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Geek Warning

Escape Collective

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 member-funded. If you like this podcast please consider supporting us by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/member/

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35 episodes
weekly
Avg 54 min
English

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Thursday · 55 min
Rain jackets, Bianchi woes, and Wabi-sabi
Hello fellow bike nerds. This week, Suvi Loponen, Ronan McLaughlin, and Dave Rome are on to talk through the week’s tech plus what’s been on their minds. Suvi’s been busy riding in foul weather in order to test a number of premium rain jackets. The chat covers how to get better performance from such technical materials and where the compromises are. There’s been some big news on the industry side, including news of Bianchi’s struggles that Suvi was first to break earlier in the week. Then the conversation turns to something on Ronan’s mind: whether even a flawed bike can be perfect for an individual. Finally, those on our member-only feed get Ask a Wrench, this week with pro mechanic Colin Williams. Dave and Colin answer questions related to hot-melt wax not lasting in dusty conditions, thoughts on a fancy tyre install tool, and Time stamps: 04:00 - The next generation of rain jackets against the forever chemicals 21:00 - The current state of Bianchi 30:00 - Accell Group’s brands finding new homes or fading 36:20 - Ronan ponders if a perfect bike exists 50:00 - Good Thing: Redshift’s new Mousetrap pedal adapters 55:00 - Ask a Wrench (member-only feeds) 01:06:00 - Updated thoughts on the Cushcore Rotary Tire Tool 01:16:00 - Inflators for an air compressor 01:23:00 - Squealing and glazed Shimano brakes
October 29 · 57 min
Rebrands, open mould, and original design
This week, Escape’s Dave Rome and Jack Duncan go a little behind the scenes of the bike industry. Dave explains how some products come to be, the value of a brand, what open mould means, and how the business of generic products works. Later in the episode, the talk turns to new head units from Garmin and Coros, and whether some of this is merely duplicating technology we already own. Then the geeks chat about the closure of Santa Cruz’s women’s-specific brand Juliana. That’s it for our free listeners, while those on our member feeds also get Ask a Wrench – where technical questions from our members get answered. Time stamps: 02:30 - Brands and manufacturers 08:00 - Own design versus open mould 12:30 - Same factory doesn’t equal same product 17:00 - The value of a brand 23:00 - Price is not always an indicator of quality 26:00 - Generics explained 35:30 - Outsourced design 41:40 - Two new big head units and Dave’s hate of beeping noises 51:00 - Juliana becomes PON’s latest victim 57:00 - Ask a Wrench (Member-only content) 57:30 - Pedal toggle explained 1:07:00 - Disc brake calipers that twist upon tightening 1:11:00 - A follow-up to fixing a torque wrench 1:13:30 - Fixes for slipping shifters
#236
October 25 · 35 min
Bonus: The science behind outdoor tyre testing
Recently, Escape’s Ronan McLaughlin surfaced from a multi-month outdoor tyre testing project. That test not only sought to find which fast road race tyres were fastest, but also to study the testing itself. All of this was only made possible with the ex
#235
October 22 · 1 hr 20 min
Ask Us Anything
Every other Geek Warning episode typically ends with the geeks answering 3-4 technical questions submitted by members. This week, we’re opening up our usual Member-Only ‘Ask a Wrench’ section to everyone. For this episode, Dave Rome is joined by US tech
#234
October 15 · 55 min
A tiring and testing tire test
This week on Geek Warning, Dave chats with Ronan about his extremely comprehensive road tyre test, published a week ago. The conversation covers how the test was run and why the data is so reliable. Then, Ronan and Dave chat about Silca’s acquisition an
#233
October 8 · 47 min
The mechanic model is broken
A report published by CyclingIndustries.com highlights an extreme shortage of skilled mechanics and the issues that presents. Dave and Ronan discuss some of the challenges behind this and what it may take to better retain skilled mechanics. Later in the
#232
October 1 · 47 min
The wheel backstory of Road Worlds
Geek Warning is rarely about the chapter titles, but rather the expertise and information shared within. That sure applies this week, as the conversation covers the real story behind Pidcock’s recent wheel choice at Worlds, Ronan’s ideal rim widths for ro
#231
September 28 · 28 min
Bonus: Berd's co-founder on the performance cost of vibrations
Many brands within the bike industry often speak about higher-performing products being stiffer, lighter, more aero, and faster-rolling. And yet when it comes to off-road disciplines, it’s rare for brands to discuss smoothness as a performance metric. It’
#230
September 24 · 52 min
The last piece of the puzzle
Talk of big wheels continue to dominate headlines in the cycling tech world. This past week, Trek and Scott raced production-ready 32ers at the World Cup round in Utah, while Sea Otter Europe showcased other production-ready options. With that, Dave Rom
#229
September 18 · 50 min
A hands-on guide to Shimano’s new SPD-SLR
Welcome back to Geek Warning. This week, Dave Rome and Ronan McLaughlin talk through Shimano’s new road pedal system, which will eventually supersede the now two-decade-old SPD-SL. Dave has been hands-on with the new pedals and offers insight into how nua
#228
September 11 · 1 hr 3 min
Fashion week, but new bikes
This week, Caley Fretz returns to Geek Warning alongside Jack Duncan and Dave Rome. It’s been a week full of big new bike launches (all of which Escape Collective attended) and there has been some equally big industry news. The geeks discuss new bikes f
#227
August 27 · 42 min
In person and pondering new Dura-Ace
This week sees a big first for the Geek Warning podcast as the entirety of Escape Collective’s tech crew meet up in person over in Takayama, Japan. With that, we recorded live in front of a select group of Escape members! It’s certainly been a huge week
#226
August 19 · 32 min
Bonus: The business of batch-built versus custom metal bikes
It’s time for another bonus edition of Geek Warning. This chat is a brief opener to our upcoming coverage of Made, North America’s Custom Bicycle Show. Held this coming weekend (21-23rd of August), the Portland-based show has grown to be a key event on
#225
August 13 · 48 min
The endurance bike some of us have been waiting for
This week on Geek Warning, Dave is joined by Escape’s Suvi Loponen and Alex Hunt to talk about the latest in cycling tech. Alex was on the ground at the Tour de France Femmes and came away pondering why 1x hadn’t hit the women’s field like it has the me
#224
August 6 · 52 min
The spectrum of XC race bikes
This week, Dave and Jack from the Escape Collective tech team talk modern cross-country bikes and where the nuance between race and downcountry sits. Plus, Dave shares why he believes remote lockouts are a race-day product. Meanwhile, the geeks discuss
#223
July 31 · 52 min
Pros are not not slamming their stems
This week we got new Shimano R9300 Dura-Ace, although not quite the release many had wished for. Escape’s senior tech editors, Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, talk through this new release, the details that are easily overlooked, and where Shimano could
#222
July 23 · 1 hr 5 min
Going back to basics
We’re going back to basics in this week’s episode. While Geek Warning is usually for tech-obsessed cyclists, this edition covers the common conversations a bicycle mechanic would have with a client. It’s for everyone and anyone who does a little of their
#221
July 16 · 53 min
Aero bottles are often a step too far
Dave and Jack are back for another round of Geek Warning. This week, new road bikes from Cervelo and Pinarello bring the discussion to topics such as what makes a good endurance road bike, where emerging Chinese brands are seeing success, and why aero bot
#220
July 10 · 1 hr 8 min
Rumours all around and the aero cost of being in the Yellow jersey
It’s the first week of the Tour and Escape’s geeks are seemingly all down different rabbit holes. This week, Dave Rome is joined by new hire Jack Duncan to talk through the week in cycling tech, which seems to involve a handful of juicy rumours. From ru
#219
July 3 · 1 hr 15 min
Making the test provide the desired result
It’s the week of the Tour de France Grand Départ, and with it have come a few big bike launches. Escape’s senior tech editors, Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, jump on to discuss whether Specialized’s new Tarmac hits the mark. There’s also a new bike fr

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