Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca

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.

Would your motorcycle chain benefit from an afternoon in the chain wax spa? If you use a gel packet as an improvised tire boot, how much will it affect your bike's performance? When using the Rule of 105, should you be using the rim width at the brake track, or the widest point of the rim as your measurement? And for those of us carrying lunch, clothes, and a computer to the office as we commute by bike, how can we be more aero? Josh bravely answers all these questions...and for one of them, even does so definitively. Don't miss this astonishing episode of Ask Josh Anything!

Aerocoach's business is to help athletes improve their aerodynamic performance, through testing, coaching, and equipment. Josh and Xavier Disley get into a wide-ranging discussion of aerosensors, hype vs data, the need for wind tunnel standards, and so much more. This is an in-the-weeds episode you Marginal Gainer supernerds will not want to miss. NOTE: A prior version of this episode gets cut off partway through the episode. If it shows in your podcast feed, please skip it and listen to this version instead.

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.