Going further on gravel

Going further on gravel

From Geek Warning by Escape Collective

May 22, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode discusses gravel cycling, upcoming events, and trends in bike technology with insights from industry experts.

With Unbound on next week, and the Gralloch on last weekend, it felt timely to talk about going further on gravel. For this, Escape’s tech and industry reporter, Suvi Loponen, joins Dave Rome. Also joining this week is special guest (and occasional Escape contributor) Kevin ‘Benky’ Benkenstein, a familiar face in the ultra world. There's also talk of whether the trend in wide gravel rims is a good direction. And of course, there’s plenty more. Just a quick note that Kevin did have some internet issues, so we apologise for the occasional delay in the recording. Members of Escape Collective get the full episode (and no ads!), where mechanic Colin Williams joins Dave to answer technical questions. Time stamps: 00:01:31 - Suvi's time at the Gralloch 00:10:48 - How to get comfortable when going far on gravel 00:17:13 - New Specialized and Canyon spotted at the Gralloch 00:18:29 - What benefits the pros doesn’t always benefit us 00:20:33 - Unbound is coming 00:35:07 - New Enve gravel wheels 00:41:49 - Is wider really better, or is this just a trend? 00:45:55 - Niner bikes goes on pause 00:49:00 - Ask a Wrench (member-only feed) 00:50:30 - How long does a bag of wax last? 00:55:15…

People in this episode

Host: Dave Rome

Guests: Suvi Loponen, Kevin ‘Benky’ Benkenstein

Topics covered

  • gravel cycling
  • ultra cycling
  • bike technology
  • cycling events
  • wheel trends

Keywords

  • gravel cycling
  • Unbound
  • Gralloch
  • bike technology
  • Enve wheels
  • Niner bikes
  • wide gravel rims

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Escape Collective, Specialized, Canyon, Enve, Niner

More episodes of Geek Warning

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Geek Warning podcast page.