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
Inside the company that sells carbon to bike brands
July 21, 2020 15:32 - 1 hourThis week's episode is a deep dive interview with Jason Gabriel of Toray Advanced Composites, the company that provides much of the raw material to carbon bike manufacturers all over the world.
Should you tip your mechanic? And other important questions
July 06, 2020 15:55 - 1 hourThis week's episode discusses new wheels from Reserve (Santa Cruz) and the return (again) of Spinergy. Then, we ask our resident pro mechanic your reader questions. Should you tip your mechanic? Should you bring a six pack of beer? What assembly compound will stop a press fit bottom bracket from creaking?
Pretty paint and SRAM's wild front derailleur patent
June 22, 2020 19:26 - 1 hourWe open this week's episode with a discussion of SRAM's wild patent for a front shifting system that puts three derailleurs on the chainrings themselves, plus a look at the company's new 52-tooth cassette. Then, James speaks with the head of graphics and design at Trek. Finally, we jump back into a What Bike Should I Buy. Who will take home a coveted Podcast Point?
The future of road wheels
June 08, 2020 20:32 - 1 hourNew wheels from Zipp and Roval have just hit the market, and both bring with them as many questions as answers. Roval is ditching tubeless and Zipp is requiring it. What's going on? Finally, we Ask a Mechanic about BB90, chain cleaning, and disc brakes that won't line up.
How to spot a good mechanic
May 25, 2020 21:06 - 1 hourThere's much tech news to dissect in this week's episode, from Strava's aggressive new paywall to the new Cannondale Scalpel to which podcast host did the dumbest weightweenie things to his XC bike back in the early 2000s. Plus, we bring back Ask a Mechanic, and Zach runs through how to fix a floppy SRAM hydro shifter, the best way to wrap bars, and more.
Fixing broken carbon fiber
May 12, 2020 15:36 - 1 hourThis week's episode is a deep dive on carbon repair. After Caley broke his mountain bike, he sent it off to be fixed. We speak with Shawn Small and Dan Steinle from Ruckus Composites about the process, what they'll fix, and what they won't. Then, James chats with Raoul Leuscher about why carbon bikes break in the first place.
The golden age of helmets
April 28, 2020 02:14 - 1 hourThis week's episode opens with the latest tech news, from new POC helmets to fast lube from Silca, and then dives into helmet safety with Kali Protective's Brad Waldron.
Tires for Roubaix
April 13, 2020 16:40 - 1 hourThis week's episode opens with the latest news from Pond Beaver 2020, CyclingTips' virtual trade show. We have new wheels from Fulcrum and Enve, new cranks from Rotor, and much more. Then, James calls up an engineer at Continental, who lets us in on what the company and some pro teams had planned for Paris-Roubaix. Hint: It wasn't tubular.
Does bike weight really matter?
March 30, 2020 15:46 - 45 minutesWe all know that it’s easier to climb on a lighter bike. What isn’t as obvious is exactly how much it matters. And as it turns out, it doesn’t matter as much as you probably think it does. Dave Rome takes a deep dive into the hard science of how mass affects performance in relation to other factors like aerodynamic efficiency and friction. How much is too much? Fair warning: If you’ve always considered yourself a weight weenie, be prepared, because you might not love what you’re about to h
Peek behind the carbon manufacturing curtain
March 16, 2020 16:09 - 1 hourThis is a coronavirus-free podcast. Just a bunch of nerds sitting around talking bikes. This week's episode kicks off with a look into the somewhat shadowy world of carbon manufacturing. We speak with someone who has built bikes for big brands and small, and who provides insight into the way the whole system works. Then, we Ask A Mechanic about corroded cables, proper brake bleed technique, and more.
What's next for gravel bike geometry?
March 03, 2020 02:17 - 46 minutesThis week's episode comes to you from our Gravel Bike Field Test, and, unsurprisingly, we've got gravel bikes on the mind. James and Dave dig into gravel geometry, and specifically on the ways that gravel bikes are borrowing from mountain bikes. Sometimes that borrowing is a good thing, sometimes it's a bad thing. Then, a What Bike Should I Buy with everything* on the line. *Everything, in this case, is doing the dishes at the CT gravel house.
The nature of sponsorship and rim brakes with fat tires
February 18, 2020 01:51 - 1 hourElite amateur bike racers deserve free stuff, right? Well, not so fast. This episode, James digs into the world of sponsorship, including dos and don'ts of requesting it. Then, we ask Zach some mechanic questions, and try to figure out which rim brake bike can fit 32mm tires.
How to make the perfect disc brake
February 03, 2020 19:44 - 1 hourThis week, James chats with brake engineer John Thomas about the difficulties in perfecting disc brakes, and how the very nature of the way we put bikes together these days makes it almost impossible to make them completely silent. Then, we pepper pro mechanic Zach with audience questions, and help Jakob pick a new bike in a contentious What Bike Should I Buy segment.
Walking the pits at TDU and talking bike fit with Adam Hansen
January 21, 2020 00:47 - 1 hourThis week your favorite Nerds are in Adelaide, Australia for the Tour Down Under, and the episode opens with a walk through the mechanic's pits. What's new in 2020 pro equipment? Then, we sit down with pro, and known geek, Adam Hansen to discuss his scientific and real-world exploration of bike fit.
The tech of the decade and predicting the future
January 07, 2020 03:27 - 55 minutesIt's Awards season! James, Dave, and Caley sit down to award the best tech of the last decade and discuss where those developments are going next. Is the future of road disc brakes finally quiet? Will mechanical shifting stand the test of time? What will gravel bikes look like in ten years' time?
It's a gravel bike. It's a mountain bike. It's a grountain bike?
December 20, 2019 00:27 - 44 minutesThis week's episode opens with a few indoor riding topics - Zwift's new off-road courses and Rapha's indoor riding clothing. We then switch gears to gravel and discuss the new Evil Chamois Hagar, which looks (and will ride) like nothing else on the market.
An unhealthy obsession with chains
December 06, 2019 03:42 - 35 minutesWelcome to the CyclingTips Nerd Alert podcast! In this episode, we discuss in detail the key findings in Dave Rome's most recent tech feature, which dives into Adam Kerin’s incredibly exhaustive research on chain efficiency and durability. Which chains last the longest, and which ones aren’t worth the extra money? What’s the most economical way to keep your expensive drivetrain running smoothly? And what are our hosts’ favorite chain lubes?
Coming soon: Nerd Alert Podcast
November 24, 2019 18:21 - 1 minuteThe world of bicycle tech is just too big to live exclusively within the confines of our regular podcast, so we’re now expanding Nerd Alert into its own regular pod, which will be released every other week. Subscribe now to make sure you never miss an episode.