About this episode

This episode covers essential bike maintenance topics, focusing on disc brakes, drivetrain care, and tyre wear, while featuring a familiar guest voice.

We’re going back to basics in this week’s episode. While Geek Warning is usually for tech-obsessed cyclists, this edition covers the common conversations a bicycle mechanic would have with a client. It’s for everyone and anyone who does a little of their own bike maintenance. Many road cyclists are still relatively new to disc brakes, so Jack Duncan and Dave Rome start the episode with a deep dive into many facets of ownership. The basics of chain lube and drivetrain wear are covered later on, as are some thoughts about tyre wear and who tubeless may be right for. After all that, members of Escape Collective get the usual Ask a Wrench segment, this time with the return of a familiar voice. Time stamps: 00:03:45 - The biggest red flag for when something is wrong 00:06:20 - Brakes usually shouldn’t squeak or squeal 00:16:00 - Disc brake pad wear 00:20:00 - Pad spacers and travel 00:24:00 - Burning brakes is questionable at best 00:26:15 - The importance of brake bed-in 00:29:20 - Why brakes need scheduled bleeding 00:35:00 - Shifting to chain lube basics 00:43:00 - How a drivetrain wears 00:50:30 - Tubeless is great, but not for everyone 00:57:30 - Don’t ignore your front tyre wear…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jack Duncan, Dave Rome

Guest: Zach Edwards

Topics covered

• bike maintenance
• disc brakes
• chain lube
• drivetrain wear
• tyre wear
• tubeless tires

Keywords

• bike maintenance
• disc brakes
• chain lube
• drivetrain wear
• tyre wear
• tubeless
• Ask a Wrench

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Escape Collective

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• The spectrum of XC race bikes · August 6, 2026 · 52 min
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