Velo Podcast

We break down the polarizing "big wheel" trend, compare ultra-premium Partington wheels to Hunt's high-value alternatives, and dive into the coolest gear from the Sea Otter Classic.

This week, the podcast is all about Sea Otter and we’ve got a full house. Lisa Charlebois, Logan Jones-Wilkins, and I all spent time in California at the event, and we’ve got stories to tell. We kick things off by sharing what the vibe was like on the ground, especially for Jones-Wilkins, who was attending the show for the very first time.

After that, we get into the big news: big wheels. Some of us are skeptical and some favor the potential efficiency, but either way, 32-inch wheels are the topic we had to cover. There is a lot to take in, but we focus on the Salsa Fargo, a 32-inch lugged carbon bike from Faction, and a Ventum mountain bike coming this summer.

From there, we talk gravel bikes. This is Sea Otter, so gravel is the focus, and Logan dives deep on a few cool bikes, including the Look G85 and an aero-focused SEKA featuring integrated Fidlock bottles.

Despite the dirt-heavy show, I try to keep it road-first whenever possible, and there were some notable road launches. Partington showed off a crazy expensive wheelset that is incredibly light for a 50mm depth and uses a continuous carbon spoke system. The real surprise, however, was Hunt. Hunt launched a wheelset that is thousands of dollars cheaper than the Partington offering, slightly deeper, and nearly as light.

It wasn’t only wheels, either. I saw a Tavelo aero bike with 40mm of tire clearance and a 650g frame weight that will likely cost half the price of its competition. The No. 22 3D-printed titanium bike definitely won't cost half of anything, but it was spectacular to see getting closer to production. It might even cost more than the lugged-carbon Colnago C72 that launched just before the show.

Finally, we wrap it up with our favorite things from Sea Otter. Charlebois easily had the best answer, but jump into the comments on Velo and let us know what you thought was the coolest tech we reported on.

00:00 Intro: The Sea Otter Classic Experience

05:10 The 32-Inch Wheel Debate

19:30 Look G85 Gravel Bike

23:42 Wheel Tech: Partington vs. Hunt

27:56 Tavelo 650g Aero Road Frame

32:00 Sika Aero Gravel Bike

35:00 No. 22 3D-Printed Titanium Bike

37:20 Colnago C72 & Expensive Paint

40:14 The $25,000 Factor Bugatti Concept Bike

42:30 Our favorite things

This week the Velo team is at Sea Otter covering the latest tech and Mike Levy is holding down the fort. In this episode, Levy sits down with New Zealander Joe Nation, a rider who possesses one of the most uniquely varied racing resumes in the sport.

Nation spent years following the mountain bike World Cup circuit as a privateer and racing in the Enduro World Series. Today, he’s trading three-minute downhill runs for events that span thousands of kilometers. He placed third overall at the 2023 Tour Divide and won the grueling 1,939-kilometer Silk Road Mountain Race across Kyrgyzstan in 2024.

Levy and Nation dig deep into the mindset required to survive these massive efforts, but they also look at the technology, the preferences, and the background that help Nation find success.

In this episode, we cover:

The Ultimate Dirtbag Origins: How Nation funded his European downhill racing by participating in clinical drug trials (earning the nickname "the white rat") and lived in a tent in the Morzine woods for two and a half months.

The 100mm BB Drop Aero Hack: For the Tour Divide, Nation’s friend built him a highly specialized bike through his company, Sufur Cycles. It features a massive 100mm bottom bracket drop designed purely for aerodynamics so he can get his head out of the wind.

Why Flat Bars Win: Nation pushes back on the trend of adding drop bars to everything, explaining how flat bars provide better leverage on steep climbs and save his hands from nerve damage.

The "Everyone is Dying" Superpower: Nation credits the realization that "when you are hurting, so is everyone else" as a major contributor to his ability to push through dark moments.

Psychological Warfare at 3,800 Meters: How hiding your exhaustion can break your competitors, which is exactly what Nation did when he attacked the leader at the top of a massive pass during the Silk Road Mountain Race.

Hunting for UFOs: It wouldn’t be a Levy interview without discussing the unexplainable things you might see while exhausted and isolated in the wilderness.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & Downhill Racing Background

06:37 - The Dirtbag Days and Drug Trials

12:22 - The Tour Divide & Ultra-Racing Mindset

29:44 - The "Everyone is Dying" Superpower

41:29 - Psychological Warfare on the Silk Road

46:08 - The Custom Sufur Cycles Bike & Flat Bars

48:44 - The 100mm BB Drop Aero Hack

59:41 - Hunting for UFOs on the Trail

I went to Taiwan, but the show must go on. While I was away covering the Taipei Cycle Show, Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins had plenty to talk about. Predictably, things got heavily focused on gravel tire pressure, but that wasn’t all.

This week, the podcast crew debates why roadies need bigger gravel tires, breaks down Specialized’s newest tech, and confesses to their strangest cold-weather clothing hacks.

In this episode, we cover:

Lisa’s 300km Mission: A recap of an epic 193-mile ride through Napa and Sonoma, plus a crucial PSA on the protocol for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge late at night.

Specialized's New Pathfinder TLR: Logan is currently working his way through a massive pile of test rubber. He explains why pros like Keegan Swenson opt for the slickest options, but argues the more aggressive Terra tread is actually better for the rest of us.

Levy’s Tire Volume Hot Take: Levy takes a firm stance that most gravel riders are severely under-tired. His advice to roadies hitting the dirt? Stop obsessing over aero, mount the biggest tires your frame clears, and run an insert.

New Roval Gravel Wheels: A quick look at the newly launched Roval Terra Aero CLX and Terra CLX3 wheelsets, including a discussion on their 27mm internal width and the decision to use a wide carbon hook.

Questionable Winter Kit: Inspired by Jonas Vingegaard's heavily modified, cut-up winter bib shorts, the crew shares their own extreme cold-weather survival tactics—from crotchless long underwear to the merits of baggy mountain bike pants on a drop-bar bike.

Give it a listen, and let us know in the comments if you have a favorite tire or if you think Levy is wrong on his hot take.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:25 - Lisa’s 300k

05:04 - Gravel Tires

27:54 - Specialized Wheels

34:28 - Clothing discussion

Five minutes after walking in the door from the Taipei Cycle Show, I sat down with Mike Levy to unpack what it was like being there. We immediately dive into the wildest tech from the show floor: what a $31,000 3D-printed titanium road bike actually looks like, whether those budget power meter pedals are legit or just vaporware, and the exact physics behind Pirelli’s claim that their new aero tire cuts drag without ruining rolling resistance. I also talk about the one Chinese brand I found at the show and how they’ve got a brand new gravel bike that’s half the price of a Western company.

We also get into the 32-inch wheel standard. The first suspension fork for the standard hit the market at the show, and we dig into whether this is the upgrade riders have been waiting for.

It wasn’t all walking trade show aisles, though. I spent a few days riding Factor's futuristic One aero road bike through the Taipei jungle, and the experience taught me how much better road culture can be.

I was planning to bring that bike home for a full review and further aero testing. Instead, it stayed behind. We get into how the bike actually handles on the road, its aggressive geometry, and the ongoing mystery behind how I somehow managed to break it.

Legendary Canadian racer Svein Tuft joins Mike Levy to chat about stories from his book, We Will Never Be Here Again. The two cover wild stories ranging from epic bike-packing trips while pulling Tuft's 60-lb dog named Bear in a homemade trailer, to winning stages at the Tour de France and Giro. Tuft has had an unconventional career and lived an unconventional life.

Tuft is likely also the only professional cyclist, active or retired, who has spent time train hopping. He gives Levy his best tips for traveling via railcar—like finding priority trains to cross the country quickly and hiding in the nooks of grain carts to avoid the authorities.

The two also dive into how being an introvert was a superpower for Tuft during his European road career before getting into a discussion of ultra-endurance racing. Tuft has advice for racing the Tour Divide, including getting heavier, and talks about how a severe sickness forced him to pull the pin once he reached Colorado during his own attempt.

Finally, the duo discusses Tuft’s unexplainable sighting while camping deep in the Canadian forest. Was it a UFO or something else? Whether it was an otherworldly encounter or just extreme exhaustion, it adds another incredible layer to Tuft's backlog of outdoor stories.

Listen to the full episode, grab his book, We Will Never Be Here Again, for the rest of the wild stories, and check out Tuft Camps if you're brave enough to try holding his wheel.

Show Notes & Chapter Markers:

[00:00:11] - Intro: Mike Levy welcomes 13-time national champion Svein Tuft.

[00:04:06] - Early bike-packing trips to Alaska with his dog, Bear.

[00:15:57] - The lost art of train hopping and finding "priority trains."

[00:21:47] - How being an introvert was a superpower in the European peloton.

[00:30:08] - Reflecting on the Tour de France and old-school cycling nutrition.

[00:42:37] - Svein’s Tour Divide attempt and knowing when to pull the pin.

[00:52:22] - Unconventional ultra-endurance advice: why you shouldn't show up too lean.

[01:11:01] - An unexplainable UFO sighting near Mount Rexford.

[01:14:51] - Tuft Camps: Riding gravel, road, and MTB in British Columbia.