Spin Cycle

A lot has happened in the world of cycling tech over the past week. The Dauphine has teased new bikes getting dialled in for the Tour. While Unbound has shown that gravel tech is still progressing at a rapid rate, including wider tyres, new 1x drivetrains, and aero-shaped suspension.There’s a full cast of geeks to chat about it, with Ronan Mc Laughlin tuning in to discuss what’s new in the road space, while Dave Rome and new-old voice Brad Copeland discuss the rest.Of course the geeks discuss something on their mind which should prove helpful for anyone with a stuck crank. The episode closes with tech news including Fulcrum’s new Sharq wheels, a new gravel race handlebar from Pro, a well-priced mountain bike shifter upgrade from SRAM, 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.Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.Time stamps:4:26 - A swarm of new road bikes are coming from Canyon, Willier, Pinarello, and more24:00 - A corrections corner24:51 - New tech seen at Unbound Gravel, including things from SRAM, wider wheels, aero Fox suspension, and new bikes42:20 - On our mind: stubborn crank bolts and methods for overcoming them55:00 – Bianchi’s ribbon-cutting ceremony has us giggling58:20 – Fulcrum’s new wavy-shaped Sharq wheels1:02:40 – Pro Bike Gear’s new Discover Aero Carbon handlebar for better GRX integration1:08:10 - SRAM’s new Pod Rocker upgrade for AXS

Dane Cash and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss Unbound, Unchained, and the unmistakeable approach of the Tour de France as the Critérium du Dauphiné gets underway.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.Also, we'd love to get your feedback on this show and our other shows. Share your thoughts at escapecollective.com/podcast-survey.

This week Abby, Matt and Gracie answer listener questions about the Olympic road race course, the season so far, which team they would want to be on and more.Obsessions: Abby - Hook, Matt - Three Body Problem, Gracie - Slow Horses *and other TV shows

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the first two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné, field some questions in a Q&A session, and look at what's next on the bike racing docket.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.

In this episode, Jack catches up with Ineos' young climber Carlos Rodríguez from the Parador Hotel on Tenerife, where both are located for an altitude training camp before the Tour de France. The two discuss the hardest days they've had on camp, life at altitude, how Rodriguez prepared (and what he overcame) for his Tour de France stage win last year, his university degrees, and more. 

In the episode, Ronan talks to Sadie Fitton. Sadie has a Stage IV breast cancer diagnosis and recently attempted the 24-hour elevation gain world record.Stage IV, also known as Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC), is when the cancer that has moved beyond the breast to other parts of the body. It is different from earlier-stage breast cancer in that it is treatable but incurable. In the episode, Sadie tells of her journey from a prior world record attempt to cancer patient in a foreign country in a matter of weeks right the way up to a second attempt at the world record.Cancer will touch all of our lives and so this podcast is a must listen for all. Sadie tells us what we need to know about that journey and all the fantastically nerdy optimisation work that went into a 24-hour elevation record attempt. You do not want to miss that! You can follow Sadie’s journey at UpstageMBC on Instagram and donate to her fundraiser for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation at upstagembc.com

It's time for another bonus episode of Geek Warning.Typically, we keep these bonus episodes for subscribers and members of Escape Collective, however, this one is being left open to all as a teaser for the type of stuff you’re missing by not being a member. If you like this and want more, sign up here. This episode is about gravel tire selection and trends in the thinking that bigger is better. It all came about through an Instagram post by former WorldTour pro-turned Gravel Pro Alex Howes, who had shared just how much he had been obsessing over tire selection for the 2024 edition of Unbound Gravel. And what makes this conversation all the more interesting is that Howes isn’t sponsored by a single tire brand, but rather an online retailer that sells all the brands - biketiresdirect.Dave Rome and Howes cover a lot of ground in this one, including chatting slicks versus treads, picking the biggest volume possible, inserts or not, what to carry on a self-supported race like Unbound, and why white bar tape.If you don’t care about why, where, when, or how, and assuming the weather holds, Howes plans to race on Vittoria Terreno Zero tyres, in a 50 mm width up front and a 47 mm rear with inserts. He expects to start the day with approximately 19 psi in the front, and 24 psi rear. Still, if you find these details interesting, you’ll surely appreciate the conversation. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Geek Warning, a podcast by the Escape Collective, that covers everything to know in the world of bicycle tech. James Huang said farewell in our past episode, and with that, Dave is joined by a new voice that knows a thing or two about bicycle-related things – Brad Copeland.With a mountain bike World Cup race at Nové Město freshly finished, Dave and Brad discuss things in use by the winners, technical problems by a race favourite, and trends in tyre tech.The geeks share their favourite tubeless tyre sealants and a PSA applicable to all.It’s a relatively light week in terms of tech news, still, Brad and Dave share their thoughts on DT Swiss’ new premium gravel wheelsets, new well-priced carbon wheels from Easton, and a new gravel race jersey with its own sweat-patch.Time stamps:4:10 – Pre-Olympic tech spotted in use by Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Tom Pidcock10:55 – Speculating about Victor Koretzky’s tech woes15:20 – Are wider tyres always better for gravel and MTB? What does that mean for the future of tyre inserts?37:25 - Pick one: tubeless tyre sealant50:05 - PSA: test your spares!57:10 - New DT Swiss GRC 1100 and 1400 Dicut gravel wheels1:08:00 - Easton’s new EC90 ALX gravel and all-road hoops1:10:40 - Castelli adds a hydration bladder to an aero jersey, so gravel

Off the back of the Transparency Report we published on the site a couple of weeks ago, we followed up with a live Discord Q&A with many of our members. We tried to turn that into a podcast, but it didn’t work very well. With so many of our members being podcast listeners, we felt it was important to do a good job at making our Transparency Report Q&A into something this significant portion of our membership would listen to. We hope you enjoy it. 

For years, bikepacker Lael Wilcox wasn't sure whether she wanted to try and break the Around The World record. But with politics and climate change threatening global stability, the 36-year-old thought it was now or never, and has set out to try beat Jenny Graham's 2018 record by two weeks by circumnavigating the globe in 110 days.