The second installment of our special series where we talk to non-cycling enthusiasts to see if the Netflix Tour de France Unchained Docuseries sparks an interest in the Tour and road racing in general. In this episode, we talk to Josue, who is a sports fan, but he is not in to cycling at all. He doesn't even ride bikes for fun right now, but maybe that will change after watching Unchained.

The Chumps have a few special announcements. First, we introduce our Instagram and YouTube accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/velochumps

https://www.youtube.com/@VeloChumps

Then we discuss all the new electronics for bikes that were recently announced. SRAM released entry level electronic shifting with Apex AXS, and Zwift is adding video game controllers to your handlebars. Mike had to leave early this week, so listen to the end for a classic factoid from Chad.

Netflix released the long awaited Tour de France Unchained Docuseries, and we thought it would be interesting to get some reactions from non-cycling enthusiasts to see if this series sparks an interest in the Tour specifically and road racing in general. In this first special edition we talk with our friend Casey. She is an accomplished triathlete, but not someone who was into watching professional cycling at all . . . until now.

The Chumps recap their annual epic gravel adventure into the Driftless region of Illinois. This year was a lot of fun, and there was a surprise story that happened after the ride was over. We also discuss the latest entry level bike from Specialized and what it means for Chumps that are just starting out with cycling.

In this special episode we were lucky enough to talk with Josh Poertner, President of Silca, and general bike tech legend. Josh tells some great stories, including why your road bike has disc brakes. He also confirms a lot of what we have been saying about the need to build a strong bike community. Bikes are becoming more complicated and difficult to set up and maintain, and new riders, or experienced riders getting new tech, will need help from the cycling community to keep their bikes safe and working. Listen to the end for the Chumps' take on what Josh had to say. Hopefully you will be inspired to make a difference in your own local bike community!

All of us Chumps, and the vast majority of cyclists, ride our bikes to make us happy. But brands keep trying to sell us speed. Of course going faster might make us happy, but is it the only thing that makes us happy on a bike? Probably not.

The Chumps discuss the upcoming Netflix Tour de France Documentary, made by the same production company that made the very successful Drive to Survive F1 docu-series. We talk about what the Tour docu-series might mean for road racing in particular and cycling in general. We also talk about a few new bikes and this week's factoid actually comes from Randy, even though it centers around Mike. Don't miss it!

The Chumps talk about our latest race and the (questionable) nutrition strategies that some of us used on race day. We also discuss some Strava features that regular chumps want and what we got instead. And, you will just have to listen all the way to the end to understand what this week's show title is about.

The bike industry makes a lot of claims about the performance gains that new products can provide. But do any of these gains really make a difference for chumps riding at chump speeds? Well, bike performance is governed by the laws of physics, and people have developed formulas and calculations to describe the physical world we live (and ride) in. Lucky for you, the Chumps do some of the math for you on this episode so you can better understand how much you are really going to gain when you buy the latest performance bike or component.