic carbon wheels with a new aero all-road model, we debate the pros and cons of the latest crop of fancy bike care products, and Ronan outlines the UCI's latest foibles. And as always, Dave has tools on his mind.

A manually curated list of time stamps:

2:30 - The narrow tread of the new Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres.13:00 - “Don’t call it a tyre!” Specialized’s Mondo tyre.21:42 - Chris King brings thermoplastic rims to road29:22 - CeramicSpeed’s new Bike Care line and a discussion on wax lubes.42:57 - The growing segment of Bike Care products.46:50 - More price drops! This time it’s Salsa.47:53 - Rome gets excited about new bearing removal tools.50:37 - An update on the peculiar new UCI product registration rules coming to the TDF.56:45 - Does the UCI need a Jig for its Jig?1:02:45 - On Rome’s mind and over the head of his family.1:08:07 - News for next week’s episode!

Woah. What a stage race that was! Abby, Matt and Gracie get together to recap (almost) everything that happened at La Vuelta Femenina. From Realini’s first WorldTour win to Vollering’s climbing to why we love the G.O.A.T.

Grand Tour season is in full swing, and the Pretty Serious crew is here to break down the action. Ruth Winder and Caley Fretz join Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano this week to talk:

Overperformers and underperformers from the Giro's opening TT

A changing of the guard for the sprinters?

Controversy with the timing of a key move and decisions made by officials at the Vuelta Femenina

A thrilling conclusion to the race

On this week's Placeholders episode, we catch up on the Vuelta Femenina, discuss Matteo Jorgensen's approach to the season, and look ahead to the Giro d'Italia. Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič look like the favorites to take the win, and we'll name a few outsiders as well. Plus, Greg Van Avermaet is hanging up the wheels. All that and more in the podcast ...

Modern cross-country mountain bike racing is absolutely on fire these days. The riders are faster, more skilled, and more interesting than ever, the courses are technical and physically demanding, and the bikes are so capable they'd put the "trail bikes" of yesteryear to shame. But one has to look no further than some dyed-in-the-wool road brands to see how hot the segment is right now, because even they're getting into the game.

Also, in this week's show: (some) bikes are getting cheaper, there are prototype cross-country suspension forks everywhere, and the UCI dropped a logistical bomb on teams just weeks ahead of the Tour.

Episode time stamps (oh, that’s new for us!):

2:35 - BMC’s TT bike and company news.13:30 - Pinarello is returning to mountain bikes.16:35 - What are P1 Race Tech mountain bike wheels?19:29 - Cervelo getting deeper into XC.21:23 - A flurry of forks and the boom of XC.30:35 - Lauf drops Seigla prices in the USA. Plus other price drops.35:30 - Will we see new UCI technical controls at the TDF?49:45 - The growth of tyre inserts.60:00 - On our minds and debating cup and cone bearing hubs

In this week's episode of the Pretty Serious Bike Racing Podcast, Abby Mickey joins Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano to talk:

A big week for both Brits and Colombians at the Tour de Romandie

Matteo Jorgensen's versatility

Ally Wollaston's emergence

What to expect at the Vuelta Femenina

We are dropping this week’s Wheel Talk Podcast episode a little earlier because La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es kicks off on Monday, May 1 with a TTT in Torrevieja. Amanda Spratt of Trek-Segafredo, who will be racing this week in Spain, joins Loren and Abby to talk about the stages and riders to watch at the race.

On this bonus episode of the Wheel Talk Podcast, Abby caught up with up-and-coming American talent Megan Jastrab to discuss her years at Team DSM and her experience racing the team pursuit at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while working to graduate from college in four years.

In the latest episode of the Placeholders, Caley Fretz, Dane Cash, and Abby Mickey talk Soudal-QuickStep's 2023 campaign, the latest from the Tour de Romandie, Tadej Pogačar's injury, Miguel Ángel López, and the new CRIT series, while Iain Treloar provides an update on Primož Roglič's Twitter tribulations and Joe Lindsay offers some insight into what has been going on over at the Zaaf Cycling Team.

On this week's episode of Geek Warning... Specialized says its new Epic World Cup will replace hardtails for racing, and while the bike looks interesting, this isn't the first time we've heard such a thing and hardtails have proven time and again that they've got a lot of lives.

Also in this week's show: Wahoo is probably for sale, but who should buy it? Might you soon be taking your e-bike to an auto mechanic for service? Why did Boyd Cycling open up an aluminum rim factory in South Carolina? And James gives a recap of the shiny new stuff – both affordable and expensive – he saw at last week's Sea Otter Classic, along with a PSA on how your DRL might not be providing the visibility you think it is.