Geek Warning

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Tire pressures are trending lower, but road racing frames are getting … stiffer? Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

Merida and Polygon have just announced some interesting new gravel bikes, and Campagnolo's new Hyperon road wheels are a far better value than the flagship version. But what we're really interested in this week is Focus's new Izalco Max semi-aero road racer. It's supposedly faster, stiffer, and lighter than before (naturally), but also unabashedly less comfortable. Is that a good thing?

The road drivetrain market is starting to get very crowded Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

Who said road riding was dead? Clearly a lot of industry folks haven’t gotten the message. Lauf just introduced its first road bike, Classified and TRP are seemingly teaming up for an integrated wireless electronic road groupset with Classified’s novel two-speed rear hub, and Ingrid Components showed a prototype mechanical road lever with Shimano flippy-shifter vibes.

We're listening, too Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to Geek Warning, the show that proves the world of cycling tech never stops.

This week we published our vision for covering tech news. In response, many of you asked for links to see and learn more of what we discuss in the Geek Warning podcast. And just like that, we present links!

Zwift has launched its Hub One smart trainer with a single cog. Ronan is working on a review, but in the meantime you can read what DCRainmaker thinks of it.

The recently announced Shimano crank recall is picking up steam as other countries roll out their respective recalls. However, it appears to be getting uglier.

We discuss BMC’s new all-rounder race bike, the Teammachine R. This bike left Ronan rather impressed, follow the link to find out why.

The Gravel World Championships offered a glimpse at a new Merida Silex. Meanwhile, Canyon’s long-awaited Grail CF is finally here, a bike James has a full review on.

We also touch on new mountain bike wheels from Princeton CarbonWork's off-shoot brand P1 Race Tech. And being a new week, there are of course, new chainrings from Wolf Tooth.

Timestamps:

4:58 – Zwift goes singlespeed and many tangents

16:05 – Shimano crank recall is getting uglier

21:50 – BMC’s new “not an aero bike” aero bike, automotive collabs, and narrow handlebars

43:05 – Princeton CarbonWorks launches for mountain bikes

46:50 – More new products from Wolf Tooth

49:50 – New gravel bikes from World’s

57:00 – How we’re thinking about covering tech news

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Hookless rim designs are coming after your aluminum wheels now, too Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

There has been a slew of wheel introductions recently, with some of the most interesting ones being from Zipp (lightweight carbon XC!), DT Swiss (“Aero for All”!), and Mavic (hookless aluminum gravel!). Wait, what? Yep, Mavic is now so progressive that its new aluminum gravel wheels feature a hookless profile, and we have some thoughts on the idea.

Timestamps:

1:37 – A close at DT Swiss’s new “Aero for All” aluminum wheels

8:27 – This most definitely is not the Mavic of yesteryear

15:04 – Zipp enters the XC wheel market (and their carbon road wheels have quietly gotten heavier)

25:56 – Bontrager cozies up with Look for a new range of clipless MTB pedals

32:57 – Wahoo Fitness continues to streamline its operations

35:58 – Brighter days are hopefully ahead for Parlee Cycles

41:35 – The indomitable and indestructible Surly Cross-Check is no more

46:30 – Dave is obsessing about what spare parts and – of course – tools to carry on his new bike

52:59 – James’s safety rules of the road

57:52 – More power or less weight for eMTBs?

1:02:08 – Choosing the right chain lube is about saving money, not watts

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Snap, crackle, pop: Shimano finally deals with its broken crank problem Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

Roughly a decade after problems first started surfacing with its bonded aluminum road crankarms, Shimano has finally issued an official recall for certain Ultegra and Dura-Ace models – and we have some thoughts on the matter. SRAM is also making its long-awaited entry into the e-MTB scene with its new Powertrain system, Specialized wants people to start thinking about e-bike performance a little differently, X marks the spot for Pinarello, and there’s some dodgy stuff going on out there when it comes to ultralight road wheels.

Timestamps:

5:16 – Shimano’s bill has finally come due

22:35 – SRAM is now entered the e-MTB game

27:45 – How much does e-motor efficiency matter?

32:05 – Pinarello’s new endurance road bikes

40:31 – Canyon sure does like its CP0018 three-piece integrated cockpit

46:28 – Ignore those ETRTO rim dimensions at your own peril

51:50 – Introducing Ronan’s new podcast: Performance Process!

55:58 – Dave has gone down the eMTB rabbit hole

1:00:01 – Should MTB rims switch to Schrader valves?

1:04:22 – Ronan’s view on aero gains? Testing, testing, testing

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Recalls, weird brand choices, and more recalls Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

This week’s Geek Warning has James, Ronan, and Dave covering a broad range of topics from Fulcrum’s new road wheels, a new airless tyre, and a tyre that’s recalled for being unwantedly airless.

There’s also a surprising amount of chat about e-bikes, but perhaps not for the right reasons. There’s the new Moots entering the space, but not with its expected material. Rad Power promises safer batteries, which is great, but also feels late. And yet another recall has us asking whether cheap e-bikes are a responsible product.

Timestamps:

4:45 – Moots takes an Express train in an unexpected direction

16:00 – New mid-range performance road wheels from Fulcrum

21:40 – Another attempt at the airless bicycle tyre?

25:42 – A road tyre recall from Pirelli

28:52 – Rad Power announces safer batteries, bit late?

34:38 – And another recall, this one impacts 45,000 bikes!

46:42 – Ashton Lambie gets out of a stick’y situation

51:50 – High-priced wheels are on Dave’s mind

56:45 – A PSA for Shimano Di2 users

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Specialized and Giant have very different takes on what makes the ideal endurance road bike Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

Specialized announced its latest Roubaix and Giant launched its fifth-generation Defy Advanced this week, but while they’re both “endurance road bikes”, they could hardly be more different.

We’ve also got a new aero all-rounder from Ridley, fancy 3D-printed titanium derailleur hangers, new indoor developments from Wahoo and Zwift, a whole day of hour records, thoughts on the UCI’s minimum weight limit, and a word of caution to maybe not trust that little map on your GPS computer *too* much.

Timestamps:

6:55 - A Specialized Roubaix, but no Cable Cobbler (yet)

21:45 - More endurance road bikes and Giant’s new Defy fills a gap.

32:20 – Silca has derailleur hangers with holes in them

38:45 - News from Wahoo with special guest, GPLama (https://gplama.com/)!

52:22 - A quick mention of Zwift things

54:50 - Ridley replaces the Helium SLX

1:01:30 - A new testing facility at MIPS

1:03:43 - There’s a day of Hour Records and Ronan is very excited

1:05:50 - The UCI weight limit is on Ronan’s mind

1:11:14 - A PSA that James and Dave hadn’t considered.

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Trek’s new Domane AL goes all-road, Bontrager goes thermoplastic, and a deep dive into Columbus Trittico Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

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

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A wrap on MADE with Rob English Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

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!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deep dive on new Shimano GRX and 105 12-speed mechanical Aug 31, 2023

Show notes

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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