Velo Podcast

This week on the Velo Podcast, we have something a little different for you as former Pinkbike editor extraordinaire Mike Levy joins the show to talk gravel and road bikes. Some of you are no doubt asking yourself right now: “Wait, isn’t he the mountain bike guy?” Right you are. He’s a multi-faceted person though who has spent the last year exclusively riding road and gravel bikes and has fallen in love with the drop-bar world, taking on some monster rides along the way and learning what a carb is. In this special episode of the podcast, Levy is joined by yours truly Will Tracy, and tech editor Alvin Holbrook to discuss the pressing issues of our times in gravel and road biking. We start out with a discussion of some of the latest news, including what a possible SRAM smart trainer means for the market, the transition of Astana to Chinese manufacturer XDS bikes, and Alvin's review of the Factor Ostro VAM. Other topics include the emergence of carbon spokes and their impact on performance, as well as the unique features of the Kona Ouroboros and Santa Cruz Stigmata gravel bikes that the team has been riding recently. Finally, we get to the main segment: reflections on personal cycling experiences and the lessons learned throughout the year. We learned a lot on the bike in 2024 (or so we like to think) including knowing when to quit or solider on and how to maintain and in some cases rekindle the joy of cycling, as well as the importance of proper nutrition and fueling and the supportive community found in cycling.

Colnago has unveiled its first aero model in a long time, and it's turning heads. Called the Y1Rs, it's claimed to be the fastest bike in the pro peloton in part due to taking advantage of recently relaxed UCI rules on bike design. It's sure to provide an advantage to the likes of Tadej Pogačar this upcoming road season. Our tech team talked to Colnago about the new design and is here to break down this futuristic, and polarizing, design. Later on the episode, Alvin Holbrook shares his thoughts on a road bike he just reviewed that he describes as the antithesis of Colnago's new aero bike, and our tech editors preview their upcoming articles.

This week on the Velo Podcast, host Will Tracy is joined by European correspondent Andrew Hood and retired pro Bobby Julich to discuss the best races, athletes, and moments of the 2024 pro road cycling season. What were the best grand tours and classics? Who had a standout year or reached that next level? Who had the grittiest performance? And of course, who were the best riders of the year? We bring our top picks as we look back on another great season of road cycling. Then, we cap things off with a discussion of our favorite heavy handed UCI moments of the year. We also start with a discussion of some top news stories of the week, including Tadej Pogačar’s record setting new contract and the rider setting Strava KOMs who’s searching for a pro contract.

Samuele Bressan might be the global marketing manager for Pirelli’s cycling division, but his experience goes beyond that, as product manager for the likes of Pirelli, Bianchi, Vittoria, and others. While we could go in a number of directions with regard to road and gravel bike tires with a brand as storied and prominent as Pirelli, we focused on what seems to be on everyone's minds: tubeless tire safety, security, and testing. Among other things, Bressan seems confident in a future where setting up a tubeless road tire is never a question of whether or not it is compatible with your chosen wheelset, much less a question of whether you should even be running tubeless road tires. The same goes for gravel tires, as he calls the gravel tire segment slightly behind that of road and gravel. Tires are often more complicated than they appear to be, so we sat down with Bressan to take a peek into what makes a safe but high-performance tire. There are a lot of interesting tidbits here–including the potential for a future Pirelli aero-focused tire–in here. See more here: https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-gear/interview-pirelli-tubeless-tire-safety-future Timestamps: 0:01 Intro 3:01 What does Pirelli’s testing tire and rim compatibility testing look like? 10:12 Car tires have virtually zero errors. Why don’t bicycle tires do the same? For road and gravel alike 21:48 Could cyber tires come to your next bike tire? 25:55 Rim deflection, testing within ETRTO and ISO, and what parts are still undefined 36:15 Is Pirelli developing tires in conjunction with other brands? It's complicated 42:46 Samuele’s personal wheel and tire buying recommendations. Hooked vs hookless?