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The Velo Podcast crew shares wild stories of animal encounters during races, from donkeys in Oman to kangaroos at the Tour Down Under, alongside Levy's personal "Bigfoot" experience. They then tackle listener questions, debating the cost of Campagnolo batteries, the concept of "e-waste" with electronic drivetrains, and the potential of lower-tier and Chinese group sets. Finally, the team introduces the new Garmin RearVue 820 radar, discussing its features, its use as a "drafting sensor," and engaging in a contentious debate about whether advocating for hi-viz apparel is a form of victim blaming.
This week, Velo tech editor Josh Ross dives deep into the "Big Four" road groupsets. After months of testing SRAM Red AXS, Shimano Dura-Ace, Campagnolo Super Record 13, and the TRP Vistar // Classified partnership, Josh argues that the "best" groupset doesn't exist—only the one that fits your personality. We also discuss: Trek Check-Out: Lisa gives her early impressions of Trek’s genre-bending new gravel platform. Pro Safety: The fallout of the 100kph Alula Tour crash and the debate over peloton...
We dug into the data to find out. After a 20-minute head-to-head test between a modern aero setup and a classic steel bike, the results were staggering: The aero setup was 30% more efficient, requiring just 221 watts to outpace a rider pushing 288 watts. In this episode, the Velo tech team breaks down the physics of why "Weight Weenie" upgrades fail where aerodynamics succeed, and how you can find these same "free" watts on your next ride. Also in this episode: The Vingegaard Incident: A deep di...
Do you actually need a damper on a gravel bike? Logan Jones-Wilkins joins the show to discuss his massive suspension shootout comparing the Cane Creek Invert, RockShox Rudy, and Fox 32 TC. We break down the winners, the losers, and where the "upside-down" tech actually makes sense. Then, we tackle the controversy of the week: The Leadville Trail 100 MTB drop-bar ban. Josh digs into the archives to see if drop bars truly offer an advantage, or if this rule change is purely aesthetic. Finally, we ...
“ Owning the Litespeed Coll dels Reis isn’t smart," according to Velo tech editor Josh Ross, but sometimes you have to go with your heart rather than your head. Today's episode sees Josh describe how the lightest titanium disc road frame performs, and he explains that there's much more to this US-made metal bike than its lack of heft. We also dig into comparisons to carbon bikes, its 187lb weight limit, and why there's no such thing as the mythical "forever bike." Velo contributor and ultra-dist...
Best known for heavily modifying carbon fiber mountain bike frames and components to shave grams and hide every cable, Dangerholm set out to create two wild gravel machines based on Scott's Spark RC and Scale frames. But the real talking point is the wheels used on both bikes: fully custom carbon rims with a 45mm inner width, 52mm on the outside, and a stepped height of up to 70mm. In other words, absolutely massive. But are they too wide? Levy has Dangerholm explain how the design is essentiall...
With Mike Levy out, tech editors Alvin Holbrook and Josh Ross take over the Velo podcast to unpack some of the biggest stories in cycling right now, including one bike that calls itself the lightest bike in the world, and another that calls itself the fastest in the world. Big day. Of course, we had to start with the news. Specialized just busted $1.5 million worth of counterfeit gear with help from AliExpress and the Chinese police. So why now? And what does this bust mean for cycling gear? Spo...
In this episode of the Velo Podcast, host Mike Levy sits down with tech editors Alvin Holbrook and Josh Ross to tackle one of cycling's hottest debates: how do we make professional racing safer? Jim Cotton brought up the valuable question of whether or not skills tests and rider airbags – two suggested solutions to make pro cycling safer – would actually make cycling safer for folks. Bib shorts equipped with automatically inflating airbags are proven in MotoGP to protect riders during high-speed...
After winning the 2024 Tour Divide, Salsa Cycles' Meaghan Hackinen set her sights on the three-part Mountain Race Series that spans Africa, Europe, and Asia. Meaghan not only became the first female finisher of the wildest race series on the planet, but she also won both the Hellenic in Greece and arguably the most remote and challenging event of all, the Silk Road Mountain Race that travels through the isolated mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Today's episode sees Meaghan explain the challenges of tack...
Velo tech editors Alvin Holbrook and Josh Ross teach Levy how to find more speed on the cheap, from $1,000 wheels from China to relatively inexpensive power meters and aero helmets that make sense. The crew also lays out their budget speed-enhancing picks for $500, $250, $100, $50, and especially our favorite price point: zero dollars. Alvin has been testing Factor's new Monza, which he argues is a "good value" at $7,200 USD when compared to other aero road bikes. He defends this claim by breaki...
Sure, we've reviewed the fastest World Tour aero road bikes and the newest gravel machines, but what about an off-road capable folding bike? Variety is the spice of life, and Velo tech editor Alvin Holbrook has been getting spicy on Brompton's G Line, a bike that should be more capable than any of the legendary UK brand's previous offerings, thanks to larger wheels and much better tires and brakes. Alvin rode the G Line on his usual gravel test loop and reports back on how it performed and what ...
Tech editor Alvin Holbrook fires up Velo's crystal ball to make some predictions about what the road and gravel world might look like in 2026. He makes his case for peak tire width combined with improved casings, more integrated pressure-monitoring systems (and more batteries), Chinese gravel bikes shaking up the market, and the continued slow demise of 2X drivetrains. But is he channelling Edgar Cayce, or are his divinations more in line with Miss Cleo? Josh, Alvin, and Levy also discuss how pr...
Campagnolo’s Super Record X evolved from their 13-speed wireless road drivetrain and employs an off-road-specific rear derailleur with their Nano Clutch and race-focused gearing, but can it compete against GRX and Red? Velo tech editor Josh Ross explains the just-released Italian gruppo and their new, 50mm tall Bora gravel wheels. Alvin was at Rivian's launch of their (questionably named) Also TM-B e-bike and has all the details of this tech-heavy city rig. The Also employs a pedal-by-wire belt ...
No one thinks “race bike” when I say Santa Cruz Stigmata, yet it’s probably the winningest pro gravel bike over the last bunch of years. It’s not light, but why might that not matter? KILLER livability No aero anything, forget about integrated shit, external seat post clamp (replaceable), and the fork is suspension corrected. Its glorious. Putting out nearly 5w/kg for 180km earned Matej Mohorič third place at the UCI Gravel World Championships, but how does it compare to one of the most intense ...
It’s cold. It’s wet. Maybe it’s even snowing. Outside is always the best side, of course, but sometimes the only realistic option is to put your Bike on the trainer and get after it inside. Today’s sponsored podcast sees Levy sit down with Marek-Martin Matyska, Product Director at Rouvy, to chat about all things indoor training. Founded in the early 2000s by two brothers in the Czech Republic, Rouvy has grown to offer thousands of routes across six continents, from legendary European climbs to N...
How different is European and North American gravel racing? Velo was at the Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands to inspect the bikes used by Marianne Vos, Tom Pidcock, and many others, with the relatively fast and smooth course necessitating some interesting equipment choices. Integrated air pressure adjustment systems, huge (for gravel) gearing, and wildly different tire combinations were all spotted, as well as more than a few custom paint jobs for the special occasion. Alvin, Josh, ...
Some of the best athletes in the world employ pre-game rituals out of superstition, habit, or to “get into the zone,” but you don’t need to be Michael Jordan or Maria Sharapova to benefit from such a routine. It turns out that those rituals, be it your lucky socks or that one song you just have to put on before heading out, can play an important role in readying your mind and body for what’s about to come. Today’s episode of the Velo Podcast sees Alvin, Josh, and Levy sharing their own pre-ride ...
Gravel bike? Adventure bike? Bikepacking rig? With a drop handlebar but wide tires, proper suspension on both ends, and geometry that makes sense for good times on dirt, the just-released Trek CheckOUT looks like it’s ready for... well, just about anything, be it a quick singletrack rip or a race from Canada to the Mexican border. Will Tracy and Levy look into the CheckOUT’s features, including its near-endless mounting points and the new, longer travel Rudy XL fork, and Levy shares his question...
Velo Senior Tech Editor Josh Ross has been testing the second-generation Aethos and explains what’s changed and how it performs out on the road. We also talk about that kinda mostly hidden cable routing, the advances in FEA software that allow more grams to be shaved, and the new Roval Alpinist CLX III wheels that use thermoplastic spokes with titanium ends. Fancy. Josh also compares the just-released Aethos to the previous version that we had at the Velo Field Test, and Levy forces him to decid...
Will lower gearing make for safer racing? The UCI thinks so, but it could also make all of SRAM's 1X drivetrains verboten at the highest level of competition without affecting Shimano or Campagnolo. SRAM disagrees, obviously , and has begun legal action in Europe, citing reputational damage and EU competition laws. And as you'd expect, the UCI responded yet again . That and more on this week's episode of Velo Podcast. Velo Tech Editor Josh Ross and host Mike Levy dig into the details of the UCI'...
Aero is... not everything? Forget about the wind tunnel, kammtail tube shapes, and 65mm deep rims because Cervelo's just-released R5 proves that light isn't just right, it's also fun. Alvin has been testing the new climbing-focused R5 and tells us what it's like to ride and why it might make more sense than an objectively faster aero bike, especially if you swap the tires. We headed off-road as Specialized debuted the 4th-generation Diverge gravel bike in Slovenia, and tech editor Josh Ross was ...
Do you dream about reviewing the newest bikes and equipment? In this episode, Levy goes behind the curtains at Velo to find out how Alvin and Josh ended up testing the latest (and sometimes) greatest gear, and what it's like to ride a different bike every other week. We dig into Josh's origin story, which includes long-distance rollerblading epics, because of course it does, and how his love of photography led him from commercial car shoots in LA to press camps for new bikes in Europe. Alvin tal...
This week’s Velo Podcast takes a tech-heavy turn while Mike Levy is away, while Josh and I (Alvin Holbrook) dive deep into the latest gear, updates, and trends shaping cycling. We kick things off with Wahoo’s firmware updates. Credit to Wahoo, here, as they pushed a series of updates to its first-generation bike computers, experiencing mass file corruptions and problems, a long eight years after the first Elemnt computer was released. Next up are the new Shimano S-Phyre RX910 gravel shoes, the b...
On this week’s Velo Podcast , we’re asking the hard questions: Why would anyone pay $50 to effectively suffer through a 20 km FTP test? And who rides 610 km in three days on a race road bike… on purpose? Alvin Holbrook did the former, signing up for a local time trial with less than 48 hours to prepare. Instead of tapering, he went full aero-nerd — swapping wheels, testing tires, fiddling with bars, and even breaking out the Chung Method to measure aero drag to find the fastest setup. Did it act...
If hookless rims weigh less while being more aero and stronger than the antiquated and surely inferior hooked rim design, why are some of us so hesitant about using them? Today's show features Velo editors Josh Ross and Alvin Holbrook debating which rim design makes the most sense, while Levy questions whether changing from the proven hooked system is even worth the hassle. The guys also dig into loose-fitting tires, ever-changing compatibility lists, and whether pressure limits matter or not. 0...
Three years to win the Tour de France Femmes? Not so much. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot had said that it would take that long for her to transition from World Cup MTB competition to the very different challenges of multi-day road racing, but stage 8 showed that she's far ahead of schedule. Andrew Hood and Shane Stokes discuss her historic performance on the Col de la Madeleine that saw the Jumbo-Visma rider tempo away from Vollering and the other GC contenders in dominant yet measured fashion, and Lev...
How does 370 km (230 miles) a day, every day, for eleven days sound to you? That's what it took for Robin Gemperle not just to win this year's Tour Divide but to arrive at the Antelope Wells finish line, otherwise known as the Mexican border, quicker than any other rider in the history of the race. The latest episode of the Velo Podcast sees Mike Levy question Robin about his self-imposed sleep rules, tricks to deal with saddle sores, and the very first thing he does when he gets to a hotel. Rob...
Who had money on Wout van Aert dropping Pogacar on a climb during this year's Tour? With fans lined ten-deep and hanging out of apartment windows, the stepped and cobbled pitches of the Montmartre ascent looked more like a soaking wet spring Classic than the final stage of the La Grande Boucle. It's also where the Visma–Lease a Bike rider did the near-impossible by opening a gap on the yellow jersey (and everyone else) with only a death-defying descent and the Champs-Élysées between him and what...
The end is near, and the overall win is, barring a Pogi disaster, essentially wrapped up. That doesn't mean that the closing stages of this year's Tour de France have been boring, however, with Milan trucking towards Paris in green and Visma doing their best over the last two mountain stages to force a comeback for the ages. This episode sees Levy and Peter Cossins dig that idiotic fan trying to poach the stage 17 finish on his bike before a security guard knocked him into next week, and why Len...
The new Colnago Y1RS and Cervelo S5 have already won stages in this year’s Tour de France, but what are the latest (and some of the most expensive) aero road bikes like to ride and work on when you’re not a GC contender? Velo’s Josh Ross has been putting huge miles on both hyperbikes, and today’s podcast sees Levy and Alvin Holbrook question him about how they compare on the road, why the S5 feels so different from the Y1RS, and which bike makes the most sense for who and where. The crew also ge...
