For the first time in a long time the bike industry is taking a breather on new product drops. With that, Dave Rome and Brad Copeland catch up to discuss what’s on their minds.

There’s a nostalgic chat about Brad and Dave’s dream bikes as awkward teens. Dave raises his frustrations around integrated shifter and brake clamp systems on mountain bikes. And the geeks discuss what spares they carry on local rides.

There’s a small amount of worthy tech news at the end, including factory-waxed chains from KMC and Wippermann, plus a chat about Wolf Tooth’s updated dropper and how it compares.

Timestamps:

2:50 - Corrections Corner related to OneUp hubs
5:50 - Dream bikes in our teens, plus a tangent
21:00 - Why can’t MatchMaker make our match?
34:05 - Pick One Returns! Our spares
50:00 - A quick repeat of a PSA
52:10 - Waxed chains straight from the factory are here!
59:10 - Wolf Tooth’s Revolve Rev2 shows how Right to Repair should be
1:02:50 - Wolf Tooth’s news presents another Pick One segment

Eurobike is now in the rearview mirror and the buzz of the Tour continues to grow. In this week’s Geek Warning episode you’ll hear (without sound issues, horray!) a wrap-up from Eurobike, learn about Schwalbe’s intriguing new Clik Valve, Canyon’s Tempr shoes bring them into a new product category, and some bold claims from Parcours for the gravel race scene.

Brad and Dave also discuss the latest Trek Top Fuel mountain bike and Dangerholm’s incredible 5.89 kg (12.99 lb) hardtail. Plus you’ll hear about the latest from Feedback Sports, DT Swiss, Manitou, and Shimano.

The big conversation for this episode is all about the generally poor quality control of flat-mount brake mounts, and it warrants a language warning as Dave feels his anger grow. Seriously, a message to bike manufacturers and brands, it shouldn’t be up to the local shop to fix this stuff!

Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Time stamps:

1:48 - Parcours’ FKT aero gravel race wheelset
10:00 - Canyon enters the high-end shoe market
18:40 - Ronan’s experience at Eurobike
25:55 - Schwalbe Clik Valve - a new valve we may just like
30:15 - Trek’s fourth-gen Top Fuel
37:30 - Dangerholm’s latest ‘lightest hardtail’
43:05 - Dave gets a little sweary: flat mount should be flat!
55:10 - Feedback Sports enters the electric stand market
1:00:20 - It’s DT Swiss’ 30th anniversary
1:02:00 - Manitou releases its R8 cross-country fork
1:04:45 - Shimano’s new second-tier S-Phyre RC7 shoes, plus the case for spending more on certain things

It’s the week of all weeks for cycling tech. The Tour de France has kicked off, the world’s largest cycling tradeshow – Eurobike – is on, and we’ve seen many smaller handmade bike shows, too. With that, Dave Rome, Brad Copeland, and Ronan Mc Laughlin have plenty of things to geek out over.

The geeks discuss the new Classified and TRP drivetrain collab, plus new budget groupset options from Microshift and SRAM. Ronan gives a brief overview of Continental’s new aero tyres, while there’s also chat of a new fancy chain waxing tool seen at the Tour.

There’s a chat about how to keep a check on your brake tracks. And then to finish things off, you’ll hear Brad and Dave discuss new hubs from OneUp, a new gravel bike from Giant, some question marks about Ohlins suspension, and the entrance of drone-experts DJI into bicycles (wait, what?). And lastly, the new Buffalo bike for World Bicycle Relief is discussed.

And once again, we apologise for the sound quality on this one. This time, it was Brad with the technical issues, sounding a little distant on the backup audio we had to use.

Time stamps:

3:50 - Classified and TRP collaborate on a groupset
14:45 - The Aero111 tyre from DT Swiss, Swiss Side, and Continental
21:40 - SRAM’s new S-1000 Transmission
27:05 - Microshift Sword Black, even cheaper and 9-speed
31:35 - Cyclowax teases on-bike chain waxing
38:25 - Handmade bikes everywhere!
43:40 - PSA: saying it once more, measure those brake tracks!
54:45 - A workforce reduction at Ohlins
57:40 - Oneup enters the hub market
1:01:58 - KOM’s Xeno hub has us intrigued
1:05:00 - We drone on about DJI’s entrance into e-bikes
1:08:20 - Giant’s new Revolt Advanced gravel bike
1:11:15 - The new Buffalo bike

If you managed to take a look at some of the bikes from Spoken, you’ll quickly realise there’s a whole lot of tech to talk about. For this member’s special bonus episode of Geek Warning, Dave Rome sits down with a number of exhibitors while at the show. In this episode you’ll hear interviews with builders such as Feather Cycles and Woods Bicycle Co. Dave chats with Silca’s owner Josh Poertner about the future of chain waxing and 3D titanium printing. You’ll learn about the latest from Melbourne-based Curve Cycling and Project Flock. Plus, discussion on bike fit with RiderFit.CC and the future of the Spoken show with event co-founder Nathan Lorkin.

Only members of Escape Collective can listen to the full version of this episode, however, this shorter version is available here for free (and hopefully to once again, encourage you to join).

Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.

Time stamps:

1:00 - Feather Cycles and the launch of WKNDR
9:40 - Woods Bicycle Co on hidden cable routing
19:30 - Josh Poertner on 3D titanium printing and the next-generation of chain waxing
40:00 - Project Flock
44:30 - Curve Cycling and going higher-end
49:00 - Stewart Morton of RiderFit
56:30 - The future of Spoken?

In this week’s episode of Geek Warning, Escape Collective's tech editors Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin get lost in thought and go well over the magic hour. Hit play to hear whether Trek’s move to turn two race bikes into one is a decision based on performance or business, whether lateral chain wear is a measurement we should be considering, what we look for in bib shorts, and what possessed Ronan to do a nearly 20-hour-long ride.

Of course, the geeks also talk about other new products just released, including Wolf Tooth’s entry into mini pumps, Wahoo’s new heart rate strap, and Willier’s latest road bike. Enjoy!

Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.

Time stamps

3:00 - Trek goes all-in on the new Madone
21:30 - Wilier’s new climbing bike
31:30 - Abbey Bike Tools introduces a less thought way of measuring chain wear
44:20 - RIP Jurgen Falke
45:10 - Ronan’s big ride is on Dave’s mind
55:30 - Picking one bib-short
1:02:30 - Wahoo’s new heart rate strap, will this one last?
1:09:40 - Wolf Tooth gets into mini pumps with internal storage
1:13:30 - Bossi’s new Grit titanium gravel bike
1:14:20 - MADE Australia is this weekend, while Ronan is heading to the Tour and Eurobike

It’s time to geek out. This week Brad Copeland, Ronan McLaughlin, and Dave Rome are on the pod to talk all the major news in the world of tech and what’s on their minds.

There’s a new road bike from Pinarello, and a new head unit that promises to be self-sustaining, and a more affordable full suspension race bike from Specialized. Plus Dave and Brad share some things on their minds.

Forward warning and an apology as the sound quality on this one doesn’t meet our usual standard. Dave was already under the weather, and if that weren’t enough, he then had mic issues. The information is there, it’s just Dave sounds like virus-riddled bot!

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.

Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.

Time stamps:

2:24 - New Pinarello Dogma
11:50 - Coros’ entry into head units
22:05 - More new alloy from Specialized, this time the Chisel FS
28:33 - Spoken has been run, a bonus episode is incoming
29:25 - Spare seatpost length is on Brad’s mind
33:30 - Dave explains why he’s a reformed chain waxer
43:50 - Quick tech bite in the form of Giant’s new kids bike
50:05 - Brad shares a tip for getting tips

The tech never stops. This episode Brad Copeland and Dave Rome discuss a handful of new dropbar bikes, a recall, common mistakes with fitting chains, and their favourite… grease. Oh yes, it’s Geek Warning!

Those new bikes include the fascinatingly simple Specialized Crux DSW, a refreshed Bianchi Arcadex gravel bike, and OBED’s entry into the endurance road space. Meanwhile the geeks discuss Ellsworth’s recent return and entry into gravel.

Following a repair during the week, on Brad’s mind is how chain direction matters and it spurs a larger conversation about other common chain-related mistakes. Then Dave asks the hard hitting questions, asking Brad to pick a single grease of choice.

The episode wraps with a recall from Kuat and a tease for the upcoming Spoken Show (formerly Handmade Bicycle Show Australia) in Melbourne, Australia.

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.

Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.

Time stamps:

5:25 - Specialized’s new alloy bike and why simple wins
20:00 - Bianchi new Arcadex and why UDH is now the common feature in gravel
26:48 - Ellsworth returns to the dropbar world
33:00 - OBED RVR is another option with a taller stack height
39:25 - Chain direction is on Brad’s mind
46:40 - Pick one: Grease. Yes, grease.
53:50 - Roval releases a Team version of its Rapide CLX II road wheels
58:32 - Kuat has a recall that impacts 86,000 racks
1:01:30 - High-fives await in Melbourne

A €9,000 frame, a €27k build, and €22K spent on developing the bottle alone… Wilier has a new TT bike.

Escape Collective had exclusive access to the development of this new bike in a seemingly impossible time frame. Leading the design project was Marco Genovese, Head of Design at Wilier Triestina. With 14 years of experience in developing over 100 frames, Genovese knows a thing or two about carbon frame design. Escape Tech Editor Ronan Mc Laughlin sat down with Genovese to deep dive on all things frame design to discuss everything from brainwaves in the shower to initial concepts and from modern design tools to made-up UCI rules.

The Supersonica may be a time trial bike, but this bonus episode of the Geek Warning podcast is for anyone who has ever wondered how bikes are designed.

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.

Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.