Escape Collective

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Channel • 9 Shows

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Updated 3 Mar
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Updated 14/01/2025
Sports News

Sports News

Updated 6 days ago

5 DAYS AGO

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/

5 days ago

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1h 30m
4 DAYS AGO

Was Strade Bianche the best bike race we've ever seen?

It's a full team this week to discuss Strade Bianche! Gracie, Loren, and Georgie joined Abby to talk all about FDJ United-Suez, how the team expertly pivoted when Demi Vollering was taken off the board, what made Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Elisa Longo Borghini's bids for the win different from Chabbey and Koch's, and more.We also talked about the importance of The Cyclists' Alliance, and you can find my written piece on their financial difficulties here.

4 days ago

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1h 5m
6 MAR

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

6 Mar

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55 min
7 MAR

Did Pogačar actually attack at Strade Bianche?

Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano are back for 2026 to break down all the action from Strade Bianche. To get access to the full member's only show, sign up over at escapecollective.com/htrww!

7 Mar

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19 min
2 DAYS AGO

Is the new CAAD rider the old CAAD rider?

This week, Ronan reveals to the world that he’s never even sat on a Cannondale CAAD. Relatedly, Escape is now hiring a new tech editor. Separate from that controversy, Dave and Ronan chat through some interesting but unreleased products. Dave worries he’s got too much on his mind when it comes to modern electronics in bicycles. And conversation turns a little behind-the-scenes. Members of Escape Collective also get access to Ask a Wrench, where we answer your technical questions. This week a lot of those questions were up Ronan’s alley, so he’s present to answer them. Happy geeking! Time stamps: 3:40 - Escape is hiring! 7:00 - The new CAAD 16:30 - Interesting concept handlebar from Champn 24:00 - Pogi’s new Enve 6.7s 26:33 - Bianchi’s Infinito puzzling press launch 35:40 - New travel cases from Evoc and Post Carry Co 40:00 - Dave has no more mental capacity for electronics 50:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 51:00 - Corrections Corner 52:00 - Bike choice for Paris-Roubaix Challenge 1:04:00 - Hookless confusion in the real-world 1:10:00 - First bike with electronic shifting. Things to know.

2 days ago

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51 min
5 DAYS AGO

Paul Seixas is The Chosen One

Today on the show: Paul Seixas is the real deal, a not too shabby performance from Elise, and Pogacar reigns supreme.

5 days ago

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55 min
26 FEB

Can we stop talking in absolutes?

It’s common for everyone to chase the simple answer for what the best product is. In this week’s Geek Warning, Dave and Ronan discuss why those chasing the best of something may be landing upon fiction. Additionally, you’ll hear about the differing paths in aero road wheel design between the latest from Princeton Carbon Works and Cadex. Of course, there’s a PSA. And our Good Thing segment returns. As with every week, members of Escape Collective get access to our Ask a Wrench segment. This week, Zach Edwards joins Dave to discuss greasing principles, whether to lube electronic derailleurs, mixing-and-matching SRAM brakes, and more. If you like the show, then please consider leaving a review. It’s much appreciated. Happy geeking! Time stamps: 1:20 - Princeton Carbon Works’ research into rim widths 10:50 - Cadex’s new aero combo 20:00 - SRAM’s new gravity MTB products 22:55 - Ibis has a new XC bike 24:00 - On our mind: There is no best 36:50 - PSA: Know when you don’t know 46:00 - Good thing: Sync Ergonomics Aerobar Three 51:00 - Ask a Wrench (Members only) 51:30 - Do you lube the pivots of electronic derailleurs? 59:20 - Shimano MTB vs Road on an indoor trainer 1:04:00 - Mixing SRAM dropbar shifters with four-piston calipers 1:09:30 - Applying grease to a thread and how much to use

26 Feb

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51 min
4 MAR

Uplift - The Woman Lifting Women in the Bike Industry

This episode's guest is Rachel Burnside, who is the creator and force behind Uplift, a mentoring and networking program she built from scratch to support women working in the cycling industry. Uplift started simply: connect women early in their careers with senior women who'd already navigated the road ahead. But it's grown into something much bigger - a global community with over a thousand women in the bike industry, and live events at Sea Otter, Eurobike, the Tour de France Femmes and many other smaller ones. All of it built in Rachel's spare time, powered by goodwill, and kept free for everyone involved. We talk about how Uplift works, what she's learned across five rounds of mentoring, the role of male allies, and what it'll take to keep more women in cycling for the long haul. Find out more at www.shiftactivemedia.com/uplift/ and you can get in touch directly by emailing uplift@shiftactivemedia.com. If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/

4 Mar

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45 min
18 FEB

Performance bikes are like phones

Think of recent times when Apple, Samsung, or Google have once again claimed to change the phone, just for you to find out that you can now photograph everyone’s wrinkles a little more clearly. Ronan believes we’re in an age where performance bikes are like phones, and of course, the geeks discuss it. On Geek Warning this week, Dave and Ronan discuss Cannondale’s latest bikes and what they may spell for some other emerging trends. Meanwhile, the PSA segment returns with a warning regarding increasingly common hood slippage. All of that is free to all, while members of Escape Collective also gain access to our popular Ask a Wrench segment at the end of the episode. From our favourite bearing greases to headset woes, there’s plenty answered and discussed this week. Happy geeking! Time stamps: 1:45 - Cannondale SuperSix Evo 4.5 12:50 - TT frames as aero road bikes? 24:00 - Favero doubles battery longevity, for free 25:50 - Trek turns 50 26:30 - New Factor Ostro Gravel spotted 30:30 - RIP King Liu 31:30 - Performance bicycles are like phones 45:00 - PSA related to slipping hoods 54:30 - Ask a Wrench with Boulder Grupetto (member only) 55:48 - Mixing and matching SRAM Transmission with other cassettes 1:00:15 - Specialized Crux headset loosening woes 1:10:00 - Quick connectors for fully integrated drop bar bikes? 1:17:20 - Servicing versus replacing bottom brackets, and our go-to bearing greases

18 Feb

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55 min
20 FEB

Bonus: Speaking spokes

Oh hi, Dave Rome here. It’s time to get geeky about spokes. I recently wrapped up a long-term review (now live on Escape Collective) where I compared two identical gravel wheelsets, one built with bladed steel spokes and the other built with Berd spokes, a spoke made from a Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, aka, Dyneema. Those white Berd spokes have been growing steadily in popularity, and off the back of Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand Prevot winning the last Olympic games on them, I was ever more curious. To help with that curiosity, Tristan Thomas of the New Zealand-based wheel company, WheelWorks, lent me some wheels in order to get some answers to questions I had. This episode is a sit-down with Tristan to discuss spokes and the considerations around an interesting polymer product like Berd. Happy geeking!

20 Feb

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31 min

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