Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca

Russ Roca  - founder and host of the YouTube Channel the Path Less Pedaled - is our guest. The Path Less Pedaled has become a place to learn about the non-competitive side of the cycling world . Russ has produced hundreds of videos that focus on using bikes to carry stuff, explore, cruise, travel, ride comfortably and yes he has a couple on chain waxing and finding the right tire pressure. We talk with Russ on how he went from 2-packs a day to two wheels, the search for the right gearing, wheel size, the rebound of the road bike, Aluminum’s comeback, his love of Marginal Gains and knowing when they apply to him.

Rob Britton is an accomplished pro road cyclist who has  turned  to the off-road scene in the second half of his career. He’s been doing the Lifetime Grand Prix and other mass start events but he is also taking on ultra endurance challenges. This summer it was an event called Badlands:  Longer than Unbound XL, more climbing than an Everest Challenge and a landscape that blows the mind. Rob takes us through the unique challenges to body and bike this race presented. He talks about trying to scarf  down a jumbo size bag of chips, getting hit by birds, using Jensie’s voice to push through the pain and how a fresh chamois is a marginal gain….   

Josh, Hottie, and Fatty take on your questions in this, our 101st episode of the Marginal Gains Podcast (we forgot to check that we hit 100 episodes -- and 1,000,000 listens -- last time). From contemplating the aerodynamic benefits of chain guards to analyzing terrifying moments of physics in action when riding a high speed descent, to raising our collective eyebrows at the new 750d wheel size, we continue to give credence that we will take on any cycling question and boldly answer, "it depends."

Industry legends Dave Koesel and Stephen Doll join Josh for a discussion about the Stromm track bike, a frame and fork aiming to take advantage of recent UCI tube shape restrictions being lifted. If you love wind tunnels, marginal gains, and engineers getting into the weeds with other engineers (and let's face it, we know you love all these things), this is the episode for you.

If you think the stories you've heard about the 2023 Unbound are crazy, wait 'til you hear Kristen Legan's story of her XL win. She focused on this race this year, and her preparation and dedication will resonate with any endurance Margingal Gainer. Kristen's joined in this episode by Nick Legan: author of the popular book Gravel Cycling, Unbound vet, top-tier mechanic, and Road Brand Manager with Shimano. Enjoy this is deep dive into bike setup, mental marginal gains and thick, sticky mud.

We take our mission of making a big deal about the little things very seriously in this episode, where we talk about whether there's any actual basis for the superstition behind where you rotate the wheel to before inflating a tire. We then move to the admittedly more pragmatic questions of how much of a draft an aero rider provides to the riders behind them, the low-hanging gains for DH racing, and the problems with racing a 1X setup on the road. And that's not even remotely close to all (even though we could have talked about each of these questions for a full hour).

For Silca’s E-commerce manager, Travis  Verhoff, the 2023 edition of Unbound has been a bit of an ongoing science project. In this episode of Marginal Gains, we dig into Travis' expectations, last-minute changes, and key learnings from this experiment...and after all is said and done, what he would change and whether he'd ever race this monster again.

You've no doubt heard Josh mention Slowtwitch.com many times on this show.  It's one of the key places he goes to share ideas and get feedback. But Slowtwitch is more than just a place. It’s a person too. The site was founded by Dan Empfield in 1999, and remains publisher to this day.  But before Slowtwitch even existed, Dan was a competitor. He did his first Triathlon in 1978 and competed in the first Ironman Kona in 1981. You may also know Dan as the man behind Quintana Roo. That stack and reach thing we all use now: that came from Dan’s work. We get into all of that and more with our guest this episode:Tri Hall of Famer, Slowtwitch founder and Publisher Dan Empfield   

It's an Ask Josh Anything episode! We talk about The Rule of 105, the extent to which "bigger is better" is true for fairings, whether tire inserts need to be factored in when using air pressure calculators, why you might get conflicting recommendations from different air pressure calculators, how many watts a slow-turning old derailleur cog might cost you, the challenges a hot day might bring to your waxed chain, and more. So much more. Some people might say too much more, but we are not those people, and we're betting you are not either. Don't miss this episode, and keep your questions coming!

Silca's own Travis Verhoff has an unusual work assignment: plan, train for, and execute the most Marginal Gain-y Unbound possible. If you've been following the Silca YouTube channel, you've been tracking his progress. In this episode, we catch up with his bike setup, key learnings and surprises from time in the wind tunnel, using the Chung method on course to select tire pressure just days before the race, his nutrition, and a lot more. If you're a nerd about Marginal Gains (and we know you are), do not miss this episode about putting theory into practice.