Recorded just after watching Tadej and Jonas summit Ventoux on aero bikes, this episode sees Ronan McLaughlin, Dave Rome, and Suvi Loponen discuss whether the latest and lightest road bikes are now designed for consumers, while aero bikes are for the pros.

Also within this week’s Geek Warning, you’ll hear Dave discuss why he thinks too many products are being released in an unfinished state. Of course, there’s a useful PSA, one that’s useful for anyone running disc brakes. And you’ll hear the geeks discuss some of the latest industry news.

The episode wraps with the Ask a Wrench segment. Here, Dave chats with pro race mechanic Brad Copeland in answering a number of member-submitted questions, including whether premium bottom brackets are less likely to make noises, a deep dive on SRAM’s newest ThreadMount power meters and the cross-compatibility available.

As usual, you’ll need to be a member of Escape Collective in order to listen the Ask a Wrench segment. You can sign up here and gain access to everything that Escape Collective has to offer.

Time stamps:

5:05 - Are aero bikes now climbing bikes?
14:25 - Unfinished products are on Dave’s mind
25:00 - PSA to check your rotors
30:00 - Rapha and EF-Education to part ways
35:30 - YT Industries’ “restructuring”
40:00 - Rouvy acquires BKool
48:00 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (Member Only)
53:00 - Are premium bottom brackets less likely to make noise?
1:07:40 - Schwalbe, pronounced
1:08:40 - SRAM ThreadMount power meter compatibility
1:16:30 - Mixing Shimano wheels and SRAM 12-speed drivetrains

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