Velo Chumps

The Chumps went to the races! We bring you some race side analysis and perspective on American Criterium (Crit) racing at it's highest level. This style of racing is non stop action, and we hope that we can bring you just a little bit of the excitement you can experience at a crit race. If just one person listens to this episode and then decides to attend a crit in the future, we will consider...

The Chumps talk a little bit about the Tour de France - our Tour fantasy league and also how brands often use the Tour to market their bikes or other tech. Wahoo is certainly one of those brands, and we tell you if you should buy a Wahoo or Garmin bike computer. Stick to the end because Eric has the factoid this week and it involves dentists.

The Chumps start off with a little tool talk, but the main topic is the evolution of bike geometry and whether or not bike brands are giving chumps like us the geometry we need. At the end, Chad gives us a factoid instead of Mike, and it is a good one!

The second installment of our special series where we talk to non-cycling enthusiasts to see if the Netflix Tour de France Unchained Docuseries sparks an interest in the Tour and road racing in general. In this episode, we talk to Josue, who is a sports fan, but he is not in to cycling at all. He doesn't even ride bikes for fun right now, but maybe that will change after watching Unchained.

The Chumps have a few special announcements. First, we introduce our Instagram and YouTube accounts: https://www.instagram.com/velochumps https://www.youtube.com/@VeloChumps Then we discuss all the new electronics for bikes that were recently announced. SRAM released entry level electronic shifting with Apex AXS, and Zwift is adding video game controllers to your handlebars. Mike had to leave earl...

Netflix released the long awaited Tour de France Unchained Docuseries, and we thought it would be interesting to get some reactions from non-cycling enthusiasts to see if this series sparks an interest in the Tour specifically and road racing in general. In this first special edition we talk with our friend Casey. She is an accomplished triathlete, but not someone who was into watching professiona...

The Chumps recap their annual epic gravel adventure into the Driftless region of Illinois. This year was a lot of fun, and there was a surprise story that happened after the ride was over. We also discuss the latest entry level bike from Specialized and what it means for Chumps that are just starting out with cycling.

In this special episode we were lucky enough to talk with Josh Poertner, President of Silca, and general bike tech legend. Josh tells some great stories, including why your road bike has disc brakes. He also confirms a lot of what we have been saying about the need to build a strong bike community. Bikes are becoming more complicated and difficult to set up and maintain, and new riders, or experie...

All of us Chumps, and the vast majority of cyclists, ride our bikes to make us happy. But brands keep trying to sell us speed. Of course going faster might make us happy, but is it the only thing that makes us happy on a bike? Probably not.

The Chumps discuss the upcoming Netflix Tour de France Documentary, made by the same production company that made the very successful Drive to Survive F1 docu-series. We talk about what the Tour docu-series might mean for road racing in particular and cycling in general. We also talk about a few new bikes and this week's factoid actually comes from Randy, even though it centers around Mike. Do...

The Chumps talk about our latest race and the (questionable) nutrition strategies that some of us used on race day. We also discuss some Strava features that regular chumps want and what we got instead. And, you will just have to listen all the way to the end to understand what this week's show title is about.

The bike industry makes a lot of claims about the performance gains that new products can provide. But do any of these gains really make a difference for chumps riding at chump speeds? Well, bike performance is governed by the laws of physics, and people have developed formulas and calculations to describe the physical world we live (and ride) in. Lucky for you, the Chumps do some of the math for...

This week the Chumps discuss the next big thing, SRAM's new Transmission group set. In fact, the high end version is literally called the "SRAM XX SL T Type AXS Eagle Transmission Groupset." The episode was running long so we didn't have time to say that whole name so it's here in the show notes. Unlike everyone else, we are not reviewing the new group set, partly because SRAM did not send us anyt...

This week we got to sit down with Jason McKenzie. He is the owner of Ride on Bikes, a shop in Columbus Georgia that is "Probably the best bike shop in the world". You don't want to miss the knowledge and perspective that Jason shared with us! He told us about what it is like being a part of the greater bike community, what his bike shop went through during COVID, and what it means fo...

The Chumps talk about some interesting (though some may say odd) topics this week. Thankfully we are not taking about shaved legs and peanut butter at the same time though. On the topic of shaved legs, there is a YouTube video mentioned in the podcast with some facts from Josh Poertner at Silca that you can see for yourself here: https://youtu.be/zX15XT1qx2U

This week the Chumps talk about the excitement of women's racing, new group sets, and we tell you about a few of our bike adventures. Also, Mike's factoid this week is a "news" item he came across that might appeal to cyclists.

Is all bike innovation good innovation? The Chumps discuss how bikes have changed over the years for better and for worse. We also talk about some bike tech like the Classified hub and OSPWs. Mike Green has some (allegedly) pro tips for us this week, so listen to the end.

The Chumps address the recent Shimano annual financial report and what it tells us about the industry as a whole - in short, we don't like it. What went wrong? Mike is back with a super factiod that you don't want to miss at the end of this week's show. Also, we talk about donuts!

The Chumps have something to train for! We talk about the (sometimes sorry) state of the industry that is trying to sell Training related products and services to regular people like us.

This is the first episode of the Velo Chumps Podcast. Get to know the crew of chumps who ride bikes and talk bikes. We talk about a few interesting items that went on sale recently and how they fit into the broader bike landscape. And don't miss the cycling factoid at the end of the show!