Geek Warning

Latest Episodes:

Special ep: Deep dive with SRAM on mechanical Transmission and new brakes Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Oh yes, we’re in the thick of product launch season, and we're keeping focused on the most interesting stuff. SRAM has just overhauled its more budget-conscious mountain bike drivetrains, and they share much in common with the premium Transmission AXS. Except, they have a cable.

Plus, at least on the mountain bike side, SRAM has gone all-in on mineral oil brakes. It’s a huge change for a company that’s spent more than 15 years promoting the benefits of DOT fluid.

To hear and learn all about the product, SRAM lent us a few of its product managers and engineers without the public relation adults in the room.

Of course, we have full and detailed write-ups on Escape Collective. There’s some overlap between this podcast and the writing, but you’ll find plenty of unique information in each.

It’s also worth reminding that Escape Collective is wholly funded by its members, and so this isn’t paid for, sponsored, or partnership content. It’s just a geeky chat that felt appropriate for the Geek Warning podcast. Those on the Escape Collective member feeds will get a bonus section at the end with Dave and Josh covering a few elements that SRAM didn't want to discuss, along with some early ride thoughts.

Enjoy!

Time stamps:

1:00 - Meet the guests
4:00 - An intro to Eagle 70 and 90
9:00 - Was SRAM all-in on electronic at a point?
11:20 - Cross-compatibility in Transmission and why mechanical is only a price point option
18:00 - Set up
26:00 - Cable routing basics
37:30 - What about bikes without a UDH?
39:00 - Shift speed things
46:30 - A fully rebuildable derailleur
50:00 - Time for brakes and a move to mineral oil
58:30 - Explaining the new brake range
1:03:00 - The Motive brake
1:07:30 - Are there tuning guides for these brakes?
1:10:00 - Brake set up tips
1:20:00 - Josh and Dave share their thoughts of Eagle 90 (member-only)
1:34:00 - Thoughts on the Motive brakes and a crystal ball moment (member-only)

Unique features that make endurance bikes less desirable Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

Why do so many road bikes with endurance geometry have unique selling added features that wouldn’t fly in more performance-oriented bikes? That’s the big question that Ronan, Dave, and Zach discuss in this week’s episode of Geek Warning.

Plus, you’ll hear a useful PSA for those who use newer road pedals. Dave then rings up new Escape recruit Josh Weinberg to discuss the latest in road, gravel, and cross-country mountain bike tech – including Fox's new 34 SL fork release (something we've also covered in writing).

The episode closes with the usual answering of member-submitted technical questions. However, for this last section, you will need to be a member of Escape Collective and either logged into the member-only podcast feed or via our Podcast page (again, logged in members only).

Thanks for listening! And if you like it, please consider sending it to a fellow tech-loving cyclist.

Time stamps:

1:40 - Corrections Corner
2:45 - On Our Minds: Unique selling features that actually don’t help sell bikes
22:00 - PSA: Composite-bodied road pedals are a wear item
25:00 - Introducing Josh and chatting Mid-South gravel tech
28:30 - Teravail has a whole wheel-system
31:20 - Chris King launches its own alloy wheelset
34:00 - Fox releases the new 34 SL fork
39:00 - Fox’s new all-in-one remote lever
41:55 - LiteSpeed’s new impressively lightweight road frame
45:25 - Ask a Wrench (member-feed only)
47:00 - A mystery and isolated leaking brake lever (member-feed only)
54:00 - Good and bad of solid polymer bearings (member-feed only)
1:01:00 - How to deal with a stuck tubeless valve (member-feed only)

Matching fit between bikes and cordless air tools Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

What do matching bike fits and cordless air tools have in common? Truthfully, very little, but you’ll hear them both discussed in this week’s episode of Geek Warning.

Join Ronan Mc Laughlin, Dave Rome, and Zach Edwards as they discuss these topics on their minds, plus share the latest in tech.

Listeners on our free feed will get a whole hour, meanwhile members of Escape Collective get treated to an extra geeky 30 minutes with Dave Rome and pro race mechanic Brad Copeland answering listener questions.

Time stamps:

3:30 - Our methods, tips, and tools for matching fit between bikes
25:00 - On our mind: Air powered tools versus an air compressor
39:40 - PSA: Don’t forget your computer mount
42:00 - Cannondale’s new Topstone
45:20 - Vittoria has a 29 mm road tyre just for wide rims
50:10 - Specialized has a busy week of new tyres
51:45 - Ari’s new Signal Peak 3.0 cross-country bike
53:30 - State Bicycle’s budget Carbon All-Road
59:39 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland
1:03:00 - Repairing bikes for friends (member-only)
1:10:30 - Do jockey pulley wheels have a direction? (member-only)
1:18:15 - Is there a benefit to warming a chain? (member-only)
1:25:30 - Tips for removing frayed cables from shifters (member-only)

The first ’In for Review’ special episode Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

It was an idea teased in a previous episode of the Geek Warning podcast, and we’ve finally done it! Welcome to a pilot episode of In for Review – a special and approximately-monthly edition of Geek Warning that chats about some of the bikes and products we’re actively testing, the things on our minds related to those products, and the tangents that follow.

This episode is entirely free for all to hear, but the upcoming content that we discuss will largely be exclusive to members of Escape Collective.

This was a first draft, and we already have ideas for making it better. Still, we’re all ears if you have ideas, praise, or criticism.

Time stamps:

1:20 - The new Scott Addict Ultimate and Schwalbe Aerothan tyres
10:20 - Another Scott as Ronan is wrapping up the Foil
15:00 - Testing the Enve MOG through a Scottish winter
21:00 - Tangent into swapping between dropbar shifter brands
24:00 - Swapping between bikes
27:30 - Suvi is down the Rear Radar rabbit hole
37:40 - Fizik’s custom 3D printed saddle
49:15 - Ronan is trying to find a shoe he actually likes
53:00 - Just a pure shameless plug from Ronan
58:30 - Dave’s heaviest delivery in recent memory

Gravel things go road and fixing easy rattles Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

It’s a geek-packed episode as senior tech editors Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, plus Zach Edwards (Boulder Groupetto) discuss the week in tech.

Ronan ponders the real highs and lows of Lidl-Trek experimenting with SRAM XPLR 1x13 drivetrains in road races. There’s a skeptical point of view to integrated pressure sensors in tubeless wheels. And the geeks discuss the importance of Trail figures in geometry, and why it’s oddly not provided by all brands – a topic Ronan was inspired to put into writing, too (coming soon).

It had been a few weeks since the last PSA, and Dave has one related to common noises. And we’ve got a wrap of some fresh product news.

As per usual, the episode ends with our Ask a Wrench segment that sees pro race mechanic Brad Copeland and Dave Rome answer a few member-submitted tech questions. It’s something you’ll need to logged into our member-feed of the podcast to hear.

Time stamps:

1:40 - Lidl-Trek using a 1x gravel groupset
13:00 - Zipp playing with integrated pressure sensors
21:10 - Where are all the trail figures and fork rakes?
30:50 - PSA on easily solved bike noises
31:10 - Continental’s new Gran Prix TR tyre
42:00 - OneUp’s little pedal fumble
43:30 - Industry9’s new Hydra2 hub
47:50 - Velocio’s new high-riding hydration pack
49:35 - Hammerhead Karoo gets its own “native extension” library plus a tangent on computers.
58:30 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (members-only)
1:00:00 - A further tip for comparing chain wear between riding disciplines (members-only)
1:01:05 - Plugs and repairing tubeless tyres (members-only)
1:06:10 - Speeding up the drying process of drip wax (members-only)
1:10:00 - A complement for a previous answer - the advice worked (members-only)
1:12:30 - Squealing Shimano brakes strike again (members-only)

Special ep: Gear that survives the 1,300 km Atlas Mountain Race Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode, we chat with Ultra-Distance specialist Kevin Benky Benkenstein on his bike and gear selections for a recent race across the Moroccan Atlas Mountain Range. That big ride is the Atlas Mountain Race (AMR), a beast of a ride that covers some 1,300 km with 23,000 m of elevation. It covers every surface imaginable, and both rider and bike are tested thoroughly in the little over four days that it took him to complete (good enough for a tied third-place finish in the men’s).

Designed to accompany an article that Kevin wrote for Escape Collective, this chat covers why a full-suspension frame ended up being the pick, why such trail-focussed tyres were selected, drivetrain choices, and plenty of geeky insight.

Enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to check out escapecollective.com for the full write-up (or at least to see some photos).

The challenges in making quantitative testing useful Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

Why don’t you see much wind tunnel-based testing on Escape Collective? It’s something the geeks are forever discussing internally, and in this week’s episode, they discuss some of the difficulties in getting such testing to provide truly useful results.

You’ll also hear Ronan McLaughlin, Dave Rome, and Zach Edwards (Boulder Groupetto) cover the latest news in the world of cycling tech, including a recent high-profile wheel failure, Canyon’s new customisation program, and BMC’s latest recall.

Members of Escape Collective get an extra 20 minutes in the form of Ask a Wrench. This week the geeks answer questions about converting a bike for triathlon, why chains wear more rapidly on mountain bikes, and silencing a certan type of creaky seatpost.

Enjoy!

Time stamps:

4:20 - Chris Froome’s wheel failure
9:15 - Canyon’s new customisation program
15:55 - On Ronan’s Mind: Quantitative testing making bikes worse
33:20 - BMC recalls the Kaius gravel bike
39:30 - Nukeproof returns
41:45 - Ask a Wrench: a first triathlon (member-only)
48:55 - Rapid chain wear on MTB (member-only)
53:25 - Fixing a creaking Canyon/Ergon seatpost and our thoughts on carbon pastes (member-only)

Tyre sealants, gearboxes, and wide kicks Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

The derailleur looks set to continue ruling the roost, but the increased attention to gearboxes is one to watch. In this week’s shorter-than-usual episode, the geeks chat about Fox Factory’s recently approved patent in the space.

You’ll also hear some early speculation about Fizik’s entry into helmets, some new EU-based helmets standard inbound, and what our go-to tubeless tyre sealants are.

Tech reporter Alex Hunt just wrapped up a big feature on big shoes, and the geeks give a basic overview of that.

Finally, members of Escape Collective (if on the member-only feeds) will be privy to the Ask a Wrench segment that, this week, chats tyre width selection for crit racing and how to best switch disc brake pad compounds.

All that and more in this week’s Geek Warning. Enjoy!

Time stamps:

1:55 - Fizik is getting into helmets
4:22 - Explaining why things are a bit quiet on the tech front
5:20 - Fox Factory gets a patent approved for a gearbox
9:50 - On our minds is shoe width
18:00 - Silca’s new Ultimate tyre sealant, plus our picks
24:00 - A farewell to Matt Opperman
25:30 - New helmet standards inbound in Europe
29:00 - Ask a Wrench: picking a width of new road race tyres
35:40 - Ask a Wrench: Brake pad compound switching

Special ep: Clearing up PFAs Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

PFAS – also known as “forever chemicals” – are in everything from waterproof jackets to chain lubes and electronics. They’re praised for their stain, friction, and water resistant properties but notorious for their environmental and health risks. These chemicals never break down, accumulating in water, soil, and even our bodies.

As regulations restricting the use of PFAS roll in, the cycling industry is facing a dilemma: how can brands replace the chemicals that have been used in nearly every part of the supply chain? Is something called “PFAS-free” even possible to achieve? And is the performance going to downgrade as a result?

In this episode, we cover the challenges of going PFAS-free, the trade-offs in performance, what the upcoming regulations mean and why some brands are moving faster than others to eliminate the forever chemicals.

Forever chemicals and another product leak Feb 14, 2025

Show notes

It’s a new week and that means a new episode of the Geek Warning podcast. This week you’ll hear Suvi Loponen and Zach Edwards (Boulder Groupetto) join Dave Rome in covering the big tech topics of the week.

You’ll get a beginner’s guide to PFAS (forever chemicals) and why you should care. Thoughts are shared on the new Cannondale SuperX gravel race bike. And a widespread leak teases new full wireless from Shimano.

There’s something silly on Dave’s mind, and then the geeks wrap up the remaining tech news of the week.

Finally, and as usual, the episode wraps with Brad Copeland, Zach, and Dave answering mechanic-related questions from Escape’s members – including a tangent into our favourite shift cables. As a reminder, Ask a Wrench is now exclusively available on our members-only podcast feed. Head to escapecollective.com/member in order to hear the full episode.

Time stamps:

2:00 - PFAS’ and why you should be aware
13:55 - Cannondale’s SuperX returns, now more gravel
23:45 - Next generation of Di2 appears to be truly wireless
27:05 - Dave thinks the white off-road shoe trend won’t last
32:00 - iceBike, a trade show from a single distributor
36:35 - TrainerRoad training programs now work in Zwift
3730 - A new tool from Enduro Bearings
38:40 - Berd collabs with HED on a road wheel
41;30 - Garbaruk teases its entry into wheels
43:50 - Pivot joins the lifetime bearing replacement policy club
48:00 - Removing dried tyre sealant from inside of a tyre (member-only feed)
53:05 - Diagnosing SRAM AXS battery and derailleur issues (member-only feed)
59:00 - Cable routing for Shimano mechanical 11-speed and our favourite cables

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected