We’re not sure we’ve ever experienced a busier month in the world of cycling tech. All the major drivetrain manufacturers have released new things. We’ve had two custom bike shows and now it’s the world’s largest cycling tradeshow - Eurobike. And the tech conversations in the racing world have been a flurry of activity, too.

In this episode, you’ll hear the voices of the entire Escape tech editorial staff. Ronan McLaughlin, Dave Rome, and Alex Hunt share their thoughts on new Shimano GRX, Classified’s update, BMC’s new SLR01, and plenty more. Then, Josh Weinberg and Suvi Loponen tease what they’re seeing on the ground at Eurobike.

As usual, members of Escape Collective also get our Ask a Wrench segment, which this week sees Dave Rome and pro race mechanic Brad Copeland answer a handful of questions, including: when to rewax a waxed chain; repairing a crashed aluminium rim brake bike and perhaps what to repalce it with; and our thoughts on mini hooked road rims. Members can submit new questions here.

Time stamps:

2:40 - Shimano GRX 1x Di2
8:55 - Classified talking with Shimano Di2
17:30 - Aero gravel race bikes continue to come out
26:20 - Brembo returning to bicycles?
20:00 - Canyon’s Endurace AllRoad
35:00 - BMC’s 5th Gen TeamMachine SLR01
42:40 - Conti’s new Archetype race tyre
45:55 - Stages returns
49:10 - Eurobike intro from Josh and Suvi
55:00 - What’s coming up
59:00 - Ask a Wrench (member-only)
1:01:00 - When to rewax a waxed chain
1:09:00 - Chain dropping down the cassette on XPLR
1:18:45 - Our thoughts on Mini Hooked road rims
1:28:00 - A damaged Klein road bike and what to replace it with

Wow, what a week for those who love cycling tech!

If four new dropbar groupsets from SRAM weren’t enough, then Shimano certainly fills that glass with its sudden release of XT and Deore Di2. Join Escape’s Dave Rome, Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt as they discuss what’s new and some things to be aware of.

Meanwhile, the UCI released some upcoming rule changes that have many riders and cycling businesses upset. The geeks discuss why some of these rulings have been blown out of proportion, and why one of them is arguably just wrong.

Of course, there are a couple of new bikes (Cervelo and Orbea) to discuss, and CeramicSpeed has released its first do-it-yourself hot melt wax which promises a whole lot of distance.

As always, members of Escape Collective have access to the Ask a Wrench segment at the end of the episode. Here, Dave Rome is joined by pro race mechanic Brad Copeland to answer a number of geeky questions, including a trick for keeping valve nuts in place without over-tightening them, our thoughts on the best cone wrenches, mixing-and-matching chainring sizes on SRAM, a rear shock that’s fussy to inflate, and a Shimano front derailleur that’s hard to shift.

Enjoy!

Time Stamps:

2:15 - Explaining the UCI’s Handlebar width ruling and specifically where it’s wrong
17:00 - SRAM’s new Force and Rival AXS
27:30 - Shimano’s new XT and Deore wireless shifting
36:30 - Cervelo’s new Aspero 5
43:45 - Orbea’s Terra gravel bike gets overhauled
47:00 - CeramicSpeed’s new long-lasting hot melt wax
52:00 - Ask a Wrench (Member-only!)
55:00 - A tip for tubeless valve nuts in place
58:30 - A deep dive and our top suggestions for good cone wrenches
1:10:00 - Mixing-and-matching chainring sizes with SRAM AXS
1:15:00 - Rear shock inflation woes and shock pumps
1:21:00 - Fixing Shimano Ultegra front derailleur that’s hard to shift

In this bonus episode of Geek Warning, Suvi Loponen sits down with SRAM’s Dan Stefiuk and Paul Kantor to chat about the all-new Rival and Force AXS groupsets. From tech trickled down from Red, to the design philosophies that shaped these mid-tier offerings, we chat about how SRAM approaches performance, pricing, and compatibility.

For the full tech details and reviews of these new groupsets – or to sign up to get the full episode – head over to escapecollective.com.