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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 questions around Stages Cycling and Kona who were both missing-in-action at America’s largest trade show and cycling event.
On Dave’s mind is a better way to apply chain lube following a recent video from Josh Poertner of Silca. Our PSA is less of a public service announcement and more a basic guide into figuring out where noises may be coming from in order to silence them. And then the geeks bring back the Pick One segment to discuss floor pumps.
The episode finishes up with a new crank-related recall from FSA.
All this and more in this week’s episode of Geek Warning – a podcast created for and funded by the members of Escape Collective.
Time stamps:
3:00 - Sea Otter highlights, including things from Vittoria, Ritchey, Digit, PrestaCycle, 5Dev, Xpedo, and more.26:00 - Unknowns ahead for Stages Cycling and Kona Bikes36:00 - Circling back to the HighBar helmet strap as seen at Sea Otter39:20 - A better way to apply chain lube?45:15 - Chasing down those noises52:40 - Picking one floor pump1:02:30 - An explainer on Time’s revamped pedal range1:06:00 - FSA recalls some its AGX+ gravel cranks

With Classics season in the rearview mirror, Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to ponder whether anything can or should be done to make it harder for riders to attack from so far out.

Gracie and Abby are joined this week by Rebecca Charlton to break down La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège and lament the end of the Spring season. But don’t despair! La Vuelta España Femenina kicks off on Sunday and Escape Collective is running a fantasy competition just for you! One more reason to text your cycling group chat, subscribe to the Wheel Talk Newsletter and keep an eye on your inbox to sign up.

Cosmo Catalano and Dane Cash discuss La Flèche Wallonne, where the weather made for a more interesting men's race than we often get while the women's race ended with a long-awaited win, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where one rider's dominance made for a less intriguing finish than we might have hoped on the men's side while the women kept it suspenseful to the very end.

In this episode, Jack takes some time to reflect on a difficult few weeks. Pro cycling has ups and downs, and the entry to spring was a down. How does one get through such a period? 

Death, taxes, and wild tech at Paris-Roubaix used to be the three certainties in life, but if the 2024 edition of the Queen of the cobbles taught us anything, it's that the days of wild Roubaix-specific bikes and tech are a thing of the past.
In this Performance Process episode of two halves, Ronan is first joined by the crew at Specialized to talk through how the World Tour pros optimise for Paris-Roubaix in 2024 and how that compares to just a few years ago. In the second half, Ronan welcomes Swiss Side's JP Ballard onto the show once again to wrap all the cobbled classics campaign and tackle some of the more general tech questions the 2024 campaign threw up.