Velo Podcast

Can a $600 pair of shoes really be worth the price? Surely not... but also maybe, depending on who you ask. Today's show sees tech editor Josh Ross and Mike Levy talk about Specialized's new S-Works Ares 2 shoe, as well as how to test expensive bikes and gear, and how relevant that pricey equipment may — or may not — be for many riders who have different priorities. 

Here's a burning question we've had for quite some time: should your bike complement your strengths or shore up your weaknesses?Wait, hear us out! We thought about the best bikes we've ridden, and there's always something in common: they make us feel superhuman. But what about that that bike makes you feel that way? Is it how it makes up for your weaknesses on the descents, or is it how it only amplifies what you're the best at?We have a bit of an argument here, with some of us believing a bike needs to focus on rider weaknesses, while others would rather their bikes help them feel better about what they're doing.Along the way, we talk about Litespeed's new titanium road bike, which they claim is the lightest titanium frame yet. Then, we get nostalgic about old Cannondales as we talk about the latest Topstone Carbon ahead of its launchAh, and as we should, we talk about a big crash that happened while filming our first-ever Velo Field Test. Don't tell us we don't make sacrifices for this job!Listen to the latest episode of the Velo Podcast below.

Bike racing is back! With the UAE Tour and Volta in the rearview mirror, it's time to jump feet first into what looks to be an epic Classics season that kicked off with Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Then, it was off to the rolling white roads of Italy's Chianti region for the Strade Bianche, where the women's race climaxed with a duel between Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen up the steep final wall better known as Via Santa Caterina. And if you were watching the men's race and waiting to see if Tadej Pogačar could best last year's 80km solo breakaway for victory, he did exactly that but in a very different way, overcoming what looked like a serious crash to notch up his third Strade victory. Today's podcast sees Mike Levy chat with Andrew Hood and Jim Cotton about what makes the Classics so special, how Pogačar could win Milano-Sanremo, and why more people need to think like Tom Pidcock.

Some of the Velo team is in the midst of gearing up for a field test, where we're testing all-road bikes and comparing them against a traditional racey road bike and a gravel bike. Between all the testing and riding we're doing, it's got us wondering what the heck is an all-road bike, anyway?Yeah, yeah, all-road bikes are supposed to bridge the gap between the race road bikes and the performance gravel bikes. They tend to offer more upright body positioning, handling that skews toward safe rather than agile, and often include some sort of feature that promises to dampen road vibrations.But where did the all-road name even come from? How did we lose the phrase 'endurance road bike' along the way? And perhaps most importantly, is a gravel bike the right bike if you're looking for an all-road bike?Along the way, we chat about Jim Cotton's excellent story on how breathing sensors are poised to blow up bike racing and why a breathing sensor is a much more reliable indicator of effort and output. We also dig into why Lidl-Trek raced on a SRAM gravel groupset at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.We dug in on this latest episode of the Velo Podcast, and we hope you enjoy digging in, too.See the latest in cycling on Velo: velo.outsideonline.com 

Today's bikes are really, really good. That doesn't mean we don't have major pet peeves, however. Proprietary seat posts and stems, are an easy one, as are companies cheaping out on bolts and bearings. But we went further, talking about the bike industry's propensity to push bikes on us that don't help riders address their weaknesses, and perhaps most importantly, how we wish the bike industry solved these issues. Look, we said the bikes are good. We didn't say they were perfect!In the news, we talk about Devinci's latest Hatchet Pro gravel bike that is a whole lot more racey than we'd expect. Is Hope Tech's new carbon gravel crank with a foam core going to be any good? And we talk about why Josh isn't going to stop waxing his chain any time soon.All that and more in the latest Velo Podcast. See more: velo.outsideonline.com/featured

If you grew up or currently live and ride bikes in a town with any sort of population, we bet there’s either a group ride of some sort that just happened or will be happening in a few days.Maybe it starts from the local bike shop, or maybe it starts from the go-to coffee shop. Some rides are a chill Sunday spin that's gone on uninterrupted for the past two decades, while others are the three-hour World Championship ride with 50 of the local meatheads.We do our best to define these group tries, describe what motivates these rides, and how to find your ideal group ride, even if that means starting one yourself.Of course, we also dig into the news. That means talking about how the UCI handed out a last-minute ban on a Kask helmet visor that the Ineos Grenadiers have used for years, and talking to the team to find out what happened.Then came the sealant conversation. Silca is so certain of its sealant working headache-free that the brand has promised to pay a $500 Bad Day Bonus to its sponsored athletes who get punctures that don’t seal. We dove into why it is so confident in its new Ultimate Sealant.All of that and more in the latest podcast!See more from Velo: https://velo.outsideonline.com/featured

Host Mike Levy has a hot take — or is it Senior Tech Editor Josh Ross who has the hot take? Find out this week as we debate the merits of aero road bikes.And first, we take a closer look at Classified's patent on a self charging shifting system that could make the burgeoning alternative drivetrain maker's offering a whole lot simpler to live with.

Mike Levy sits down with Dan Sommer, owner of Jack's Cycle, to talk about the realities of running a bike shop.

If you're listening to this, there's a pretty good chance that you love to ride your bike. That can manifest itself in all sorts of different ways. Some of you like to do shuttle runs with your buddies on the weekend or go to the bike park. Some of you like to pedal up the hill. Some of you like to go down the hill. Some of you like to race your bike for a few hours. And some of you… Well, some of you like to race your bike for over 4,000 kilometers through sand, snow, hopefully, more than a little bit of sun, and everything else in between.Today, Mike Levy talks to Meaghan Hackinen. Meaghan won the 2024 Tour Divide, and she's also a two-time 24-hour world time trial champion, which sounds absolutely insane. We're going to talk about those things, and we're also going to get to sleeping alone in grizzly country, waking up to a scorpion, strategies for doing these ultra-distance events by yourself, and I might have even slipped in a UFO question or two.Meaghan Hackinen isn't just an adventure seeker; she's a heck of a writer, too. Find her latest work here: meaghanhackinen.comRead an abbreviated transcript and see a whole bunch of photos here: velo.outsideonline.com/gravel/gravel-culture/velo-podcast-meaghan-hackinen/See more on Velo: velo.outsideonline.com/featured

In this latest podcast, we're talking about winter riding from two different perspectives: the tips and tricks we’ve learned to stay warm during those cold rides, but also how to make your indoor riding suck the least amount possible on those days when you say, “Nah, I’ll just stay inside.” Besides that, we also get into the news. We dive into the latest 2024 UCI Crash Statistics report and some low-hanging fruit solutions to make road racing safer. Alvin talks about why CES 2025 matters if you're a bike nerd, even if they call it 'personal transportation.' Then there's a breakdown of what the latest SRAM Force AXS leak could mean in the near future, and all of our latest gear on test.Stories we reference:‘35% Rider Error’: UCI Issues Intriguing Crash Statistics, Presses Pause on Gear Restrictions, Airbags - https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/35-rider-error-uci-issues-intriguing-crash-statistics/Vaporware or Gamechanger? The Bike Tech from the CES Show 2025 - https://velo.outsideonline.com/news/vaporware-or-gamechanger-the-bike-tech-from-the-ces-show-2025/Spotted: Is an Updated SRAM Force AXS Groupset Coming Soon? - https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-gear/spotted-updated-sram-force-axs-groupset/See the latest from Velo: https://velo.outsideonline.com/featured