Escape Collective

Wheel Talk: A mid-season Q&A, part 1

This week Abby Mickey, Loren Rowney, and Gracie Elvin answer some listener questions about whether they can sing or prefer to dance, hot pants, SD Worx dominance, and more.

Pretty Serious Bike Racing: The Dauphiné is underway

This week on the Pretty Serious Bike Racing Podcast, Abby Mickey joins Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano to...
Break down the action so far at the Critérium du Dauphiné
Look ahead to the brewing GC battle in the Tour's biggest tune-up race
Discuss the evolution of rules and regulations in gravel racing as seen at Unbound

Placeholders: Rating the Giro and good vibes

This week on the Placeholders, Jonny Long, Kit Nicholson, and Dane Cash join Caley Fretz to ...
Rate the Giro
Celebrate the undiluted good vibes
Consider Jumbo-Visma's plan for the Tour
Talk about the Evenepoel to Ineos rumors

Geek Warning: Dropped chains, dropped thumbs, and how to buy your first handmade bike

Our trio of diehard in-house tech geeks – James, Dave, and Ronan – are on hand this week to talk about the dropped chain that nearly derailed Primož Roglič’s Giro d’Italia, Campagnolo’s new (and outrageously expensive) Super Record Wireless electronic road groupset, fancy new spokes from DT Swiss, and our new comprehensive guide to buying your first custom bike.
Also, all three of us apparently have issues staying upright, Ronan has thoughts on disc brakes in road racing, and a PSA on hidden caffeine.
6:58 — Roglic’s nearly disastrous chain drop20:37 — Campagnolo goes wireless and ditches the thumb buttons43:40 — New high-end MTB spokes from DT Swiss48:37 — The impending return of the Handmade Bicycle Show Australia49:59 — The return of Matt Wikstrom!52:10 — Dave fell down53:41 — James fell down54:43 — Ronan fell down55:12 — Ronan has thoughts on road racing with disc brakes1:00:03 — Seat tube angles aren’t always what they seem1:02:20 — Ronan needs to start reading the fine print

Wheel Talk: The RideLondon vs. Thüringen problem

This week we chat all about the three days of action at the RideLondon Classique, a conversation made even better by the presence of Rebecca Charlton! We also talk about the SD Worx clean sweep at LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour and the ongoing WorldTour relegation battle.

Pretty Serous Bike Racing: The Giro’s thrilling finale

On the heels of a thrilling finale at the 2023 Giro d'Italia as well as a weekend of racing on British roads at the RideLondon Classique, Kit Nicholson joined Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano for the Pretty Serious Bike Racing Podcast to cover the action. The crew talks:
Roglič's winning tactics when it all mattered at the Giro
The unheralded riders of the race
The moments that made the Giro
Charlotte Kool establishing herself in sprinting's top tier

Placeholders: Rascast redux, Cavendish, and the Giro

Ronan Mc Laughlin and Jonny Long join Caley Fretz on the Placeholders Podcast for a Rascast redux and more. In this week's show, the crew talks:
The joy of riding Ireland's biggest race
Jonny's soigneur skills
Mark Cavendish's impending retirement
The GC battle (finally) heating up at the Giro d'Italia

Geek Warning: Good entry-level aluminum bikes are rad

Lots of new stuff to chat about this week! Specialized’s Allez revamp is hardly revolutionary, but there’s a lot to be said for a no-frills and accessible bike that’s executed well. Dave has some (bad) ideas for Kask on how to market its new Elemento flagship helmet, Wahoo’s founder owns his company again, and Trek makes an interesting move with the Bontrager brand name.
We also chat about Aerocoach’s latest round of rolling resistance tests, and Fairwheel Bikes’ intriguing crank stiffness tests. And finally, Dave shares some thoughts on cross-country mountain bike suspension, Zach reveals his secret love of cheap track bikes, James revisits his weight-weenie past, and we all take a leap through the Ring of Death.
2:45 — Specialized Allez16:52 — Kask Elemento22:11 — Trek vs. Bontrager27:52 — Wahoo is back?30:54 — Aerocoach measures the Vittoria Corsa Pro35:16 — Which crank is stiffest?43:40 — Dave likes things saggy48:30 — Zach likes inexpensive track bikes55:08 — James slips back into weight weenieism1:02:34 — The Ring of Death, revisited

Wheel Talk: The Vuelta a Burgos closes out the Spanish stage race block

Abby Mickey, Matt de Neef, and Gracie Elvin chat about the Vuelta a Burgos and why the race was and wasn’t boring. Plus, the upcoming RideLondon Classique promises some exciting sprint stages!

Pretty Serious Bike Racing: Breakaway action at the Giro and wrapping up Burgos

This week on the Pretty Serious Bike Racing Podcast, Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano are joined by Abby Mickey and Kit Nicholson to talk:
Demi Vollering's convincing GC win in Burgos
Chloe Dygert's impressive climbing performance
Thrilling breakaway action at the Giro
Giro GC hopefuls mostly keeping their powder dry so far...