Escape Collective

Geek Warning: New bikes, head scratchers, and Dave’s Ultimate birthday present

Fresh off his round-the-world hot air balloon trip, James Huang is back! And so is our resident GrumpyH8ter mechanic, Zach Edwards. They sit down with Dave Rome to chat about a trio of new bike releases, Time’s monstrous new carbon fiber factory, the pros and cons of cable vs. electronic mountain bike shifting, and a PSA about safely pulling your tubeless-equipped bikes out of hibernation.

Pretty Serious Bike Racing: The Tour of Flanders

After a Tour of Flanders for the ages, Ruth Winder joins Cosmo Catalano and Dane Cash to cover:
Tadej Pogačar's brilliance
How will Jumbo-Visma's Classics campaign be remembered?
SD Worx continuously living up to expectations
Could anyone have done anything differently on Sunday?
What's next at the Tour of the Basque Country and Paris-Roubaix

Placeholders: Pogi and the Flanders Anticipation Group

We come to you from Belgium, where it's very cold but the racing is superb. In this special episode, Caley, Ronan, and Jonny react to a stunning men's Tour of Flanders.
We speak with Tadej Pogačar's teammates Mikkel Bjerg and Matteo Trentin to dig into how UAE's plan was executed, plus chat with the two Americans in the top 10, Neilson Powless and Matteo Jorgenson, and nearly-man Fred Wright, who seems destined to be an all-the-day-there man sometime soon. 

Placeholders: We’re all just feudal peasants in Wout’s kingdom

It's almost Holy Week, bike fans! That means plenty of drama coming out of Belgium, and plenty for the Placeholders to discuss.
This week Kate, Dane, Jonny, and Caley dig into...
- The Wout Gift Debate
- Jumbo's sponsor 
- Movistar is the new Quickstep
- Kate's jacket update
- The Flanders preview 

Geek Warning: Ronan’s least favourite assignment

In this week's Geek Warning, Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz dive into...
- Dave's hurt feelings
- Taipei Cycle Show
- Specialized's wild-looking Sirius
- Ronan's spec-bikes thing
- Wax lub on our minds
- and a PSA.

Wheel Talk: Live with Ellen van Dijk

In this super special episode of the Wheel Talk Podcast multi-time ITT World Champion Ellen van Dijk joins Abby and Loren to watch the final 27 km of Gent-Wevelgem live. They chat about Ellen's plans after she has her baby, her interest in directing, and take some listener questions for a live audience.

Pretty Serious Bike Racing: E3, Gent-Wevelgem, and Catalunya

We’re getting into the thick of the Classics campaign now, and the Pretty Serious crew is here to break down all the racing. Abby Mickey and Kit Nicholson join Dane Cash to talk:
Van Aert making a statement at E3
Jumbo-Visma dominating the men’s Gent-Wevelgem
Reusser’s solo triumph at the women’s Gent-Wevelgem
Roglic’s quiet brilliance and Evenepoel’s tactics at the Volta a Catalunya

Placeholders: Your company is in bed with Vino

Iain, Jonny, Kate, and Caley are back this week to dive into the biggest stories in cycling, including but not limited to...
- The Astana sunglasses debacle
- Latvian politics
- Press the Garmin button (again)
- The UCI won't email Iain back
- Quickstep and the classics

Geek Warning: The Trojan horse of derailleur hangers and way too much stock

Dave Rome, Ronan Mc Laughlin, and Caley Fretz are back with another nerdy episode, this week they dive into...
Two broken handlebars in the same race
The broader implications of SRAM's new derailleur hanger-killer
The crazy levels of excess stock in the bike industry right now

Wheel Talk: The new Trek-Segafredo

This week on the Wheel Talk Podcast we talk about one of the oldest one-days on the women's calendar Trofeo Alfredo Binda. We dive into the winning team's tactics, and what other teams maybe did wrong. Plus we answer questions about a women's Milan-Sanremo and more.