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Updated 5d ago
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Updated 2025-10-25

3D AGO

Mixing and matching integrated components

Ronan and Dave return to chat through the week of cycling geeking. From emerging trends in one-piece cockpits to the latest in tech news, this episode has plenty of information nuggets. As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the member-only podcast feeds where they receive the full versions of our episodes. Every week, this includes the bonus section of Geek Warning – Ask a Wrench, where you’ll hear pro mechanics answer technical questions from members. This week, the mechanics answer questions related to restoring an older rim brake bike and the reasons to do it; tubeless sealants and dehumidifiers; and a handful of questions related to new disc brake setup. Time stamps: 4:20 - Mixing and matching cockpits 18:00 - Do modern handlebar measurements measure up? 24:40 - Escape Explained 25:45 - Prologo joins the pressure mapping game 34:45 - Safety first: Pikio Labs’ Si helmet 39:00 - New Canyon spotted 41:00 - A PSA for crummy pump heads 46:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 46:30 - Bringing an old CAAD9 back to life and whether to upgrade the drivetrain 53:30 - The Chisel dropbar conversion continues 58:30 - Storing bikes with tubeless 1:02:45 - A fussy and sticky SRAM hydraulic disc brake, plus some sneaky tips

3d ago

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48 min
MAR 26

The continual compromise of 1x shifting

This week, we have tech editors Ronan Mc Laughlin and Josh Weinberg coming in from opposite ends of the world, both in dimly lit hotel rooms, and without their usual podcast recording equipment. It’s only up from here! In the first section, Dave Rome chats to Ronan about his previous day touring Pirelli. Then Dave reminds us of the real-world compromises that 1x shifting continues to battle. Also, you’ll hear a rant, and Ronan has a Good Thing that many probably already own. Next stop is Dave catching up with our US tech editor Josh Weinberg, who finds himself in Taiwan for the Taipei Cycle Show. And finally, members of Escape Collective (who get access to everything we do at Escape Collective), can tune in for our popular Ask a Wrench segment, where Dave and pro mechanic Zach Edwards answer technical questions from members. Finally, the day has come for Geek Warning to be a motion picture. You’ll now find episodes on YouTube, too. Happy Geeking! Time stamps: 4:40 - Touring Pirelli HQ 12:00 - Pirelli’s new flagship race tyre 18:00 - Wolf Tooth’s new flagship Mark Zero range 21:40 - The real world compromises of 1x shifting 34:00 - Content creation that has Dave ranting 40:20 - Ronan’s Good Thing that you may already own - 44:45 - Taipei Cycle Show with Josh 52:00 - 32er manufacturing is brewing, 3D printing, and other trends 1:07:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 1:08:00 - Shimano brakes gone bad if not used 1:17:30 - Stuck tyre bead on rim. Solutions? 1:26:00 - Re-using old brake hoses during re-routing

Mar 26

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1h 7m
MAR 29

A throwback result at the newly named In Flanders Fields

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the action from the artist formerly named Gent-Wevelgem.

Mar 29

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19 min
5D AGO

Why wait for a sprint?

This week, Abby, Gracie, Georgie, and Loren focus on the Ronde van Brugge and In Flanders Fields-In Wevelgem. They discuss the sprint that ended an incredible winning streak, how the peloton got to that point, and which teams are finally putting everything together, as well as how UAE Team ADQ and FDJ United-Suez could have played the race on Sunday differently.Abby also sat down with Lucinda Brand of Lidl-Trek to talk about her incredible cyclocross season, her role on the road team, and how the team is starting to come together just in time for the Tour of Flanders.

5d ago

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1h 33m
MAR 28

Building Rose Bikes

In this episode we take a deep dive into Rose Bikes - a 120 year old bicycle brand that many of you may not have heard of, and that's about to change. Rose Bikes is a German company that sells direct to consumer, similar to Canyon. Founded in 1907 as a small family workshop, it evolved into one of Europe’s early adopters of the D2C model. Thank you to my colleague Suvi Loponen for doing this interview. You'll be hearing more from Suvi on this channel much more in the future, so stay tuned! If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/

Mar 28

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55 min
MAR 19

It’s all marketing

This week, Ronan and Dave discuss Muc-Off’s much-delayed entry into premium drip wax lubes. Better late than never? With some new gravel wheels from Swiss Side and Scope hitting the market, the conversation turns to how hooked rims are quickly becoming a sales feature even in disciplines where hookless is perfectly fine. The geeks also chat about rim widths and wheel choices. Of course, there’s a PSA, while the free episode wraps with Ronan sharing a new app for the watts-obsessed – wattsthedifference. Something you'll be missing in this free feed is that members of Escape Collective get the full episode, including Ask a Wrench. This week, Dave is joined by pro mechanic Colin Williams to answer questions related to torque, DOT fluid, and picking one grease. Time stamps: 02:45 - Muc-Off does the thing they debated against 17:20 - Swiss Side’s budget gravel performance and 20:16 - Hooked is a selling feature 22:30 - Scope enters the wider rim space and a rabbit hole down the rim width tunnel 31:15 - Wolf Tooth joins the nice semi-internal headset game 35:00 - Sapim expands beyond steel spokes 41:00 - PSA for the eyes 43:30 - Ronan’s good thing 1:00:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 1:00:40 - More on torque, dry threadlocker, and carbon paste 1:08:00 - Worry about a frame repair 1:11:00 - How long does DOT fluid keep for? 1:14:00 - Picking one grease for general use

Mar 19

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1h 2m
MAR 21

Milan-San Remo lives up to the hype, again

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano break down the action from Milan-San Remo, which just keeps proving year after year to offer the best [insert number here] minutes in bike racing.

Mar 21

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20 min
MAR 24

Don't call it a comeback

The full team of Gracie, Loren, Georgie, and Abby are back this week for a lengthy discussion on Milan San Remo, including the attack that wasn't on the Cipressa, that crash, how UAE Team ADQ lost the race, and how Lotte Kopecky won it. Plus: a discussion of whether this means SD Worx-Protime can salvage their spring.Abby also called up Margaux Vigié, who was one of the Visma-Lease a Bike riders to go down in the crash, to talk about her perspective on the incident.Abby also sat down with Pfeiffer Georgi of Picnic PostNL to talk about her comeback after crashing in the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, her role on the team, and more.

Mar 24

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1h 26m
MAR 9

Building Cannondale

In this episode, we are going deep inside the founding story of Cannondale, which has arguably been one of the most innovative bike companies in the world to this day. The founder who is the main character in this story is Joe Montgomery. But he wasn’t a hardcore cyclist as you might expect. He was an entrepreneur who liked building things, hired his customer, and figuring it out as he went. Sadly, Joe passed away peacefully on January 2, 2026. Telling Cannondale's origin story in this episode is Joe's son, Scott Montgomery. Scott lived and breathed Cannondale for most of his career, is synonymous with leadership of his father, and is more than able to do the story justice. If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/

Mar 9

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1h 30m
MAR 6

Is aero the new all-rounder?

From hookless hubs to the latest in 11-speed shifting, the past week of tech has been quite the rollercoaster for the tech-minded. This week on Geek Warning, Ronan, Dave, and Alex from Escape Collective’s tech team catch up to run through the news and offer plenty of thoughts along the way. This one is a little heavier on the news than we typically like to do, but it’s been quite the busy week on that front! Of course, members of Escape Collective also get access to the full version of the episode that tacks on Ask a Wrench at the end. Zach Edwards joins Dave in answering a handful of interesting member questions, including one from a former winner of Unbound 200. Time stamps: 2:40 - The new Cervelo Caledonia 3:34 - OneUp joins the XC SPD pedal game 6:40 - Nobl’s new sub-1,000 gram MTB wheels 9:20 - MicroShift’s Advent MX 1x11 shifting 10:10 - Shimano Tiagra goes 11-speed 11:50 - Hookless hub failures in the WorldTour 17:00 - Giant’s vaguely new Propel 22:00 - Merida’s new Reacto is finally released 31:00 - Closely overlapping road range confusion 50:30 - A SPD to flat pedal adapter that’s a Good Thing 53:50 - Ask a Wrench (Members Only feed) 54:45 - Getting specific with 2x shifting on Cane Creek EEwings cranks 1:01:50 - Do you need to bleed brakes after undoing and/or cutting hoses? 1:09:40 - Rusty chains, chain wax, and when to replace 1:19:00 - A real fancy bike behind Zach

Mar 6

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55 min

Welcome to Escape Collective, your home for independent cycling journalism.