The BikeRadar Podcast

How do you pick a pocket-friendly gravel bike? What should you look out for and what key features can you expect if you’re spending around £1,000?Senior road technical editor Warren Rossiter has recently completed a test of budget gravel bikes, and in this episode he and Tom discuss the entry-level gravel bike market. They cover the kit you’re likely to find, and the types of bikes available at this price point, as well as running through the four bikes in Warren’s recent test. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bike of the Year is coming! Testing for our annual bike review bonanza is well underway. In this episode, George Scott is joined by two of our lead testers, Tom Marvin and Warren Rossiter, to preview Bike of the Year 2024. With nine categories across road, gravel, MTB and urban, what bikes can you expect to see in the test? Tune-in to find out…  Read more on L-Twoo’s new gravel groupsets from the Taipei Cycle Show: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/taipei-2024-l-twoo-gravel-groupsets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Specialized’s cross-country bike, the Epic 8, was launched with an updated RockShox Flight Attendant, updated to work seamlessly with XC race rigs.In this episode, Tom Marvin speaks to Brian Gordon, Specialized’s product lead on all things XC, and Chris Mandell, North America PR man for SRAM. They discuss the new Specialized Epic 8 and Epic 8 EVO, as well as the latest wireless developments in suspension – Flight Attendant.Along the way, host Jack Luke quizzes Tom on his experience of both new bikes and RockShox’s electronic equipment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What are your baseline fork settings? The dark-arts of bar tape, and our pick of the best workstands, plus more, feature in this episode of our Tech Q&A series.Tech experts Warren Rossiter and Alex Evans weigh in to help out our listeners navigate the world of cycling tech.Have you any unanswered questions? Pop them to podcast@bikeradar.com and we’ll include them in a future episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s (another) new bike day at BikeRadar – the 10th generation Giant TCR has launched, and we’ve jumped into the podcast studio to cover the major headlines.Senior technical editor Ashley Quinlan is your host, joined by road tech aficionados Simon von Bromley and Liam Cahill to discuss how the latest TCR stacks up.We also hear from Giant’s Andrew Juskaitis, who helps us position the TCR versus the Propel, talks us through the brand’s new carbon manufacturing technique and explains how Giant has looked beyond the frame when designing the bike.You can read all about the new Giant TCR on BikeRadar now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this latest edition of the BikeRadar Podcast, senior technical editor Ashley Quinlan sits down with Factor Bikes CEO and founder, Rob Gitelis.They discuss Rob’s history in the cycling world, firstly behind the scenes in carbon manufacture before taking over at Factor, then move on to the future of the material as well as take on the big question about the state of the bike industry today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manufacturers of carbon rims are increasingly adopting hookless rims, citing benefits such as lower weight, improved aerodynamics and reduced manufacturing costs. Last week, though, on stage five of the 2024 UAE Tour, Thomas De Gendt suffered a high-speed crash while – seemingly – just riding along. De Gendt’s wheels, a set of Zipp’s 353 NSW carbon wheels with hookless rims, were initially deemed to be at fault, but can we be sure about what actually happened, and could there be more to this story than meets the eye? In this episode of the BikeRadar podcast, deputy editor, Jack Luke, and senior technical writer, Smon von Bromley, discuss the incident and what it might mean for the future of wheel and tyre tech on road bikes. Simon’s in-depth feature on the incident: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/tech/de-gendt-uae-tour-crash-are-hookless-rims-safe  Since this episode was recorded, Vittoria has released a statement seeking to clarify the cause of the incident: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/vittoria-statement-de-gendt-crash-hookless-rims  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do we test the best road cycling kit on the market?In a follow-up to our MTB testing secrets podcast, Tom sits down with Ash and Simon to discuss the trickiest road cycling kit to test, and how we overcome those difficulties.Power meters, saddles, shoes, wheels and smart trainers all pose their own difficulties, but with a bit of know-how and experience, we can ensure our reviews are as accurate as possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been a big week for tech news on BikeRadar. George, Jack and Simon discuss five of the week’s most interesting stories, from Campagnolo’s new gravel groupset to a revamped Canyon Spectral trail bike, via five-star power meter pedals. Read more on BikeRadar:Campagnolo Ekar GT is the brand’s widest-ranging gravel groupset ever – and it's cheaper than Ekarhttps://www.bikeradar.com/news/campagnolo-ekar-gt Favero’s new off-road power meter pedals ditch the pods and undercut rivals on pricehttps://www.bikeradar.com/news/favero-assioma-pro-mx-power-meter-pedals Favero Assioma PRO MX reviewhttps://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/training/power-meters/favero-assioma-pro-mx-power-meter-pedals-review Canyon revamps Spectral CF range with K.I.S. steering stabiliser, frame storage and reduced travelhttps://www.bikeradar.com/news/2024-canyon-spectral-cf-range Canyon Spectral CF 9 first ride reviewhttps://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension-mountain-bikes/canyon-spectral-cf-9-first-ride-review Panaracer's new Agilest Fast road tyre is claimed to be ‘as fast as anything in the market’https://www.bikeradar.com/news/panaracer-agilest-fast-tyre New Oakley Aro 7 helmet cheats the wind with integrated visorhttps://www.bikeradar.com/news/2024-oakley-aro-7-aero-helmet  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our Tech Q&A episodes are back, with Rob and Warren giving their expert advice on all things cycling tech and answering the questions our listeners have sent to podcast@bikeradar.com . In this episode, we weigh in on light versus heavy spokes, and the plethora of headset options out there. We’ve questions on the necessity of cycling computers and the differences between single-pivot linkage actuated suspension (faux-bar) and Horst-Link (four-bar) designs. There’s also a request for recommendations when it comes to purchasing a bike for a child.If you’ve a question of your own, please pop us an email! ” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices