Velo Chumps

This week, Luke Guyton, organizer of the Big River Gravel Series and the Lead Ore Gravel Race talks to the Chumps about his races and gravel racing in general. Luke has some great stories, and brings a grassroots passion to cycling, and gravel cycling in particular, that will cut through even the most cynical takes on the gravel phenomenon. He even comes up with a great factoid on the spot! To lea...

Hire us! That's the intro. The Chumps are branching out into consultancy for all things bikes. You don't want to miss this one because this is our introduction where we give free advice! to demonstrate what you can expect from the Velo Chumps consultancy. Since this whole episode is really just one giant factoid, we don't even need to end with one.

This week Derek Teel of Dialed Health joins the Chumps to talk about strength training for cyclists! We start the show talking about how Derek got started with strength training for cyclists, and then we clarify that pro cyclists do strength train. The bulk of the show though is about how strength training and other aspects of the Dialed Health program can help chumps like us on and off the bike....

This week the Chumps tackle the big topic on everyone's mind - handlebar width! Chad has a unique take on what is really behind the UCI making this handlebar width rule and other rules in the name of "safety." We also discuss some new recently released groupsets, including the new wireless 1x12 GRX that was announced today. We have some opinions on this GRX and Shimano's approach...

This week the Chumps talk about some new groupsets and what they mean for us Chumps. We also discuss a wild new aero bike spotted in the World Tour and how that might affect our Sunday coffee rides. Finally, in lieu of a factoid, we discuss a listener question about what changes on their bike will make their commute faster. Chad has some good tips, so don't miss that part!

After a hiatus while we recovered from a race (we tell you that story) the Chumps are back! Chad and Eric discuss a variety of topics, which are seemingly unrelated. Other than the fact that they will all probably lead to higher prices for bikes. Most importantly, Mike Green sent us a factoid that you don't want to miss, so listen to the end for that.

The Chumps had the privilege to talk to Stu Garwick who has been a legendary figure in the history of the Ten Thousand Gravel ride and gravel riding in the Driftless area of the US Midwest. Even if you don't know Stu's name, rest assured he helped make Gravel (not GRVL) what it is today. Give this episode a listen to hear about where gravel came from, how the Ten Thousand plays a role in that, and...

This week the Chumps start off with some GREAT news before moving on to a discussion of the new mechanical SRAM Transmission, and what that means for chumps. Then we take on the question of whether cycling is a professional sport, or not. Ryan gets some homework for a two part factoid so listen to the end to hear about his assignment.

This week the Chumps talk to Jack Peck, organizer of some of the most exciting, and challenging, Ultra races in the Midwest. Jack talks about why you should register for the Mishigami Challenge and the Driftless Dagger, but he also gives us a lot of insight into Ultra racing and riding in general, something us Chumps are not very experienced with. If the show inspires you (of course it will!) chec...

This week the Chumps take on the wide tire craze that is gripping the bike world. Do you need to throw out your current gravel bike? Also, some pros (or at least one) are experimenting with 150mm cranks. Does that mean us Chumps need to run to the bike shop for a switch? Answers to your most burning cycling questions inside! Chad ends the show with a factoid related to the new My Canyon custom pro...

This week the Chumps take a trip down memory lane to a past episode where Chad made a prediction. We listen to his old prognostication and discuss how close his prediction matches reality, and also the implications now that we have seemingly arrived in the future. We also talk a little racing and about a new product from our friends at Silca. Ryan closes the show with a factoid, and he even asked...

This week we have tech industry connoisseur James Huang on the show! James talks about the state of cycling media and his new independent publication, N-1. He also tells us a little bit about what it is like to be a tech editor in the cycling space in general. We then get some of James' insights into the bike industry, and what he likes about the gravel segment in particular (don't worry t...

This week, for the first time, we have a guest Chump on the pod. Jonathan Toups joins me, to talk about some of cycling's "rules". This comes off the heels of the last episode where we gave Ryan some grief for running so much, and we wanted to address the reality that, like most of cycling's "rules", giving runners grief is quite silly. No factoid this week because Ryan...

The Chumps are back for 2025, just in time for the start of road racing season. Eric and Chad talk about being fans of the professional sport of road cycling, and what the people running the show are doing, both good and bad, to impact the fan experience.

This week special guest Frank Overton from FasCat coaching talks about the past present and future of coaching and training for cyclists. Being chumps, we had an approachable conversation that is science based without overwhelming science talk. Frank shares some of his incredible knowledge around coaching and training, and at the end of the show he gives us some insight into the recent Strava API...

*EMERGENCY EPISODE* Strava announced some changes to their API access and how third party applications would be able to use data going forward. This ruffled a lot of feathers, so the Chumps decided we needed an Emergency Episode to discuss this from the Chumps perspective. This emergency epidsode might not have the normal polish, but the content still hits.

This week we talk to Kyleigh Spearing about the women's UCI Gravel World Championships. Kyleigh takes you inside the race, she talks about US vs. European gravel racing, and she gives us insights about the nuances of women's gravel racing, both the competitive and business side of things. This week Kyleigh herself provides a great factoid to close the show.

This is the first of two special episodes where the Chumps bring you inside the UCI Gravel World Championships. We talk to Ethan Overson who races in the elite field in the US gravel scene and also represented the USA at the UCI Gravel World Championships in both 2023 and 2024. Listen for Ethan's insights on the race itself, the gear, and what is in store for the future of gravel racing.

The Chumps talk about some new features from some of our favorite apps - Strava and Zwift. Whether these new features are intelligent or not is still up for debate. In the course of those discussions, Chad drops some gems that these companies should pick up. Mike did not make it, but Eric ends the show with a (hopefully) fun story.

This week all the Chumps are back to discuss the demise of the Pro's Closet. We also discuss the UCI Gravel World Championships and how that is related to the US Federation (USAC). Mike Green showed us a leaked GRVL tire marketing graph, but (since this is a podcast) you will need to go to The Velochumps Instagram page to see it.

The rest of the Chumps were quite surprised to hear Chad's position about the future of SRAM. So much so that everyone joined the show this week to hear what he had to say. We start with a few news items, but you won't want to miss the discussion of the future of the bike industry and what that means for SRAM (and Shimano). Mike Green brings us a rumor instead of a factoid, but it leads to...

This week, a reduced Chumps cohort takes it old school and rants about some unfriendly (for Chumps) new products that cycling brands are using to try to extract money from us. Before we get to that though, we do have a funny corrections corner, and an even funnier look at the start of stage 6 of the Vuelta a Espana.

We are back. After our mid season break, while the cycling world was saturated with the Tour de France and the Olympics, we are back to tell you about the Chump relevant developments in the bike world. Of course we discuss the new SRAM Red XPLR group, but we start with another "interesting" product that also recently dropped. Mike Green could not join our triumphant return, so no factoid...

It's the most wonderful time of the cycling year. The Tour de France is upon us once again, and that means brands will try to use the iconic race to sell you anything and everything. This week the Chumps look at 2 of the more ridiculous marketing stunts we have seen. One is ridiculously priced, and one is just, well, ridiculous on its own. Listen in, and the Chumps will let you know if you can...

This week the Chumps, uncharacteristically, have mostly positive things to say about a few new products in the bike world. We even start off with a tip to save you a lot of money if you haven't yet got sucked into the chain waxing black hole. Also, Chad is back with a historical factoid that you don't want to miss!