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Geek Warning: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Escape Collective
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on deciphering the world of cycling tech, explaining how bikes work, and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, answering mechanical questions, and whatever else is on our minds.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 6 days ago28 min
Bonus: Berd's co-founder on the performance cost of vibrations
Many brands within the bike industry often speak about higher-performing products being stiffer, lighter, more aero, and faster-rolling. And yet when it comes to off-road disciplines, it’s rare for brands to discuss smoothness as a performance metric. It’s an area many have dabbled in over the years, but it’s tough to market a product on. Berd, makers of rope-like spokes, recently published a white paper detailing why they believe their new gravel race wheels are the fastest for the off-road discipline. A big part of that claim relates to vibration damping and impact reduction, metrics that historically haven’t been included in the performance modelling used today to calculate a road cyclists’ speed. In its white paper, Berd proposes that vibration damping and impact reduction should be included as a component of rolling resistance. Geek Warning host Dave Rome has long shouted as much for off-road – smoother is faster – and thought that was all quite interesting. So he sat down with Berd co-founder and CEO, Charlie Spanjers, to hear more. An edited transcript of the conversation is also available at EscapeCollective.com.
- 1 weeks ago52 min
The last piece of the puzzle
Talk of big wheels continue to dominate headlines in the cycling tech world. This past week, Trek and Scott raced production-ready 32ers at the World Cup round in Utah, while Sea Otter Europe showcased other production-ready options. With that, Dave Rome chats with Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt about what they each saw in person at these respective events. For Suvi, Sea Otter Europe, with about 80,000 attendees this year, offered an opportunity for a vibe check from members of the European bicycle industry. Members on our member-only feed will also hear Ask a Wrench, this week with Zach Edwards. Time stamps: 00:02:00 - Big brand 32ers revealed 00:09:45 - Sea Otter Europe 00:14:00 - Suvi rides a 32er 00:18:00 - Other big things seen at Euro Sea Otter 00:19:00 - Tyre options are growing quickly 00:23:00 - Industry vibe check at Sea Otter 00:27:00 - On-the-ground interviews 00:51:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 00:53:00 - How to service a cartridge bearing 00:59:00 - When to measure chain wear (and our go-to tools) 01:08:00 - How to deal with a rusty part
- 2 weeks ago50 min
A hands-on guide to Shimano’s new SPD-SLR
Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week, Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin talk through Shimano’s new road pedal system, which will eventually supersede the now two-decade-old SPD-SL. Dave has been hands-on with the new pedals and offers insight into how nuanced the differences are. Dave is then joined by Suvi Loponen to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike along with a number of other standout bits of tech news from the week.At the end of the episode, and for those listening via a member-only feed, we have an interview with Bill Alcorn of BikeFlights about how air freighting and door-to-door bike delivery have changed, and potentially how to mitigate those increased costs. Timestamps: 02:00 - Shimano SPD-SLR, ridden and explained 18:00 - The potential performance gain of lower stack height 22:30 - Shimano’s three shoe widths, wide going wider. 25:00 - Suvi joins to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike 37:00 - Scott’s interesting return to cable routing options 41:00 - Specialized goes internal routing with Future Shock 43:30 - Wolf Tooth gets into hubs 48:00 - Members-only section: Talking bike freight
- 3 weeks ago1h 3m
Fashion week, but new bikes
This week, Caley Fretz returns to Geek Warning alongside Jack Duncan and Dave Rome. It’s been a week full of big new bike launches (all of which Escape Collective attended) and there has been some equally big industry news. The geeks discuss new bikes from Scott, Factor, and Enve, and how each finds (or doesn't) a balance between performance and enjoyment. Plus, there’s a shift in product from WTB, some somewhat sad news out of an Australian business, and we speculate over why Specialized’s founder has returned to the helm. As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the exclusive member-only feeds of the podcast, and in this we answer a number of technical questions in the Ask a Wrench segment.Happy geeking! Time stamps: 00:02:00 - New bikes, new bikes everywhere 00:03:15 - Talking two different approaches to gravel with the Scott Addict Gravel and Factor Elara 00:16:30 - Adding the new Enve Melee to the conversation 00:20:00 - Feelings or performance. Can it be both? 00:29:00 - WTB doing aero wasn’t on our bingo card 00:38:00 - Sad news from Fumpa 00:44:15 - Big changes at Specialized and a fun theory from a dude 01:02:00 - Members-only section and Ask a Wrench 01:05:00 - Our thoughts on running mismatched tyres 01:11:20 - “Critique my chain waxing” 01:12:15 - Gravel handlebar recommendations that keep the levers straight
- Aug 27, 202642 min
In person and pondering new Dura-Ace
This week sees a big first for the Geek Warning podcast as the entirety of Escape Collective’s tech crew meet up in person over in Takayama, Japan. With that, we recorded live in front of a select group of Escape members! It’s certainly been a huge week on the tech front for our entire tech team to be away riding bikes at the annual Member Summit. Not only is the Vuelta a España in its first week (where new Dura-Ace prototypes were seen), we also had the last Mountain Bike World Cup round prior to the World Championships. And if that wasn’t enough, MADE was held over in Portland, Oregon, the past weekend. Given the special circumstances, our usual member-only ‘Ask a Wrench’ segment was replaced with an ‘Ask us anything’ from the live audience. Be sure to listen on the member-only feed for the full episode. So with that, join the tech crew of Alex Hunt, Jack Duncan, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Dave Rome to hear about the week in tech. And yes, Suvi Loponen was there, but sadly couldn’t jump on the recording. Time stamps: 00:03:30 - New Dura-Ace R9300 breaks cover 00:23:00 - Leadville wasn’t the expected 32er domination, and that doesn’t matter 00:33:05 - Fox is seemingly returning to electronic suspension for cross-country 00:35:00 - Abbey Bike Tools’ new budget disc brake mount facer isn’t quite it 00:40:30 - Going into the member-only section with a live audience 00:42:00 - Ask us Anything! 00:44:00 - Are carbon spokes a fad? 00:50:00 - Silca’s entry to tires 00:53:00 - Can grease be too thick? 00:55:00 - Is there any further tech that road should expect from MTB? 01:03:30 - How are we addressing the spectrum of gravel?
- Aug 19, 202632 min
Bonus: The business of batch-built versus custom metal bikes
It’s time for another bonus edition of Geek Warning. This chat is a brief opener to our upcoming coverage of Made, North America’s Custom Bicycle Show. Held this coming weekend (21-23rd of August), the Portland-based show has grown to be a key event on the calendar for bike lovers, tech nerds, makers, and the like. A show like this also consistently serves as a crystal ball into emerging segments and tech trends. One such trend is the emergence of custom frame builders offering pre-built options. In the USA, a number of local frame builders have reduced purchase barriers by offering set models and stock geometry options. The likes of No.22, Moots, and Stinner are all examples of this. Meanwhile, one of the most prestigious names in the titanium space has now joined the list - Mosaic. For this chat, Dave Rome is joined by Mosaic’s founder Aaron Barcheck, along with chief vibe officer (and founder) of Made, Billy Sinkford. A heads up that the timing of publishing this episode coincides with Mosaic’s announcement of a 32er gravel bike and its accompanying launch of its own carbon component brand – Zero. The news of this only broke after we recorded this episode and so these products aren’t discussed within. We may do a dedicated chat covering those interesting products in the future.
- Aug 13, 202648 min
The endurance bike some of us have been waiting for
This week on Geek Warning, Dave is joined by Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt to talk about the latest in cycling tech. Alex was on the ground at the Tour de France Femmes and came away pondering why 1x hadn’t hit the women’s field like it has the men. Meanwhile, Suvi has spent the past couple of months riding the new Trek Domane endurance road bike. Dave and Suvi discuss why this bike is likely to be a big win for Trek. Then, as usual, those on our member-only podcast feeds get access to Ask a Wrench. This week Dave is joined by Colin Williams to answer questions related to replicating fit dimensions between bikes, headset changes, and why high-engagement hubs aren’t more popular in road racing.Time stamps: 00:01:20 - Accell group likely to be split up 00:08:15 - Tech trends at TDFF 00:17:09 - Tyres are growing, slowly 00:22:00 - Trek’s new Domane 00:33:45 - Bike prices coming down? 00:39:30 - The case for semi-integrated cable routing 00:43:00 - We’re all having a meet-up 00:48:15 - Ask a Wrench with Colin Williams (Members Only) 00:50:00 - How to match fit dimensions between bikes 01:01:30 - Is it ok to mismatch the headset? 01:06:15 - Replacing a proprietary headset 01:14:00 - High engagement hubs Crit racing?
- Aug 6, 202652 min
The spectrum of XC race bikes
This week, Dave and Jack from the Escape Collective tech team talk modern cross-country bikes and where the nuance between race and downcountry sits. Plus, Dave shares why he believes remote lockouts are a race-day product. Meanwhile, the geeks discuss why rounded bolts are most often user error and how to avoid them (also check out Dave’s Threaded #15 article on the topic). Like every week, members of Escape Collective (on the exclusive member-only feeds) get access to the full episode, including Ask a Wrench. This week Colin Williams is back on the mic to answer questions from our members, including tips for washing bikes with waxed chains and removing stubborn hub end caps.Time stamps: 00:02:00 - Santa Cruz updates the Blur 00:12:00 - The difference between XC race and downcountry 00:16:30 - It’s in the lockouts 00:20:00 - Differences in spec 00:28:30 - A reminder why MTB tech matters to all listeners 00:30:00 - A little Clarifications Corner for last week’s PSA 00:36:30 - Rounded bolts are a you problem 00:43:45 - DT Swiss updates its budget 1800 wheel range 00:46:00 - Silca updates its saddle bags 00:47:45 - Giant and Liv’s new premium shoes 00:51:15 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 00:53:00 - How to wash a bike with a waxed chain 00:57:45 - How to remove stubborn hub end caps 01:06:20 - How to become a bicycle mechanic
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About Geek Warning
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on deciphering the world of cycling tech, explaining how bikes work, and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, answering mechanical questions, and whatever else is on our minds.
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