If your house is anything like mine, the kitchen becomes sacred territory while Christmas dinner is on the go.
Being such an important meal, it requires every ounce of your attention and minimal distractions, but if concentrating on your sprouts isn't enough to distract you from a house full of relatives who've been on the sherry already, here are a few recommended listens from the BikeRadar Podcast.
We've selected five pods from the past eight months, and have dropped in links to other similar episodes if they take your fancy. So, chuck the turkey in the oven, wrap blankets around those pigs, and tune in.
Road tech ahead of its time
While everything in fashion is circular, so, it appears, is bicycle tech. While new technology is often hailed as groundbreaking or never before seen in cycling, you might be surprised to discover what’s already been around in the past.
Our assistant editor Jack and tech-specialist Simon delve into the annals of cycling history to pick out the road tech that was well ahead of its time.
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- Listen on iTunes / Spotify
- How do £10k bikes even exist? (Spotify/iTunes)
- Is it time to ditch ‘The Rules’? (Spotify/iTunes)
Do you really need more than one bike?
The ideal number of bikes to own is N+1 – as the popular saying among cyclists goes – with N representing the number of bikes you already own.
But does the new breed of highly versatile, go anywhere road (or gravel) bikes mean that, really, one bike is all you need?
BikeRadar’s Tom Marvin, Warren Rossiter and Rob Spedding try to work out if they need to buy more bikes.
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- Listen on iTunes / Spotify
- Why do all bikes look the same? (Spotify/iTunes)
- SRAM versus Shimano, and more! (Spotify/iTunes)
Tech Talk: Mountain bike geometry
In this episode, BikeRadar's technical editor Tom Marvin and technical writer Seb Stott cover the somewhat huge topic of mountain bike geometry. While Tom advocates for slightly 'smaller' bikes, Seb is definitely a fan of the super-long and slack.
Geometry is key in dictating how a bike rides: long, slack bikes tend to be calm, confident and fast, whereas shorter bikes might be a touch more agile and involving to ride.
There's no right or wrong, but that's not to say Tom and Seb don't have opinions on the subject.
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- Listen on iTunes / Spotify
- Tech Talk: Mountain bike wheel size (iTunes / Spotify)
- Road Tech Talk: 1x on the road (iTunes / Spotify)
BikeRadar Meets: Jeff Steber, Founder and CEO of Intense Cycles
Jeff Steber, the man behind Intense Cycles, has to be one of the most influential bike designers on the planet.
Over the past three-and-a-bit decades Intense Cycles has produced some of the most prolific downhill mountain bikes, piloted by some of the world’s greatest riders, including Shaun Palmer and Aaron Gwin.
We sat down with Jeff to discuss the current state of mountain biking and where it may be heading, as well as the history of Intense Cycles, its riders and how having a rich history of pros on the team has been a positive influence on the design of its bikes.
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Bike Shorts: Is Shimano making a gearbox?
As we exclusively revealed in November, Shimano has filed a patent for a bicycle gearbox, potentially signalling a major upheaval in drivetrain tech.
BikeRadar’s Matthew and Tom talk through the concept and explore why you might want to ditch your derailleurs.
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- Listen on iTunes / Spotify
- Bike Shorts: Helmets (iTunes / Spotify)
- Bike Shorts: SRAM's universal mech hanger and more (iTunes / Spotify)
Bonus podcast! The Christmas Special!
Okay, I said five podcasts, but it'd be rude not to add the Christmas special here, which is a retrospective look at the best tech from the past 12 months.
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