We’re in thick of race season and there’s plenty to discuss on the tech front. The mountain bike world is rubbing their eyes at the sight of a 32-inch-wheeled full suspension. Meanwhile, on the road, it’s the Time Trial that continues to tease future tech trends. Join Ronan Mc Laughlin, Dave Rome, and Alex Hunt as they discuss these new sightings.

Outside of racing, you’ll also hear the geeks talk about a revised scoring system from the helmet test lab of Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, Dave has a PSA closely related to the latest edition of his Threaded workshop series. Plus there’s chat about news from DT Swiss, Pinarello, and Lightweight.

Members of Escape Collective get access to the popular Ask a Wrench segment at the end of the episode. This week, pro race mechanic Brad Copeland joins Dave Rome in answering questions related to narrowing down choices in buying a gravel wheelset, how to go about converting a certain suspension fork for use with dropbars, and whether there’s a difference between Shimano GRX and Ultegra brakes.

Time stamps:

2:00 - BMC’s big wheel testing
13:40 - Tour Time Trial tech
23:40 - Virginia Tech updates its helmet star ratings
32:00 - a PSA that every part is safety critical
41:00 - Lightweight’s big update
47:40 - Pinarello’s new gravel bikes
49:20 - DT Swiss’ stop ride notice
52:30 - Alex’s new bike day
53:30 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (member only)
54:45 - Thoughts on upgrading gravel bike wheels
1:10:00 - Converting a MTB to dropbar with a remote lockout suspension
1:20:00 - Shimano Ultegra versus GRX brakes

It’s Tour time and tech editor Ronan McLaughlin has been on the ground capturing all the latest little tricks and tidbits. In this week’s Geek Warning, Dave Rome, and Ronan get together to talk through some of the bigger tech stories and finds coming from the biggest race.

Within you’ll hear about new bikes from Merida and Cervelo, some behind-the-scenes sponsorship movements, how front derailleurs are becoming less common, and why the UCI’s handlebar width ruling is likely set to change (again).

In Ask a Wrench, members of Escape Collective will hear pro race mechanic Brad Copeland and Dave Rome answer questions related to rust-proofing steel frames, solving for a drooping chain, and how to solve the dreaded disc brake turkey gobble. As an added bonus, you’ll hear Brad’s impression of a turkey.

Time stamps:

2:00 - Merida’s unreleased Reacto
5:50 - Cervelo’s new S5 and Ronan’s early impressions
14:20 - Cervelo has a new R5 coming, too
18:30 - Musical Saddles of Sponsorships
26:00 - Updates inbound for the UCI’s handlebar width change?
37:45 - 1x gearing is on the rise
47:00 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (members only)
48:30 - Rust-protecting a steel frame
52:30 - Chain droop when riding in smaller cassette cogs
1:03:00 - Fixing the SRAM brake turkey gobble

The drowsiness of Eurobike has barely faded just as the Tour is about to kick off. This week, Escape’s tech team members Suvi Loponen, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Dave Rome are on Geek Warning to discuss the biggest tech of the week and some things on their minds.

A recap of Eurobike is provided by Suvi, along with pondering what the future holds for this event that seems to be in decline.

Ronan and Dave go deep on Enve’s new road wheels, which quite surprisingly, have a hooked rim. That’s big news from a company that pioneered the hookless road space.

Dave poses the impossible question of what coloured spokes he should choose. And there’s a fun PSA related to the countless problematic adverts seen from brands that create maintenance products.

The end of the episode wraps with our usual Ask a Wrench segment. This is typically exclusive to members of Escape Collective, but not this week! This week is a free week and so everyone will hear the full member-only version that includes pro race mechanic Brad Copeland answering a few member-submitted technical questions.

Time stamps:

1:00 - Eurobike recap and whether such trade shows are still relevant
18:20 - A deep chat on Enve’s new SES 4.5 Pro going hooked
33:00 - Canyon’s new Grizl and a new weird handlebar
38:30 - On Dave’s mind: Silver hubs, but what coloured spokes?
44:00 - PSA: Be cautious of maintenance product brands giving you maintenance advice on socials.
48:00 - Apidura’s Aero System
53:00 - Ask a Wrench (open to all for this week!)
54:30 - Footwear for mechanics
1:03:00 - How to find a mystery clicking noise
1:14:00 - General thoughts on hitch racks