Geek Warning - podcast cover

Geek Warning

Escape Collectiveescapecollective.com
Welcome to Geek Warning, a podcast focused on deciphering the world of cycling tech, explaining how bikes work, and how to make them better. Hosted by Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin and Brad Copeland, this weekly show is your fix for tech geekitude, covering the latest tech news, industry trends, answering mechanical questions, and whatever else is on our minds. Escape Collective is entirely member-funded. If you like this podcast please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/member/
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Episodes

Introducing Ask a Wrench

This week’s episode of Geek Warning sees former World Cup mechanic, Brad Copeland, join the team to talk all things bike tech. With Brad onboard, it was time we kicked off the first "Ask a Wrench" segment, which answers questions from our live audience of Escape Collective members. Before the geeks get to answering questions, they discuss some of the latest tech seen at the opening round of the mountain bike World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

May 18, 20231 hr 13 minEp. 15

The golden era of high-performance endurance road tires

Don't you dare call it a tire; it's "endurance engineering"! Jokes aside, Specialized and Vittoria are upping their games when it comes to high-end road tires that (supposedly) won't leave you stranded, Chris King is expanding its range of thermoplastic carbon wheels with a new aero all-road model, we debate the pros and cons of the latest crop of fancy bike care products, and Ronan outlines the UCI's latest foibles. And as always, Dave has tools on his mind. A manually curated list of time stam...

May 11, 20231 hr 10 minEp. 14

XC MTB is so hot, even die-hard road brands are getting into it

Modern cross-country mountain bike racing is absolutely on fire these days. The riders are faster, more skilled, and more interesting than ever; the courses are technical and physically demanding; and the bikes are so capable they'd put the "trail bikes" of yesteryear to shame. But one has to look no further than some dyed-in-the-wool road brands to see how hot the segment is right now, because even they're getting into the game. Also, in this week's show: (some) bikes are getting cheaper, there...

May 04, 20231 hr 9 minEp. 13

How hardtail mountain bikes are like cats

On this week's episode of Geek Warning: Specialized says its new Epic World Cup will replace hardtails for racing, and while the bike looks interesting, this isn't the first time we've heard such a thing and hardtails have proven time and again that they've got a lot of lives. Also in this week's show: Wahoo is probably for sale, but who should buy it? Might you soon be taking your e-bike to an auto mechanic for service? Why did Boyd Cycling open up an aluminum rim factory in South Carolina? And...

Apr 26, 20231 hr 12 minEp. 12

A new Tarmac and the worst bike James has ever ridden

This week on Geek Warning, James, Ronan, and Caley talk through rumors of a new Specialized Tarmac SL8, dig into the worst bike James has ever ridden, the return of Mavic (but not where you think they would be), and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 19, 20231 hr 12 minEp. 11

The Roubaix Tech Special

Paris-Roubaix has been a better predictor of the bike tech that will be common in the future than any other pro race. It was the first with bigger tires, the first with disc brakes, the first with endurance frames. So what were teams riding this year? Ronan Mc Laughlin and Caley Fretz dive into the cutting edge of cobble-worthy bike tech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 15, 202356 minEp. 11

Two thumbs up for Campagnolo's upcoming new wireless groupsets

Lots of news in this week's live episode! Fresh patent filings have revealed Campagnolo's upcoming wireless electronic groupsets will have thumb buttons after all, we've got an intriguing new thermoplastic wheel brand as well as two more wheel intros from Roval, Garmin is chasing the sun with new solar-powered GPS computers, Trek seems to be moving away from the Bontrager label, and Q36.5 announces its latest effort to prevent road rash. James also shares his thoughts on headset-based cable rout...

Apr 14, 20231 hr 21 minEp. 10

New bikes, head scratchers, and Dave’s Ultimate birthday present

Fresh off his round-the-world hot air balloon trip, James Huang is back! And so is our resident GrumpyH8ter mechanic, Zach Edwards. They sit down with Dave Rome to chat about a trio of new bike releases, Time’s monstrous new carbon fiber factory, the pros and cons of cable vs. electronic mountain bike shifting, and a PSA about safely pulling your tubeless-equipped bikes out of hibernation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Apr 06, 20231 hr 3 minEp. 9

Ronan's least favourite assignment

In this week's Geek Warning, Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz dive into... - Dave's hurt feelings - Taipei Cycle Show - Specialized's wild-looking Sirius - Ronan's spec-bikes thing - Wax lub on our minds - and a PSA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 29, 20231 hr 12 minEp. 8

The Trojan horse of derailleur hangers and way too much stock

Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz are back with another nerdy episode, this week they dive into... Two broken handlebars in the same race The broader implications of SRAM's new derailleur hanger-killer The crazy levels of excess stock in the bike industry right now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 22, 20231 hr 10 minEp. 7

Deep Geek Dive: How SRAM is killing the rear derailleur hanger

We promised deep dive episodes, and here's the first of many more. In this episode, Dave Rome sits down with SRAM's Lachlan McKillop to discuss the nitty-gritty details of the new Eagle Transmissions. This episode may focus on new mountain bike technology, but plenty here could influence future road bike design. Check out escapecollective.cc for Dave's review of the new XX SL. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Mar 21, 202353 minEp. 7

Geek Warning: Is Campag killing the thumb shifter?

This week’s Geek Warning episode lands with some big news! No, it’s not the new cover art (which is great), but rather that we now have a website that can be found at EscapeCollective.cc . Also discussed in this episode… - Official and unofficial things from Campagnolo.•Mountain bike shoes that should please bike fitters. - An aero helmet that looks funny, but is said to provide benefits that are no joke.•Dave and Ronan discuss what they’ve been obsessing over lately. - And then we throw to the ...

Mar 17, 20231 hr 8 minEp. 6

Inner tubes, no tubes, and our first live audience!

The Escape Collective has officially launched and with that, it’s time to kick off our first show in front of a (virtual) audience. This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss... •New and old tyre-related things from Conti, Specialized, and Tubolito. •Ronan shares that he doesn’t want to look forward in his free time. •Dave worries about whether we want to go where mechanical shifting is headed. •And then we throw to the live audience for questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Mar 10, 202353 minEp. 5

New SRAM, new Shimano, and a new old voice

It’s been a big week for the Geek Warning crew and we’ve got an equally big episode! This week Dave, Ronan, Caley and one other familiar voice discuss... Shimano’s biggest product release, ever? New SRAM and how it stacks up A win for Princeton CarbonWorks That new Cannondale and its triangular-shaped steerer How to Listen to your disc brake pads And much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Mar 03, 20231 hr 5 minEp. 4

Victor's 62-tooth classics chainring

This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss... New Silca pumps A 62-tooth chainring at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad New Enve gravel bike New Pinarellos Bad news for a power meter New ETRTO standards A dropper that's also an upper What you can do to stop your steerer tube from crashing you Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 24, 20231 hr 5 minEp. 3

The terrible heart rate strap toaster effect

Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley dig into... - A Parlee restructuring update - Peaks and bulges as a lawsuit between Zipp and Princeton Carbon goes to trial - Lab71, the fastest Cannondales - Strava's CEO is stepping down. What does Strava need? - Why are heart rate straps terrible these days? - PSA: Bleed your damn brakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Feb 17, 202357 minEp. 2

Steering in the right direction

Geek Warning is here! This week Dave, Ronan, and Caley discuss... Ideal Everesting geometry A phone holder that doesn't Parlee's bankruptcy '90s mountain bike grips A very cool toolbox Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 08, 202353 minEp. 1

Geek Warning, the Pilot

Welcome to Geek Warning, the new tech podcast from the thoroughly redundant minds at Placeholders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 06, 202313 minEp. 1
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