Geek Warning

Talk of big wheels continue to dominate headlines in the cycling tech world. This past week, Trek and Scott raced production-ready 32ers at the World Cup round in Utah, while Sea Otter Europe showcased other production-ready options. 
With that, Dave Rome chats with Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt about what they each saw in person at these respective events. For Suvi, Sea Otter Europe, with about 80,000 attendees this year, offered an opportunity for a vibe check from members of the European bicycle industry. 
Members on our member-only feed will also hear Ask a Wrench, this week with Zach Edwards. 
Time stamps:

00:02:00 - Big brand 32ers revealed 

00:09:45 - Sea Otter Europe 

00:14:00 - Suvi rides a 32er 

00:18:00 - Other big things seen at Euro Sea Otter 

00:19:00 - Tyre options are growing quickly

00:23:00 - Industry vibe check at Sea Otter 

00:27:00 - On-the-ground interviews

00:51:00 - Ask a Wrench (members only) 

00:53:00 - How to service a cartridge bearing 

00:59:00 - When to measure chain wear (and our go-to tools) 

01:08:00 - How to deal with a rusty part

Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week, Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin talk through Shimano’s new road pedal system, which will eventually supersede the now two-decade-old SPD-SL. Dave has been hands-on with the new pedals and offers insight into how nuanced the differences are. 
Dave is then joined by Suvi Loponen to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike along with a number of other standout bits of tech news from the week.

At the end of the episode, and for those listening via a member-only feed, we have an interview with Bill Alcorn of BikeFlights about how air freighting and door-to-door bike delivery have changed, and potentially how to mitigate those increased costs. 
Timestamps: 

02:00 - Shimano SPD-SLR, ridden and explained 

18:00 - The potential performance gain of lower stack height 

22:30 - Shimano’s three shoe widths, wide going wider. 

25:00 - Suvi joins to discuss the new Canyon Grail gravel bike 

37:00 - Scott’s interesting return to cable routing options 

41:00 - Specialized goes internal routing with Future Shock 

43:30 - Wolf Tooth gets into hubs 

48:00 - Members-only section: Talking bike freight

This week, Caley Fretz returns to Geek Warning alongside Jack Duncan and Dave Rome. It’s been a week full of big new bike launches (all of which Escape Collective attended) and there has been some equally big industry news. 
The geeks discuss new bikes from Scott, Factor, and Enve, and how each finds (or doesn't) a balance between performance and enjoyment. Plus, there’s a shift in product from WTB, some somewhat sad news out of an Australian business, and we speculate over why Specialized’s founder has returned to the helm. 
As usual, members of Escape Collective have access to the exclusive member-only feeds of the podcast, and in this we answer a number of technical questions in the Ask a Wrench segment.

Happy geeking! 
Time stamps:

00:02:00 - New bikes, new bikes everywhere

00:03:15 - Talking two different approaches to gravel with the Scott Addict Gravel and Factor Elara 

00:16:30 - Adding the new Enve Melee to the conversation 

00:20:00 - Feelings or performance. Can it be both? 

00:29:00 - WTB doing aero wasn’t on our bingo card

00:38:00 - Sad news from Fumpa 

00:44:15 - Big changes at Specialized and a fun theory from a dude

01:02:00 - Members-only section and Ask a Wrench 

01:05:00 - Our thoughts on running mismatched tyres

01:11:20 - “Critique my chain waxing”

01:12:15 - Gravel handlebar recommendations that keep the levers straight

This week sees a big first for the Geek Warning podcast as the entirety of Escape Collective’s tech crew meet up in person over in Takayama, Japan. With that, we recorded live in front of a select group of Escape members! 
It’s certainly been a huge week on the tech front for our entire tech team to be away riding bikes at the annual Member Summit. Not only is the Vuelta a España in its first week (where new Dura-Ace prototypes were seen), we also had the last Mountain Bike World Cup round prior to the World Championships. And if that wasn’t enough, MADE was held over in Portland, Oregon, the past weekend. 
Given the special circumstances, our usual member-only ‘Ask a Wrench’ segment was replaced with an ‘Ask us anything’ from the live audience. Be sure to listen on the member-only feed for the full episode. 
So with that, join the tech crew of Alex Hunt, Jack Duncan, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Dave Rome to hear about the week in tech. And yes, Suvi Loponen was there, but sadly couldn’t jump on the recording. 
Time stamps:

00:03:30 - New Dura-Ace R9300 breaks cover 

00:23:00 - Leadville wasn’t the expected 32er domination, and that doesn’t matter

00:33:05 - Fox is seemingly returning to electronic suspension for cross-country 

00:35:00 - Abbey Bike Tools’ new budget disc brake mount facer isn’t quite it 

00:40:30 - Going into the member-only section with a live audience 

00:42:00 - Ask us Anything! 

00:44:00 - Are carbon spokes a fad? 

00:50:00 - Silca’s entry to tires

00:53:00 - Can grease be too thick? 

00:55:00 - Is there any further tech that road should expect from MTB? 

01:03:30 - How are we addressing the spectrum of gravel?

It’s time for another bonus edition of Geek Warning. This chat is a brief opener to our upcoming coverage of Made, North America’s Custom Bicycle Show. 
Held this coming weekend (21-23rd of August), the Portland-based show has grown to be a key event on the calendar for bike lovers, tech nerds, makers, and the like. A show like this also consistently serves as a crystal ball into emerging segments and tech trends. 
One such trend is the emergence of custom frame builders offering pre-built options. In the USA, a number of local frame builders have reduced purchase barriers by offering set models and stock geometry options. The likes of No.22, Moots, and Stinner are all examples of this. Meanwhile, one of the most prestigious names in the titanium space has now joined the list - Mosaic. 
For this chat, Dave Rome is joined by Mosaic’s founder Aaron Barcheck, along with chief vibe officer (and founder) of Made, Billy Sinkford. 
A heads up that the timing of publishing this episode coincides with Mosaic’s announcement of a 32er gravel bike and its accompanying launch of its own carbon component brand – Zero. The news of this only broke after we recorded this episode and so these products aren’t discussed within. We may do a dedicated chat covering those interesting products in the future.