// TOPICS COVERED
(0:00) Welcome!
(0:12) Alex’s upcoming races
(05:19) Equipment discussion
(05:45) How Flight Attendant has changed bike setup
(08:45) Suspension sag, pressure, and settings
(11:36) Are tire inserts needed if you run high pressure?
(13:06) Why some modern wheels are using stiffer spokes
(14:45) Why mountain bikers are no longer using dual piston brakes
(16:50) What tires Alex is running on his MTB
(17:50) Tire specs explained!
(19:25) Should we not use different sized rotors?
(20:00) Why thicker rotors can perform better
(21:22) Alex’s thoughts on the new SRAM Red
(23:30) MTB brake setup tips
(26:18) How integrated handlebars fit differently than you think
(31:07) Are hardtails and softails irrelevant now?
(32:48) How Alex sets up the Epic WC suspension
(35:05) Are suspension gravel bikes the future?
(37:20) Alex’s gravel tire setup choice on the Crux
(39:40) Why drop bars on hardtails is so complicated
(40:36) Waxing chains – how the pros do it
(44:40) Why SRAM Transmission is making chain lubrication more complicated
(49:23) Alex’s cycling kit changes
(51:10) What Alex does for carbohydrate mix
(55:57) How Alex has changed his recovery strategy
More Kyle, less MTB hardware (this coming from an XCM racer)
That said, yes 4 pot calipers should be standard now (I think most of the XC bikes have made that transition) I swapped out my XT 2 pots for XTR 4 pots and gained all of 20 grams for the pair.
Hot waxing is not easy. One does have to learn the technique and have some patience. getting all the bubbles out of the chain is key. if you see bubbles after a swish, it’s not done.
This is key. I personally had terrible performance when switching to MSW until I got advised to both leave the chain in longer and swish it longer. Some of the ‘it’s so easy’ videos don’t fully show this and can definitely end up with people having similar issues.
I’m a TR forum participant, not employee. I drop the pod when no one at TR has gotten to it. Basically cut and paste from YT and drop it in here while ignoring my cybersecurity job that pays for bikes and TR sub.
Also Google podcasts doesn’t exist anymore, so link removed. Apple and Spotify links CND, could not duplicate the issue, red dash signed off.
I enjoyed this podcast episode. Alex is always a good guest. He seems to be very much of a deliberate thinker which is an admirable trait. He reminded me I need to try the carbs fuel gels.
Appreciate the effort, I didn’t realise this wasn’t a moderator post, I guessed it was a work experience kid trying to pick up pieces in a post-Ivy era.
Two thirds of the 27 links on the OP are still broken, from truncation (?)
Totally agree WRT to @webdev511 and his efforts here. Much appreciated work that takes some serious time to put together based on the time’s I’ve done it in the past. To be honest, it makes no sense to me that TR doesn’t handle this themselves. The podcasts is an integral part of their identity & marketing, so leaving that to anyone but TR employees seems odd to me.
TR has taken major steps in being more active and handling things on the forum to the point that I mainly handle spammers, set categories and do some merging when appropriate these days. In that direction, I think TR would be best to task one of their own staff to make these podcast posts. Perhaps something @Jonathan and @Nate_Pearson should consider.
Yeah, I always enjoy hearing how others are setting up their bikes and why they are making the choices they make. This episode was as much about Jon’s setup at Alex’s, so not just a pro perspective. And Jon probably obsesses over this stuff more than most pros. I do wish he’d stop talking about flight attendant, those episodes are going to cost me a lot of $ when I can’t resist any longer. I know the podcast isn’t about pushing gear/brands, but the RockShox folks are getting some really good coverage on the FA system.
When looking at traffic to our podcast, the forum is a very minor blip, and more often than not the posts seem to gets pulled into an unproductive tangential rant .
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