We know, we know, it’s been ages since we did our last Ask a Wrench episode – late January, in fact. Guilty as charged. Better late than never? But as a nice bonus, our panel of geeks had an extra-long list of repair and maintenance questions to answer this time around, like why bedding in your new brakes is important, what not to do with your fancy digital torque wrench, how to diagnose a curious front-end clunk, how to protect your fancy new bike for the long haul, the best way to fix a paint chip, and much more.

Fair warning: The full episode is only available to Escape Collective members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Welcome back to Geek Warning! This week, James and Dave have a varied conversation covering tech related to road, gravel, and mountain bike.

The Giro has begun and Tadej Pogačar took a little tumble that many were quick to blame the equipment for. James and Dave discuss that such finger pointing was not warranted this time.

At the opposite end of UCI disciplines, the conversation then turns to aero gains returning to professional downhill mountain bike racing.

In the tech new front, the geeks praise Chris King’s new Gen 4 hubs and discuss why Forge+Bond entry into the road market may not be hugely successful. Plus there’s discussion of a new Bike Yoke dropper, Zwift’s price rises, and more.

Meanwhile, a new Shimano Di2 patent has surfaced teasing wireless 13-speed shifting. Dave got Terry of BetterShifting.com on the phone to discuss the discovered patent and what it may mean.

Our pick one this week is perhaps better described as a buyer’s guide to selecting a wheelset for gravel. From rim choices, to spoke choices, to hub choices, you’ll hear what our geeks prefer for their own bikes.

Please jump into the comments section on our website for any feedback or questions related to the episode.

Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/member to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Time stamps:

4:00 - Hookless now getting undeserved blame..
9:25 - Downhill mountain bike racing getting aero?
16:30 - Chris King’s new Gen 4 hubs
21:45 - Forge+Bond brings its thermoplastic rims to road
28:40 - Chatting with Terry of BetterShifting.com about a certain Di2 patent
36:07 - e-Cargo bikes being covered by car media is on James’ mind
40:50 - Picking one gravel wheelset, or at least, what we look for
52:00 - A member-submitted PSA
56:15 - 3T’s Strada Italia, made in Italy
57:15 - Bike Yoke’s Revive V3 dropper looks great
59:20 - Wolf Tooth updates its chainguides
1:00:25 - Zwift price increases
1:04:20 – A gimmicky indoor stationary bike on Kickstarter

The Sea Otter Classic just wrapped up literally a few days ago, but clearly someone forgot to turn off the tap of new bikes and gear. Cervelo just announced a redesign of its ultra-popular Aspero gravel bike, and clearly put a lot of thought into what needed to change – and perhaps more importantly, what didn’t. Colnago also just dropped a new gravel bike of its own, the G4X, and Giant finally revamped its Trinity TT bike – no more rim brakes! Dave and James also chat about the eight billion tubeless valve stems out on the market, our favorite mountain bike computer mounts, and some of the latest happenings on the industry side.

Escape Collective's podcasts are made possible by our members. Head on over to escapecollective.com/join to support this show and everything else on our podcast network.

Timestamps:

3:17 – Cervelo’s ultra-popular Aspero gravel bike gets a careful redesign
10:50 – Zwift has added a whole bunch of new features, and some of them sound pretty sweet
15:15 – What’s up with seemingly everyone having their own high-flow tubeless valves now?
28:11 – Pick one! Our favorite mountain bike computer mounts
38:54 – A dirty cassette can easily turn into a skipping chain
43:22 – Colnago announces its new G4X gravel race bike
58:54 – The last holdout of rim brakes in the pro peloton is no more
59:30 – Enve Composites has been sold
1:01:07 – What the heck is going on at Rapha?
1:06:29 – More industry layoffs, this time at Cannondale