There’s certainly been a lot of outrage over the price of bikes in recent years, and for sure, when the price of a new bike falls inline with a new Ducati, it’s bound to give people pause. There are more ultra-expensive flagship bikes than ever before, but are mainstream bikes more expensive in general? Not really. And in fact, you can pretty easily make the argument they’re not only more affordable, but also a lot better, and the real problem might not be with bike prices, but how the bike indu...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 285
Kit Nicholson and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to discuss Mathieu van der Poel's longterm deal with Canyon and extension with Alpecin-Deceuninck, whether the pros should be friends, and what's coming up in the Spring Classics.
Mar 20, 2024•52 min•Ep. 284
Loren, Gracie, and Abby are back to talk about Trofeo Alfredo Binda over the weekend and look ahead to Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem coming up. Plus, if you haven’t seen Miss Americana on Netflix … well, now you’ve got your night planned for you, you’re welcome.
Mar 19, 2024•57 min•Ep. 283
Why are bikes so expensive? In this episode, Factor's Rob Gitelis speaks openly, providing an insight deep into the world of premium bicycle manufacturing and breaking down the costs of making a modern high-end bike. More broadly, Gitelis talks us through some of the inner workings of the manufacturing facilities brands employ, staffing models and transient workforces, and his fears that a repeat of the Covid boom and bust is just around the corner.
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 281
Caley Fretz joins Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano to break down all the storylines from Milan-San Remo: Jasper Philipsen as a bona fide Classics contender, Mathieu van der Poel as an MVP teammate, whether Michael Matthews could have closed the door in the sprint, whether UAE could or should have done anything differently, and more.
Mar 18, 2024•59 min•Ep. 282
So many new bikes to talk about this week! Giant’s new TCR is a meaningful evolution of the previous one, but should it have been a revolution instead? Meanwhile, the new Liv Pique offers a preview of the next-generation Giant Anthem, and Specialized’s new Epic and Epic Evo genuinely push the envelope of what XC bikes are supposed to be. And do electronics belong on bicycle suspension? Why does Trek offer seven colors in one model of Emonda? And what the heck does “Ari” mean? All of that and mor...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 280
Dane Cash, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on the Placeholders this week to discuss this generation of Americans after Matteo Jorgensen's Paris-Nice win, where things stand for the WorldTour sprinters, and what's on tap this coming weekend at Milan-San Remo.
Mar 13, 2024•57 min•Ep. 279
Loren, Gracie, and Abby sat down this week to break down Ronde van Drenthe, look ahead to what some performances mean for the upcoming Cobbled Classics, the return of Ellen van Dijk, and how Trofeo Alfredo Binda fits into the calendar.
Mar 12, 2024•59 min•Ep. 278
On this week's How the Race was Won podcast, Cosmo Catalano and Dane Cash discuss the surprising Paris-Nice podium, Primož Roglič's early season form, Jonas Vingegaard's dominance, and new developments in the Republic of Sprinters after Tirreno-Adriatico.
Mar 11, 2024•50 min•Ep. 277
After two years at home racing the Life Time Grand Prix and working coaching and bike fitting roles, Ruth Edwards is back in the WorldTour peloton and already back on the pro road podium. We sat down with Ruth in Adelaide just days after her first WorldTour race back at this year's Tour Down Under in January to discuss all things returning to professional road racing. We kick start the conversation deciding this is not a "comeback" but merely a return from sabbatical. Ruth talks us through the w...
Mar 09, 2024•28 min•Ep. 276
Framework Bicycles isn’t afraid to say it’s making its frames a little differently from usual. In fact, the Canadian company is not only extremely proud of that, but feels its unusual methods are also integral to what makes its frames what they are. In this week’s members-only episode, James sits down with Framework founder – and one-person fabricator – Jonathan Kennedy for an ultra-deep dive on his philosophy behind what makes a good bike.
Mar 08, 2024•43 min•Ep. 275
Geek Warning is back, with Dave and Ronan on hand to discuss the latest happenings from the world of cycling tech. James is currently roaming the halls of the Taipei show, so this week, you get two-thirds of our geeky Geek Warning trio discussing the Fraser Group's acquisition of whatever is left at Wiggle-CRC after another round of layoffs and the latest questions as the hookless conversation rages on following what appears to be another failure . There's also news of Look's new Keo Blade and X...
Mar 08, 2024•59 min•Ep. 274
Ronan Mc Laughlin, Jonny Long, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to discuss new helmets and new helmet regulations, Tadej Pogačar's talent, and hookless rims. The crew also gives the BikeGrid game a go.
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 273
Loren, Gracie, and Abby get together to talk about all the action at Strade Bianche, and the exciting change that will impact Ronde van Drenthe next weekend. Plus, Abby is losing the Draft and is quite stressed about it.
Mar 05, 2024•58 min•Ep. 272
This week on the How the Race was Won Podcast, Cosmo Catalano and Dane Cash break down the action at Strade Bianche. Could the race have been won any other way? Was the winner playing mind games with his rivals? Plus, the podcast discusses what's on tap for this week at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
Mar 04, 2024•41 min•Ep. 271
We interrupt our regular scheduling to bring you a special episode of Performance Process to coincide with the start of the Formula 1 season. In this special episode we focus less on the processes of going faster and more on the transferable skills, processes, and obsessions between F1 and cycling with former F1 driver and Escape Collective member, Jack Aitken. Jack was the 2015 Formula Renault Eurocup champion and he competed in GP3 and FIA Formula 2 before becoming test drive at Renault F1. He...
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 270
The time has come for the geeks to share their strong opinions on road tubeless and the movement toward hookless rims. In this episode, and off the back of a high-profile failure , James, Ronan, and Dave dive into the growing concerns related to the many caveats around hookless road rims. Later in the episode, the conversation changes to fancier ways to hide cables through smaller headsets and the problems this may present. Then there’s a polarising PSA many probably won’t want to hear. In many ...
Feb 29, 2024•52 min•Ep. 269
This week on the Placeholders, Dane Cash, Abby Mickey, and Kit Nicholson join Caley Fretz to ponder whether anyone will remember Visma's Opening Weekend results if they can't win a Monument, who is the best sprinter right now, and whether team mechanics can disguise themselves as riders to get into races.
Feb 28, 2024•46 min•Ep. 268
In this super chaotic episode, Abby, Gracie and Loren are joined by Matt de Neef and Matilda Raynolds for an NFL-snake-style draft. Who will the first pick be? Who’s already winning by a heck of a lot points? Find out in this episode. We also chat a bit about an exciting start to the women’s Classics season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and what it might mean for the season ahead.
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 267
If you, like us, have spent the past four months nurturing a pent-up need to be pretty serious, your wait is over. After a long hiatus during the offseason – and even through the first few weeks of this year, with apologies to the Tour Down Under! – Cosmo Catalano and Dane Cash are back with a weekly show to break down all of the racing action that took place over the past week. The podcast's aim has always been to be Pretty Serious about bike racing, and that isn't changing, but the *name* is. ...
Feb 26, 2024•53 min•Ep. 266
In EP3, we heard about what much of the bike industry experienced during that dramatic slowdown of bike sales, and what resulted. In this episode, EP4, we'll hear about some of the learnings and takeaways from the past three years, and put forward some tough questions for the bike industry to ask itself.
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 265
JP Ballard joins us for the third half of our mini-series with the CEO of Swiss Side. This week, we dispel some aero myths, discuss and imagine some aero hacks, and JP generally breaks down aero for us non-aerodynamicists. We discuss if lower and narrower is slower or faster, acid tests for assessing aero marketing, and why aero matters regardless of what speed we ride at, even uphill. We then delve into where’s best to spend your money chasing aero gains, the best bang for the buck, so to speak...
Feb 23, 2024•42 min•Ep. 264
Welcome one and all to the Escape Collective Men's WorldTour Draft 2024! The draft, a method of allocating players into teams, is beautiful. It’s a system based on fairness, hope, and competition. Maybe perplexingly, it’s also about as American as it gets. As American as yugging down a hot dog and a Miller Light on the fourth of July, or driving in a Cadillac to Lauderhill in Florida to visit the biggest rubber band ball in the world (which if you were wondering weighs over 9,000 lbs). You’ll li...
Feb 23, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 262
Silca’s new StripChip claims to take (most) of the hassle out of properly immersion-waxing your chain, but while it sounds promising, Dave’s got his doubts. Favero unveiled its long-awaited SPD-compatible power meter pedals for MTB and gravel, and although they tick a lot of boxes, pedals in general may not be the best power meter format for everyone. In big-brand component news, we read the tea leaves on Campagnolo’s new Ekar GT midrange gravel groupset to see what it might indicate for the Eka...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 263
Jonny Long and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on the Placeholders this week for a form check as early-season racing ramps up. The crew also circles the Plugge hole (Erzen's version) and makes some knee-jerk predictions ahead of Opening Weekend.
Feb 21, 2024•48 min•Ep. 261
Abby, Gracie, and Loren break down the major talking points from Setmana Ciclista Valenciana over the weekend and what to look for at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad coming up on Saturday. Plus, we’re all excited about one rider on the start-list for Omloop van het Hageland!
Feb 20, 2024•58 min•Ep. 260
Whilst down in Australia for the Tour Down Under and the Deakin University Road Race, our very own Matilda Raynolds sat down with Heidi Franz, rider for Lifeplus Wahoo, for a chat. They discussed Heidi’s last couple of years in the sport, how cycling should differ from gymnastics, popular Aussie phrases you should know, and much more. We hope you enjoy this bonus Wheel Talk episode, and Abby, Loren and Gracie will be back later this week to chat about Setmana Valenciana and the upcoming Omloop H...
Feb 20, 2024•35 min•Ep. 259
This is the third episode in our series that takes a deep dive into what the bike industry experienced during the covid boom and how it got into the trouble it’s in now. In Episode 2, we heard from various industry professionals about the early warning signals that told them that this bubble was about to burst, and some of the reckless behaviour and pressure that was being put onto various parts of the supply chain by some big brands. But it’s not so clear-cut. We’re also beginning to hear some ...
Feb 19, 2024•52 min•Ep. 258
Colnago recently debuted its latest C68 model – the C68 Gravel – and while it seems like a pretty nice gravel bike in its own right, what’s more interesting is understanding more about what that new bike means for Colnago’s strategy in general moving forward, particularly since being bought by a UAE-based investment group in 2020. In this members-only episode, James sits down with Colnago CEO Nicola Rosin and Colnago’s head of marketing, Manolo Bertocchi, to get the scoop on how things have been...
Feb 16, 2024•22 min•Ep. 257
It’s time for another episode of Geek Warning. Dave and Ronan are back to discuss the latest happenings in the world of cycling tech and what’s on their minds. Ritchey and Factor have new bike (frame) releases that sit near polar opposites of the road market. Ritchey has brought back its well-loved Road Logic frames, while Factor’s Ostro VAM, a bike we’ve looked at before , is now officially official. There are new shoes from Trek and Specialized, with the former leaving Ronan a little confused ...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 256
