Geek Warning: Recent Episodes
The Placeholders
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on how bikes work and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome and Caley Fretz, along with whoever else we can find, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, and whatever else catches our fancy.
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Trek has just announced its fourth-generation Domane AL, and it’s even more of a budget-friendly workhorse than before. Over on the Bontrager side, its new ProV all-road/gravel models are the latest to switch to thermoplastic construction (courtesy of CSS Composites).
Also, want to know more about Columbus’s new Trittico component family for internal routing? We’ve got the scoop.
Timestamps:
3:22 – The skinny on Trek’s new (and very versatile) Domane AL entry-level “road” bike
13:50 – Bontrager’s latest road wheels signal a possible widespread shift to thermoplastic carbon fiber rims
25:35 – What the heck is a Reaver?
28:58 – Supacaz is getting into eyewear
37:59 – Columbus has a new turnkey internal routing system for small builders
48:18 – Dave exercises a remarkable level of restraint at Harbor Freight
55:25 – A dream comes true for James
1:00:06 – It turns out torque wrenches need time to warm up, too
Two episodes of Geek Warning in one week? Oh yes!
This second episode has a more familiar format, but there’s still a twist. First, we have James and Dave chatting about what’s new this week and their thoughts from the MADE bike show.
And then, you’ll hear from famed frame builder and Escape Collective contributor Rob English about the show, plus thoughts on the handmade scene.
Timestamps:
2:35 – A brief recap of new gravel and road groups from Shimano
14:57 – Layoffs at Wahoo
17:50 – James and Dave chat Made.
32:18 – Hello Rob English!
Welcome to a special episode, brought to you by the geeks of Escape Collective. In this deep dive, tech editor Dave Rome interviews Nick Legan and Dave Lawrence from Shimano about all that’s new (and not) in the latest GRX 12-speed mechanical groupset.
At some point in the chat it’s mentioned that new 105 12-speed mechanical is also inbound, and so the conversation covers that, too.
Tune in to hear about all that’s new, how HG+ works, an explainer on freehub compatibility, cable durability concerns, and a few bad (excellent) puns.
This week’s Geek Warning episode sees James and Dave hanging out in a hotel room together with plenty to talk about and not enough sleep to do it professionally.
The MADE show is on the horizon, and James and Dave touch on some of the things they expect to see. There's a good conversation about the restraints that modern road design is forcing on consumers. And of course, much more.
Enjoy!
Timestamps:
2:35 – Driven raising equity.
4:15 – Moots teases a new wheel size.
9:48 – Trek’s Madone gets a slightly cheaper choice.
16:13 – New things from Wolf Tooth.
20:49 – Leap Components doing cool things and wobbly derailleur pivots.
25:45 – Still thinking about the woes of certain internally cabled bikes, proprietary cockpits, and fit limitations.
34:43 – James goes on an AliExpress shopping spree.
41:59 - A PSA to keep those freehub internals fresh.
This week's Geek Warning episode is a little different. With James off racing bikes, and Dave travelling (for work), the Geeks instead gathered to answer a bucket full of tech questions from Escape Collective members. Joining James and Dave are former MTB World Cup mechanic Brad Copeland and dream bike builder Zach (of Boulder Grupetto).
Don't worry, the regular weekly show will return soon! In the meantime, enjoy and please let us know what you think of this format.
James, Dave, and builder of dreams Zach are back and cover a broad spectrum of geeky topics. Specialized has a new iteration of the Tarmac. Ridley has a new bike with Fast in its name. Lezyne has even more products and Velocio clothing expands into mountain bike.
We also summarise our thoughts on the Classified two-speed hub system. And so much more geeking.
4:36 – A quick corrections corner, oops
6:36 – A speed sniffing bike from Specialized
23:00 – Ridley’s new TT bike and Ronan isn’t here
28:49 – A torque wrench for News Tools Day
31:04 – Lezyne and a lot of (too much?) choice
36:15 – Velocio goes mountain
39:45 – It’s Classified, but our thoughts are not
55:22 – Too many logos are on Dave’s mind
1:02:20 – Crazy track bikes from everyone
1:03:44 – MVDP, crashing, and Boas
1:08:55 – A PSA on cleats
Santa Cruz has revamped its popular Stigmata gravel bike with a new MTB-inspired personality, Allied modernizes its Alfa road bike, Microshift’s new Sword gravel groupset looks extremely promising, and you’ll soon be able to track your bike with Apple’s Find My function without an AirTag. And what the heck is up with that hookless tire blow-off video that’s been going around?
The Geeks have questions.
1:50 — Santa Cruz has a new MTB-like Stigmata gravel bike
12:31 — There’s a new Alfa road bike from Allied
22:50 — Microshift’s new Sword gravel groupset looks fantastic
29:57 — Got a 4iiii power meter? Track your bike without an Apple AirTag
34:27 — Hookless road tires generally don’t just blow off the rim
44:47 — Dave is back to his tool-buying ways
45:18 — Tires are stupidly expensive
48:13 — Maybe suspension stems aren’t dorky after all
54:54 — The hot setup for Leadville 100
Legendary French wheel brand Mavic is rumored to be gearing up to come back to the US market – but is the US market ready for them to come back?
The Geek Warning crew also had a mountain of new gear to discuss this week, including new bikes from Orbea, GT, and Polygon, stunning road wheels from Syncros, and updated cross-country suspension from RockShox. And what’s up with this giant pile of new go-fast gear the UCI just revealed? Ronan did some digging.
As Dave and James recover from illness and injury, Ronan sits down with EscapeCollective member Marc Graveline to make sense of Jonas Vingagaard's stage 16 time trial performance. Marc was a data engineer before early retirement allowed him the time to moving into cycling and develop the Notio Konect, the first consumer available aero sensor on the market.
Marc is now a consultant to World Tour teams and counts time trial modelling and analysis among his favourite hobbies, not to mention aero testing some of the world's best riders. Finally, we wrap the conversation with a discussion on what the other World Tour teams can do to narrow the gap to Jumbo-Visma.
Factor’s new O2 VAM sounds like quite the climbing bike: light, stiff, comfy, and newly aero. But is it too light for the pros? Maybe. There doesn’t seem to be any debate about wider tires at the Tour, though, as even 28 mm doesn’t seem like enough.
SRAM has also brought its innovative Transmission mountain bike drivetrain technology down to the GX level, an Australian company wants to bring high-tech carbon fiber inspection to the bike shop level, and James gripes about water bottles.
4:15 — A roundtable on the new Factor O2 VAM climbing bike
16:25 — Even Tour racers have adopted big tires in a big way
27:00 — GX is now the least expensive Transmission version, and it might be the best one
35:55 — Is ultrasonic carbon fiber testing coming to bike shops?
49:26 — Zach has some thoughts on ever-widening cranks
59:15 — Water, water, everywhere, and too many leftover drops to drink
1:01:05 — Check your chain wear, folks!
The Tour de France can’t be that big of a deal. After all, they couldn’t even sign up 200 participants! But despite the low turnout, there’s quite the disproportionate amount of new tech to discover there, including a mysterious new Ridley aero all-rounder road racer, new tires and saddles from Specialized, a hint that a new SRAM Red groupset may be pending, new aero helmets, comfy-looking shoes, and upsized wheels from Campagnolo.
We also discuss Pinarello and Tune recently changing hands, how everything new in the MTB world seems to be designed for e-bikes, the return of CNC machining, and why your suspension fork is probably feeling sadly neglected.
3:50 — A sneak peek at Ridley’s new semi-aero all-rounder
7:09 — Specialized now has road tires just for wet conditions
15:50 — Yet another 3D-printed saddle model from Specialized
21:16 — Is a new SRAM Red groupset coming soon?
27:15 — Some funky new shoes from Q36.5
29:13 — Ekoi’s got a new aero road helmet
30:31 — Campagnolo is going wide with its new Bora Ultra WTO 45 wheels
32:31 — Mmm, built-in satellite shifters
36:34 — Pinarello has a new owner
42:40 — Lightweight has purchased Tune to create a German weight-weenie powerhouse
45:35 — Garbaruk has a new CNC-machined road and gravel crankset
49:30 — CNC machining is back in a big way
56:21 — UDH isn’t coming for road bikes; it’s already here
1:05:35 — MTB R&D seems mostly aimed at e-bikes these days
1:13:49 – Your suspension fork probably isn’t working as well as you think it is
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James and Ronan attended the Eurobike trade show last week, and oh boy, did they come back with a lot to talk about. E-bikes were definitely a major theme at this year’s show – again – but there was also a bunch of high-performance goodies, tons of electronic doodads, and as always, cargo bikes galore.
Also: Dave secretly wants to become a firefighter.
7:18 – A convenient way to measure saddle position
9:10 – Ronan likes the looks of the new Look
12:09 – 3T goes fully internal
13:08 – An unlikely new line of bikes from Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin
19:26 – So many amazing kid bikes
22:58 – Who said electronic shifting has to be expensive?
30:10 – Shimano’s 105 mechanical road groupset goes 12-speed
33:53 – There’s a revolution in tires coming, courtesy of Schwalbe
37:20 – Look, ma, no valve stems!
42:15 – A truly promising rethink of the rear derailleur
46:30 – Gearboxes and motors go together like peanut butter and jelly
54:01 – Cargo bikes galore
1:01:30 – NFCs are not the same as NFTs
1:03:15 – Cheap e-bike batteries can be very, very sketchy
For this week’s Geek Warning, James and Ronan were en-route to Eurobike, and so Dave was left talking to himself. After he submitted a three-hour rambling episode about his colour-coding preferences for hex keys, the team suggested that he record a new episode with Brad Copeland.
In the episode, Dave and Brad chat about a lust-worthy new tool from Abbey Bike Tools, Wolf Tooth’s new LoneWolf 1x Road chainguide, and the next frontier of XC race tech. Of course, Brad and Dave also share what’s on their mind, and there’s a PSA that’s likely relevant to many.
3:38 - The biggest things at E-urobike
10:03 - Abbey’s biggest tool yet
19:23 – 1x chain guides for road
26:30 - Bike selection and other tech at the World Cup in Leogang
43:30 - What’s on Brad’s mind? Road Tubeless.
51:30 - What’s on Dave’s mind? You can probably guess.
57:42 – PSA to check those cables!
SRAM’s new Apex redesign brings AXS wireless electronic shifting to the masses, but there’s also a new mechanical version, and it’s all 1x12 – and we’ve got all the details. Commencal has announced its first gravel bike that’s “not just another gravel bike” (even though it mostly is), RockShox’s Flight Attendant automatic electronic suspension is coming to XC, someone lost something in Lenzerheide, and Ronan outlines some of the tech decisions from his recent record-setting ride in Ireland. And finally, is UDH coming to road bikes now? (Hint: yes, it is).
12:45 – New SRAM Apex!
31:30 – Commencal gets into gravel
37:33 – RockShox’s updated SID spotted in the wild
43:46 – A big oops on the start line in Lenzerheide
48:17 – Ronan optimizes everything for his 15-hour time trial
1:02:15 – SRAM’s UDH is now coming for road bikes, too
There is so much new stuff to talk about this week! Unbound Gravel was a smorgasbord of fresh gravel good, including new bikes from Canyon and Santa Cruz, and a sneak preview of Shimano’s new 12-speed GRX groupset.
We’ve also recently spotted new road bikes from BMC and Factor, and Silca aims to make chain waxing (a lot!) easier. And speaking of Unbound, what was the true material cost of entry for this year’s event? Hint: It's almost certainly much, much more than most participants expected.
Timestamps:
6:40 – What’s this new BMC race bike?
13:20 – Will the new Factor 02 VAM be even lighter?
17:44 – Shimano GRX 12-speed spotted at Unbound, plus our thoughts on 1x vs 2x for gravel.
28:05 – A more mountain bike-like Santa Cruz Stigmata on the way?
30:05 – Canyon Grail is due to get one less handlebar.
34:30 – Silca’s new Chain Stripper, the future of chain lubes, and why Caley is back on wax.
45:15 – Highlights of the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia.
54:12 – On your mind, and over the head of your family: Caley gives a shout-out to modern mountain bikes.
58:42 – James asks whether event participants consider the true cost of entry.
1:08:32 – PSA for your spare inner tube.
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Our trio of diehard in-house tech geeks – James, Dave, and Ronan – are on hand this week to talk about the dropped chain that nearly derailed Primož Roglič’s Giro d’Italia, Campagnolo’s new (and outrageously expensive) Super Record Wireless electronic road groupset, fancy new spokes from DT Swiss, and our new comprehensive guide to buying your first custom bike.
Also, all three of us apparently have issues staying upright, Ronan has thoughts on disc brakes in road racing, and a PSA on hidden caffeine.
6:58 — Roglic’s nearly disastrous chain drop
20:37 — Campagnolo goes wireless and ditches the thumb buttons
43:40 — New high-end MTB spokes from DT Swiss
48:37 — The impending return of the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia
49:59 — The return of Matt Wikstrom!
52:10 — Dave fell down
53:41 — James fell down
54:43 — Ronan fell down
55:12 — Ronan has thoughts on road racing with disc brakes
1:00:03 — Seat tube angles aren’t always what they seem
1:02:20 — Ronan needs to start reading the fine print
Lots of new stuff to chat about this week! Specialized’s Allez revamp is hardly revolutionary, but there’s a lot to be said for a no-frills and accessible bike that’s executed well. Dave has some (bad) ideas for Kask on how to market its new Elemento flagship helmet, Wahoo’s founder owns his company again, and Trek makes an interesting move with the Bontrager brand name.
We also chat about Aerocoach’s latest round of rolling resistance tests, and Fairwheel Bikes’ intriguing crank stiffness tests. And finally, Dave shares some thoughts on cross-country mountain bike suspension, Zach reveals his secret love of cheap track bikes, James revisits his weight-weenie past, and we all take a leap through the Ring of Death.
2:45 — Specialized Allez
16:52 — Kask Elemento
22:11 — Trek vs. Bontrager
27:52 — Wahoo is back?
30:54 — Aerocoach measures the Vittoria Corsa Pro
35:16 — Which crank is stiffest?
43:40 — Dave likes things saggy
48:30 — Zach likes inexpensive track bikes
55:08 — James slips back into weight weenieism
1:02:34 — The Ring of Death, revisited
This week’s episode of Geek Warning sees former World Cup mechanic, Brad Copeland, join the team to talk all things bike tech. With Brad onboard, it was time we kicked off the first "Ask a Wrench" segment, which answers questions from our live audience of Escape Collective members.
Before the geeks get to answering questions, they discuss some of the latest tech seen at the opening round of the mountain bike World Cup.
Don't you dare call it a tire; it's "endurance engineering"!
Jokes aside, Specialized and Vittoria are upping their games when it comes to high-end road tires that (supposedly) won't leave you stranded, Chris King is expanding its range of thermoplastic carbon wheels with a new aero all-road model, we debate the pros and cons of the latest crop of fancy bike care products, and Ronan outlines the UCI's latest foibles. And as always, Dave has tools on his mind.
A manually curated list of time stamps:
2:30 - The narrow tread of the new Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres.
13:00 - “Don’t call it a tyre!” Specialized’s Mondo tyre.
21:42 - Chris King brings thermoplastic rims to road
29:22 - CeramicSpeed’s new Bike Care line and a discussion on wax lubes.
42:57 - The growing segment of Bike Care products.
46:50 - More price drops! This time it’s Salsa.
47:53 - Rome gets excited about new bearing removal tools.
50:37 - An update on the peculiar new UCI product registration rules coming to the TDF.
56:45 - Does the UCI need a Jig for its Jig?
1:02:45 - On Rome’s mind and over the head of his family.
1:08:07 - News for next week’s episode!
Modern cross-country mountain bike racing is absolutely on fire these days. The riders are faster, more skilled, and more interesting than ever; the courses are technical and physically demanding; and the bikes are so capable they'd put the "trail bikes" of yesteryear to shame. But one has to look no further than some dyed-in-the-wool road brands to see how hot the segment is right now, because even they're getting into the game.
Also, in this week's show: (some) bikes are getting cheaper, there are prototype cross-country suspension forks everywhere, and the UCI dropped a logistical bomb on teams just weeks ahead of the Tour.
Episode time stamps (oh, that’s new for us!):
2:35 - BMC’s TT bike and company news.
13:30 - Pinarello is returning to mountain bikes.
16:35 - What are P1 Race Tech mountain bike wheels?
19:29 - Cervelo getting deeper into XC.
21:23 - A flurry of forks and the boom of XC.
30:35 - Lauf drops Seigla prices in the USA. Plus other price drops.
35:30 - Will we see new UCI technical controls at the TDF?
49:45 - The growth of tyre inserts.
60:00 - On our minds and debating cup and cone bearing hubs
On this week's episode of Geek Warning: Specialized says its new Epic World Cup will replace hardtails for racing, and while the bike looks interesting, this isn't the first time we've heard such a thing and hardtails have proven time and again that they've got a lot of lives.
Also in this week's show: Wahoo is probably for sale, but who should buy it? Might you soon be taking your e-bike to an auto mechanic for service? Why did Boyd Cycling open up an aluminum rim factory in South Carolina? And James gives a recap of the shiny new stuff – both affordable and expensive – he saw at last week's Sea Otter Classic, along with a PSA on how your DRL might not be providing the visibility you think it is.
This week on Geek Warning, James, Ronan, and Caley talk through rumors of a new Specialized Tarmac SL8, dig into the worst bike James has ever ridden, the return of Mavic (but not where you think they would be), and much more.
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Paris-Roubaix has been a better predictor of the bike tech that will be common in the future than any other pro race. It was the first with bigger tires, the first with disc brakes, the first with endurance frames.
So what were teams riding this year? Ronan Mc Laughlin and Caley Fretz dive into the cutting edge of cobble-worthy bike tech.
Lots of news in this week's live episode! Fresh patent filings have revealed Campagnolo's upcoming wireless electronic groupsets will have thumb buttons after all, we've got an intriguing new thermoplastic wheel brand as well as two more wheel intros from Roval, Garmin is chasing the sun with new solar-powered GPS computers, Trek seems to be moving away from the Bontrager label, and Q36.5 announces its latest effort to prevent road rash. James also shares his thoughts on headset-based cable routing for mountain bikes (it's dumb), and Dave offers his opinion on race-style repair stands, and we answer a bunch of from our live studio audience.
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Fresh off his round-the-world hot air balloon trip, James Huang is back! And so is our resident GrumpyH8ter mechanic, Zach Edwards. They sit down with Dave Rome to chat about a trio of new bike releases, Time’s monstrous new carbon fiber factory, the pros and cons of cable vs. electronic mountain bike shifting, and a PSA about safely pulling your tubeless-equipped bikes out of hibernation.
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In this week's Geek Warning, Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz dive into...
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Dave's hurt feelings
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Taipei Cycle Show
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Specialized's wild-looking Sirius
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Ronan's spec-bikes thing
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Wax lub on our minds
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and a PSA.
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Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz are back with another nerdy episode, this week they dive into...* Two broken handlebars in the same race * The broader implications of SRAM's new derailleur hanger-killer * The crazy levels of excess stock in the bike industry right now
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We promised deep dive episodes, and here's the first of many more. In this episode, Dave Rome sits down with SRAM's Lachlan McKillop to discuss the nitty-gritty details of the new Eagle Transmissions. This episode may focus on new mountain bike technology, but plenty here could influence future road bike design.
Check out escapecollective.cc for Dave's review of the new XX SL.
This week’s Geek Warning episode lands with some big news! No, it’s not the new cover art (which is great), but rather that we now have a website that can be found at EscapeCollective.cc.
Also discussed in this episode…
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Official and unofficial things from Campagnolo.•Mountain bike shoes that should please bike fitters.
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An aero helmet that looks funny, but is said to provide benefits that are no joke.•Dave and Ronan discuss what they’ve been obsessing over lately.
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And then we throw to the live member audience for questions.
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The Escape Collective has officially launched and with that, it’s time to kick off our first show in front of a (virtual) audience. This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss...
•New and old tyre-related things from Conti, Specialized, and Tubolito.
•Ronan shares that he doesn’t want to look forward in his free time.
•Dave worries about whether we want to go where mechanical shifting is headed.
•And then we throw to the live audience for questions.
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It’s been a big week for the Geek Warning crew and we’ve got an equally big episode!
This week Dave, Ronan, Caley and one other familiar voice discuss...
- Shimano’s biggest product release, ever?
- New SRAM and how it stacks up
- A win for Princeton CarbonWorks
- That new Cannondale and its triangular-shaped steerer
- How to Listen to your disc brake pads
- And much more!
This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss...* New Silca pumps * A 62-tooth chainring at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad * New Enve gravel bike * New Pinarellos * Bad news for a power meter * New ETRTO standards * A dropper that's also an upper * What you can do to stop your steerer tube from crashing you
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Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley dig into...
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A Parlee restructuring update
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Peaks and bulges as a lawsuit between Zipp and Princeton Carbon goes to trial
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Lab71, the fastest Cannondales
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Strava's CEO is stepping down. What does Strava need?
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Why are heart rate straps terrible these days?
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PSA: Bleed your damn brakes
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Geek Warning is here! This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss...* Ideal Everesting geometry * A phone holder that doesn't * Parlee's bankruptcy * '90s mountain bike grips * A very cool toolbox
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Welcome to Geek Warning, the new tech podcast from the thoroughly redundant minds at Placeholders.
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