Cycle Systems Academy

This week we welcome the return of Scott Drawer, the former Head of Performance at Team Sky, British Cycling as well as other leading roles in British Rugby and other sports inferior to cycling!Scott has now stepped back from the manic schedule of a full time employee of a World Tour team and has taken a role at a leading English school, as head of Sport. In this wide ranging and fascinating chat, Scott discusses the realities of life at the top, for riders, mechanics and staff as well as the route to get there avoiding the classic angry P.E. teacher methodology.

While you may have read about the new Campagnolo Ekar groupset online, or even been lucky enough to test ride it from a Campagnolo Pro Shop dealer, you won’t have had this much insight we reckon.Long term listeners will have heard Graeme before but for the uninitiated, he is the head of Campagnolo tech training in the UK and founder of the excellent https://www.velotech-cycling.ltd.uk/training.shtml He also spanners for the World Tour team, Movistar and is involved in much product development at Campagnolo’s HQ in Vicenza, Italia.In this pod, Graeme explains the thinking behind the new Ekar gravel groupset, its place in the market and the tech in each piece as well as how it all works together. We were particularly pleased with some of the news concerning disc brakes as well as excited to try this new groupo out for ourselves soon.Many CSA Level 3 graduates go on to do the Campagnolo Pro Shop course with Graeme. Contact him at Velotech for details, for non UK listeners, contact Campagnolo to find out your reg

In this week’s pod Sean and John revisit John’s planned trip to China, https://www.johngalloway.online/And continue to muse on the spec for his bike. A frame has been selected, wheels just about sorted and the dynamo system chosen. What about the gears then? There are SO many options and this is confounded by the face that John was yet to choose between flat or drop bars. Join us as decisions are made, products are ordered and we just might reach the final spec sheet for John’s expedition bike. Some links as promised in the show.Gradient calculator https://www.cyclingabout.com/gradient-threshold-steepest-hill/Compatibility chart GRXhttps://productinfo.shimano.com/#/com?cid=C-453&acid=C-454Wide range cassettes for bikepackinghttps://bikepacking.com/index/wide-range-cassettes/Drivetrain efficiencyhttps://www.cyclingabout.com/drivetrain-efficiency-difference-speed-between-1x-2x/

This week we are joined by Dr Xavier Disley from https://www.aero-coach.co.uk a former fellow mechanic with Sean at the Humble Oxford Cycle Workshop, Xavier is one of the cycling world’s leading aerodynamic experts.In this short pod for the end of the Tour de France we look at Aero gains made in this year’s tour and the potential for more gains in the future.You’ll be amazed at some of the mistakes and mishaps that happen, even at World Tour level, with his work with several teams (no names mentioned) Xavier can share some of these, as well as letting you know how you can go faster on your bike.The ‘Aero Piece by Piece’ pod can be found here https://cyclingtimetrialpodcast.libsyn.com/59-xavier-disley-is-back-aero-piece-by-piece-part-1And https://cyclingtimetrialpodcast.libsyn.com/60-xavier-disley-aero-piece-by-piece-part-2Aerocoach’s free resources can be found herehttps://www.aero-coach.co.uk/learn

Welcome to another Tour de France tech pod. Here is an interview with Pinarello/Team Ineos bike designer, Dimitris Katsanis, who is also famous for designing the British Cycling track team bikes.This chat was recorded for the Cycle Systems Members https://cycle-systems.lpages.co/cycle-systems-founding-members/ last year and I thought it was better to release the full audio from this than try to re-hash it in my own words. So, while you have seen endless reports of the new Specialized or Trek models, the Pinarello F12 has flown under many people’s radar, with barely a mention in many ‘Bikes of le Tour’ articles and podcasts. As you’ll find out there is more than meet the eye to the F12.

Welcome to a first in a series of bite size Tdf tech pods. We know that your listening quota goes nuts over the Tour’s three weeks so we are going to drop in a few shorter shows.As John is busy with daily Tour shows for www.velocast.cc this is Sean on the events of stage 1 and the tech that defined them. Will the race be defined by the bikes that were ridden, or the riders upon them? Ok, we all know the answer to that, but races HAVE been won or lost by seemingly innocuous objects such as plastic bags getting stuck in chains (Paris Roubaix 1988) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsJK81rZ4E Also as promised in the pod, here is the Sram eTap/Shimano Di2 shifting test. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqTsxsly3pAAnd here is an up to date vid on the newer Sram AXS vs Di2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5oH_S2vYPAWhat new tech have you spotted on this year’s Tour bikes?

This week join us on a journey around the world by bike. 87,000km, six continents, and a life changing experience for on English doctor, Steve Fabes from https://stephenfabes.com/. His new book, Signs of Life documents this journey, the cycling, camping, the people he met, and stories such as drinking soup at gunpoint. Many of us have a certain view of the world based on what we read or watch, but as Steve found out, seeing with your own eyes is a different story altogether.

This week our friend, Mike Stead @tweetymike on Twitter, joins us for a look at some of his top products he’s reviewed for www.road.cc recently. Intelligent, insightful and lucky enough to live in the dreamlike cycling test ground of Perthshire, Mike can be relied upon for a strong opinion on anything cycling and well, anything really!We also look at a superb-looking collection of gravel bike and bikepacking trails that Mike has helped to bring to fruition. The http://perthshiregravel.com/ router is one we want to ride for sure.Links for products and routes mentioned in the show Perthshire Gravel routeshttp://perthshiregravel.com/John’s cycle to China wheelshttps://www.swissside.com/blogs/news/swiss-side-launches-all-new-hadron2-ultimate-500-625-and-800Silca mini ratchet https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/silca-t-ratchet-ti-torque-tool-kit-review/Topeak Tetrarack R2 https://www.topeak.com/global/en/products/tetrarack-series/1288-tetrarack-r2-(road)Ribble CGR eBikehttps://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-al-e-re

Well no, not reinventing the wheel, but how about a revolutionary new chain design, the first one for well over a century? Marcel Fowler, the CEO of www.newmotionlabs.com joins us to talk about his Dual Engagement chain and what it means for the cycle tech world.eBikes, racing bikes, commuters and many other industries use roller chains, a 19th century invention which may not be optimal for modern day use. Marcel is one of those rare people who are not only innovative and inquisitive, but also dynamic enough to bring their visions to fruition. With partnerships like the mighty www.huubwattbike.com track racing team and www.pedalsmart.com who produce cargo eBikes, New Motion Labs are an exciting research team who I am sure will be changing the cycling world over the coming years.As ever, you can join Marcel and Sean on ‘Take the Mic Tuesday’ on 11/08/20 at 19:00 UK time on www.facebook.com/cyclesystemsac

In this episode Sean and John look at the world of eBikes. There’s a huge amount of new tech since we delved into this sector a couple of years ago and we’ll give you our take on the latest eMTBs, commuter machines and eCargo bikes.What are the service requirements for an eBike? Is there a single best motor system? Are the prices finally coming down? We’ll answer these questions and as ever go off on a few tangents.

EVERYTHING YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR HEADSETThe humble headset, not the first component you’ll think about on your bike. Tyres, wheels, gears and brake systems, even pedals tend to get more attention.However, being a bearing system your headset needs servicing and, as ever, there is more than one type and many ways to go wrong. Take a look at CSA graduate, Steve Fabes kit review after 87,000 miles of touring. https://cyclingthe6.com/2013/10/kit-reviews-2013.html/ the humble headset is also an item you can go large on, with very reassuring results. Links discussed in the podhttp://canecreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/canecreek-shis-poster.pdfhttps://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/headset-standardshttps://cyclingthe6.com/Join Sean and John on a journey through SHIS, TPI and a multitude of different frames, forks and ‘standards’.We’ll also catch up on John’s China trip, which now has its own website. https://www.johngalloway.online/Join Sean and John on a journey through SHIS, TPI

In this episode Sean and John catch up and chat about John’s mysterious lost bet and the fact he now can’t shave until he pedals to China! What bike does John plan to ride, after some careful consideration of the touring bike world?Then, getting down to business, we look in depth at hub standards and how people make simple mistakes, which mean your shiny new wheels will not fit.Honestly, it’s more fun than it sounds! Come along for the greasy ride into bearings, cups, cones and very expensive seal bearing tools.

We are joined this week by one of Cycle Systems oldest and dearest partners, Pedros Tools. These are the tools we have used day in, day out for over a decade, and the favourite for our students to buy when starting out in the trade or building their dream garage.Matt Bracken is not only head of Pedros USA, but he has had a fascinating life in bike mechanics and cycle racing. As you would expect, he has a whole raft of stories about cycling culture, learning to be a Mavic mechanic in Europe, and what it means to run a company, be a good and safe mechanic, and navigate the world we find ourselves in right now.

Track 85 in Cycle Systems Academy.

From the basics of gears last week to the very cutting edge of research and development with Ceramic Speed. From optimising professional’s bikes to helping you go faster, Ceramic Speed’s Chief Technical Officer Jason Smith started in his garage, building machines to test for chain efficiency. He now has his own testing lab, a team of engineers, and some heavyweight industry partners like Specialized to help him achieve his goals of a drivetrain with over 99% efficiency.

We kindly beings at CSA and Velocast Towers are here to help, with a simple but in-depth look at gear inches, mech capacity and compatibility. No more will you be the person walking into a bike shop with a carrier bag full of oily bike parts and a dejected looking, unrideable steed.

We take a look at the options out there for touring bikes, mainly looking at gears and transmission systems.

Continuing the series covering Cycle Systems Academy graduates we visit Bradley Knight at his amazing mobile bike shop in Manchester.

Co-host of the excellent Cycling Tips and Nerd Alert podcasts, James has covered so many tech topics to such a depth we wanted to find out more about the man behind the mic and keyboard and thrash out a few topics that we hope you’ll find as fascinating as we do.

The Bike Project is an award winning charity and social enterprise, founded by Cycle Systems Academy graduate, Jem Stein.