Spin Cycle

We know, we know, it’s been ages since we did our last Ask a Wrench episode – late January, in fact. Guilty as charged. Better late than never? But as a nice bonus, our panel of geeks had an extra-long list of repair and maintenance questions to answer this time around, like why bedding in your new brakes is important, what not to do with your fancy digital torque wrench, how to diagnose a curious front-end clunk, how to protect your fancy new bike for the long haul, the best way to fix a paint chip, and much more.Fair warning: The full episode is only available to Escape Collective members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Welcome back to Geek Warning! This week, James and Dave have a varied conversation covering tech related to road, gravel, and mountain bike.The Giro has begun and Tadej Pogačar took a little tumble that many were quick to blame the equipment for. James and Dave discuss that such finger pointing was not warranted this time.At the opposite end of UCI disciplines, the conversation then turns to aero gains returning to professional downhill mountain bike racing.In the tech new front, the geeks praise Chris King’s new Gen 4 hubs and discuss why Forge+Bond entry into the road market may not be hugely successful. Plus there’s discussion of a new Bike Yoke dropper, Zwift’s price rises, and more.Meanwhile, a new Shimano Di2 patent has surfaced teasing wireless 13-speed shifting. Dave got Terry of BetterShifting.com on the phone to discuss the discovered patent and what it may mean.Our pick one this week is perhaps better described as a buyer’s guide to selecting a wheelset for gravel. From rim choices, to spoke choices, to hub choices, you’ll hear what our geeks prefer for their own bikes.Please jump into the comments section on our website for any feedback or questions related to the episode.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.Time stamps:4:00 - Hookless now getting undeserved blame..9:25 - Downhill mountain bike racing getting aero?16:30 - Chris King’s new Gen 4 hubs21:45 - Forge+Bond brings its thermoplastic rims to road28:40 - Chatting with Terry of BetterShifting.com about a certain Di2 patent36:07 - e-Cargo bikes being covered by car media is on James’ mind40:50 - Picking one gravel wheelset, or at least, what we look for52:00 - A member-submitted PSA56:15 - 3T’s Strada Italia, made in Italy57:15 - Bike Yoke’s Revive V3 dropper looks great59:20 - Wolf Tooth updates its chainguides1:00:25 - Zwift price increases1:04:20 – A gimmicky indoor stationary bike on Kickstarter

On this week's Placeholders, Kit Nicholson and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz to talk Tadej Pogačar's Giro approach, Demi Vollering's Nike deal, and more.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Loren, Gracie and Abby have a lot to say about this year’s La Vuelta España Femenina. They discuss the final two stages, but also general takeaway from a week of racing in Spain and what it could mean for the rest of the season.The episode includes audio diaries from Maike van der Duin of Canyon-SRAM, Brodie Chapman of Lidl-Trek, Kim Cadzow of EF Education-Cannondale, Alessia Vigilia of FDJ-Suez, and Georgia Baker of Liv AlUla Jayco.Obsessions this week: Abby - The Idea of You on Amazon Prime, Loren - Low Tox Life, Gracie - The Giro! (catch her on the first 8 stages of SBS commentary).

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the action from the first few stages of the 2024 Giro d'Italia and also discuss the Vuelta España Femenina, a bit of Eschborn-Frankfurt, and what's coming up at the Giro.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Dan Bigham once said something along the lines of, get aero and train the body to sustain it: it's easier than getting stronger. As much as that makes sense, it's also not how we have typically thought of bike fitting. Our focus has typically been on comfort, power production, perhaps symmetry. But like so much in cycling, how we think about bike fitting is changing.In this episode of Performance Process episode Ronan is joined by Daniel Schade, CEO of Gebiomized and the fitter working with Bigham at at the Ineos Grenadiers to find a balance in those aero positions , to discuss how bike fitting is changing and the pros and cons of some of the current trends.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

On this special episode of the Wheel Talk podcast, Abby calls up Matt de Neef to briefly discuss stages 5 and 6 of La Vuelta España Femenina, with audio diaries from Alessia Vigilia (FDJ-Suez), Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Elynor Backstedt (Lidl-Trek).Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

The Sea Otter Classic just wrapped up literally a few days ago, but clearly someone forgot to turn off the tap of new bikes and gear. Cervelo just announced a redesign of its ultra-popular Aspero gravel bike, and clearly put a lot of thought into what needed to change – and perhaps more importantly, what didn’t. Colnago also just dropped a new gravel bike of its own, the G4X, and Giant finally revamped its Trinity TT bike – no more rim brakes! Dave and James also chat about the eight billion tubeless valve stems out on the market, our favorite mountain bike computer mounts, and some of the latest happenings on the industry side.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.Timestamps:3:17 – Cervelo’s ultra-popular Aspero gravel bike gets a careful redesign10:50 – Zwift has added a whole bunch of new features, and some of them sound pretty sweet15:15 – What’s up with seemingly everyone having their own high-flow tubeless valves now?28:11 – Pick one! Our favorite mountain bike computer mounts38:54 – A dirty cassette can easily turn into a skipping chain43:22 – Colnago announces its new G4X gravel race bike58:54 – The last holdout of rim brakes in the pro peloton is no more59:30 – Enve Composites has been sold1:01:07 – What the heck is going on at Rapha?1:06:29 – More industry layoffs, this time at Cannondale

On this week's podcast, the crew looks ahead to the Giro d'Italia, where Tadej Pogačar looks like the favorite on a course that should provide wire-to-wire excitement.Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

In this two part-episode Loren, Gracie and Abby chat about the opening TTT of La Vuelta and what it might mean for the stages coming up. In the second segment, Abby and Loren check back in after the second stage with some audio diaries from riders on the ground including Maike van der Duin (Canyon-SRAM), Alessia Vigilia (FDJ-Suez), Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek).