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by Escape Collective
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on deciphering the world of cycling tech, explaining how bikes work, and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin and Brad Copeland, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, answering mechanical questions, and whatever else is on our minds.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 6 days ago35 min
Bonus: The science behind outdoor tyre testing
Recently, Escape’s Ronan McLaughlin surfaced from a multi-month outdoor tyre testing project. That test not only sought to find which fast road race tyres were fastest, but also to study the testing itself. All of this was only made possible with the expertise and instruments made available by John Buckley of Streamlines. As a former lead aerodynamicist at Mercedes F1, Buckley brought a unique skill set to cycling, and works with a number of professional cycling teams and national federations to find performance gains. In this bonus episode of Geek Warning that crosses over with Performance Process, Dave Rome peels back the layers to better understand the science and methodology behind Streamlines’ approach to outdoor testing. The conversation covers topics such as why drum testing alone doesn’t provide the full story, and where there may be limitations in the Virtual Elevation method of testing (aka, the Chung method). Happy geeking!
- 1 weeks ago1h 20m
Ask Us Anything
Every other Geek Warning episode typically ends with the geeks answering 3-4 technical questions submitted by members. This week, we’re opening up our usual Member-Only ‘Ask a Wrench’ section to everyone. For this episode, Dave Rome is joined by US tech writer Jack Duncan and mechanic Zach Edwards of the Boulder Groupetto. The episode starts with some tech news from the week, and then gets into answering member-submitted questions. If you like this format, please know we offer a shorter version of it every week – you just need to be on the member-only feed to see it. Time stamps: 00:02:00 - Cannondale USA headquarters to close 00:07:00 - Reserve goes 32in 00:11:00 - Ohlins enters gravel 00:15:45 - Ask a Wrench, an extended version 00:16:00 - Why are there so many wheel brands? 00:23:00 - Is the Corsa Pro Speed causing crashes? 00:32:00 - Buying a budget e-bike in Australia 00:36:00 - What else to consider other than the Oneup EDC pump? 00:40:30 - Better gravel wheels for a heavier rider 00:47:00 - How should I store my dropper post? 00:49:00 - Capping open hydraulic brake hoses 00:55:00 - What to use for sticky SRAM D1/D2 brake lever pistons 01:02:00 - How to fix a torque wrench with a slipping ratchet? 01:07:00 - Should mechanics charge more for emergency and weekend repairs?
- 2 weeks ago55 min
A tiring and testing tire test
This week on Geek Warning, Dave chats with Ronan about his extremely comprehensive road tyre test, published a week ago. The conversation covers how the test was run and why the data is so reliable. Then, Ronan and Dave chat about Silca’s acquisition and re-release of the analogue-watch-lookalike Omata cycling computer. Midway, Escape's US-based tech writer Jack Duncan jumps on to discuss Colnago’s new Colnago gravel bike and a somewhat peculiar wheel release from Cadex. Lastly, members of Escape Collective (on our exclusive member-only feeds) get access to Ask a Wrench, where we answer technical questions submitted by our members. Time stamps: 2:30 - Ronan’s big and tiring project 25:30 - Silca acquires Omata 36:00 - Switching locations to Jack 39:00 - Colnago’s new G5-X gravel bike 45:00 - Cadex’s XC wheelset is a little weird 55:45 - Ask a Wrench with Zach Edwards (Member-Only)
- 3 weeks ago47 min
The mechanic model is broken
A report published by CyclingIndustries.com highlights an extreme shortage of skilled mechanics and the issues that presents. Dave and Ronan discuss some of the challenges behind this and what it may take to better retain skilled mechanics. Later in the episode, Dave shares why he thinks rim brakes will return in popularity, at least a little. Ronan argues why Dave’s crystal ball is faulty.You’ll also hear a tech tip that’s perhaps more just an excuse to treat yourself. To wrap things up, and as per usual, members of Escape Collective get our Ask a Wrench section, where Dave and Zach Edwards answer technical questions from listeners. Happy geeking!Time stamps: 02:30 - Skills shortage facing the cycling industry 22:15 - Yet another wheelsize that’s to cause ever more havoc 29:00 - Will rim brakes make a comeback on the road? 40:00 - Your bike is only as good as its worst part (language warning for this segment) 47:45 - Ask a Wrench (Members only) 48:00 - Yet another mystery disc brake noise 53:30 - Chasing a stubborn creaking pedal noise 59:00 - Glazed brakes and how to solve it 1:05:00 - A rattly RockShox XPLR dropper post 1:11:00 - Does the suspension linkage design matter?
- Sep 28, 202628 min
Bonus: Berd's co-founder on the performance cost of vibrations
Many brands within the bike industry often speak about higher-performing products being stiffer, lighter, more aero, and faster-rolling. And yet when it comes to off-road disciplines, it’s rare for brands to discuss smoothness as a performance metric. It’s an area many have dabbled in over the years, but it’s tough to market a product on. Berd, makers of rope-like spokes, recently published a white paper detailing why they believe their new gravel race wheels are the fastest for the off-road discipline. A big part of that claim relates to vibration damping and impact reduction, metrics that historically haven’t been included in the performance modelling used today to calculate a road cyclists’ speed. In its white paper, Berd proposes that vibration damping and impact reduction should be included as a component of rolling resistance. Geek Warning host Dave Rome has long shouted as much for off-road – smoother is faster – and thought that was all quite interesting. So he sat down with Berd co-founder and CEO, Charlie Spanjers, to hear more. An edited transcript of the conversation is also available at EscapeCollective.com.
- Sep 24, 202652 min
The last piece of the puzzle
Talk of big wheels continue to dominate headlines in the cycling tech world. This past week, Trek and Scott raced production-ready 32ers at the World Cup round in Utah, while Sea Otter Europe showcased other production-ready options. With that, Dave Rome chats with Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt about what they each saw in person at these respective events. For Suvi, Sea Otter Europe, with about 80,000 attendees this year, offered an opportunity for a vibe check from members of the European bicycle industry. Members on our member-only feed will also hear Ask a Wrench, this week with Zach Edwards. Time stamps: 00:02:00 - Big brand 32ers revealed 00:09:45 - Sea Otter Europe 00:14:00 - Suvi rides a 32er 00:18:00 - Other big things seen at Euro Sea Otter 00:19:00 - Tyre options are growing quickly 00:23:00 - Industry vibe check at Sea Otter 00:27:00 - On-the-ground interviews 00:51:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 00:53:00 - How to service a cartridge bearing 00:59:00 - When to measure chain wear (and our go-to tools) 01:08:00 - How to deal with a rusty part
- Sep 18, 202650 min
A hands-on guide to Shimano’s new SPD-SLR
Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week, Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin talk through Shimano’s new road pedal system, which will eventually supersede the now two-decade-old SPD-SL. Dave has been hands-on with the new pedals and offers insight into how nuanced the differences are. Dave is then joined by Suvi Loponen to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike along with a number of other standout bits of tech news from the week.At the end of the episode, and for those listening via a member-only feed, we have an interview with Bill Alcorn of BikeFlights about how air freighting and door-to-door bike delivery have changed, and potentially how to mitigate those increased costs. Timestamps: 02:00 - Shimano SPD-SLR, ridden and explained 18:00 - The potential performance gain of lower stack height 22:30 - Shimano’s three shoe widths, wide going wider. 25:00 - Suvi joins to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike 37:00 - Scott’s interesting return to cable routing options 41:00 - Specialized goes internal routing with Future Shock 43:30 - Wolf Tooth gets into hubs 48:00 - Members-only section: Talking bike freight
- Sep 11, 20261h 3m
Fashion week, but new bikes
This week, Caley Fretz returns to Geek Warning alongside Jack Duncan and Dave Rome. It’s been a week full of big new bike launches (all of which Escape Collective attended) and there has been some equally big industry news. The geeks discuss new bikes from Scott, Factor, and Enve, and how each finds (or doesn't) a balance between performance and enjoyment. Plus, there’s a shift in product from WTB, some somewhat sad news out of an Australian business, and we speculate over why Specialized’s founder has returned to the helm. As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the exclusive member-only feeds of the podcast, and in this we answer a number of technical questions in the Ask a Wrench segment.Happy geeking! Time stamps: 00:02:00 - New bikes, new bikes everywhere 00:03:15 - Talking two different approaches to gravel with the Scott Addict Gravel and Factor Elara 00:16:30 - Adding the new Enve Melee to the conversation 00:20:00 - Feelings or performance. Can it be both? 00:29:00 - WTB doing aero wasn’t on our bingo card 00:38:00 - Sad news from Fumpa 00:44:15 - Big changes at Specialized and a fun theory from a dude 01:02:00 - Members-only section and Ask a Wrench 01:05:00 - Our thoughts on running mismatched tyres 01:11:20 - “Critique my chain waxing” 01:12:15 - Gravel handlebar recommendations that keep the levers straight
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About Geek Warning
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on deciphering the world of cycling tech, explaining how bikes work, and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin and Brad Copeland, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, answering mechanical questions, and whatever else is on our minds.
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