It’s the week of all weeks for cycling tech. The Tour de France has kicked off, the world’s largest cycling tradeshow – Eurobike – is on, and we’ve seen many smaller handmade bike shows, too. With that, Dave Rome, Brad Copeland, and Ronan Mc Laughlin have plenty of things to geek out over. The geeks discuss the new Classified and TRP drivetrain collab, plus new budget groupset options from Microshift and SRAM. Ronan gives a brief overview of Continental’s new aero tyres, while there’s also...

If you managed to take a look at some of the bikes from Spoken, you’ll quickly realise there’s a whole lot of tech to talk about. For this member’s special bonus episode of Geek Warning, Dave Rome sits down with a number of exhibitors while at the show. In this episode you’ll hear interviews with builders such as Feather Cycles and Woods Bicycle Co. Dave chats with Silca’s owner Josh Poertner about the future of chain waxing and 3D titanium printing. You’ll learn about the latest from...

In this week’s episode of Geek Warning, Escape Collective's tech editors Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin get lost in thought and go well over the magic hour. Hit play to hear whether Trek’s move to turn two race bikes into one is a decision based on performance or business, whether lateral chain wear is a measurement we should be considering, what we look for in bib shorts, and what possessed Ronan to do a nearly 20-hour-long ride. Of course, the geeks also talk about other new products just...

It’s time to geek out. This week Brad Copeland, Ronan McLaughlin, and Dave Rome are on the pod to talk all the major news in the world of tech and what’s on their minds. There’s a new road bike from Pinarello, and a new head unit that promises to be self-sustaining, and a more affordable full suspension race bike from Specialized. Plus Dave and Brad share some things on their minds. Forward warning and an apology as the sound quality on this one doesn’t meet our usual standard. Dave was...

The tech never stops. This episode Brad Copeland and Dave Rome discuss a handful of new dropbar bikes, a recall, common mistakes with fitting chains, and their favourite… grease. Oh yes, it’s Geek Warning! Those new bikes include the fascinatingly simple Specialized Crux DSW, a refreshed Bianchi Arcadex gravel bike, and OBED’s entry into the endurance road space. Meanwhile the geeks discuss Ellsworth’s recent return and entry into gravel. Following a repair during the week, on Brad’s mind is...

A €9,000 frame, a €27k build, and €22K spent on developing the bottle alone… Wilier has a new TT bike. Escape Collective had exclusive access to the development of this new bike in a seemingly impossible time frame. Leading the design project was Marco Genovese, Head of Design at Wilier Triestina. With 14 years of experience in developing over 100 frames, Genovese knows a thing or two about carbon frame design. Escape Tech Editor Ronan Mc Laughlin sat down with Genovese to deep dive on all...

A lot has happened in the world of cycling tech over the past week. The Dauphine has teased new bikes getting dialled in for the Tour. While Unbound has shown that gravel tech is still progressing at a rapid rate, including wider tyres, new 1x drivetrains, and aero-shaped suspension. There’s a full cast of geeks to chat about it, with Ronan Mc Laughlin tuning in to discuss what’s new in the road space, while Dave Rome and new-old voice Brad Copeland discuss the rest. Of course the geeks...

It's time for another bonus episode of Geek Warning. Typically, we keep these bonus episodes for subscribers and members of Escape Collective, however, this one is being left open to all as a teaser for the type of stuff you’re missing by not being a member. If you like this and want more, sign up here.  This episode is about gravel tire selection and trends in the thinking that bigger is better. It all came about through an Instagram post by former WorldTour pro-turned Gravel Pro Alex...

Welcome back to Geek Warning, a podcast by the Escape Collective, that covers everything to know in the world of bicycle tech. James Huang said farewell in our past episode, and with that, Dave is joined by a new voice that knows a thing or two about bicycle-related things – Brad Copeland.With a mountain bike World Cup race at Nové Město freshly finished, Dave and Brad discuss things in use by the winners, technical problems by a race favourite, and trends in tyre tech.The geeks share their...

Ever feel like you’d like a lighter bike? Now imagine what your current bike would feel like if it was half of your body weight. For all too many kids who are learning to ride bikes, that’s exactly what it feels like to them. Premium kids’ bikes are a relatively new category, but also one that’s rapidly growing with more brands, models, sizes, and genres than ever before. Are they expensive? As compared to what you’d find in a big-box store, sure. But when you really think about what your kid...

It’s just a regular week in May, but you can bet the bike industry is its usual buzz of activity. James Huang and Dave Rome offer some strong thoughts related to Shimano’s latest release of GRX Di2. There’s chat about Felt clawing its way back into the spotlight. Of course the geeks can't ignore the return of Kona Bikes. And there are rumblings that the old Interbike tradeshow may be coming back, too. We’ve got custom bikes on our minds. We fail at picking one saddle. And there’s a PSA for...

Not surprisingly given the big product launch this week, Dave and James have a lot to dive into with SRAM’s new Red AXS wireless road groupset: what’s different about it, what’s not so different, what’s been improved, and what’s stayed the same – and the thing everyone will invariably ask us, whether we’d choose that or the latest Shimano Dura-Ace. We also chat about the neat features embedded into the new Hammerhead Karoo GPS computer, and the significance of the new tire partnership between...

Much leaked and recently teased, SRAM has now officially unveiled the latest iteration of its Red AXS road groupset. This top-tier offering introduces a new approach to shifter ergonomics and braking, along with a number of other smaller changes. Shile at the product launch, tech editor Dave Rome sat down with a few key members of SRAM’s road product and engineering team to discuss what’s new, what isn’t, and why. Following the chat about new SRAM things, Dave then sat down with the team from...

We know, we know, it’s been ages since we did our last Ask a Wrench episode – late January, in fact. Guilty as charged. Better late than never? But as a nice bonus, our panel of geeks had an extra-long list of repair and maintenance questions to answer this time around, like why bedding in your new brakes is important, what not to do with your fancy digital torque wrench, how to diagnose a curious front-end clunk, how to protect your fancy new bike for the long haul, the best way to fix a...

Welcome back to Geek Warning! This week, James and Dave have a varied conversation covering tech related to road, gravel, and mountain bike. The Giro has begun and Tadej Pogačar took a little tumble that many were quick to blame the equipment for. James and Dave discuss that such finger pointing was not warranted this time. At the opposite end of UCI disciplines, the conversation then turns to aero gains returning to professional downhill mountain bike racing. In the tech new front, the geeks...

The Sea Otter Classic just wrapped up literally a few days ago, but clearly someone forgot to turn off the tap of new bikes and gear. Cervelo just announced a redesign of its ultra-popular Aspero gravel bike, and clearly put a lot of thought into what needed to change – and perhaps more importantly, what didn’t. Colnago also just dropped a new gravel bike of its own, the G4X, and Giant finally revamped its Trinity TT bike – no more rim brakes! Dave and James also chat about the eight billion...

In this episode of Geek Warning, James is just back from the Sea Otter Classic and Dave is still thinking about chain lube and tools. On the Sea Otter front, James and Dave discuss new eco-friendlier tyres from Vittoria, new metal bikes from Ritchey and Digit, parts from 5Dev and Xpedo, along with new tools from PrestaCycle and Stan’s NoTubes. Check out James’ Sea Otter Classic galleries for visuals of what was discussed (and so so so much more). The conversation then turns to larger...

In this jam-packed episode, James and Dave discuss a handful of new gravel and road bikes that caught their attention during the week. Trek enters the rear Radar game to compete with Garmin, yet James’ early impressions of the CarBack raises more questions than answers. DT Swiss has just released a new mountain bike rear hub with a wholly new ratchet system, you can read about the new 240 DEG hub at escapecollective.com, and a bonus episode of Geek Warning with DT Swiss is also available,...

It’s time for another bonus episode of the Geek Warning podcast. Typically only Escape Collective members have access to the full versions of these, but this week we’re feeling generous. This episode coincides with the release of DT Swiss’ Ratchet DEG system (link to review), effectively an oversized 90T version of the famous Star Ratchet design. Here, tech editor Dave Rome interviews Friso Lorscheider and Brandon Wold from DT Swiss about this new mountain bike rear hub and how it fits into...

The 2024 Sea Otter Classic hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the Geek Warning crew has already got a ton of new bikes and gear to talk about this week. All-road/endurance road bikes are clearly enjoying a moment in the sun with the launch of the new BMC Roadmachine and Enve Fray, and Liv has another fresh full-suspension mountain bike landing in shops. Fox has also completely revamped its range of suspension forks for MY2025, Dave and James chat about why they’re big fans of Project321’s...

Whew, so much new product news to discuss today, and Sea Otter is still two weeks away! Shimano looks to strengthen its stranglehold on the entry-level market with a new range called Essa, while some updates to the CUES collection may provide some hints at higher-end bits to come, too. Campagnolo finally announces a power meter to go along with the Super Record Wireless groupset launched last year, there’s turmoil at Scott Sports, and some hooked wheel companies are out for blood. Dave and...

Bridge Bike Works is an upstart brand that's trying to make a go at building premium carbon fiber bikes in Canada. It's not just a geographic thing or a point of national pride here, though. Bridge says it's obviously proud of making bikes in its own backyard, but it's also striving to make better product, period, by keeping the entire process – from R&D to lay-up and curing to paint – under a single unobtrusive industrial roof in Cervelo's old stomping grounds. In this Geek Warning...

Welcome back to Geek Warning! In this week’s edition of the regular show, Ronan and Dave discuss why current road bikes may not be ready for emerging trends in seated positions. Later Ronan shares a PSA related to multi-tools that turns out to be more of a Pick One and a rant. On the news side, the geeks discuss the new Cannondale Scalpel cross-country race bike. Pinarello has finally officially revealed its Bolide F HR that Italy will race on the track in Paris. There’s more 3D-printed tech...

Four weeks on from Thomas De Gendt's now infamous crash, Zipp has released its findings and explanation, but many questions still remain. In this podcast, Ronan is joined by David Morse and Nathan Schickel from Zipp as he seeks the answers to the questions many have been asking.

There’s certainly been a lot of outrage over the price of bikes in recent years, and for sure, when the price of a new bike falls inline with a new Ducati, it’s bound to give people pause. There are more ultra-expensive flagship bikes than ever before, but are mainstream bikes more expensive in general? Not really. And in fact, you can pretty easily make the argument they’re not only more affordable, but also a lot better, and the real problem might not be with bike prices, but how the bike...