Are full-blown aero gravel bikes all they’re cracked up to be? Dave and Ronan share some strong thoughts on why this may be the wrong path, or at least, why it’s still early days for these being the faster choice.

For those in the workshop, Dave shares the importance of good lighting and some of his favourite hand-held options for seeing better.

Alex Hunt then jumps on to talk about XC tech from the opening round of World Cup racing, including why the conditions caused so many dropped chains.

Of course, members of Escape Collective get Ask a Wrench, this week with guru Colin Williams. Dave and Colin answer a handful of questions, but a chunk of the time is spent chatting about their most underrated and overrated tools.

Time stamps:

• 00:02:13 - A Traka load of new, unreleased gravel bikes from Factor and Ridley
• 00:06:46 - Cervelo Aspero 5 where it’s good and where it’s really not
• 00:13:41 - Has gravel learned everything it knows from XC?
• 00:18:03 - Is the Factor Sarana Ronan McLaughlin’s bike for ultras or just confusing?
• 00:29:42 - A good thing to share about lighting
• 00:41:47 - Alex joins to talk MTB World Cup
• 00:43:51 - New bikes spotted in South Korea from Scott and Lapierre
• 00:51:56 - Lots of mud and 1x drivetrains aren’t a good match
• 01:01:15 - Ask a Wrench (member-only feed)
• 01:02:40 - Best mechanical shifting options for dropbar?
• 01:12:10 - Chainline variance and e-bikes
• 01:17:30 - Squeaky shoes with SPD
• 01:22:00 - Our most overrated and underrated tools