Paris-Roubaix Primer: Cobbles, Chaos, & How To Beat Pogačar
There isn't anything else like the Queen of the Classics and, if this season so far is anything to go by, we've got an exciting weekend of racing in front of us. The women's field will face the thirty cobbled sectors under the sun on Saturday, while there's a chance of rain and mud for the men on Sunday as Tadej Pogačar aims to be the first reigning Tour de France champion to win the Hell of the North in decades.
Velo's Andrew Hood, Jim Cotton, and Mike Levy sat down to chat about how to ride the cobbles like a pro, Roubaix bike setup, favorites and wildcards, the chances of anyone beating Kopecky in the velodrome (slim), and how van Aert, Pedersen, Ganna, and Van der Poel could tag team Pogi.
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39:58
The Taipei Cycle Show Is Ready for Showtime
This week's Velo Podcast brings Mike Levy and tech editor Alvin Holbrook together to talk about our favorite trade show: the Taipei Cycle Show.
Velo had Jessie-May Morgan, Shoddy Dave Everett, Alvin, and a video team there to wander all four floors and never-ending aisles that are always packed full of everything from the interesting, exciting, exotic, and maybe even useful to the just plain questionable, and a bunch of stuff in between.
This week, we're talking about some crazy carbon fiber wheels with Mother of Pearl finish on them, whether we should be considering aero crankarms for the gainz, or what about a different crankset that claims to add 50 percent more power to your pedal stroke?
Also up for discussion included some wild new bikes that may or may not exist, and we need to know if the relatively inexpensive Wheeltop and L-Twoo wireless drivetrains from China have finally gotten good enough to consider buying.
If you care about seeing what the future of the bike industry looks like–and what bikes, components, and accessories from Asia look like–you won't want to miss this one.
Topics of discussion
5 Interesting Wheelsets from Taipei Cycle Show
Wheeltop’s Budget Wireless Gravel Groupset Looks Ready to Challenge SRAM and Shimano
Randoms, Part 1
Taipei Cycle Show on video, including those cranks claiming 50 percent increased power
We Got Our Hands On the Chinese Bike That’s Sponsoring a WorldTour Team
Overfast Brought a Wild New Aero Crankset and a Sub-1000-Gram Road Wheelset
Forbidden Fruit: Tech Finds at Taipei Cycle Show That Could Rival the Industry’s Best
Why This Carbon Fiber Kids’ Bike Signals the Future of Bike Tech
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55:04
Can a $600 Pair of Cycling Shoes Really Be Worth the Price?
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.
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43:13
Should Your Next Bike Play to Your Strengths or Fix Weaknesses?
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 launch
Ah, 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.
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39:28
The Spring Classics Are Here: Pogačar’s Magic, Vollering vs. Van der Breggen, and Milano-Sanremo Predictions
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.
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