The BikeRadar Podcast

BikeRadar’s senior technical writer, Simon von Bromley holds the somewhat controversial view that press-fit bottom brackets are, in fact, superior to traditional threaded bottom brackets. In this episode of the BikeRadar Podcast, Simon puts his case forward to Jack Luke, explaining what a bottom bracket is, a brief history of press-fit standards and the state of play today.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To help us gaze into our crystal ball of gravel riding, we chatted to a number of industry experts, riders and racers to discuss where we think the future of gravel will lie. Could we come up with a consensus? Absolutely not, but there are certainly some bright ideas about the different directions that the gravel world could be heading in.Thank you to racers Dalila Lecky and Amanda Nauman, JP McCarthy from SRAM, Canyon’ Matt Leake, James Heaton from WTB, Rapha events’ Louis van Kleef, Ian Carter from Specialized, Tailfin’s James Bracey and Kitty, Alice, Pau, Freddie and Taylor from Steezy Collective for contributing to this episode.This episode is brought to you by Hammerhead.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Technical editor-in-chief Rob Weaver and technical editor Alex Evans talk about their favourite riding spots across the globe. Rob’s most cherished places include the slickrock trails unique to the USA, the steep, tight training grounds of Downhill World Cup legends Nico Vouilloz and Fabien Barel, Australian rainforest, and, back in the UK, the steeps of the Welsh valleys. Alex chats about two mountain biking hotspots, both he calls home. One in the French Alps and the other in southern Scotland, each offering incredibly varied riding experiences, with hardcore, challenging terrain and buzzing local scenes.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bringing together both competition and community, gravel racing creates a unique atmosphere across a range of different race formats the world over. To discuss the proliferation of gravel races and how you can get into racing off-road, we’re joined by American gravel racing OG Amanda Nauman, who has twice won Unbound Gravel, as well as London-based multi-discipline racer Dalila Lecky. To round off our panel, Jack Luke brings his experience of UK and European gravel races from Grinduro! To longer distance events. We demystify the different types of gravel events, explain why we love these novel races and share our top tips for new racers on both sides of the Atlantic.Check out more about gravel racing on BikeRadar.com: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/routes-and-rides/gravel-racing/  This episode is brought to you by Hammerhead.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s be honest, we all love new bolting on new, shiny upgrades to our bikes. However, changing certain components can have a bigger effect on your riding experience than others.  Luke, Rob, and Will talk through the essential parts you should prioritise when looking to upgrade your bikes spec that will deliver more fun, control and performance from your bike. All essential ingredients for improving your ride experience.Bang on the kettle and listen in to find out where the guys would put their money when looking to improve their bikes.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The cause of much debate for riders who fondly remember the early years of mountain biking, we call in two of our in-house experts from CyclingPlus and MBUK to debate whether gravel riding is just mountain biking from the 90s. Both Robin Weaver and Warren Rossiter rode and raced mountain bikes across multiple disciplines in the 1990s, but today enjoy riding and testing modern gravel bikes alongside their usual helpings of 21st century road and mountain bikes.Has gravel riding backfilled the void left by the progression of mountain biking tracks and tech? Or are we looking at something new altogether?This episode is brought to you by Hammerhead.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After thousands of kilometres of testing and hours of deliberation, our annual Bike of the Year test has come to a conclusion.  In this episode of the BikeRadar Podcast, deputy editor Jack Luke is joined by senior technical editor Warren Rossiter, who headed our gravel and endurance bike categories, and senior technical writer, Simon von Bromley, who looked after the performance bike category.  The three discuss how the dozens of bikes tested across five categories were put through their paces before revealing this year’s overall and performance bike winners.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our annual Bike of the Year test is a massive undertaking where we tell you which bikes are category-leading, with this year being no exception. Tom, who was in charge of the trail bike category, and Alex, who tested electric mountain bikes for the first time in Bike of the Year history, are joined by Luke to discuss the trials and tribulations of this year's testing, and to discuss Rob's Enduro Bike of the Year category in his absence.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planning a gravel ride well can make the difference between a mega day out and a disastrous one. In this episode, we chat about route planning, nutrition, tools and spares, sharing some of our past mistakes to help you prepare better than we did!BikeRadar’s Robyn Furtado and Jack Evans join us for this episode, as well as multi-sport adventurer, komoot Global Community Manager and Hammerhead ambassador Gaby Thompson.This episode is brought to you by Hammerhead.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Technical Editor-in-Chief Robin Weaver and Senior Road Technical Editor Warren Rossiter impart their vast knowledge to answer a depth of questions from you, our dear readers and listeners. Warren recommends a Shimano-compatible 11-speed Miche cassette that includes the sweet spot 16t sprocket, while Rob tells why you need to carefully research whether your enduro bike frame is compatible with dual crown forks, or not as the case may be. We also discuss cycling kit for bigger riders and the best tyres for a mountain bike that’s been converted into a commuter.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices