Velo Podcast

And we’re back, everyone. Mike Levy returns from the wilderness, and Lisa Charlebois and I join him to unpack exactly where he’s been. But before we get to the heartbreak of ultra-endurance racing, the Tour de France is in full swing, and we’ve got a wild first week to discuss. Tour de France Carnage & UCI Rulings We kick things off with the absolute chaos of the opening team time trial. Two crash...

 In this week's episode, we question whether the Specialized Tarmac SL9 is a true upgrade or just an iPhone-style micro-update, look at the shrinking footprint of Eurobike, and talk Tour de France storylines. Show Notes: This week is a big one for me. Logan is out doing the Tour de France thing, and Mike is nursing his wounds somewhere. That leaves just myself and Lisa Charlebois running the studi...

This week we are doing something a bit different. Often this podcast is a space for a deep dive into an article that you can read about on the Velo website. This week we are instead going to learn more about contributor Lisa Charlebois. Mike Levy and I sat down to chat with Charlebois about a ride she once did. This wasn’t an ordinary ride, though. Charlebois does a lot of big rides, but this one...

This week on the Velo Podcast, the crew discusses a 13-pound Everesting rig, women's specific bike shoes vs unisex options, and why your next road bike might actually be a gravel setup. I’m back, but Mike Levy is still playing in the woods on a bike. We’ll talk to him about that soon, but for now, Logan Jones-Wilkins, Lisa Charlebois, and I get into women's cycling shoes, 13-pound climbing bikes,...

wash lines, and why the UCI is suddenly policing your jersey pockets and screen size. This week on the Velo Podcast, it's lonely! I was away doing an interview, and Mike Levy is out in the wilderness doing a big ride. That left just Logan Jones-Wilkins and Lisa Charlebois to cover the week's topics. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 - Unbound Aftermath & Press Camp Prep: The pair starts off discussing Char...

Logan Jones-Wilkins is back from the mud in Kansas to break down a wild 26-mph crash, the dominant Specialized Crux 5 debut, and why gravel racing might never be the same. As we mentioned last week, Logan was in Emporia, Kansas covering Unbound 2026. Now he’s back in the studio and Mike Levy and I get to talk about what he saw. Part of that is the new Specialized Crux, but before we get there, we...

We dive into the controversial Scott prototype at Unbound, argue over what makes the perfect gravel bike, and reveal the top picks from our new Road Bike Buyer's Guide. Last week Josh missed the pod, but this week it's Logan Jones-Wilkins’ turn. He is currently on the ground in Emporia, Kansas for Unbound 2026, but his Starlink connection failed. That leaves host Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and Jo...

Mike Levy, Lisa Charleboise, and Logan Jones-Wilkins hold down the fort talking about pee, ultra-racing, and Strava feuds. First, Levy tries to pry embargoed information out of Jones-Wilkins before Charleboise recaps another massive weekend ride. From there, it's on to the main topics: Urine Intel from the Giro d'Italia The trio tackles the recent UCI warnings at the Giro d'Italia. Racers have bee...

From wild TT bikes spotted at China Cycle to the real reason behind the Jan-Willem van Schip DQ, we break down the week's biggest tech news. Plus, I talk about sitting down with Chris Froome in China to talk bikes Episode Notes: Once again I hit the podcast mic completely jet-lagged and out of my mind to talk about the trip I’d just returned from. This time I was back in Asia, specifically China,...

This week's episode is all about riding long. Factor's new Sarana ultra-distance race bike made its first appearance at last weekend's Traka gravel race in Girona, Spain, and Velo tech editor Logan Jones-Wilkins answers Levy's questions about how it aims to combine speedy handling and all-day comfort. Its geometry leans more towards speed and agility than outright stability, but it also has room f...

This week's episode was just like any other. There was definitely nothing controversial… Logan Jones-Wilkins and I dive into two vastly different gravel bikes we’ve been testing, starting with my review of the XDS X-Lab GT8. On paper, the GT8 is a standard, run-of-the-mill gravel bike. It lacks a unique "special sauce" and won't revolutionize the category, but it is a highly capable all-rounder th...

We break down the polarizing "big wheel" trend, compare ultra-premium Partington wheels to Hunt's high-value alternatives, and dive into the coolest gear from the Sea Otter Classic. This week, the podcast is all about Sea Otter and we’ve got a full house. Lisa Charlebois, Logan Jones-Wilkins, and I all spent time in California at the event, and we’ve got stories to tell. We kick things off by shar...

This week the Velo team is at Sea Otter covering the latest tech and Mike Levy is holding down the fort. In this episode, Levy sits down with New Zealander Joe Nation, a rider who possesses one of the most uniquely varied racing resumes in the sport. Nation spent years following the mountain bike World Cup circuit as a privateer and racing in the Enduro World Series. Today, he’s trading three-minu...

I went to Taiwan, but the show must go on. While I was away covering the Taipei Cycle Show, Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins had plenty to talk about. Predictably, things got heavily focused on gravel tire pressure, but that wasn’t all. This week, the podcast crew debates why roadies need bigger gravel tires, breaks down Specialized’s newest tech, and confesses to their stranges...

Five minutes after walking in the door from the Taipei Cycle Show, I sat down with Mike Levy to unpack what it was like being there. We immediately dive into the wildest tech from the show floor: what a $31,000 3D-printed titanium road bike actually looks like, whether those budget power meter pedals are legit or just vaporware, and the exact physics behind Pirelli’s claim that their new aero tire...

Legendary Canadian racer Svein Tuft joins Mike Levy to chat about stories from his book, We Will Never Be Here Again. The two cover wild stories ranging from epic bike-packing trips while pulling Tuft's 60-lb dog named Bear in a homemade trailer, to winning stages at the Tour de France and Giro. Tuft has had an unconventional career and lived an unconventional life. Tuft is likely also the only pr...

We debate whether dumping half your pedal is actually worth the cash, unpack a terrifying lead-vehicle disaster at the Mid-South gravel race, and explain why buying price-point carbon is a mistake. 0:00 - Intro 0:00:35 - Welcome Logan and Mid-South 0:18:10 - Listener questions 0:34:18 - CAAD14 first impressions 0:45:34 - Otso Waheela R launch 0:58:27 - Single sided gravel pedals

There has been an alarming amount of physical assault and middle fingers flying in the pro peloton lately. Last weekend, UCI race officials disqualified NSN Devo rider Kiaan Watts after he reached out and struck a competitor in the head mid-race. Just days later, British time trial champion Ethan Hayter earned himself a $645 fine and a docking of 25 UCI points for flashing his middle finger to a T...

What does it take to be considered one of the greatest of all time? A boatload of major wins doesn't hurt, of course, but how a racer wins can be just as important. Tadej Pogačar's list of victories includes four Tour de France titles, two World Championships, and a remarkable ten Monuments, among many others. They're super-human performances, no doubt, yet it's the Slovenian's willingness to race...

Opening weekend in Flanders saw chaos, carnage, and the inevitable, with Omloop first-timer Mathieu van der Poel taking a dominating win and Demi Vollering showing some impressive early-season strength. This episode of the Velo podcast has European editor and race correspondent Andrew Hood breaking down all the action from Belgium and answering Levy's questions about how to stop MVDP's dominance a...

In this episode of the Velo podcast, we're doing some collective venting about the stuff that grinds our gears, but we don’t start there. Instead, we open with some breaking news from Lisa about Ironman of all things. We don't usually spend much time on triathlons, but this is less about the sport and more about the corporation that controls it. We have to ask: Is a new gear ban with a "safety" ju...

Senior Tech Editor Josh Ross has spent the last month living with the 5th generation Cannondale SuperSix EVO, and he’s come to a blunt conclusion: either he’s jaded, or the flagship "superbike" just isn't that exciting. While the marketing suggests this is a category-defining machine, Josh explains why at $10,000 for the Hi-Mod (and more for the Lab71), the SuperSix has essentially become a clone...

From donkeys in the Oman desert to a kangaroo take-down at the Tour Down Under, the 2026 racing season is off to a wild start. But the real creature chaos starts when Levy tells the story of being hunted through the woods by something he can't quite explain. This week, we also have a heated discussion on whether the push for hi-viz apparel is actually a form of victim blaming that ignores the real...

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...

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...