Nerd Alert Podcast
118 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 346 ratingsThe CyclingTips Nerd Alert Podcast dives deep into the bikes and tech we all love. Road, gravel, mountain bikes, we cover it all. Hosted by James Huang, Dave Rome, and Caley Fretz.
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Episodes
Aero gravel wheels are coming
November 05, 2021 19:33 - 55 minutesAero road wheels are everywhere these days, but it turns out the idea is much harder to execute when it comes to gravel. Why is that, you wonder? We ask the questions, and Hunt wheel engineer Luisa Grappone has the answers.
All of our bikes and parts should be repairable
October 30, 2021 01:15 - 1 hourThe Right to Repair movement primarily targets the electronics industry, but the concepts behind it strike at the heart of cycling, too: Products should be designed to be repairable, all small parts should be made available — and stay available — manuals, tools, service procedures should be accessible to everyone, and it shouldn’t cost more to repair something than it costs to replace it. In fairness, it’s not all that bad in this respect as far as the bike industry is concerned, but it could...
If we ran the bike industry…
October 22, 2021 15:03 - 1 hourThe Nerds make a living nitpicking and critiquing, instead of designing and creating. So what would we change if we could? What products and features would we keep, and what would we get rid of? What would the bikes look like? Be warned: the crew might have gotten a little more animated than usual on this one.
Risks vs. rewards of internal cable routing
October 14, 2021 14:12 - 1 hourAfter several weeks on the road, the Nerds are finally back in the studio! We’ve got a lot to talk about this week, too, like why the same kinds of fork recalls seem to be happening over and over again, what Pon’s recent takeover of Dorel Sports means for consumers and retail, and a recap of the cool stuff James saw at the recent Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. We also start digging through the giant pile of Ask a Mechanic questions we’ve accumulated, like if you can run road tub...
It turns out even pro teams can’t get bikes or parts, either
September 30, 2021 08:03 - 32 minutesSorry, folks, we know our usual Nerd Alert schedule has been a little off-kilter, but we figured it’d be better to shuffle things around to accommodate the World Championships — and next week, Paris-Roubaix! Thanks for your patience, and rest assured, there’s more Nerd Alert to come sooner than later! This week’s episode takes The Nerds to the UCI Road World Championships in Belgium! Caley, Ronan, and Shoddy scoured the team pit areas for all the shiny new bits, and they found what looks to...
3T’s homegrown Italian robots and the future of carbon fiber
September 17, 2021 11:53 - 43 minutes3T recently wound down its carbon fiber frame production in Asia and brought it in-house to Italy. Manufacturing frames the same way would have prohibitory expensive with Italian labor costs, though, so 3T instead developed an entirely new, and highly automated, process that not only dramatically slashes the amount of manual labor required, but also supposedly makes the frames better. What’s the secret sauce in 3T’s new frame building technology, and what are the company’s plans for it movi...
Clearing up the confusion about road tubeless wheels and tires
September 10, 2021 15:44 - 1 hourAre you confused about road tubeless? What works and what doesn’t? Is there an actual rim standard yet? What’s the deal with hookless rims? And why is the whole situation with road tubeless such a mess, anyway? Helping us answer all of these questions — and more — is Zipp product manager Bastien Donzé, who may be feeling a little sore after the flurry of questions the Nerds sent his way on this week’s show.
Inside the mind of Dangerholm
September 02, 2021 10:15 - 54 minutesThis week’s Nerd Alert podcast is a deep dive into the mind of Gustav Gullholm, aka, Dangerholm. Dangerholm is best known for building crazily light and bling mountain bikes, whether they’re for cross country racing, enduro or even downhill. And in recent times some of his builds have included stealthy integrated electronic shifting, or hacked suspension lockouts and dropper posts that run off a single controller. Now the Jort-wearing Swede has turned his attention to the drop bar world a...
Separating chain lube testing fact from fiction
August 26, 2021 12:59 - 1 hourWelcome back to the Nerd Alert podcast, in this week’s episode Dave Rome steps in as host and goes full nerd while diving into the murky waters of chain lube testing. The amount of mixed information related to chain lubes is staggering and it’s undoubtedly one of the more confusing product areas for consumers. That’s an issue because your choice of chain lube can make a substantial difference to the durability and efficiency of your drivetrain. To help unravel these issues we called up Adam ...
Desperate times call for desperate measures
August 20, 2021 13:40 - 1 hourWe all know there’s still a massive worldwide parts shortage going on. Need a chain? Cassette? A suspension fork??? Ha ha, good luck with that. Groupsets may be particularly hard to find, but it’s important to remember there are more options than just Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo. Are off-brands like Microshift truly diamonds in the rough, or is it yet another example of you-get-what-you-pay-for? The Nerds also chat about how the most recent Strava updates might help prevent bike thefts, a...
Thermoplastic carbon composites are back!
August 13, 2021 10:22 - 43 minutesThe world of carbon fibre composites is continually progressing, and yet, the way most carbon bicycle frames are made today doesn’t differ all that much from how it was done in the 90s. However, aeronautical and automotive industries are continually investing in improved methods and processes, and the cycling market serves to benefit from just that. One such example is the recent rebirth of thermoplastic composites which have the potential to reduce costs, offer superior impact resistance,...
Just because you can 3D-print it doesn’t mean you should
August 06, 2021 19:13 - 1 hour3D-printing is an undeniably cool way to make things, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the best way. Is a printed titanium hammer better than a welded one? Do $2,000 printed cycling shoes move the bar enough to justify their existence? What’s the point of printing sunglass frames? And was that handlebar that failed so dramatically at the Olympics even 3D-printed at all? What is definitely very neat, however, is a new trend whereby companies like Muc-Off are starting to ship products in po...
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something red, white, and blue
July 29, 2021 19:34 - 42 minutesTrack events at the Tokyo Olympics are set to kick off next week with a full week of exciting racing around the 250-meter Izu velodrome. Felt is once again the official bike sponsor of the US team, and the company has supplied a brand-new bike — the TK FRD — for mass-start events that features a new aero shape and a new take on the frame geometry. But for the individual events, the American riders are on the same bike as they used in Rio five years ago. In an event where fractions of a seco...
Oversized derailleur pulleys for everybody!
July 23, 2021 08:46 - 1 hourOversized rear derailleur pulleys might be good for some marginal gains, but even the terrible watts-per-dollar ratio hasn’t stopped a growing number of brands from launching their own versions — and AbsoluteBlack’s HollowCage is now one of the most expensive ones out there (but also one of the blingiest). Speaking of looks, is a clean front end enough to justify all high-end road bikes going to fully internal routing in spite of the adjustability and serviceability headaches? And how much b...
So you say you want to build your own carbon frame…
July 16, 2021 07:17 - 34 minutesIt’s not uncommon for custom frame builders to change direction from time to time: from lugged to TIG, steel to titanium, maybe different bike styles. But it’s far more unusual for an established builder who specializes in metal to make the wholesale switch to carbon fibre — and not just tube-to-tube construction, but moulded frames like the major brands. Yet that’s just what Carl Strong has done with his new venture, Pursuit Cycles. What’s involved in starting something from scratch? Why em...
On the roadification of gravel bikes and the return of molded carbon wheels
July 09, 2021 13:59 - 1 hourGravel bikes were once the rebels of the drop-bar bike world, but now that they’ve gone increasingly mainstream, it’s perhaps inevitable that they’d adopt features from road racing: aero shapes, hidden cabling, similar claims about weight and stiffness, and so on. Is this a good thing? Also making a possible comeback are solid molded carbon fiber wheels — and they’re not just for fixies, kids. And what do we think you should bring with you on an unsupported 4,700 km ride? You’ll get all that...
The scoop on that crazy single-sided Cervelo, and digging for details on Cannondale’s new TT bike
July 02, 2021 16:52 - 1 hourThis week’s Nerd Alert episode takes a closer look at two recent events in this year’s Tour de France. In stage 1, Jumbo-Visma rider Steven Kruijswijk finished the stage missing an entire seatstay from his prototype Cervelo, and in stage 5, EF Education-Nippo riders tackled the stage 5 individual time trial on a new Cannondale TT bike. We chat with Cervelo to find out how that bike could have possibly survived — and apparently without Kruijswijk even knowing! — and get some tantalizing tech...
Wireless 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace is real!
June 26, 2021 06:30 - 1 hourThe full crew is finally reunited for this week’s Nerd Alert podcast! Now that Shimano’s new 12-speed Dura-Ace Di2 groupset has made an appearance in the wild, we dive into what we can confirm (it’s black), what we think (wiredless?), and what we hope to see (a mechanical version in polished silver!!) in the company’s new flagship road components. We then debate the pros and cons of hookless road wheels, the idea of a flat-proof tube, and finish with an extended Ask a Mechanic segment with q...
Preventing mechanicals with pro wrench Brad Copeland
June 17, 2021 05:42 - 1 hourThis week’s CyclingTips Nerd Alert episode is a deep dive into preventing ride or race-ending mechanicals and how to deal with them when things do go wrong. For this episode, tech editor Dave Rome rang up mechanic to the stars, Brad Copeland. As the personal mechanic for former cross country mountain bike world champion Kate Courtney, Brad is incredibly detailed in ensuring his riders are able to consistently get to the finish line. The lessons here are just as applicable to everyday road ...
Digging through the tech at Unbound Gravel
June 11, 2021 10:14 - 1 hourIt seems everything cycling-related is fetching inordinate amounts of money on the used market these days, and so we figured it was a good time to trade in Caley and Zach for a special guest host: Dan Cavallari, former tech editor for Velonews and now freelancer extraordinaire. Dan covered Unbound Gravel for CyclingTips this year, so it only seemed right for James and Dave to run through all the interesting gravel tech with him. Wondering about tire inserts? Tire sizes and pressure? Handleb...
Tubulars aren’t dead yet
June 04, 2021 15:04 - 54 minutesWe’ve chatted an awful lot lately about how tubeless and tube-type clinchers seem to be slowly replacing tubulars in pro road racing. Even though high-performance clinchers offer a big rolling efficiency advantage (as much as 12 W according to some figures), tubulars are still more popular for all the same reasons as usual: they’re lighter, they’re safer if you get a puncture, they handle impacts better, and they just have a distinctive feel that clinchers still can’t quite match. What if yo...
Expensive vs. budget carbon wheels, and why Wahoo should look down, not up
May 27, 2021 17:51 - 1 hourIn this week’s episode, The Nerds chat about some cool parts and accessories Dave saw at the recent Handmade Bicycle Show Australia, including some hyper-expensive wheels from Partington that are trying to go head-to-head with Lightweight. Carbon wheels have gotten incredibly good at the opposite end of the price spectrum, and we make the argument that, unless you’re dripping with cash, it’s awfully tough to justify the price premium. Speaking of which, we also chat about Wahoo Fitness’s new...
How much mountain bike is too much when it comes to gravel bike geometry?
May 21, 2021 23:50 - 49 minutesIn this week’s Nerd Alert episode, tech editor Dave Rome has a chat with Australian custom builder extraordinaire Mark Hester of Prova Cycles. Hester was a very early adopter of MTB-style geometry on gravel bikes, incorporating things like long front centers and shorter stems when most other brands — especially mainstream labels — were still using dimensions mostly borrowed from road racing machines. Yet as with anything bike-related, if a little bit of something is good, lots more of it sur...
How 3-D printing is revolutionizing the Australian custom bike industry
May 14, 2021 16:34 - 1 hourAustralia’s entire population may only be roughly equivalent to Shanghai, but it has an outsized custom bike industry with astonishing levels of ingenuity and innovation. Tech editor Dave Rome recently visited the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia in Melbourne, where 3-D printing is playing a big part in setting a number of these builders apart from the rest of the world. Also in this week’s show, we chat about upcoming developments in gravel bike suspension, whether CeramicSpeed’s Driven sha...
Summer is coming, but don't put your trainer away yet...
May 07, 2021 09:33 - 1 hourIndoor training is not top of the list of things most of us look forward to in the summer, but should it be? When the summer sun consistently comes out, the turbo trainers usually go into hibernation. We investigate if maintaining some level of indoor milage might improve your fitness and if World Tour pros are moving indoors for sessions regardless of the weather. Ronan chats with David Bailey (head of performance at Bahrain Victorious), Stephen Barrett (coach and head of research and inno...
High fashion meets high tech: the science of cycling clothing
April 30, 2021 07:14 - 54 minutesCycling apparel may look similar between various brands, but when you dig a little deeper, there are often seemingly small variations that can make a world of difference in terms of how well they work out on the road. In other words, that tag may say “polyester” on it, but that only tells one tiny part of the story — and it’s time to learn a little more about the rest of it.
Electronic shifting is supposedly what people want — but is it what they should want?
April 23, 2021 15:22 - 1 hourThe Nerds have an awful lot of tech news to talk about this week, such as SRAM’s recent decision to seemingly go all-in on electronic shifting, the ins and outs of two big high-end wheel introductions, the unmentioned pitfalls of fully internal cable routing for everyday enthusiasts, and some big changes for DT Swiss’s workhorse hubs. There’s also been yet another push in the drivetrain friction front from Silca that uses... diamonds? Finally, we debate the ideal gravel bike in a What Bike S...
The science of Everesting
April 16, 2021 08:37 - 1 hourThis week Caley and Ronan interrupt the regular schedule to bring you another deep dive episode. Deep diving into the science of Everesting, the Nerds discuss the training, wattages, equipment selection, marginal gains, and time left on the table from Ronan’s recent Everesting world record ride.
Can computers make us faster cyclists?
April 08, 2021 14:49 - 42 minutesTrainerRoad offers training plans and workouts for the individual rider and has always been focused on making us faster. They recently launched an Adaptive Training method that combines machine learning and science-based coaching to adjust training plans based on coaches feedback. The goal? "So you get the right workout, every time". This week Ronan chats with TrainerRoad co-founder and CEO Nate Pearson about the new Adaptive Training and explains just how it knows what it's doing. They al...
What worked — and what didn’t — on Ronan’s crazy-light Everesting bike
April 04, 2021 21:50 - 1 hourRonan Mc Laughlin joins us this week to go over the details of the hyper-optimized bike he used to shatter the Everesting record. Canyon’s precious container of new bikes is finally free from the grips of the Suez Canal, Enve announced its new custom carbon fiber road bike program, we question if we’re all worrying a little too much about weight. Finally, does it make sense to build your own bike from scratch using open-mold frames and parts since new bikes are nowhere to be found?
Designing bikes when there’s no stock
March 25, 2021 18:33 - 51 minutesYou’ve heard us talking about the supply issues currently facing the booming cycling industry, so this week we dive into what it’s like designing bikes when things are in such short supply. Our guest this week is Sydney-based materials engineer and bike designer Dave Musgrove, someone who’s deep in the industry and in touch with the industry’s Covid-related supply issues. From two year lead-times on certain components to slower and more expensive shipping, this conversation details why you ...
MIPS, new Speedplay, and our sketchiest repairs
March 19, 2021 00:08 - 57 minutesJames, Dave, Caley, and Zach discuss a wide range of topics in this week’s episode, like how much Speedplay’s revamped pedal lineup matters relative to the changes to its dealer service, whether MIPS really is a must-have when it comes to helmets. And then in this week’s Ask a Mechanic segment, we tackle perhaps the most important repair and maintenance question of all: what’s the sketchiest repair job Caley has ever done?
Clinchers and inner tubes at Paris-Roubaix?
March 11, 2021 10:34 - 59 minutesTeam Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe — together with sponsors Roval and Specialized — have been doing a fair bit of experimenting with their wheels and tires over the past couple of years, gradually moving away from traditional tubulars to tube-type clinchers for time trials and tubeless clinchers for road races. In an unusual move, both teams say they’re now wholly committed to clinchers and latex inner tubes for everything — even possibly (but not likely) Paris-Roubaix. To find out ...
Broken handlebars, flexy seatposts, and power meter pedals to the (Shimano) people
March 04, 2021 16:06 - 53 minutesMathieu van der Poel didn’t let a little broken handlebar on his Canyon Aeroad keep him from finishing Le Samyn, a cobbled race in Belgium, but why did it break? And what’s up with the flexy seatposts on those bikes, anyway? The Nerds share their thoughts on those topics and then look into a Specialized patent for a wacky flexy seatpost design of its own. And is the wait finally over for power meter pedals for Shimano SPD-SL pedal fans? It sure looks that way. Last but not least in this wee...
Can cycling apparel brands cut back on plastic bag use?
February 25, 2021 14:31 - 45 minutesWith very few exceptions, every piece of cycling clothing you buy comes in its own individual bag — or “polybag” as it’s commonly called in the industry. When you take into account the size of the global cycling apparel industry, and the number of individual garments, that’s a lot of plastic bags. Has it always been this way? How did we get here? And what do we do about it? In this week’s episode, James chats with two apparel brands, Ornot and Pearl Izumi, to assess the current state of thing...
Making sense of the latest tech chaos
February 18, 2021 18:14 - 1 hourDropper seat posts for Super Tucking on road bikes? Mountain bikes with fully internal cable routing?? Road Boost hub spacing??? $6,000 aero bars???? Some of the recent developments in the bike world actually make a bit of sense, but there’s an awful lot of other stuff that’s so silly that, well, it’s pretty much guaranteed to happen. The Nerds dig into what’s going on and try to make sense of the madness.
Nerding out on custom wheels
February 11, 2021 11:12 - 1 hourIn this week’s Nerd Alert, James and Dave go deep into the rabbit hole of custom bicycle wheels with Adrian Emilsen of Melody Wheels in Perth, Australia. Why should you care about wheels? Are custom wheels really better than factory-built ones? How would you build a set of wheels for a light rider versus a heavier one? What are some strategies you can pursue at home if you want to get into the basics of truing, or maybe want to build a set of wheels for the first time yourself? Hope you’ve go...
Wireless for everybody!
February 05, 2021 12:14 - 1 hourRecent filings with the US Federal Communications Commission reveal that Shimano’s next generation of Dura-Ace Di2 will be at least semi-wireless — and not only that, but SRAM looks to finally be bringing its AXS wireless system down to the Rival level. Both developments are very exciting, but what do they mean for wired drivetrains, and will both companies be able to deliver in the current environment? While drivetrains are trending toward wireless, indoor trainers might be moving in the ot...
Is it possible to have too many tools? No, it is not.
January 28, 2021 10:33 - 1 hourYou might look at tools just as utilitarian items — cold lumps of lifeless steel. For the true believers, the difference between good tools and bad ones is like the difference between gas station sushi and the real thing: they both might get the job done, but one is certainly a lot more satisfying, while the other is more likely to leave you feeling more than a little bit of regret. But, what makes a good tool, why is designing one so hard to do, and why should you care? James and Dave get th...
Outlandish safety claims, a better way to Zwift, and the merits of chain waxing
January 15, 2021 16:29 - 1 hourThe Nerds gather for the first podcast of the new year and it does not take long for things to get spicy! We discuss the lawsuit filed against Trek and Bontrager for their allegedly outlandish claims regarding WaveCel helmet technology efficacy, the way ZwiftHub is out-Zwifting Zwift in a few key ways, and the pros and cons of Sea Otter’s recent announcement that they’re moving the show (at least for 2021) all the way back to October instead of April. Finally, in our Ask a Mechanic segment, ...
It’s time for the 2020 CyclingTippy awards!
December 18, 2020 09:46 - 1 hourYes, folks, it’s once again that time of year where we here at CyclingTips hand out the most prestigious, coveted, and occasionally dubious awards in all of cycling: the CyclingTippies! What was the most important bike launched this year? What was the biggest miss? What was just the flat-out most ridiculous, or most annoying? And what was the absolute biggest bummer of the year? We cover all of this, and more, in this week’s episode.
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
December 04, 2020 14:17 - 1 hourJames has locked the Nerds out of the recording studio for this episode, disregarding the traditional format to instead do a (very) deep dive into the world of bearings. What makes for a good bearing or a bad one? Are ceramics really all that? How are we supposed to take care of these things? And why does press-fit suck in the bicycle world, but is the norm in industrial settings? Hope you’re sitting somewhere comfy because we’re nerding out big time for this one.
The fifth element - magnesium stages a comeback
November 19, 2020 10:39 - 1 hourWe’ve said before that we’re in a “golden age” of chain lube these days, with big advancements in recent months that not only reduce drivetrain friction but dramatically extend the lifespan of your components, too. We discuss the latest releases from CeramicSpeed and Silca — one for wet conditions, the other for dry — and make the argument for why they’re actually better bargains than you might think. We’re also on the cusp of a potentially big revolution in frame materials, with magnesium ...
Disposable bike economy with Erik Bronsvoort
November 06, 2020 08:20 - 1 hourWinter is coming, and so is new winter riding gear. Nerd Alert this week kicks off with a discussion about the new Assos winter jacket that retails at $725 USD (0:03:40) as well as Rapha's new Windproof Explore Pullover sweater (0:13:10). There are more and more companies adopting environmentally sustainable methods, like Trek's new packaging for their Marlin hardtail. (0:19:10). James chats with Erik Bronsvoort, author of "From Marginal Gains to a Circular Revolution: A practical guide to ...
12-speed for everyone!
October 24, 2020 01:02 - 1 hourIn this episode of Nerd Alert, we discuss the merits of Ratio Technology’s new 12-speed conversion kit for SRAM 11-speed levers, as well as the pros and cons of wireless technology for Shimano’s next-generation Dura-Ace Di2 groupset. We then have a chat with the folks at Cadex and discuss the challenges of positioning a high-end “in-house” brand against established third-party aftermarket labels. Finally, we finish off with another round of “Ask a Mechanic”. Moral of the story: don’t take mec...
Your next road bike might look like an airplane
October 08, 2020 15:41 - 1 hourThe UCI has a lot of silly technical rules, but there’s one that isn’t on the books that could potentially keep a lot of riders from crashing. It doesn’t have anything to do with the bikes themselves, though; it would apply to bottles and cages. Existing rules for aero tube shapes are also about to change either way and how exactly that will affect the shape of future bikes is anything but certain. Will your next bike sprout a seatpost out of its top tube? Will road bikes look like triathlon ...
Tech of the Tour de France
September 23, 2020 15:50 - 1 hourWith the Tour de France wrapped up, we take a look at the tech that popped up and discuss what it might mean for the rest of us.
Bike tech that makes us go… no thanks.
September 09, 2020 23:19 - 1 hourWhat's the saying? Those who can't make something, podcast about it? With much adoration for the good people behind our favorite bike stuff, sometimes things just miss the mark. This episode is a celebration ... no, the opposite of that ... of bike tech that makes us want to pull our hair out.
Are two-speed internal hubs the new front derailleur?
August 18, 2020 16:13 - 1 hourWe kick off this week's episode with some tech news, including a discussion of the new Classified two-speed hub, which gives you a 2x without a front derailleur. James chats with Luke Musselman about tire width standards, and why the number on the sidewall often bears little resemblance to a tire's actual size.
Garmin's hack, Mavic's future and a banker's take on the bike boom
August 03, 2020 19:38 - 1 hourThis week's episode kicks off with a discussion of EvilCorp's ransomware attack on Garmin's systems, then we take a look at the future of Mavic now that it has new owners. James hops on the phone with an analyst from Bank of America who has been looking into the bike industry and has some good news. Finally, the tool nerds debate the merits of various brands of hex key.