Velo Podcast

Featuring: Mike Levy, Josh Ross, and Lisa Charlebois

We air out our worst group ride habits, explain why the CAAD14's aluminum vibe beats cheap carbon, and tackle reader questions.

In this episode:

Toxic Cycling Traits: What's the thing you do on the bike that the group ride probably hates? Levy admits to half-wheeling, I talk too much, and Lisa... well, you'll have to let us know if her trait is actually a big deal.

The Cannondale CAAD14: I’ve had this bike all summer and absolutely love it. We discuss how a mistake by Cannondale made the bike better, why it's an incredible value, and why other reviewers are entirely missing the point. It doesn’t matter that there are cheaper, faster carbon bikes out there; the CAAD14 has an undeniable vibe.

Reader Q&A: With Logan Jones-Wilkins off at Leadville playing at high altitude, Lisa, Levy, and I take over the mic to answer your questions. Would Logan have suggested a Trek endurance bike instead of the gravel bike I recommended? We also touch on the massive new 32-inch Mosaic that launched this week.

We want to hear from you:

What is your toxic cycling trait? Also, have you ridden a CAAD bike and know exactly what I'm talking about, or am I off my rocker and people should just buy cheap carbon instead? Let us know!

Articles covered in this episode:

Review: Cannondale Made a Mistake and the CAAD14 Is Better for It

The New Trek Domane is Too Good to Call an Endurance Bike

The New Mosaic 32 Gravel Bike Fixes 32-Inch Gravel Bikes' Biggest Problem

Featuring: Mike Levy, Josh Ross, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins

The Velo tech team breaks down a week of massive summer rides, including fueling disasters on a 1x Factor One and why Trek’s endurance labeling might be entirely wrong.

It is the height of summer, and right now, we are doing some massive rides. We are all here this week—including Lisa Charlebois, Logan Jones-Wilkins, Mike Levy, and Josh Ross. This week we talk about how Logan just did a century on a new bike, but before we get to that, it was Josh's turn to discuss a “big dumb ride.”

The 220-Mile Aero Experiment: Last weekend, Josh took the Factor One to the beach and back from Portland. It’s a 220-mile ride with 14,000 feet of elevation, and the base build of the One wasn’t extreme enough. To set things right in the aero world, he swapped the wheels for a staggered Zipp 858 NSW / 454 NSW setup and paired that with a SRAM 1x XPLR groupset. We start by talking about how that 13-hour ride went, including the fueling mistakes that led to violently retching on the side of the road.

Seven Centuries in Seven Days: Last week, Lisa declared she’d be doing a century a day for seven days. She crushed it and recorded the numbers. She rode for 52 hours, but how many pounds of sugar did she consume during that time? We discuss the fueling, and Levy reveals why the number of people she rode with is actually the most surprising part of the whole thing.

Testing the Trek Domane 5: We bring home the discussion with Logan and the century that was just a small part of the 650 miles he spent on the Trek Domane 5. Trek calls it an endurance bike, but is that what it actually is? It weighs only 14 lbs and will take up to a 40mm tire. Is there a better name for it? Logan walks us through his thoughts on the bike, including why he loves it so much.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:35 - 220 mile ride on a 1x aero race bike

18:52 - A century a week results and figures

28:27 - Trek Madone review

Articles covered in this episode:

The New Trek Domane is Too Good to Call an Endurance Bike

Featuring: Mike Levy and Lisa Charlebois

How much time does "bra maxing" actually save in a pro peloton? This week, we dive into the Tour de France Femmes tech controversy that could alter podiums, look at the brutal reality of 32-inch gravel bikes, and check in on a 700-mile Century Week.

With Josh and Logan out this week, Lisa Charlebois and Mike Levy hold down the studio to discuss the big, dumb rides they are both doing and the biggest aero news of the week.

First up: Mike’s ongoing saga with 32-inch wheels. He tackled a 160km Fraser Valley “gravel” epic in continuous rain on his Salsa Fargo 32. He breaks down why the massive wheels continue to impress him, where a rigid fork falls short, and how a stranger's campfire saved his ride.

Then, a welfare check on Lisa. She is in the middle of a self-imposed "Century Week"—riding 100 miles a day for seven days straight. She gets into the reality of surviving a 700-mile week while trying to maintain basic human functions off the bike, plus the unexpected rig she chose for this crazy challenge.

Finally, the pair tackle the "bra maxxing" (or bra doping) controversy. They run the math on exactly how much time a rider stands to gain with a chest fairing and debate whether the UCI should step in or consider it fair game.

Chapter Markers:

00:00 - Intro

02:13 - Mike Levy does a huge ride on a 32-inch bike

11:22 - Lisa and the daily century week

28:37 - Bra doping at the TDFF

Featuring: Mike Levy, Josh Ross, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins

Episode Description:

We rank the fastest aero road bikes, discuss Lisa’s plan to ride 700 miles in a week, and unpack how the giant Salsa Fargo actually handles in the woods of BC.

We missed last week because we were all deep in the woods in British Columbia testing, among other things, a 32-inch bike. We actually recorded a podcast while together but you will have to wait for that one. For now, the team is back in our home studios to discuss some of what we found in the forest.

We get rolling with news that Charlebois is riding seven centuries next week. That’s right, she had a surplus of fitness after a planned event fell through, so… why not? Think you could do seven centuries in seven days? We talk to her about how she plans to motivate for it and we all go around the room to share our much lower highest-mileage weeks.

Next we answer listener questions but it’s primarily about the big three aero bikes. I’ve ridden the Factor One, the Cervelo S5, and the Colnago Y1RS, plus we throw the Specialized Tarmac SL9 into the mix. One of you out there wanted to know what I would choose to ride and why given those choices. The team graciously gave me a chance to sit in my happy place and discuss those aero bikes.

Not for too long though. Pretty soon we rolled into questioning marketing vs. engineering in terms of bike design. We all have pretty strong feelings about who drives the conversation and why. Which is, of course, a perfect segue into discussing the 32-inch Salsa Fargo that we rode in Squamish.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Intro & Introductions

00:00:50 - Lisa and 7 centuries

00:13:30 - Riding in British Columbia

00:29:55 - Listener questions and aero bikes

00:41:20 - More listener questions and marketing vs. engineering

01:00:00 - Riding the Salsa Fargo 32

Is the Tour de France actually a circus, and how do riders survive the extreme heat? Plus, why you shouldn't put luggage on a race bike.

This week, the whole gang is in the virtual studio to talk about everything happening in the cycling world right now. Logan Jones-Wilkins kicks things off with his firsthand account of the Tour de France and shares a radical take on why moving race start times to beat the heat is harder than it sounds.

Then, Mike Levy pulls a listener question that sparks a debate on why we push gear testing past the 1,000-mile mark. That leads perfectly into a recap of the 200-mile Seattle to Portland (STP) event, where Lisa Charlebois pedaled a traditional round-tube metal bike while I coasted past on a fully-kitted aero Factor One.

Finally, we break down my review of the Pinarello Dogma X and explain why its "endurance" label masks a bike that still fundamentally wants to race.

In This Episode We Cover:

The Tour de France: The reality of the circus and how the peloton handles scorching temperatures.

Extreme Heat Strategies: Why starting races earlier isn't an easy fix, plus tips for surviving hot weather rides.

Gear Testing: Why a saddle that feels great at 100 miles might fail at 1,000.

The STP Ride: Aero bikes vs. round-tube metal frames over 200 miles.

The Luggage Debate: Why race bikes and frame storage (or saddlebags) don't mix.

Pinarello Dogma X: A deep dive into the quirks of Italian bike reviews and racing heritage.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Guest Introductions

01:35 – Survival Tips for Riding in Extreme Heat

06:47 – Heat Training & Hydration Strategies

12:15 – How the Tour de France Peloton Handles the Heat

16:26 – Should the Cycling Calendar Change Due to Climate?

24:00 – Listener Question: Finding the Perfect Long-Distance Saddle

30:05 – Recapping the Seattle to Portland (STP) 200-Mile Ride

40:05 – On-Bike Nutrition: The Magic of Tums for Cramps

45:40 – Pinarello Dogma X Review: Race Performance vs. Endurance

55:00 – The Great Debate: Frame Storage vs. Bike Luggage