Are tech-based safety partnerships doomed? How is the UCI handling pressure from the industry for involvement in tech regulations? Is Enve’s tubeless tape gun gimmick or great? What’s Van Rysel doing to sell its bikes in the USA? Why has Zipp suddenly allowed gravel tyres on its road wheels? Is there a better way to remove a stubborn handled thru-axle? Is there a tool-based advent calender worth buying?

Wow, you ask so many questions! The geeks answer these and plenty more in this week’s episode.

Plus, members of Escape Collective (on our member-only podcast feeds) get Ask a Wrench, where you actually get to ask the questions.

Time stamps:

• 00:01:00 - UCI’s plans for involving industry experts in technical regulations
• 00:15:00 - A tech tip related to stubborn handled thru-axles
• 00:19:15 - Garmin and Waze partnership
• 00:26:30 - Questioning Zipp’s reasons for wider tyre compatibility
• 00:33:45 - Enve made a tape gun
• 00:39:00 - Ronan asks what tool-based advent calendar to buy
• 00:43:00 - Swapping a Ronan for a Jack Duncan
• 00:44:00 - Van Rysel’s latest road bike - the RCR-R2
• 00:56:00 - Van Rysel’s difficult USA strategy
• 1:07:00 - Ask a Wrench with Zach Edwards (member-only)
• 1:08:00 - A quick clarification regarding inflators
• 1:09:00 - Bike maintenance after driving a bike through the rain?
• 1:14:00 - Fitting aftermarket cranks on a BB30A frame
• 1:18:00 - Spontaneous spoke breakage
• 1:24:00 - Brake woes on extended steep descents

Hello fellow bike nerds. This week, Suvi Loponen, Ronan McLaughlin, and Dave Rome are on to talk through the week’s tech plus what’s been on their minds.

Suvi’s been busy riding in foul weather in order to test a number of premium rain jackets. The chat covers how to get better performance from such technical materials and where the compromises are.

There’s been some big news on the industry side, including news of Bianchi’s struggles that Suvi was first to break earlier in the week. Then the conversation turns to something on Ronan’s mind: whether even a flawed bike can be perfect for an individual.

Finally, those on our member-only feed get Ask a Wrench, this week with pro mechanic Colin Williams. Dave and Colin answer questions related to hot-melt wax not lasting in dusty conditions, thoughts on a fancy tyre install tool, and

Time stamps:

• 04:00 - The next generation of rain jackets against the forever chemicals
• 21:00 - The current state of Bianchi
• 30:00 - Accell Group’s brands finding new homes or fading
• 36:20 - Ronan ponders if a perfect bike exists
• 50:00 - Good Thing: Redshift’s new Mousetrap pedal adapters
• 55:00 - Ask a Wrench (member-only feeds)
• 01:06:00 - Updated thoughts on the Cushcore Rotary Tire Tool
• 01:16:00 - Inflators for an air compressor
• 01:23:00 - Squealing and glazed Shimano brakes

This week, Escape’s Dave Rome and Jack Duncan go a little behind the scenes of the bike industry. Dave explains how some products come to be, the value of a brand, what open mould means, and how the business of generic products works.

Later in the episode, the talk turns to new head units from Garmin and Coros, and whether some of this is merely duplicating technology we already own. Then the geeks chat about the closure of Santa Cruz’s women’s-specific brand Juliana.

That’s it for our free listeners, while those on our member feeds also get Ask a Wrench – where technical questions from our members get answered.

Time stamps:

• 02:30 - Brands and manufacturers
• 08:00 - Own design versus open mould
• 12:30 - Same factory doesn’t equal same product
• 17:00 - The value of a brand
• 23:00 - Price is not always an indicator of quality
• 26:00 - Generics explained
• 35:30 - Outsourced design
• 41:40 - Two new big head units and Dave’s hate of beeping noises
• 51:00 - Juliana becomes PON’s latest victim
• 57:00 - Ask a Wrench (Member-only content)
• 57:30 - Pedal toggle explained
• 1:07:00 - Disc brake calipers that twist upon tightening
• 1:11:00 - A follow-up to fixing a torque wrench
• 1:13:30 - Fixes for slipping shifters

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!

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?

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)

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?

Geek Warning is rarely about the chapter titles, but rather the expertise and information shared within. That sure applies this week, as the conversation covers the real story behind Pidcock’s recent wheel choice at Worlds, Ronan’s ideal rim widths for road racing, and what Dave considers to be the benchmark in SPD pedals.

There’s also a relatively new Good Thing for SRAM Transmission, a tech tip for anyone turning a spanner, and plenty more.

As usual, members of Escape Collective (on the member-only feed) get Ask a Wrench at the end of the episode. This week, Zach Edwards of the Boulder Groupetto returns to help answer tech questions from our members.

Timestamps:

• 00:01:30 - Ronan “working” at Road Worlds
• 00:04:00 - The rumoured story behind Pidcock’s wheels
• 00:11:00 - The UCI to review its Lugano Charter
• 00:19:45 - Enve’s new SES 6.7 Pro have us patting ourselves on the back
• 00:28:00 - Wolf Tooth trickles down its excellent ALT SPD pedal
• 00:34:00 - A tech tip to tighten up tool fitment
• 00:39:00 - SRAM has a Good Thing for Transmission users
• 00:45:30 - What Ronan and Dave are busy with
• 00:47:40 - Ask a Wrench (Member-only feed)
• 00:48:00 - Why don’t all tubeless rims have a solid rim bed?
• 00:55:00 - Shigura brakes?
• 01:05:45 - Reuse a plugged tyre?
• 1:10:00 - A front wheel causing brake resonance