It was an idea teased in a previous episode of the Geek Warning podcast, and we’ve finally done it! Welcome to a pilot episode of In for Review – a special and approximately-monthly edition of Geek Warning that chats about some of the bikes and products we’re actively testing, the things on our minds related to those products, and the tangents that follow.

This episode is entirely free for all to hear, but the upcoming content that we discuss will largely be exclusive to members of Escape Collective.

This was a first draft, and we already have ideas for making it better. Still, we’re all ears if you have ideas, praise, or criticism.

Time stamps:

1:20 - The new Scott Addict Ultimate and Schwalbe Aerothan tyres
10:20 - Another Scott as Ronan is wrapping up the Foil
15:00 - Testing the Enve MOG through a Scottish winter
21:00 - Tangent into swapping between dropbar shifter brands
24:00 - Swapping between bikes
27:30 - Suvi is down the Rear Radar rabbit hole
37:40 - Fizik’s custom 3D printed saddle
49:15 - Ronan is trying to find a shoe he actually likes
53:00 - Just a pure shameless plug from Ronan
58:30 - Dave’s heaviest delivery in recent memory

It’s a geek-packed episode as senior tech editors Dave Rome and Ronan Mc Laughlin, plus Zach Edwards (Boulder Groupetto) discuss the week in tech.

Ronan ponders the real highs and lows of Lidl-Trek experimenting with SRAM XPLR 1x13 drivetrains in road races. There’s a skeptical point of view to integrated pressure sensors in tubeless wheels. And the geeks discuss the importance of Trail figures in geometry, and why it’s oddly not provided by all brands – a topic Ronan was inspired to put into writing, too (coming soon).

It had been a few weeks since the last PSA, and Dave has one related to common noises. And we’ve got a wrap of some fresh product news.

As per usual, the episode ends with our Ask a Wrench segment that sees pro race mechanic Brad Copeland and Dave Rome answer a few member-submitted tech questions. It’s something you’ll need to logged into our member-feed of the podcast to hear.

Time stamps:

1:40 - Lidl-Trek using a 1x gravel groupset
13:00 - Zipp playing with integrated pressure sensors
21:10 - Where are all the trail figures and fork rakes?
30:50 - PSA on easily solved bike noises
31:10 - Continental’s new Gran Prix TR tyre
42:00 - OneUp’s little pedal fumble
43:30 - Industry9’s new Hydra2 hub
47:50 - Velocio’s new high-riding hydration pack
49:35 - Hammerhead Karoo gets its own “native extension” library plus a tangent on computers.
58:30 - Ask a Wrench with Brad Copeland (members-only)
1:00:00 - A further tip for comparing chain wear between riding disciplines (members-only)
1:01:05 - Plugs and repairing tubeless tyres (members-only)
1:06:10 - Speeding up the drying process of drip wax (members-only)
1:10:00 - A complement for a previous answer - the advice worked (members-only)
1:12:30 - Squealing Shimano brakes strike again (members-only)

In this special episode, we chat with Ultra-Distance specialist Kevin Benky Benkenstein on his bike and gear selections for a recent race across the Moroccan Atlas Mountain Range. That big ride is the Atlas Mountain Race (AMR), a beast of a ride that covers some 1,300 km with 23,000 m of elevation. It covers every surface imaginable, and both rider and bike are tested thoroughly in the little over four days that it took him to complete (good enough for a tied third-place finish in the men’s).

Designed to accompany an article that Kevin wrote for Escape Collective, this chat covers why a full-suspension frame ended up being the pick, why such trail-focussed tyres were selected, drivetrain choices, and plenty of geeky insight.

Enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to check out escapecollective.com for the full write-up (or at least to see some photos).