Spin Cycle

The 2024 WorldTour season is under way at the Tour Down Under and Escape Collective is on the ground all week bringing you the latest news, tech, and Escape podcasts. Today we've got a combined Geek Warning and Performance Process tech special episode as Jean Paul Ballard of SwissSide joins us for the first of two podcasts with the former F1 aerodynamicist.  In this episode JP takes us on a wander...

Dave and Ronan are in thick of the Tour Down Under and have a whole lot of new (and old!) race tech to discuss. The industry has woken up from the holiday break with a flurry of new products worthy of discussion. And, as usual, the geeks cover so much more. Timestamps: 3:00 – Spotting three new helmets on rider heads. 11:10 – Trek working on a knit shoe. 15:15 – New Look pedals, and more from Time...

Rupert Guinness and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Matt de Neef to dissect stages 2 and 3 of the men’s Tour Down Under.  Daring late attacks, super sprint lead-outs, a nasty crash - the last few days have had it all. The trio also look forward to the next few stages. Could wind be on the menu before the much-anticipated return to Willunga Hill?

Jonny Long, Abby Mickey, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz on this week's episode of the Placeholders to discuss the latest in the apparently unending stream of transfer chatter involving Bora and Visma, salads, what we can expect from Sarah Gigante, and so much more. Plus, members will get to hear another installment of the Placeholders After Dark ...

Rupert Guinness and Ronan Mc Laughlin join Matt de Neef to kick off the first men's race of the season. The crew talks takeaways from the pre-race chatter, the fast finish of stage 1, and what's to come across the next week in Australia.

Dave Rome is back on hosting duties with Matt de Neef and Gracie Elvin to chat about stages 2 and 3 of the women's Tour Down Under. Both days delivered potentially unsurprising but incredibly exciting victories, with some teams having to shift focus while others held firm to the plan.  In its second year as a WorldTour event the Tour Down Under delivered a race worth watching, but will they add st...

Performance Process returns for 2024 with the latest in our series delving into how and why World Tour racing is getting so much faster. Coach Jacob Tipper is our guest discussing various aspects of the training that goes into modern performances.  Covering everything from the importance of fatigue resistance to off season binges, Tipper talks from his vast experience as a rider and coach to many....

Dave Rome takes Abby's place leading the podcast on the ground in Adelaide to talk about the first stage of the women's Tour Down Under. Our favourite tech expert is joined by former professional Gracie Elvin and Escape Collective's managing editor Matt de Neef.  The team discusses the event's growing prestige, why the Europeans are showing up to win, how the Aussies can compete, and how the new t...

Dave and James have lots of spy photos to discuss this week! Factor’s got a revamp of its Ostro VAM lightweight road bike about to break cover, and Specialized and Trek have some enticing new road shoes roaming about in the wild. Lazer also brings its Kineticore technology to its popular Z1, we debate the pros and cons of anti-seize vs. grease, and we chat about what we look for in our favorite gr...

Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to take the inside line into Plugge corner and continue the ongoing conversation about Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross form, among other things. You'll also hear the first Weekly Pain of 2024, while Escape Collective members will get another edition of the Placeholders After Dark.

Abby, Gracie, and Loren are back to talk about Tour Down Under, what Willunga means for the race, our dream teams, and more. Have questions for us? Let us know on the Escape Collective discord! Also, check out the Wheel Talk Newsletter for a stage-by-stage preview ahead of the TDU.

Geek Warning is back for the new year! In this week’s episode, Dave and James chat about some mysterious Boa dial failures and how some pros are using gravel bikes this cyclocross season, how 3D-printing is becoming just as much a marketing tool as a manufacturing one, and what we look for in our favorite handlebar tapes. You might also just want to head out to the shed and check your disc brake r...

This week on the show: Red Bull's buy-in at Bora-Hansgrohe, Mathieu van der Poel's spit, Ronan's beard, and our New Year's resolutions for professional cycling. To get access to the members-only Escape After Dark segment of this podcast, sign up here.  

Following a break for our inaugural Awards episode, Dave and Ronan return with an episode of a familiar format. There’s plenty on the minds of the geeks, plus a sprinkling of new tech to know in this final Geek Warning episode for 2023 ... The biggest news is that the UCI wants to control just how weird racers can get with the angles of brake hoods. Dave and Ronan discuss the claimed safety concer...

The Geeks are back for another round of Ask a Wrench. In this member’s bonus episode, Zach (of Boulder Gruppetto), James, and Dave answer a bunch of technical questions submitted by Escape members.  This week, our geeks discuss how to find a good mechanic, how to torque bolts when there are multiples, change of crank bolt material for easier removal, servicing of cartridge bearings, rattling saddl...

Jonny Long hosts the final Placeholders episode of the year, a quiz showdown with Iain Treloar, Kit Nicholson, and Ronan Mc Laughlin. Who will emerge as the end-of-year champion? Listen to find out ...

For our final episode of the year, Gracie, Loren and I chat the recent Giro d’Italia Women route announcement, development pathways from Australia for women, the UCI’s weird wildcard decision, and more. Plus we answer a handful of your questions. Stay tuned for an exclusive members only episode with the three of us coming next week.

This week's Performance Process is the latest in our series delving into how and why World Tour racing is getting so much faster. The first of our deep dive episodes on the specifics of how racing is getting faster, Dr Tim Podlogar is our guest to discuss all things "high-carb." The jokingly self-professed Mr Carbohydrate, Podlogar is an exercise physiologist at Birmingham University focusing on s...

We’re skipping the usual news this week because it’s once again time for our annual tech awards! 2023 was certainly a memorable year for a multitude of reasons, but what were the cycling tech-related things that stuck in our minds of our resident geeks, James, Dave, and Ronan? What were the biggest trends? What were our favorite products? Who was doing things right? What was the biggest flop? What...

On this week's Placeholders, Abby Mickey, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Iain Treloar cover the uncertainty surrounding where up-and-comer Cian Uijtdebroeks will be riding next year as well as comparing Classics and discussing Belgian cycling awards.

On this week's Members Only Escape Collective Wheel Talk Podcast (phew), Abby chats with Floorje Mackaij about moving from DSM to Movistar after 10 years with the same team, alongside her close friend Liane Lippert, and riding for Annemiek van Vleuten, plus Bella, her adorable dog who has become a honorary member of her Spanish team.

Hoo boy, it’s been a big week in tech, and our resident geeks had a lot to talk about. It was just a matter of time before Cervelo jumped into the e-bike market, and that day has finally come with the new Rouvida . The same frame is used for two road and two gravel models, but Cervelo has incorporated flip chips in the front and rear dropouts to adjust the geometry accordingly. Despite the sizable...

It's time to treat our members to another bonus episode of the Geek Warning podcast. This week, Brad Copeland – former World Cup pro mechanic and now service director at Hush Money Bikes – joins James and Dave to geek out on all things related to building a dream home workshop. In this episode, you'll learn about how to build out a tool kit, our thoughts on tool organisation, what to do if you don...

Ronan Mc Laughlin, Kit Nicholson, Dane Cash, and Joe Lindsey all join Caley Fretz on this week's Placeholders to talk Campagnolo, the media landscape, swords, milk, and more.

With 2024 just around the corner Abby chatted with EF Education-Cannondale’s new General Manager Esra Tromp about the process of building a team from scratch, the hurdles the team might come against in the new year, and more.