Cycling News & Blog Articles

This week’s episode runs through the first weekend of racing, including Annemiek van Vleuten’s incredible run of wins and a spate of riders being pulled from the Vuelta a Burgos over coronavirus concerns. 

In this week’s Nerd Alert segment, we kick off with news from Mavic and its new ownership and then dig into threaded bottom brackets and why they’re still not a cure-all for creaks. 

Click here for a direct download, and here to listen on Soundcloud. The CyclingTips podcast is on Spotify as well, and you can listen to it there. Or just subscribe to the CyclingTips Podcast via RSS, iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.

The post CyclingTips Podcast: A COVID omerta, Mavic’s woes, and threaded bottom brackets appeared first on CyclingTips.

How do you take a bike like the Tarmac SL6 and make it even better? How do you make a more aero frame that still retains the same feel of a climbing bike?

In this special episode of the CyclingTips Podcast, we sit down with the engineers behind the new Tarmac SL7 to talk optimization, aerodynamics, integration, and lots more. We press them on stiffness targets, how integration decisions are made, and how carbon layups and shapes translate to handling and confidence on a bike.

Thanks to Specialized for partnering with us on this episode, and for making the engineers behind the Tarmac available for whatever questions we wanted to ask.

The post The TarmaCast: A deep dive with the engineers behind the new Tarmac SL7 appeared first on CyclingTips.

Following the first women’s racing since March 3rd, Loren and Abby set aside an entire episode to discuss the chaos of the races, the results, and how racing might proceed from here.

We dive into what Strade will look like this weekend, and discuss the actual importance of bike racing with the world the way it is right now. A heavy episode, but we’re curious what people think. So, make sure to tweet at @abimickey and @lorenrowney for further discussion.

Thank you to Assos of Switzerland for sponsoring this week’s podcast.

To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to Freewheeling on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Freewheeling Podcast: The first races back appeared first on CyclingTips.

This week’s episode of Nerd Alert is devoted to all things carbon fibre. CyclingTips’ Global Tech Editor, James Huang, gets on the phone with Jason Gabriel of Toray Advanced Composites, the company that provides much of the raw material to carbon bike manufacturers all over the world.

Ever wanted to know what carbon fibre is? What does modulus mean? How parts are made with this stuff? And just what does the future hold for carbon fibre? Well, this is an episode for you.

To make sure you never miss an episode of Nerd Alert, subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Nerd Alert Podcast: Inside the company that sells carbon to bike brands appeared first on CyclingTips.

Over the next few episodes of From the Top I switch gears to speak to iconic individuals within the cycling industry, to better understand how they got to where they are. First up, I speak to Phil Liggett about how he got his start in commentating, how he met Paul Sherwen, how he’s been doing since Paul’s untimely passing, about his relationship with Lance Armstrong, and the cut-throat nature of his position at the top of his profession.

Liggett is undeniably the most recognisable voice in cycling and his dulcet tones have brought the sport we all love into the mainstream through his ‘Liggetisms’, through his descriptions of châteaux, and through his partnership with co-commentator Paul Sherwen.

Many enthusiasts say that Phil is long past his prime and should retire. There’s no denying that the media landscape is a very different place now than it was when Phil started commenting — before many of us were even born. But Phil has witnessed and called so many of cycling’s most significant and historic moments; moments that made us all jump out of our chairs with excitement. You have to thank Phil for being part of those memories. Personally, I bookmark my years by who won the TdF in that particular July, and Phil and Paul’s voices are part of that.

Phil is now 76 years old and has been commentating since the late 70s. Think about that. His impact on the sport and his pioneering role have been tremendous. These days, while he might get some details wrong while calling a race in front of millions of people, I call tell you first-hand through many interactions with him that he’s still sharp as a tack. And as much as you don’t want to hear it, his commentary isn’t really for you or me, the hardcore cycling fans – it’s for the people who immerse themselves in the Tour de France once a year, and who still love him.

From aspiring pro bike racer, to journalist, to commentating with Paul Sherwen for 33 years, Phil is now in the twilight of his career. I sat down with him to hear how he got started, and to learn about some of his struggles along the way.

Bike racing approaches, and with it plenty of bike racing-related news. We run through news from the Tour de France, La Course, and the Virtual Tour de France, plus dig into Chris Froome’s decision to jump to Israel Start-Up Nation. 

Then, a spirited debate: How do our podcast hosts stack up as home mechanics? 

Click here for a direct download, and here to listen on Soundcloud. The CyclingTips podcast is on Spotify as well, and you can listen to it there. Or just subscribe to the CyclingTips Podcast via RSS, iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.

The post CyclingTips Podcast: Real Tour, virtual Tour, and ranking our mechanic skills appeared first on CyclingTips.

This week, we forgo the usual news and focus an entire episode on Australian adventure bicycle rider Kate Leeming.

Leeming was the first person to ride a bike in an unbroken line across Africa, the first person to ride a bike across the entire Namibian coastline, first woman to cross new Russia unsupported on a bike…the list goes on. Kate undertakes incredible adventures on her bicycle, a special all-wheel-drive fat bike, all for causes relevant to the countries she is exploring.

Abby chatted with Kate at her home in Australia, where she is currently planning to ride her bike across Antarctica, the first crossing by bicycle ever. Find out more about Kate and her causes by visiting her website, breakingthecycle.education, and following her on the social medias.

To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to Freewheeling on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Freewheeling Podcast: Kate Leeming, a Modern Explorer appeared first on CyclingTips.

So many of the businesses we’ve discovered in this show have been ‘happy accidents’, so to speak, and Skratch Labs embodies that very same organic-build-and-hustling spirit as many others.

Skratch was founded by two longtime friends, Dr Allan Lim and Ian McGregor, who were both sidelined from the sport at the time. They both described themselves as initially too ‘lazy’ to actually sell the ‘secret drink mix’ they were making for pro cycling teams at the time. But as one thing led to another, they found themselves in their kitchens making their products, mixing drink powders in paint shakers, and throwing pizza and beer parties with their friends to fulfil orders.

In an absolutely crowded market for nutritional products, these two, with no business experience, were able to work their way up to become one of the biggest little brands in the sports nutrition world.

I learned a few things from Allan and Ian in this episode:

1. If you have a product that people love and they’re willing to pay money for it, there’s probably a business there worth exploring – no matter how crowded the market is. With hard work and having a clear understanding of where you fit into that market, there’s likely to be room for you.

This week’s episode of Nerd Alert discusses new wheels from Reserve and the return (again) of Spinergy, this time with some new gravel wheels. Then we look into longer, lower, slacker gravel geometry and how that reminds us of mountain bikes.

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? 

To make sure you never miss an episode of Nerd Alert, subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Nerd Alert Podcast: Should you tip your mechanic? And other important questions appeared first on CyclingTips.

Loren Rowney returns in this week’s episide for a chat about the recent news in women’s cycling. Will Americans make it to Europe to race this year? Where will Annemiek, arguably the best female cyclist currently racing, transfer if Mitchelton-Scott is no more? These questions are discussed, along with a few other topics.

Ina Teutenberg, director for the ladies Trek-Segafredo squad, joins Abby for the second half of the episode to discuss her role as a director, dealing with the current situation, the upcoming race calendar, and more. 

To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to Freewheeling on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Freewheeling: Directing during a pandemic appeared first on CyclingTips.

Apidura is a brand you may not be familiar with if you haven’t ventured into the world of bikpacking, touring or adventure racing, but they are pioneers in rackless bike bags category, and support the community of ultra cyclists and bike packers. They’re a brand at the heart of this rapidly growing community and are enabling a whole new wave of this type of cycling.

Tori Fahey is the founder of Apidura and never set out to create a business out of her homemade packs and bags. She did it to satisfy her own needs with how she needed to balance her hectic life by doing long rides, tours and adventures.

What I find inspiring about what Tori has done with Apidura is not necessarily the business she’s created and it’s quick rise (although that is pretty remarkable in its own right), but the foundation she’s build the company on, and the values she holds and follows through with. She’s been outspoken about consumerism and the culture of seasonal discounting. She is conscious about the footprint the business leaves on the environment. She focuses her resources on making their products better, rather than new colorways or seasonal changes. She made a deliberate choice at the start not to be a growth led business, but to be a product led. That’s one thing to say when you have a hobby business, but something completely different when you have employees, a supply chain, and a customer base who depend on you.

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed brining it together.

Thank you to Ashley de Neef for composing the music for the show, as well as our producer Mal Bloedel.

Paul Hartner is 21 years old, races for the Project Echelon elite team, and has dreams of a pro career. This makes him one of the most accomplished openly queer male cyclists on earth.

This is Paul’s coming out story, and the story of being out in the cycling world. It’s told with the help of Trek-Segafredo pro Tayler Wiles and the rider who helped guide Paul out of the closet, Owen McGrath. 

This episode was sparked a few years ago, when Owen, a riding buddy of mine, told a piece of his own coming out story. He was a hockey player in high school, and a lacrosse player, and as he came to terms with his sexuality he turned away from both. Gay guys, he thought, don’t play sports.

In this episode, above all, we wanted to show that they do.

Click here for a direct download, and here to listen on Soundcloud. The CyclingTips podcast is on Spotify as well, and you can listen to it there. Or just subscribe to the CyclingTips Podcast via RSS, iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Nerd Alert is back, our podcast dedicated to the world of cycling tech. This time we geek out about SRAM’s new wild front derailleur patent and SRAM’s move to a 52T cog on Eagle.

The conversation then moves to an interview between our global tech editor James Huang and Trek’s senior product graphic designer, Micah Moran. The two talk how graphics and paint schemes come to be, and why competing brands tend to follow similar trends.

Finally, we finish the episode with the return of our What Bike to Buy segment. Here we give our picks for a bike that’s suitable for road and smooth gravel.

To make sure you never miss an episode of Nerd Alert, subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Nerd Alert Podcast: Pretty paint, SRAM’s wild patent, and What Bike to Buy appeared first on CyclingTips.

SRAM is credited with having three co-founders, but Stan Day is the man who planted the seed. And you could very well are argue he is the man where the brand’s culture and values stem from. At least that’s what I got out of speaking with him in this episode while listening to his polite, humble and understated approach when sharing his story.

SRAM all started with Stan taking on a triathlon challenge back in the 80’s and thinking that there has to be a better way than the current down-tube shifting method. Twist-shift was his answer and he was able to convince a few friends to leave their good jobs, move across the country and start a business in Chicago and sell their better way. But as successful as the company is now, it certainly didn’t start out that way. If it weren’t for one pivotal moment, SRAM might have been only a side-note in our cycling history books.

Thank you to Ashley de Neef for composing the music for the show, as well as our producer Mal Bloedel.

The post From the Top: How SRAM was built appeared first on CyclingTips.

Justin Williams founded L39ION of LA with a vision of what cycling could be, and can be, if it’s pushed in the right direction at the right time. It’s a vision we love – more diverse, more accessible, more willing to learn from the world outside bikes. So we’re incredibly pleased to announce that CyclingTips is partnering with Williams and L39ION to produce a podcast called From the Gun.

That’s right, a L39ION podcast is coming soon.

Some of you may have caught Williams’ short From the Gun episodes on his Instagram page, which serve as the inspiration for this full-length podcast project.

Williams, the current US National Criterium champion, will host the episodes, which will be released monthly at first before bumping up to twice a month as regular racing returns. Expect to hear often from his brother Cory Williams, teammates like Dante Young, Eder Frayre, Tyler Williams, and Lance Haidet, and interview guests from inside and outside cycling.

In addition to From the Gun, CyclingTips will join L39ION at select races, telling the team’s story and that of the American crit scene.

In this week’s Freewheeling episode, Abby chats with WorldTour coach Ben Day, who coaches pros like Ruth Winder, about the differences in training between men and women.

We also dive into what viewers can expect from racing this season, given the highly condensed calendar, as well as about what the disruptions in racing have meant for the athletes Day is currently working with.

To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to Freewheeling on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Freewheeling Podcast: Why do men and women train differently? appeared first on CyclingTips.

We have another excitingly packed episode for you all today. We kick off with Loren and Abby discussing the breaking news of Lorena Wiebes leaving Parkhotel Valkenburg and signing for Team Sunweb. This episode possibly includes the most women’s cycling news we’ve seen since January, with announcements by Anna van der Breggen and Chantal Blaak that they will hang up their race bikes in 2022 in exchange for the driver’s seat of team directors for SD Worx, a virtual Skoda V-Series 3 day women’s race to replace the OVO Energy Women’s Tour, and the possibility of a brand new team on the horizon.

A very special guest joins Abby for this week’s episode of Freewheeling. Abby starts off by getting to know Jose Been before they chat about Jose’s most recent CyclingTips article about her quarantine experience and finding a way to wind down while getting fit on the bike and discovering more beauty on her home roads.

As a special bonus, Abby chats with podcast regular (and favorite) Katie Hall about her Everesting world record and how she is spending life with no bike racing. 

To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to Freewheeling on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Freewheeling Podcast: Katie Hall’s Everesting and getting to know Jose Been appeared first on CyclingTips.

How does a sport make heroes? How does cycling build superstars? This is the focus of our third Roadmap Episode, digging into the future of pro cycling at a time when the future is anything but clear. 

We speak with Justin Williams, who has built his Legion criterium team into a mini media house, and to Helen Wyman, who understands the lessons road cycling can learn from cyclocross. And finally, we talk to Kimo Seymour of Life Time, the company that owns North America’s largest gravel events. 

Click here for a direct download, and here to listen on Soundcloud. The CyclingTips podcast is on Spotify as well, and you can listen to it there. Or just subscribe to the CyclingTips Podcast via RSS, iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play.

The Roadmap series

Pro cycling is in a time of intense change, and we believe that in chaos comes opportunity. The Roadmap Episodes delve into cycling’s heroes, its calendar, its power players, and more. We speak with powerful and creative individuals from all over the sport, including Dave Brailsford, Jonathan Vaughters, Rapha’s Simon Mottram, Justin Williams, Helen Wyman, Iris Slappendel, and more.

If you missed any of our earlier episodes, head back and catch up:

In our latest episode of Nerd Alert, we kick things off with a discussion of Strava’s recent announcement and what it means for the company and its many, many users.

We then talk about the new Cannondale Scalpel, a bike that blends some old concepts into an extremely modern bike.

The conversation then moves to talk cheating in Zwift, and how the company is working to overcome the fairly common issues.

Finally, we welcome back our resident pro mechanic, Zac Edwards, who returns along with our popular “Ask a mechanic” segment. Here we go full-nerd reminiscing about the old weight-weenie days and discuss sticky SRAM levers, stuck freehub bodies, and then bicker about chain waxing, bar taping methods, and adapting existing wheels to Boost spacing.

To make sure you never miss an episode of Nerd Alert, subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Zipp is an indisputable icon in the wheel and component business and they have a long history of innovation. They were one of the very first brands who thought about wheels differently and pushed the envelope to bring performance wheels where they are today.

An engineer by the name of Leigh Sargent is the founder of Zipp way back in the late 80’s, and it’s a gentleman by the name of Andy Ording who was Leigh’s first employee. Ording bought the company outright in its early days, and built Zipp during its formative years. 

Zipp now belongs to SRAM and its family of products and continues its legacy of innovation, but the origins of this pioneering brand started over 30 years earlier.

Thank you to Ashley de Neef (yes, brother of Managing Editor Matt de Neef) for composing the music for the show, as well as our producer Mal Bloedel.