Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca

After a nice long summer break, we're back with more questions for Josh. Josh, Hottie and Fatty met IRL in Leadville last month, so we spend a good chunk of this episode talking about the LT100 MTB race -- altitude, aerodynamic speed minimums, and other marginal gains available two miles above sea level. We also make time to talk about Dan Bigham's amazing new hour record, aerometers, and the story behind the new Gravelero pump. Don't miss this episode!

Phil Gaimon takes on serious topics, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He uses his social media to document is KOMs and occasional Everesting attempts, but also takes us on interesting rides and shows us how cyclists and motorists can get along on the same piece of tarmac. Phil is a fantastic climber, an advocate, a humorist, a Silca athlete and a newlywed. It's a pleasure to have him join us on Marginal Gains

Josh answers a batch of listener questions, from the extremely practical to the fascinatingly hypothetical. Are pros flatting more than they used to? Has the balance between strong and light swung too far toward light? How do you make your hydration as aero as possible? What air pressure should be used for the back wheels on a competitive trike? And how good would electronic / wireless brakes have to be before you could trust them? We get into all this and more in this Ask Josh Anything episode of Marginal Gains!

Dan Bigham, a performance engineer for Team Ineos and holder of the British hour record, dives deep into the world of aerodynamics in cycling. He discusses the innovative journey from motorsport to cycling, emphasizing the importance of data analysis and strategy. The conversation touches on how a low-budget team successfully challenged richer rivals through creativity and teamwork. Bigham also shares insights on breaking barriers in endurance cycling and the vital role of mental preparation in achieving record-breaking performances.

What if CDA measuring were brought to the masses via some sort of attachable device? Michael Liberzon—an engineer and triathlete coach—has field tested an aerometer and researched several others. In this episode, we talk with Michael to get an overview of where we are with aerometers and whether real-time CDA will ever become a thing.

Putting 50 years of Tom Ritchey's history and knowledge would be nearly impossible, so for this conversation, we focus on some of Tom’s game-changing ideas and innovations, as well as how he got there. You’ll also hear some great stories, a little family history, and how this pioneer's ethos turned into one of the world's most-respected bike brands.

Hopefully you've seen Ashton’s gutsy world record effort and his killer performance for the rainbow jersey. Now Josh gets the inside scoop on what it took to succeed at both, even as his partner is working on going to outer space.

If you're looking for something to make you feel good about something happening in the world right now, you have found the right episode. Josh talks with Dan Craven — Olympian and owner of Onguza Bikes (onguza.com): beautiful steel bikes, handmade in Namibia and shipping across the world. This is an inspiring episode of Marginal Gains you will not want to miss.

Silca has a new tubeless tire sealant out, and Hottie and Fatty have some questions about it. A whole hour's-worth of questions, in fact. From the recycling aspect of it to setup strategies to keeping carbon fiber from clogging your valve stem, this is the episode that shows what happens when Josh starts thinking about plugging up holes.

Part 2 of our chat with Andy Hampsten picks up right where we left off in part 1: With Hampsten in the Maglia Rosa. Andy finishes this incredible story, and from there we get into a wide range of topics with this iconic cyclist: Cinghiale Tours, Titanium bikes, Eddy Merckx, "Huffy" bikes, and much more. Don't miss this issue of Marginal Gains!