Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca: Recent Episodes
SILCA
The Marginal Gains Podcast, presented by Silca is the show that makes a big deal about the little things, and how those little things...can be a big deal. Josh Poertner of Silca, along with Hottie and Fatty, talks about all aspects of cycling — design, manufacturing, marketing, riding, racing, management and most likely every from a thoughtful perspective. It's a podcast for the thinking cyclist.
Behind every great cyclist is a great bike fit, which means a great bike fitter. Honestly, we're not sure it’s possible to overstate the gains — or losses— a bike fit can bring. And a startling number of top pros we’ve had on this show trust Barry Anderson of Cyclologic, in Scottsdale Arizona. Barry has popped up on our radar numerous times and for numerous reasons recently. We're excited to share Barry's practical guidance on the why, how, and who of a great bike fit.
Cécile Lejeune is a rising star in women's pro cycling, but this Frenchwoman (and now Arizonian) is no stranger to speed. With roots in Tri and a number of impressive running records in her native country, Cécile has been challenging herself since the age of 12. A RED-S survivor, Cécile brings an inspiring and candid story to this year's Life Time Grand Prix, where she currently sits in a top-10 ranking. This is even more impressive when you consider that last year she wasn't even accepted into the race.
With a love of gravel, tips on where to get married in a hurry, and an outsized helping of wisdom, this conversation with Cécile is not one to miss.
Fatty is obsessed with mini compressors and so jumps the line in this episode of Ask Josh Anything with several questions he has about Silca's new Elettrico series, Silca's innovative, just-released electric mini pump that is available everywhere (except the US) now. We also got some great feedback/pushback on part of Josh's recent FAQ episode, and a novel new product idea involving tap water from Indianapolis. And, as always, so much more.
We are on the ground at Sea Otter chasing Marginal Gains. A top theme at this year's show is something we have been discussing in our episodes: the wider tire revolution. Older XC tires have found new life on gravel race bikes and tire makers are responding. We hear from two major players on the tire side of things. Plus Dylan Johnson weighs in on how widespread the wider tire movement has become at the pointy end of races.
We also wadedinto some new terrirotry: bike rack and bag maker Tailfin talks about its go-fast approach to bike packing. And finally, we met up with a one-of-a-kind company that has brought Marginal Gains...to leg shaving.
We've done plenty of interview episodes before, but this one's a little different. The twist here is we have pro cyclist Melisa Rollins joining as co-host in hopes of improving her chances at Levi Leipheimer's The Growler, a race that boasts the world's largest payout in a one-day race: a $156,000 purse, split evenly among men and women.
We had a whole suite of super nerdy and fun questions ready to ask Josh...and we will still ask them, next time. But we also wanted to know Josh's thoughts about how the newly-announced tariffs might affect Silca, the businesses it buys from and sells to, and its customers. The resulting unscripted conversation is a must-listen.
2024 Unbound Champion Rosa Klöser’s trajectory to the top step started with a stolen townie, and has kept surprising —and impressing — ever since. You're going to love this conversation with this analytical, detailed, smart, and fast fellow marginal gainer.
This is a little different from most Ask-Josh-Anything episodes. Here, we ask Josh to answer the questions he gets most often. What we got was an insightful hour of experiences, career advice, and thoughts on the culture within pro cycling teams. This is seriously an episode you do NOT want to miss.
Jonathan Lee is Communications Director and one of the OG’s at TrainerRoad, one of our favorite tools for marginal-gaining our bodies. TrainerRoad is all business (or at best, Type 2 fun) about making you the strongest, fastest version of yourself...or at least, it was that way until recently. Hottie and Fatty talk with Jonathan about TrainerRoad's why, how, and what's next.
Short cranks are all the rage right now, and it just wouldn't be right to let this cycling trend go by without asking Josh to weigh in on its actual merits from aero, weight and engineering perspective. We've also got practical answers for your tire inserts and rolling resistance questions, measuring CRR, old-school cables and bar tape strategies, and an inquiry into the compromises tandem and benefits of tandems.
We could have talked with Sofia Gomez Villafane for hours about nothing but her head-spinning palmares: Olympian, winner of Lifetime Grand Prix Series in 2023 and 2024, Leadville, twice at Unbound and Sea Otter, Belgian Waffle rides, and so much more. But the fact is, her wins are just the exclamation marks to the powerful voice Sofia is bringing to the sport. Do not miss this smart, instructive and fun interview with the top off-road woman in North American racing.
The Marginal Gains crew thought we'd throw a real curveball this episode and make every single question about cycling...and relevant, even. Wacky, huh? We talk about how the Silca Endurance chip might affect your lube schedule, the challenges of riding with a waxed chain in very cold weather, strategies you can use to reduce / remove speed wobbles on your bike, how a racer in the Leadville 100 MTB might make his artificial knee more aero, and much more. Enjoy the show, and send us your own questions by texting or calling 317-343-4506.
Chase Wark shares his unique journey in the cycling world, from his unconventional bike setups to his passion for community-building through cycling events, Chase's story is one of creativity, resilience, and a deep love for the sport. Josh Poertner and Chase Wark discuss innovative bike setups, aerodynamics, and the importance of tinkering with equipment to gain performance advantages. Enjoy this distinctly midwestern conversation, equal parts innovation, iteration, and post-race hugs and hotdish.
If the premise of these Q&A episodes is that you can Ask Josh Anything, and we continue asking questions forever, shouldn't we really change the name of this series to "Ask Josh Everything?"
The answer to that question is, of course, "it depends."
In this installment, Josh addresses the surprisingly contentious oval chainring, speculates on why a squeaky wheel is squeaking, talks about the present and future of TPU tube recyling...but not before Fatty line-jumps with his current fascination: how, with an unlimited budget, you could build the perfect Everesting route and bike.
This is a fun — and as always, sneakily educational — episode. Enjoy!
Dylan Johnson is back with a follow up to the testing he and Josh did in the spring. The race season started with the two of them in the wind tunnel looking for Marginal Gains that could be used in the Lifetime Grand Prix and the other off-road races Dylan had on his calendar. Dylan reports back with his "on-course" experience and a look at how other racers are adopting some of the advantages he and Josh first discovered. Dylan also has questions for Josh on how some of the new "finds" and Silca products can be used at the pointy end of off-road racing. This is two Marginal Gainers sharing notes on another season of discovery and execution.
Is it a coincidence that Fatty picked all the questions for this episode, and that all the questions in this episode are topics Fatty finds either interesting or personally relevant? Probably not! But if you're wondering if chain waxing makes sense for dusty trail conditions, are curious how much (if any) the outside temperature should affect your tire pressure, or are wondering how inflexible cyclists should set their bikes to be as aero as possible, you'll find Josh's answers as intriguing as Fatty did. Enjoy the show!
Zwift VP of Product Mark Cote joins the Marginal Gains crew, picking up where we left off in our last conversation: the wind tunnel. This time, his time in the tunnel is all about future-looking features for Zwift, and this peek at what's to come is not to be missed.
From there we talk about everything in the present and future state of Zwift and Marginal Gains, from the extremely practical (tips and warnings for your own Zwift setup) to the philosophical (is Zwift for racing, training, or fun?) with everything in between.
Whether you ride a smart trainer or not, you will not want to miss this episode!
Bryan Larsen tells us his only real talent is that he's too dumb to quit. We strongly disagree, but take his point: Bryan is no quitter. In this episode, Bryan talks us through how he took the constraints given to him through birth and accident, and used passion, perseverence, and a love of marginal gains to reinvent his racing career.
We're so excited to kick this 35th episode of our "Ask Josh Anything" series with a discussion of the announcement of Silca's partnership with Visma Lease-A-Bike. Fatty does his level best to pitch having Hottie in the team car, hot-waxing on the move. We move from there to the challenges of high pressure with hookless rims, and how it has put Josh in the position of being the PSI bartender and cutting pressure-thirsty riders off. And that's just for starters. We also get into group ride marginal gains, changing pressure prescriptions for worn tires, whether 3D-printed Ti quicklinks should be a thing, the likely aero effects of Tadej's six-figure watch, and more. Enjoy this packed episode of Marginal Gains!
Gravel Racing is moving face and Amy Charity is one of the movers. Amy is the founder of SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The race started on the back of a napkin in 2018 and has quickly become one of the premiere off-road events in the U.S. After a few short years of success, Amy expanded SBT to Europe and Australia. But before the dirt roads, Amy raced on tarmac. She was a pro roadie with a short but successful career. And before road racing, Amy was in high finance. Josh and Hottie talk to Amy about her days in the pro peloton, how her business education informs her work as a race promoter, and Josh and Amy have a college reunion of sorts.
At this point we've lost track on how many episodes we've dedicated to wind tunnels, but this is at least partially one of them. We've also got great questions about Fatty's new Firefly and the Ti-printed parts Silca created for it, a classic question on the best body position for riding in a strong tailwind, axle handle alignment, and a remarkably well-considered question on calculating tire pressure for full-suspension bikes.
Gravel Racing has gone global, and governing bodies have gotten involved. The UCI is now in its third year of putting on its Gravel World Series. It has more than two dozen races on four continents. Instead of running the series itself, the UCI has turn to a sports group and the point person in that group is three-time Cyclocross World Champ Erwin Vervecken. It's an understatement to say he knows drop bars and dirt. He is. We talk to Erwin about how the series began, the lack of a major presence in the US, how to get into Worlds, UCI rules and Gravel, and we throw in some Cross questions.
Tony Karklins is the founder of Allied Cycle, is currently the founder of Time, and has deep knowledge of all aspects of the cycling industry, all the way back to when as a teenager he owned a bike shop. He's the perfect match for a conversation with Josh about bike business, manufacturing, racing and more.
John Cobb may be best known for his bike saddles, but his experience and innovation go much deeper. John may be the first person to take a bike to the wind tunnel, and is likely the only person to crank up the tunnel to 70mph...with a rider in it. Enjoy this great episode with a cycling innovator
Life Time puts on what is arguably the biggest and most important pro bike racing series in the US: The Life Time Grand Prix. And one man is in chage of it all: Kimo Seymour. Fatty and Hottie talk with Kimo changes in the race, the "Call of a Life Time" series, aerobars, Keegan's Swenson's chances for dominating the event for a third year running, and much more.
Our recent wind tunnel episodes have triggered a LOT of aero questions from our listeners, and Josh -- with hand hovering over the "It Depends" button -- takes them on. From IRL Burrito Powerups (IYKYK) to the StripChip and the Chain Waxing System to aero chainrings to leg hair stubble as a potential aero advantage to shoe aerodynamics, Josh will — apparently — answer anything. Enjoy!
Josh answers more of Fatty & Hottie's pressing questions about the surprises people are in for when visiting a wind tunnel for the first time, what happens when key learnings from a wind tunnel session are ignored, how often follow-up questions triggered by a wind tunnel session are actually followed up on, whether it's worth it to bring anyone but a top-pro into the wind tunnel, how bike companies twist wind tunnel results, and much more. If there's anything more Marginal-Gain-y than our fascination with wind tunnels, well...we'll do a trifecta of episodes on that, too. Enjoy the show!
An argument can be made that Mark Cote is the father of the Specialized Wind Tunnel. During his tenure at the Big S, he convinced the powers that be that the Big S needed its own wind tunnel — an amazing story Mark shares with Josh. Enjoy this deep dive into Mark's backstory and conversation between Mark and Josh as they swap stories on how they've found marginal gains with this one powerful tool
Josh's experiences in wind tunnels have come up in dozens of episodes of Marginal Gains, and we always find ourselves with more questions. In this episode, we're finally giving ourselves permission to ask them, from the essentials of using a wind tunnel to a day in the life before, during, and after testing in a windtunnel.
Look, we'll be honest here: we brought way more questions to this conversation than Josh had time to answer, and at some point during the recording, we realized we weren't recording "The Wind Tunnel Episode;" we were recording, "The Wind Tunnel Series, Part 1." Which means that if you've got quesstions about wind tunnels, now is the time to ask: call or text us at 317-343-4506.
When it comes to bikes, Josh is usually the smartest person in the room. But Josh will tell you, when the topic turns to mountain bikes and suspension, Josh turns to Darren Murphy of Push Industries. Josh and Darren talk about Darren's journey in the industry, as well as a dive into how advanced bike products are developed, tested and brought to market.
With World Cup races being decided by tenths or even hundredths of a second, many racers and teams are now using sensors and data acquisition to dial their setups. Our guest this show is a leader in this area: Nick Lester and Josh get deep into how Nick and his Downamics team help the world's fastest downhillers get the most out of their suspension.
Would your motorcycle chain benefit from an afternoon in the chain wax spa? If you use a gel packet as an improvised tire boot, how much will it affect your bike's performance? When using the Rule of 105, should you be using the rim width at the brake track, or the widest point of the rim as your measurement? And for those of us carrying lunch, clothes, and a computer to the office as we commute by bike, how can we be more aero? Josh bravely answers all these questions...and for one of them, even does so definitively. Don't miss this astonishing episode of Ask Josh Anything!
Aerocoach's business is to help athletes improve their aerodynamic performance, through testing, coaching, and equipment. Josh and Xavier Disley get into a wide-ranging discussion of aerosensors, hype vs data, the need for wind tunnel standards, and so much more. This is an in-the-weeds episode you Marginal Gainer supernerds will not want to miss.
NOTE: A prior version of this episode gets cut off partway through the episode. If it shows in your podcast feed, please skip it and listen to this version instead.
Russ Roca - founder and host of the YouTube Channel the Path Less Pedaled - is our guest. The Path Less Pedaled has become a place to learn about the non-competitive side of the cycling world . Russ has produced hundreds of videos that focus on using bikes to carry stuff, explore, cruise, travel, ride comfortably and yes he has a couple on chain waxing and finding the right tire pressure. We talk with Russ on how he went from 2-packs a day to two wheels, the search for the right gearing, wheel size, the rebound of the road bike, Aluminum’s comeback, his love of Marginal Gains and knowing when they apply to him.
Rob Britton is an accomplished pro road cyclist who has turned to the off-road scene in the second half of his career. He’s been doing the Lifetime Grand Prix and other mass start events but he is also taking on ultra endurance challenges. This summer it was an event called Badlands: Longer than Unbound XL, more climbing than an Everest Challenge and a landscape that blows the mind. Rob takes us through the unique challenges to body and bike this race presented. He talks about trying to scarf down a jumbo size bag of chips, getting hit by birds, using Jensie’s voice to push through the pain and how a fresh chamois is a marginal gain….
Josh, Hottie, and Fatty take on your questions in this, our 101st episode of the Marginal Gains Podcast (we forgot to check that we hit 100 episodes -- and 1,000,000 listens -- last time). From contemplating the aerodynamic benefits of chain guards to analyzing terrifying moments of physics in action when riding a high speed descent, to raising our collective eyebrows at the new 750d wheel size, we continue to give credence that we will take on any cycling question and boldly answer, "it depends."
Industry legends Dave Koesel and Stephen Doll join Josh for a discussion about the Stromm track bike, a frame and fork aiming to take advantage of recent UCI tube shape restrictions being lifted. If you love wind tunnels, marginal gains, and engineers getting into the weeds with other engineers (and let's face it, we know you love all these things), this is the episode for you.
If you think the stories you've heard about the 2023 Unbound are crazy, wait 'til you hear Kristen Legan's story of her XL win. She focused on this race this year, and her preparation and dedication will resonate with any endurance Margingal Gainer. Kristen's joined in this episode by Nick Legan: author of the popular book Gravel Cycling, Unbound vet, top-tier mechanic, and Road Brand Manager with Shimano. Enjoy this is deep dive into bike setup, mental marginal gains and thick, sticky mud.
We take our mission of making a big deal about the little things very seriously in this episode, where we talk about whether there's any actual basis for the superstition behind where you rotate the wheel to before inflating a tire. We then move to the admittedly more pragmatic questions of how much of a draft an aero rider provides to the riders behind them, the low-hanging gains for DH racing, and the problems with racing a 1X setup on the road. And that's not even remotely close to all (even though we could have talked about each of these questions for a full hour).
For Silca’s E-commerce manager, Travis Verhoff, the 2023 edition of Unbound has been a bit of an ongoing science project. In this episode of Marginal Gains, we dig into Travis' expectations, last-minute changes, and key learnings from this experiment...and after all is said and done, what he would change and whether he'd ever race this monster again.
You've no doubt heard Josh mention Slowtwitch.com many times on this show. It's one of the key places he goes to share ideas and get feedback. But Slowtwitch is more than just a place. It’s a person too. The site was founded by Dan Empfield in 1999, and remains publisher to this day.
But before Slowtwitch even existed, Dan was a competitor. He did his first Triathlon in 1978 and competed in the first Ironman Kona in 1981. You may also know Dan as the man behind Quintana Roo. That stack and reach thing we all use now: that came from Dan’s work. We get into all of that and more with our guest this episode:Tri Hall of Famer, Slowtwitch founder and Publisher Dan Empfield
It's an Ask Josh Anything episode! We talk about The Rule of 105, the extent to which "bigger is better" is true for fairings, whether tire inserts need to be factored in when using air pressure calculators, why you might get conflicting recommendations from different air pressure calculators, how many watts a slow-turning old derailleur cog might cost you, the challenges a hot day might bring to your waxed chain, and more. So much more. Some people might say too much more, but we are not those people, and we're betting you are not either. Don't miss this episode, and keep your questions coming!
Silca's own Travis Verhoff has an unusual work assignment: plan, train for, and execute the most Marginal Gain-y Unbound possible. If you've been following the Silca YouTube channel, you've been tracking his progress. In this episode, we catch up with his bike setup, key learnings and surprises from time in the wind tunnel, using the Chung method on course to select tire pressure just days before the race, his nutrition, and a lot more. If you're a nerd about Marginal Gains (and we know you are), do not miss this episode about putting theory into practice.
Amanda Nauman has one of the most disarming nicknames in all of cycling: she is affectionately known as Panda. But make no mistake: behind the woman named after a docile creature is a fearless person, both on and off the bike. Amanda has taken on the toughest gravel events — and the toughest questions — that face our sport. She has won Unbound Gravel twice and taken 2nd in the 350 XL. She has won Mid South and BWR San Diego and is the 5X-champ at Rock Cobbler in Bakersfield, CA. Amanda is co-host of the Groadio Podcast and she sits on the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Advisory Board. She is co-founder of the Mammoth Tuff Gravel Race, puts on gravel camps, competed in the first LIfe Time Grand Prix, and has a demanding day job. Somehow all of that is packed into one person. We guarantee you'll love this conversation with the fastest and fiercest Panda you will ever meet.
Josh and USAC CEO Brendan Quirk share a love of the history of cycling, as well as a deepseated desire to move it forward. In this wide-ranging conversation, Josh and Brendan talk about their love of bike racing, wind tunnels, and the complexities of cycling product development and retailing. Most importantly, they have a candid discussion of the difficult position USAC is in and Brendan's plan to move it forward.
With three Gravel World's Championships, an Unbound victory, an induction into the Gravel Hall of Fame, a bronze medal in UCI Worlds Road Championship TTT, a win in the Tour de San Luis, and more than a decade as a pro, Alison Tetrick has proved she's among the best in the world on pavement and dirt. As it turns out, she's also right at the top in analysis of the current women's pro peloton. In this episode, Ali (as her friends call her) details who to watch this year, talks about the overall health of women's racing, equity, parity, and — of course — marginal gains.
It's a no-topics-barred Ask-Josh-Anything episode of Marginal Gains, and (as usual) Hottie and Fatty get their own burning questions to the front of the line. Hottie desperately wants to talk about F1 porpoising and its connection to Hopf bifurcation. Josh accomodates. Fatty overheard a rocket scientist proclaim he wouldn't trust a repaired carbon fiber hardtail for technical mountain biking and now Fatty's scared about whether he's OK to ride. Josh reassures Fatty with the sage advice that "it depends." We then dig into actual listener questions about what kind of Ti alloy Silca uses when 3D printing, the pros and cons of 1X vs 2X drivetrain setups, and...how one might marginal gain a triple stroller in order to set a world record 10K pushing this pram. As always, this AJA episode's a great mix of thoughtful, serious, practical and silly. Don't miss it!
In the early and mid 2010s, Gwen had a winning streak that astonished both the Tri world and the sports world at large. She won an unmatched 13 races in a row, capped off with Olympic gold in Rio. She then stepped away to focus on running for a time, but is now back, again with a focus on the Olympics. We catch up with Gwen between training sessions and taking care of her kids to talk about what is driving her as she begins chapter two of her amazing career.
Alex Dowsett has been a Marginal Gainer since he started riding with his dad on the roads of his hometown in England. He quickly became a time trialist and then pro, riding for a handful of teams and racking up more than a dozen wins before finally hanging up his wheels after the 2022 season. But the fact that Alex became a sportsman at all is a major win. You will not want to miss this great conversation with an amazing Marginal Gainer!
You may know her by her nickname in Bicycling Magazine (The Fit Chick) or you may know her by others' names (she's ghost-written and co-written scores of books), but you almost certainly know her work in one way or another: Selene Yeager is as well-respected as she is prolific in the cycling world. And now she's the host of "Press Play Not Pause" -- a popular podcast that brings candor and wisdom to menopausal athletes. No matter what kind of athlete you are, you do not want to miss this episode of Marginal Gains!
Michael Marckx — the head of the Belgian Waffle Ride series — has guided clothing brands, sunglass companies and magazines on his way to making his dream classic. This is a great conversation about vision, instinct, survival, the future of american racing...and if you’re looking to do a Belgian Waffle Ride, there are some tips in here for you too.
Anyone who's ever spent any time watching Dylan Johnson's popular Youtube channel could be forgiven for thinking it and the Marginal Gains show were separated at birth. In this episode, we get together with this incredibly smart, incredibly fast cyclist to talk about not just his achievements in racing, but the little things he does to beat the competitoin. Don't miss this episode!
It's always fun to find out what questions are going to really catch Josh's attention. In this episode, we talk about tiny marginal gains, postulate why mountain bikes are not particularly aero, follow up on the best gases to fill your tires (and why), and much more. But the question that really grabbed Josh has to do with a crazy hypothetical: how would you optimize your bike and track for an hour record attempt...on the moon? It's an intriguing question and one we're far from done with. We think you'll love this episode of Ask Josh Anything!
Alexey Vermeulen is exhausted. He deserves to be, having just taken a hard-fought podium spot in the Life Time Grand Prix. And wins in multiple BWR races. And producing a show where he mentors novice cyclists. And much more. But he still found time — hours after flying home from Big Sugar and hours before he flies out to his next event — to get together with the Marginal Gains crew to talk about how he doesn't just survive in this demanding environment, but actually thrives. Don't miss this episode of Marginal Gains!
We rely on Marginal Gains listeners to provide intelligent and provocative questions, and as always, our listeners do not disappoint. In this Ask Josh Anything episode, we re-open the question of hour record attempts, this time considering pros and cons of a negative-split effort. We talk about Nitrogen and its merits of using it instead of air for tires with sealant. We talk about the aerodynamic penalty of tucking your glasses into your helmet vents. Plus tire temperature talk, cyclocross marginal gain tips, and why most BMX bikes don't race tubeless.
Jeremiah Bishop proclaims he is a "nerd in recovery," but we know better. Bishop was a crucial member of 2015's Team Topeak-Ergon, which set a record Leadville 100 time that stands to this day. And this was not just a story of strong legs and lungs; it was a Marginal Gains story, through and through. Whether you race road, mixed surface, or dirt, this is a conversation you will not want to miss.
After a nice long summer break, we're back with more questions for Josh. Josh, Hottie and Fatty met IRL in Leadville last month, so we spend a good chunk of this episode talking about the LT100 MTB race -- altitude, aerodynamic speed minimums, and other marginal gains available two miles above sea level. We also make time to talk about Dan Bigham's amazing new hour record, aerometers, and the story behind the new Gravelero pump. Don't miss this episode!
Phil Gaimon takes on serious topics, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He uses his social media to document is KOMs and occasional Everesting attempts, but also takes us on interesting rides and shows us how cyclists and motorists can get along on the same piece of tarmac. Phil is a fantastic climber, an advocate, a humorist, a Silca athlete and a newlywed. It's a pleasure to have him join us on Marginal Gains
Josh answers a batch of listener questions, from the extremely practical to the fascinatingly hypothetical. Are pros flatting more than they used to? Has the balance between strong and light swung too far toward light? How do you make your hydration as aero as possible? What air pressure should be used for the back wheels on a competitive trike? And how good would electronic / wireless brakes have to be before you could trust them? We get into all this and more in this Ask Josh Anything episode of Marginal Gains!
Dan Bigham's job title — Performance Engineer — for Team Ineos really undersells his value. Dan is a through-and-through marginal gainer, with a special gift for figuring out how to beat the wind. And as such, he's the perfect guest for a one-on-one chat with Josh. Don't miss this episode of Marginal Gains!
What if CDA measuring were brought to the masses via some sort of attachable device? Michael Liberzon—an engineer and triathlete coach—has field tested an aerometer and researched several others. In this episode, we talk with Michael to get an overview of where we are with aerometers and whether real-time CDA will ever become a thing.
Putting 50 years of Tom Ritchey's history and knowledge would be nearly impossible, so for this conversation, we focus on some of Tom’s game-changing ideas and innovations, as well as how he got there. You’ll also hear some great stories, a little family history, and how this pioneer's ethos turned into one of the world's most-respected bike brands.
Hopefully you've seen Ashton’s gutsy world record effort and his killer performance for the rainbow jersey. Now Josh gets the inside scoop on what it took to succeed at both, even as his partner is working on going to outer space.
If you're looking for something to make you feel good about something happening in the world right now, you have found the right episode. Josh talks with Dan Craven — Olympian and owner of Onguza Bikes (onguza.com): beautiful steel bikes, handmade in Namibia and shipping across the world. This is an inspiring episode of Marginal Gains you will not want to miss.
Silca has a new tubeless tire sealant out, and Hottie and Fatty have some questions about it. A whole hour's-worth of questions, in fact. From the recycling aspect of it to setup strategies to keeping carbon fiber from clogging your valve stem, this is the episode that shows what happens when Josh starts thinking about plugging up holes.
Part 2 of our chat with Andy Hampsten picks up right where we left off in part 1: With Hampsten in the Maglia Rosa. Andy finishes this incredible story, and from there we get into a wide range of topics with this iconic cyclist: Cinghiale Tours, Titanium bikes, Eddy Merckx, "Huffy" bikes, and much more. Don't miss this issue of Marginal Gains!
Amity Rockwell is not afraid to speak her mind, which makes for a fast, fun, and thoughtful conversation with this Unbound champ. We talk diversity, equity, social media and most recently, plans for a Gravel Hall of Fame. You will not want to miss this episode!
The Bike club has been operating under the same model for years -- decades. Bike Club NFT seeks to change that by turning memberships into digital assets. Some things under the old model are still true but as Josh finds out, Bike Club NFT has some new twists too.
Possibly the nicest living cycling legend, the one and only Andy Hampsten joins Josh to talk both about the early days of his career and to give an account of what is easily one of the most extraordinary performances ever in cycling: Andy's unbelievable day on the Gavia in the 1988 Giro D' Italia.
If you saw Paris Roubaix this year, there’s a good chance you saw our guest — Candadian Road Champ Guillaume Boivin — in action. And thanks to the laws of supply and demand (Guillaume needed a chain, and Hottie had a Silca Hot-Waxed Chain available), we were able to nab this interview with this road star about how "G" (as his Istrael StartUp Nation teammates call him) started biking, his fixation on bike tech, and his very intense day at Paris Roubaix.
If you are a student of cycling — and the fact that you listen to this show means you are — you have no doubt read a fair amount of Lennard Zinn’s work, from books to being the tech editor at VeloNews, Zinn has written thousands of pages about cycling. And in this episode, he joins Josh to talk about his days as a skier, how he got talked into writing books, Hopf Bifurcation and bike shimmy, rolling resistance and Lennard's latest venture: E-bikes. We guarantee you’re going to love this thinking cyclists’ conversation.
A wheel builder wants Josh's thoughts on the difference between road and track rims. A soon-to-be-worldtour-racing pro wants to know whether the sluggishness he senses in tubeless tires is all in his head. A gravel racer wants to know how to justify the purchase of a second set of wheels to his wife. And of course, the saga of hypotheticals continues as a listener asks what Josh would do if he were suddenly the Tech Director of the UCI.
As always, it's a wide-ranging episode of Marginal Gains...and you will not want to miss it.
There was a time when weight was thought of as the most important — if not only — consideration for more speed. That's obviously no longer the case, but weight does still matter. In this episode, we look at when, where, and how much weight matters. If you've ever hoisted a bike to get a sense of how much it weighs (yes, that's all of you), you will not want to miss this episode of Marginal Gains.
It's a rainy, muddy, sloppy, gritty day at the Paris-Roubaix, and you're a pro team's race director. What chain treatment do you go with? You have the option to swap bikes on the course; are the watts you gain with a clean drivetrain worth the cost in time lost in bike transfer? What's the tire pressure you should run...and should you tell the truth if anyone asks? We get into all this, more, and the ways bikes will change 50 years from now, as we Ask Josh Anything in the Marginal Gains Podcast.
Allen Lim is best known for his Skratch drink mix. It has hydrated countless riders and been in the bottles of top cyclists around the world. But the road to becoming one of the most well known people in sports nutrition was crooked and bumpy. Allen tells Josh how the Secret Drink mix almost never made it. How he used the ideas of compassion and caring to steer athletes away from doping. And how his use of a rice cooker was turned against him in an ugly way.
Shimano Road Brand Manager Nick Legan and Road and Gravel Product Manager Dave Lawrence join the Marginal Gains crew to dig into what the what the new road groupsets are, how they're different, and — natch — where you'll find marginal gains in Shimano's new drivetrains, brakes, and wheels.
The 2021 Olympics are behind us, and Marginal Gains thinking was evident in practically every sport. Josh, Hottie, and Fatty take a look at some of the key events and moments during the games — kinesiology tape, anyone? — and how technology has impacted (and will continue to impact) record-breaking achievements by the greatest athletes in the world.
It's a strange time to be a cyclist, a bike shop, or in the bike industry. Pro teams are scrounging for components. New frames are difficult to come by. Bike shops, swamped with extraordinary demand, are closing due to lack of supply. As an innovator in the bike industry to talks to bike shops and pro teams every day, Josh has practical insight into making the best of a problematic pipeline.
We also talk about how Silca goes about greenlighting a new product, marginal gains on gravel, and what Josh really wants marginal gainers to think about when we're on our bikes.
If Josh is obsessed with something, well...you can bet that there's some "there" there. And Josh has been obsessed enough with Titanium printing for long enough that Fatty and Hottie have been badgering him to talk on the podcast about why for months. And now, with the release of Silca's Mensola computer mount, Josh can get into the weeds on why 3D printing is a big deal, the work that's goes into installation, engineering, and production, and what opportunities and constraints this technology brings to the bike industry.
Drivetrains, aero tweaks, and wheels have emerged as the sweet spot for where listeners can achieve marginal gains on their current bike setups, and this episode will really scratch that itch. We do a deep dive into the why, how, and what of Silca's new diamond-polished chains, how properly-lubed chains affect cog and chainring wear and tear, and whether you really need to replace that quick link after each chain connect/disconnect cycle. We also get to the best ways to locate your hydration on long rides and the question of whether — wheelwise — deeper is always better.
Here at Marginal Gains, we are NOT big fans of the old saying, "Failure is not an option." As far as we're concerned, failure is not only an option, but a valuable part of development. In this episode, Josh gets into how he changed his mind about failure, why we see failure at the sharp end of the sport, and why mistakes we make as riders can lead to marginal gains.
This may not be the most technical episode of Marginal Gains to date, but it absolutely is one of the most pragmatic and entertaining. Jens Voigt joins Josh to talkk about everything from training wheels to the cold war to Aussies to A/C Sales to bike team finances to the early days of marginal gains...and of course the hour record. Jens is a treasure; enjoy this chat about his amazing career and life.
Look, we love every listener question we get here at Marginal Gains. But this episode, Max King asked one that got Josh so excited he said he was pretty sure he was going to lose sleep over it. Of course, we saved that one to the end, but you'll want to listen to the whole show anyway because we've got great questions about the super tuck and dropper posts, off-label use of lube (and many more lube-related questions), marginal gains and handlebar bags, FKT updates, and more. As always, it's a can't-miss AJA episode of Marginal Gains.
No Supertuck, no modified TT position? Now what? Velonews Managing Editor Ben Delaney helps us figure out what the pros will now use to keep their speeds high on descents and in breakaways.
Ben has written several articles on what the two, now banned positions are worth when in comes to watts. He also has insight on equipment that could be used to make up for the loss of the Supertuck and "Praying Mantis" position.
Josh is, apparently, not the only person in the world obsessed with creating a frictionless world (or at least chain). In this conversation, Josh and modern-day chain pioneer Jason Smith — currently with Ceramic Speed and known for his groundbreaking work at Friction Facts — deep dive into what works, what doesn't, and why.
No matter what topic — modeling, bifurcation, the smell of lubrication, chain innovation or even power loss due to new tire nubbies, tube width decisions, or even PFAS chemicals — the Marginal Gains crew can count on insightful questions from our listeners. We put all of these subjects to Josh in this latest "Ask Josh Anything" episode of Marginal Gains.
If you've ever wondered, "How does Josh's mind work?" this is the episode for you. We talk about what models are, why they matter, the model Josh uses for building mental models, and — in addition to a wide-ranging conversation — how it all applies to cycling.
Josh chats with with Everesting Pioneer George Mallory — grandson of THE climbing icon. And while George has also summited Mt Everest on bikes, he's got more stories to tell about his climbing on bikes...especially his multiple attempts at Everesting by bike.
We may be at the point where it's time to admit we have a chain & lube obsession, but we're not even going to try to pull back from it. In this Ask Josh Anything episode, we talk about what chains are preferred and why, where and how often to lube if you're using a wet lube, whether wax lubing needs to be more frequent for off-road riding, and even whether you need to swap cassettes if / when you swap chains that you've set up for different kinds of lube. And that's not even all. We also ask Josh about:
- Ineos' Giro TT marginal gains
- whether frame damping is a thing
- Wrinkled clothing and marginal gains
- Where to spend your money to get the most gains for your bucks
This interview with Adam Kerin serves as the perfect follow up to our previous episode on chains and lubrication. Adam's Zero Friction cycling is hyper-focused on this key piece of drive train and the ways to make it more efficient and last longer. ZFC is the sole, independent voice of chain and lube testing and a marginal gainer at heart. Josh and Adam go deep on how proper chain care can repay the rider in so many ways.
If you were to rank the hardest working parts on a bicycle, you’d be hard-pressed to find a component that goes through more than the chain. And keeping that chain working well has become a real obsession for Marginal Gainers. So this episode, we dig into chains, lubes, and who should be using what.
2020 has been a rough year for traditional racing, but has brought a surge in interest in Everests and Fastest Known Time (FKT) efforts on well-known courses. And for these solo, pride-of-place FKT attempts, Marginal Gains matter. In this episode, WorldTour-Pro-Roadie-Turned-Gravel-Privateer Pete Stetina nerds out with Josh, Fatty, & Hottie about his preparation for — and execution of — an FKT around the choppy, sandy, rocky, windy White Rim: a perfect MTB century loop in Canyonlands, Utah.
Enjoy this episode, and be sure to catch the video of Pete's attempt at https://youtu.be/WeFkg9nwDE8
Before Open Cycles and the now-famous U.P., Gerard and Josh collaborated in Europe with Test Team Cervelo. Like a lot of guests on this show, Gerard Vroomen is an engineer first. He and Phil White took a school project they started in a basement in Montreal and turned into Cervelo Bikes. Against much bigger companies, their bikes not only revolutionized how we thought about frame design but Cervelo went on to win the Tour, the Olympics and Ironman.
Nowadays, Vroomen and Andy Kessler run Open cycles. And the Open U.P. is a bike that has heavily influenced the modern gravel bike.
Enjoy this conversation with an innovative engineer who's passionate about the bikes we ride and how to make them better.
Nobody enjoyed seeing (or hearing about) Chloé Dygert's recent crash, but it was an extraordinary illustration of one of the effects discussed in our most recent episode on Bifurcation. Josh breaks it down (and we all wish her a fast recovery and speedy return to racing).
We also discuss UCI frame rules modifications, and how those open the door for changes (some massive, some marginal) in how bikes perform and look.
And of course we take on a slew of awesome listener questions, including:
- Could Primož Roglič have won the Tour de France if he'd paid more attention to marginal gains?
- How to accommodate non-bifurcation segments in a race as well as the moment of bifurcation
- When is Silca going to come out with a pre-treated chain?
- Robert Chung's maxim on bicycles
What do aircraft wings, the Tacoma Narrows bridge and Coronavirus modeling all have in common? As you may have guessed from the title, it's bifurcation — just about the least intuitive (or predictable) behavior known to humankind. In this episode, we talk about bifurcation and its relation to all of these — as well as how understanding bifurcation can affect real-world racing...and how the same effect that can tear the wings off a plane can also make for the terrifying speed wobble you may have experienced on a fast descent on your bike.
This is an Engineer's episode if there ever was one. Josh talks to James Woolcock of Bastion cycles, a maker of custom frames, or as the site puts it, "Bespoke Luxury Performance Bicycles." As you would expect, these bikes come with a significant price tag, but there's a lot of custom engineering based on a customer’s wants and needs going into each of their highly unique, high-performance bikes. Even if you're not in the market for an ultra-high-end bike, however, you'll enjoy the conversation between these two marginal gainers with engineering degrees.
The Tour de France is underway, and we've got questions (and answers) about it. For example, do racers REALLY still ride with tires at 120psi as Phil Liggett suggested? (Hint: no.) Why are riders turning their hoods inward? Is tubeless on the verge of replacing tubular as the wheel setup of choice?
We've also got a great crop of questions from our listeners, including:
- What are the meaningful aero differences between solo and group riding?
- Is a wheel upgrade worth it when the primary difference is round vs aero spokes?
- What is the most efficient way to execute your bottom-of-segment turnaround in an Everesting attempt?
Got a question you'd like to have answered? Give us a call or text us at 317-343-4506.
Factor is a relatively new name in the industry. But after just a few years in the marketplace, a leading publication put Factor alongside Giant, Specialized and Cannondale as the next bike to own. And Factor has been brought to prominence by Rob Gitelis. In addition to applying his experience as an engineer to build a really terrific bicycle, Rob has shown incredible instinct to quickly elevate the Factor name. In this conversation, Rob tells Josh how many of the most popular bike products get made.
Nick Legan is a name anyone with more than a casual interest in cycling has probably come across. Nick was the tech editor at Velo Magazine and Adventure Cyclist Magazine. He is also the author of the book “Gravel Cycling.”
Josh and Nick talk about Gravel riding, bikepacking (not exactly the aero discussion we normally have around these parts but what the heck), Nick's time as a pro bike mechanic in Europe, running a “Service Only” bike shop in Colorado, coaching and what it’s like to oversee one of the most important component brands on the planet.
Shortly after setting a new Everesting record — obliterating Alberto Contador's time by 20 minutes — Ronan McLaughlin reached out to Josh with some remarkable news: Silca Products and the Marginal Gains podcast had been an important piece of his extraordinary accomplishment. Needless to say, Josh immediately set up this interview to talk about Ronan's incredible accomplishment.
We've asked you to ask Josh anything (kind of meta, we know), and you do not disappoint. In this episode, however, we completely lose track of the "ask" thing because we are SO GEEKED OUT on Ronan McLaughlin's new Everesting record. If ever there's been a full-circle Marginal Gain moment, this is it. Listen and you'll understand.
Eventually, however, we do get to your questions, including:
- The most reasonable way to measure your wheel circumference
- The best bike positions ... if you take aero OUT of the equation (hi Zwifters!)
- Whether new pavement means you should start putting more air in your tires
- How nearby barriers affect your time trialing
We love our listeners' questions. Keep them coming.
Sean Small of Ruckus Composites is our guest for this episode. This is going to be a great interview for any listener who has spent any amount of time on a carbon bike. Sean is going to reveal a frame’s strong spots and the areas where it is most vulnerable. We also talk about the importance of torque, which company is making the best product and at the very end of the interview, Sean has some great tips on how to spot a problem before it happens. Ruckus is considered the premier composite repair company in the country and next to Calfee, one of the first one of the first to launch a business devoted to fixing Carbon frames.
Tom Anhalt was one of the first to turn conventional wisdom regarding inflation on its head. He is a smart guy. No doubt. But his true talent is curiosity. In this episode we learn that questioning the norm and having an open mind can lead to more than just marginal gains but to revelations.
Tom Anhalt runs the blog site, blather ‘bout bikes where he does deep dive posts on tire comparisons, bike aerodynamics and most importantly: rolling resistance. He is also a regular contributor to Slowtwitch.com.
Andreas Klier has been focused on competitive cycling since his early teen years. He became a pro in his first year as an adult and went on to become a spring classics specialist. He’s only win in those early season races was the 2003 Gent Wevelgem but he did come close at Flanders on a couple of occasions.
Some believe he has a better understanding of Flanders than the Belgian racers from that region. If there was a wheel to follow while squeezing down the narrow roads of the Tour of Flanders, it was Andreas Klier’s. So when EF’s Alberto Bettiol won Tour of Flanders in 2019, it was no surprise that the man calling the shots from the team car was Andreas Klier.
Everesting — riding up a single pitch enough times to match the altitude of the summit of Mt. Everest — is a massive challenge with an elegantly simple set of rules. Which makes it a perfect candidate for a Marginal Gains conversation. Josh, Hottie, and Fatty talk about how the obvious, not-so-obvious, and downright bizarre strategies racers could employ to set a record in this socially-distant challenge.
We are happy to report that we continue to seek questions Josh is unable to answer, or at least unwilling to try. We regret to announce that we have so far failed, in spite of the fact that in this episode we expanded our universe of acceptable questions to include how to make electric scooters more aero. Josh was, in fact, distressingly excited by this question.
We (or more to the point, you) also asked questions about:
- Silca's new Super Secret Lube: To be honest, we spent a few minutes asking about this lube, and then about half an hour talking about lubes in general, the importance of lubing, and the proper way to lube.
- Pressure calculator vs manufacturer specs: What should you do when the Silca tire pressure calculator gives you one pressure recommendation, but the tire manufacturer gives you a much higher minimum recommendation?
- Pressure calculator and tube type: Does the way you keep air in your tire (latex tube, butyl tube, tubeless, tubular, etc.) matter in the pro tire pressure calculator? If so, how much? And if not, why not?
- Tire hysteresis and contact points — we have some followup questions for Josh about his recent conversation with Path Less Pedaled.
Jordan Rapp is one of the true greats in triathlon. You may know Jordan as a 5 time Ironman Winner, or maybe as and ITU World Champion.. Or maybe as a US pursuit champion on the track.
Nowadays, his claim to fame includes the fact that he designed the Alpe du Zwift (and much more of the gameplay on Zwift, for that matter).
Enjoy this episode as Josh and Jordan discuss all things bike-related, and how they both played important roles in each other’s careers.
Josh, Hottie, and Fatty talk about problems in data quality, sampling bias, confirmation bias, cherry picking, and more (including a little detour into baseball). it’s great when data bolsters your beliefs or arguments, but it’s often times way more exciting and enlightening when they don’t!
This was not the episode we intended to create. Josh, Hottie, and Fatty sat down to record an episode on confirmation bias and how it can undercut marginal gains, and instead found that what we want to talk about — and think you might enjoy hearing — is the good things Josh is seeing during a very difficult time.
So this is a "stories" episode: stories about good things other companies have been doing to help Silca, good things Silca is doing for its employees, good things Silca employees are doing to help keep the company going, and good things Silca is doing to help the community at large.
It's an accidental, unscripted, feel-good hour of stories. We think it's exactly the marginal gain episode you might need right now.
Damon Rinard has been at Cannondale as Engineering Manager for the past five years, but has been immersing himself in bike tech for the better part of three decades. In this episode, Josh and Damon completely nerd out over their shared love of all things technical.
Josh, Hottie, and Fatty are back with all the bike-related questions too nerdy to be asked (or answered) anywhere else. In this episode, we tackle:
- What lessons from track racing can be applied to singlespeed mountain bike racing?
- All else being equal, are fewer spokes more aero?
- Is a matte finish on helmets faster than a gloss finish?
- What are the fastest patterns for tire treads?
- What marginal gains are there to be had when racing your indoor trainer online?
Cyclists are always on the prowl for marginal gains. We slam our stems, because we've seen pros do it, and they're fast. We eat mounds of spaghetti before races, because we've heard that fast cyclists carbo-load. In many ways, cyclists and cargo cults are remarkably similar.
What's a cargo cult, though, and what does it have to do with granola? We'll tie it all together in this episode of Marginal Gains!
James Huang, Global Technical Editor of CyclingTips, is one of the most-trusted cycling journalists in the industry today — and for good reason. He brings a knowledge, experience, humor, and integrity to everything he covers. In this episode, Josh and James have a great, wide-ranging conversation — from their similar histories in getting into the cycling industry, to how the cycling world has changed, to the relationship of cycling journalism and product manufacturers, and much more.
We've got a great batch of questions from you for Josh to contemplate this episode:
- Does the placebo effect apply to cycling clothes and shoes as well as to equipment?
- Since many rims are different widths in different places, where should we measure when applying the rule of 105?
- How much — if any — does a patched tube affect a bike's CRR?
- Are third-party ceramic bearings and oversized pulley wheels still relevant?
- How marginal of a gain do you get with a really nice hub?
- Is it faster to run a deeper wheel in the front than the rear?
Josh will answer all of these — and more! — in this episode of Marginal Gains (Disclaimer: the answer almost always begins with "it depends.")
You know you've had this suspicion: the core of the cycling industry—much of what it's really selling you—is not tech, speed, or fitness. Nope, the truth is that one of the most powerful marginal gains you'll ever get is thanks to the placebo effect. Josh, Fatty, and Hottie talk about what it is and how potent a force it is in cycling.
In this Ask-Josh-Anything episode of Marginal Gains, we ask you to imagine Josh as your boy scout leader, and whether that would be the most awesome — or terrifying — thing in the world. (The jury's out on that question by the way). Then we settle in and talk about how Silca's new online Pressure Calculator works, why aero tires are no longer a thing, hysteresis issues of swerving under hard effort, whether being aero matters when you're in a big peloton, and a lot more. Gather round the fire!
We always planned on our Hour Record trilogy being three episodes long. But then Josh got to talking with Robert Chung — one of Josh's intellectual heroes — and we just had to share it.
If you think most episodes of the Marginal Gains Podcast are too lightweight and you've been jonesing for a show where Josh has an intellectual equal to talk with (mostly but definitely not exclusively about the Hour Reord), this is the episode for you.
We're back with more proof that we're willing to ask Josh practically anything bike-related...and that he's willing to take practically any question seriously. In Ask Josh Anything #008, we talk about what gas you should fill your tires with, the challenge of planning for endurance ride air pressure loss, marginal gains and Kipchoge's sub-2-hr marathon, which pedals are most aero and whether aero pedals matter (they do!), whether aero adjustments could make a difference in downhill MTB races (they could!) and —as always — much more.
In this final (?) part of our Hour Record trilogy, we talk about the rules of the modern Hour Record, how marginal gains start really coming into play, the theoretical upper limit for the hour record and how close we are to it, and the future for the hour record. We give extra focus to Bradley Wiggins' hour record, in part because it comes as close to a perfect attempt — apart from uncontrollable factors — as we've ever seen, and in part because Josh has some fascinating inside knowledge of Sir Wiggins' incredible feat.
We're back with a new set of questions for Josh, digging deep into the topics supernerd cyclists care deeply about. We talk about the products that intrigued Josh most at Eurobike, find out what size (diameter and width) he'd make road wheels be if he could start from scratch, speculate on whether the very aero-looking Ceepo Shadow-R is actually aero, consider marginal gains in gravel races, ask whether it's better to wrap cables together or keep them separate, ponder the age-old question of tubeless vs latex tubes, and...ponder marginal gains opportunities in inline skating. (Hey, rollerbladers need marginal gains love, too.)
In part 2 of our Hour Record series, Josh, Hottie and Fatty talk about why you can go faster at altitude, even with less oxygen in your lungs...up to a point.
We chat about the magnificently weird (but mostly magnificent) Merckx hour record, and how much further he might have gone if he knew then what we know now.
Finally, we discuss the cyclists (Moser, Obree, Boardman, Indurain, Rominger and more) and bikes that, a dozen years later, broke the Merckx record and launched an hour-record arms race.
The ongoing "Ask Josh Anything" series is back from Summer vacation and we've got a fun — and surprisingly informative — set of questions for Josh, including:
- What marginal gains are made by following the TTT instructions in a pre-TdF video by Team EF?
- When you've got a tailwind, is it better to still make yourself as small as possible, or should you sit up and try to take advantage of the wind behind you?
- What's going on when the dish changes the first time a tire is mounted on a new wheel?
- Some riders claim their bike feels faster and lighter on climbs when they move their bottle to their jersey pocket. Is there any merit to this, or is the effect in fact the opposite? Or neither?
- FFWD claims to have made the fastest wheel ever. Is it possible to legitimately make this claim?
All this and an in-depth discussion of what happens to your aero-ness when you grow a beard (with a side discussion on types of beards), in the show that makes a big deal about the little things, and how those little things can be a big deal.
The Hour Record is unlike any other race in cycling. Almost unimaginably difficult to do, but elegantly simple in concept: Ride your bike, as hard as you can, for an hour.
When you look underneath this simplicity, however, the subtlety, beauty, cruelty, and sophistication of this race become totally gripping. And then you find out there's way, WAY too much to talk about in just one hour. So this is just part 1 of a three-episode series about the Hour Record, covering the origins of the race, early history...and doping.
With two of the three of the Marginal Gains hosts also doing a weekly podcast on the Leadville 100 MTB race, you knew it was just a matter of time 'til we dragged the topic of Leadville into this show.
And that time...is now.
The fact is, the idea of marginal gains goes hand in hand with endurance races like the Leadville 100. It’s over long days in the saddle that little changes start making a big difference.
We cover a lot of very practical topics in this episode, and while we’re focusing on one particular race, a lot of it is about techniques any cyclist — on dirt or pavement — can use.
Josh is in Europe, involved with some race or something. Whatever. Which means that Hottie andFat Fatty get to pick the topic for the episode. And that means fewer big words and more talk about a topic Hottie and Fatty have wanted to dig into since episode 1 of Marginal Gains: the process of creating and refining products at Silca. Joining them is John Balmer, who just happens to be the head of product at Silca. If you've ever wondered where Silca product ideas come from, how they're developed, and even what products have been left on the cutting room floor, you won't want to miss this episode.
In this Q&A episode of the show that makes a big deal about the little things (and how those little things can be a big deal), we try to stump Josh with questions like: Do stiff shoes matter? What's the point of hookless rims? What benefits does steel have over carbon? What's the weight vs aero tipping point? Are 23mm tires dead? Is graphene tire content anything but marketing hand-waving? Do integrated visors have real benefits over sunglasses? And what's the right way to wear a cycling cap?
"Materials and Marginal Gains" is a big topic — too big for a single episode of this show. So if it's OK with you (and we think it will be), we'd like you to think of this as the first of many episodes about Materials. And we're going to kick this introduction off with a few stories, and look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback...which we'll incorporate into future episodes.
We didn't set out to turn every other episode of the Marginal Gains Podcast into the "Try to Stump Josh" game show, but at least 2/3 of the hosts of the show are glad it worked out this way. In this episode, we ask Josh what he thinks of Zipp's new MTB rims, puzzle over why the GoPro is so non-aero (and how to mitigate that non-aero-ness), discuss aero cranks and why they aren't any bigger of a deal than they are, talk about why it's faster (sometimes) to ride the white divider line, wonder why ceramic bearings don't (usually) turn back into sand, detail the steps for figuring out CRR in the field, explain why heavier riders descend faster, and — believe it or not — more. Enjoy this new Q&A episode of the show that makes a big deal about the little things, and how those little things can be a big deal.
While we have just 5 contact points with the bike, each of those contact points are made of whole systems of contact points. And your tires are the ONLY contact points between the bicycle and the earth. Think about it: all the forces, traction, braking, cornering, all have to be transferred through tiny patches of rubber, dynamically moving on the surface of the earth. Clearly, contact points aren’t as obvious as they seem, which makes them a perfect topic for...Marginal Gains!
We didn't necessarily intend for it to turn out this way, but this episode of Marginal Gains' "Ask Josh Anything" is a wheels, rims, tubes, and tires question extravaganza. We also find time to discuss the Silca Hiro chuck's origin story, whether testing how aero helmets are in a lab setting has real value, and exactly how much impact on your ride those gatorskins are having.
Hysteresis is the term for processes that behave differently in one direction than in another. Understanding it is critical for flying, for dampened suspension systems, and for being aero on your bike. Yep, in this episode we'll be making liberal use of analogies that include a Tempurpedic mattress, a rolling tire, mountain bike suspension and a fair number of Hitchhiker's Guide and Top Gun references. Enjoy this episode of Marginal Gains!
In this Q&A episode of Marginal Gains, Josh answers questions about whether front and rear tires should have symmetric or asymmetric air pressure (and why). We dig into whether no-name Chinese handlebars and wheels are a good deal, or just cheap (and why). Josh analyzes the ongoing thread at Slowtwitch that shows little Crr difference between 23, 25, 28 and 32mm tires. Josh answers why pros are (still!) sticking with tubulars. And there's more. So much more (including — weirdly — that both Hottie and Fatty talk about how Silca and this podcast are beginning to affect their respective marriages).
Non-linearity has literally has won and lost the Tour de France. Josh breaks down this important concept -- one he admits to sometimes having a tough time wrapping his brain around. The metaphor? Extreme betting during what would turn out to be a very expensive round of golf.
From there we apply non-linearity to cycling and aerodynamics. Let's just say that after this episode, you will give serious consideration to shaving your head.
It's the first of what is sure to be many "Ask Josh Anything" episodes of the Marginal Gains podcast. And if this episode is any indicator of how our listeners think, the Marginal Gains crowd is a smart bunch of cyclists. Josh answers questions about experimenting to get your tires to the right pressure, tire vs frame and fork compliance, techniques for getting more aero when you don't have a wind tunnel, marginal gains vs diminishing returns, rim vs disc brakes, lube preferences, and more. Much more, actually.
We love symmetry—our eyes are drawn to it and our minds intuitively grasp it. But in this episode, Josh, Hottie and Fatty look at asymmetry, what it is, what it means, and how it can be leveraged for a competitive advantage in complex cycling problems where there isn't an obvious or easy solution. Then we'll bring it all home with some very practical advice on what all this should mean to you the next time you set your tires' pressure.
Welcome to the first episode of The Marginal Gains Podcast, presented by Silca — the show that makes a big deal about the little things, and how those little things can be a big deal.
In this first episode, Josh Poertner, Hottie (Michael Hotten) and Fatty (Elden Nelson) obsess over about what marginal gains are, why they matter, and the huge difference Josh has seen them make in building bike components, in pro cycling teams' success, and even outside the cycling world altogether.
It's a show for the thinking cyclist. Enjoy Marginal Gains!