Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca

Gravel Racing has gone global, and governing bodies have gotten involved. The UCI is now in its third year of putting on its Gravel World Series. It has more than two dozen races on four continents. Instead of running the series itself, the UCI has turn to a sports group and the point person in that group is three-time Cyclocross World Champ Erwin Vervecken. It's an understatement to say he knows drop bars and dirt. He is. We talk to Erwin about how the series began, the lack of a major presence in the US, how to get into Worlds, UCI rules and Gravel, and we throw in some Cross questions.

Tony Karklins is the founder of Allied Cycle, is currently the founder of Time, and has deep knowledge of all aspects of the cycling industry, all the way back to when as a teenager he owned a bike shop. He's the perfect match for a conversation with Josh about bike business, manufacturing, racing and more. 

John Cobb may be best known for his bike saddles, but his experience and innovation go much deeper. John may be the first person to take a bike to the wind tunnel, and is likely the only person to crank up the tunnel to 70mph...with a rider in it. Enjoy this great episode with a cycling innovator

Life Time puts on what is arguably the biggest and most important pro bike racing series in the US: The Life Time Grand Prix. And one man is in chage of it all: Kimo Seymour. Fatty and Hottie talk with Kimo changes in the race, the "Call of a Life Time" series, aerobars, Keegan's Swenson's chances for dominating the event for a third year running, and much more. 

Our recent wind tunnel episodes have triggered a LOT of aero questions from our listeners, and Josh -- with hand hovering over the "It Depends" button -- takes them on. From IRL Burrito Powerups (IYKYK) to the StripChip and the Chain Waxing System to aero chainrings to leg hair stubble as a potential aero advantage to shoe aerodynamics, Josh will — apparently — answer anything. Enjoy!

Josh answers more of Fatty & Hottie's pressing questions about the surprises people are in for when visiting a wind tunnel for the first time, what happens when key learnings from a wind tunnel session are ignored, how often follow-up questions triggered by a wind tunnel session are actually followed up on, whether it's worth it to bring anyone but a top-pro into the wind tunnel, how bike companies twist wind tunnel results, and much more. If there's anything more Marginal-Gain-y than our fascination with wind tunnels, well...we'll do a trifecta of episodes on that, too. Enjoy the show!

An argument can be made that Mark Cote is the father of the Specialized Wind Tunnel. During his tenure at the Big S, he convinced the powers that be that the Big S needed its own wind tunnel — an amazing story Mark shares with Josh. Enjoy this deep dive into Mark's backstory and conversation between Mark and Josh as they swap stories on how they've found marginal gains with this one powerful tool

Josh's experiences in wind tunnels have come up in dozens of episodes of Marginal Gains, and we always find ourselves with more questions. In this episode, we're finally giving ourselves permission to ask them, from the essentials of using a wind tunnel to a day in the life before, during, and after testing in a windtunnel.  Look, we'll be honest here: we brought way more questions to this conversation than Josh had time to answer, and at some point during the recording, we realized we weren't recording "The Wind Tunnel Episode;" we were recording, "The Wind Tunnel Series, Part 1." Which means that if you've got quesstions about wind tunnels, now is the time to ask: call or text us at 317-343-4506.

When it comes to bikes, Josh is usually the smartest person in the room. But Josh will tell you, when the topic turns to mountain bikes and suspension, Josh turns to Darren Murphy of Push Industries. Josh and Darren talk about Darren's journey in the industry, as well as a dive into how advanced bike products are developed, tested and brought to market. 

With World Cup races being decided by tenths or even hundredths of a second, many racers and teams are now using sensors and data acquisition to dial their setups. Our guest this show is a leader in this area: Nick Lester and Josh get deep into how Nick and his Downamics team help the world's fastest downhillers get the most out of their suspension.