James Huang

Émissions

Épisodes

  1. A new lease on life for clothing and bags

    09/11/2022

    A new lease on life for clothing and bags

    Much of the attention on the Right to Repair movement in cycling has been concentrated on hard goods, like bikes, wheels, components, and so on. But it’s also important to remember that you can often fix clothing and bags at a nominal cost after a crash or even just due to wear and tear. Why throw it away when you can bring it back to life? In this week’s episode, we chat with two brands – Velocolour and Ortlieb – who are doing just that.

    58 min
  2. An extravaganza of new bikes

    09/09/2022

    An extravaganza of new bikes

    Do bike companies conspire to release a whole bunch of new bikes at once? It sure felt like it this week, as we saw the announcement of the new Trek Domane, the new Canyon Ultimate, and the new BMC Kaius all in the past few days. The Nerds discuss the salient features of each one — pros and cons — as well as a big industry indicator that the market really is cooling off big-time. Prices might finally be coming down for some stuff, but other items are still super hard to come by.

    1 h 11 min
  3. Fixing broken carbon fiber

    12/05/2020

    Fixing broken carbon fiber

    This week's episode is a deep dive on carbon repair. After Caley broke his mountain bike, he sent it off to be fixed. We speak with Shawn Small and Dan Steinle from Ruckus Composites about the process, what they'll fix, and what they won't.  Then, James chats with Raoul Leuscher about why carbon bikes break in the first place.

    1 h 39 min
  4. So. Many. New. Bikes.

    09/06/2022

    So. Many. New. Bikes.

    June is turning out to be an exceptionally hot month in terms of new bike releases, and Ronan joins James and Dave as a special guest to help us talk through them all. Although we don't have official information just yet, we know a new Trek Madone, Giant Propel, Canyon Ultimate, and Scott Foil are all likely to be announced within the next few weeks -- and thanks to revamped UCI technical regulations, there's once again some legitimately unique thinking going on in terms of design features. We also dissect Pinarello's new Grevil F gravel race bike, chat about Dave's favorite bikes from the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, and wrap up with another round of Ask a Mechanic.

    1 h 17 min
  5. Things that shouldn’t break

    03/06/2022

    Things that shouldn’t break

    Modern bikes are marvellous creations that continually push engineering boundaries with a continued focus on lighter, faster, and sleeker. However, that raises a big question, is the bicycle industry flying a little close to the sun when it comes to safety? It’s exactly this concern that this week’s Nerd Alert deep dive episode covers. Join James and Dave, as they speak with world-renowned carbon fibre repair, testing, and inspection expert Raoul Luescher of Melbourne-based Luescher Teknik. The conversation covers existing test standards related to forks, the perceived gaps in those standards, where the industry could (and should) do more, and some helpful hints for safety checking what's arguably the most critical part of your bike at home.

    1 h 10 min
  6. Does it matter where your bike is built?

    28/07/2022

    Does it matter where your bike is built?

    The Nerds are back with a long overdue group show, and they’ve got a lot to talk about! James recaps some of the highlights from the recent Eurobike show in Frankfurt, Dave chats about the pitfalls of modern e-commerce with Silca’s Josh Poertner, we chat about two new road bikes — the Cervelo S5 and the Enve Melee — and debate how much it matters where a bike is manufactured. And finally, after a long hiatus, it’s another round of Ask a Mechanic!

    1 h 6 min
  7. Rim brakes aren't dead yet

    30/06/2022

    Rim brakes aren't dead yet

    The bike industry may have shifted entirely to disc brakes, but there are millions of happy rim-brake users out there with bikes that still have years — or even decades — of life left in them. Mainstream brands have already stopped spending money on anything related to rim brakes, and while that’s a bummer in one sense, it’s also created an opportunity for smaller brands to fill the void.

    32 min
  8. Tech from the Tour paddock

    12/07/2022

    Tech from the Tour paddock

    We’re a little late with this week’s Nerd Alert episode and for good reason – the Wi-Fi at the Tour de France is terrible. That’s right, Caley Fretz and Ronan Mc Laughlin are in France and chat about all things Tour de France tech. From prep for the cobbles to bikes with hidden motors (just kidding!), Ronan and Caley catch up with a number of pro riders to hear what they’re riding and why.

    44 min
  9. Flat tires and sketchy brakes — it’s Field Test time again!

    23/06/2022

    Flat tires and sketchy brakes — it’s Field Test time again!

    This week’s episode comes to you live from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where we’ve assembled four testers and a video team to evaluate ten different bikes. We’ve split them into six gravel and four road models this time around, with a focus on lower-priced options. The full reveal will come a bit later once we’re all done with testing, but let’s just say some of the bikes have already genuinely surprised us with how good they are, while others have made some unforgivable missteps.

    40 min
  10. Should more people consider a custom bike instead of a production one?

    04/08/2022

    Should more people consider a custom bike instead of a production one?

    We finally have our full crew of Nerds back on this week’s episode, and boy, was there a lot to discuss. There’s a new custom bike show in the works for 2023 called Made, which will be based in Portland, Oregon, and will be held outdoors. No one will ever complain about another opportunity to see beautiful custom bikes in person, but are they just eye candy, or should more people actually consider buying one instead of a stock machine? Upstart brand Aerosensor also has a new portable device that claims to deliver aerodynamic drag data in real time, and we wonder what LeBron James’s US$30m investment in Canyon Bicycles will mean moving forward. And seeing as how we finally have Caley back, all of our answers for this week’s Ask a Mechanic segment — naturally — involves a hammer.

    1 h 3 min
  11. The future of aero wheel development might be a bit rocky

    22/07/2022

    The future of aero wheel development might be a bit rocky

    Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnels have long been the primary tools used by wheel engineers and aerodynamicists. However useful they are, though, they’re still based on laminar airflow — those picture-perfect parallel lines you see in illustrations — that doesn’t necessarily reflect real-world conditions. So what happens if you introduce a degree of turbulence to the R&D process? Do things change? Can the wheels get better? And what might this mean for bikes and other gear in general? Buckle up for this one; we’re about to get real nerdy here.

    56 min
  12. Does bike weight really matter?

    30/03/2020

    Does bike weight really matter?

    We all know that it’s easier to climb on a lighter bike. What isn’t as obvious is exactly how much it matters. And as it turns out, it doesn’t matter as much as you probably think it does. Dave Rome takes a deep dive into the hard science of how mass affects performance in relation to other factors like aerodynamic efficiency and friction. How much is too much? Fair warning: If you’ve always considered yourself a weight weenie, be prepared, because you might not love what you’re about to h

    45 min
  13. Only a crazy person would think we need yet another bike brand, right?

    16/06/2022

    Only a crazy person would think we need yet another bike brand, right?

    If you’ve got a decent chunk of change and are looking for a higher-end carbon drop-bar bike, there’s certainly no shortage of good options -- and probably too many of them, in fact. So why on earth would someone think it’s a good idea to start yet another one given this hyper-competitive environment? Well, that’s just what the folks at Bridge Bike Works are doing in Toronto, Canada. The company’s first bike sounds interesting enough, but the story behind the brand is arguably more compelling.

    1 h 24 min
  14. Risks vs. rewards of internal cable routing

    14/10/2021

    Risks vs. rewards of internal cable routing

    After several weeks on the road, the Nerds are finally back in the studio! We’ve got a lot to talk about this week, too, like why the same kinds of fork recalls seem to be happening over and over again, what Pon’s recent takeover of Dorel Sports means for consumers and retail, and a recap of the cool stuff James saw at the recent Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. We also start digging through the giant pile of Ask a Mechanic questions we’ve accumulated, like if you can run road tubeless tires without sealant, what chain lube to use if you’re lazy, and whether you should grease your freehub body before installing a cassette. Make sure to have some popcorn handy!

    1 h 10 min
  15. Dropper posts for gravel bikes – yay or nay?

    29/09/2022

    Dropper posts for gravel bikes – yay or nay?

    We’re back in the studio for a group show after a whirlwind of activity at the recent UCI world championships, and we’re wasting no time with the heated debates. Do dropper posts (or even suspension posts) have a place on gravel bikes? What about Meta’s tease that it’s entering the virtual reality world for indoor cycling? Do our opinions even matter?? Either way, the Nerds really did do their homework this time, sharing their thoughts on the ideal setup for hidden cable routing – frame designers, take note!

    1 h 16 min
  16. The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round

    04/12/2020

    The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round

    James has locked the Nerds out of the recording studio for this episode, disregarding the traditional format to instead do a (very) deep dive into the world of bearings. What makes for a good bearing or a bad one? Are ceramics really all that? How are we supposed to take care of these things? And why does press-fit suck in the bicycle world, but is the norm in industrial settings? Hope you’re sitting somewhere comfy because we’re nerding out big time for this one.

    1 h 17 min
  17. Are we finally getting turtle shells for indoor cycling?

    15/11/2021

    Are we finally getting turtle shells for indoor cycling?

    The Nerds have been pining for some sort of Mario Bros and Zwift mashup that lets us toss turtle shells at our competitors, but Zwift still seems to be too serious for these kinds of shenanigans. However, a new indoor bike called Tiltbike from UK outfit Muoverti nevertheless gives us some hope that we’ll see something like that from someone because built into one of its levers is — for real — a joystick! Will our prayers ever be answered? We chat about some other tech news items in this week’s show — and answer a bunch of Ask a Mechanic questions, as usual — but really all we care about is the turtle shells.

    1 h 2 min
  18. If we ran the bike industry…

    22/10/2021

    If we ran the bike industry…

    The Nerds make a living nitpicking and critiquing, instead of designing and creating. So what would we change if we could? What products and features would we keep, and what would we get rid of? What would the bikes look like? Be warned: the crew might have gotten a little more animated than usual on this one.

    1 h 15 min
  19. Advancing metal bikes with No.22

    04/11/2022

    Advancing metal bikes with No.22

    The Nerd Alert podcast had an unplanned week off, but rest assured we’re now back on schedule. In this episode, Senior tech editor Dave Rome chats with No.22’s co-founder Bryce Gracey. For those unfamiliar with No.22, let’s just say they’re often one of our first stops at the USA-based custom bike shows they attend. This episode has a varied chat: including a deep-dive on the updates that No.22 revealed at the Philly Bike Expo, geometry concepts, stealthy travel bikes, and more. Enjoy!

    1 h 2 min
  20. Free the feet!

    25/05/2022

    Free the feet!

    Riders commonly complain that they can’t find cycling shoes that are wide enough, but when was the last time you heard someone say their shoes are too wide? Maybe that’s a sign cycling footwear should be wider in general. We also chat about the utility of bike-mounted cameras (and radar), what Goodr still needs to do to really shake up the cycling sunglass market, and where to draw the line between buying tools and paying for labor.

    1 h 7 min
James Huang sur Apple