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The Marginal Gains Podcast, presented by Silca is the show that makes a big deal about the little things, and how those little things...can be a big deal. Josh Poertner of Silca, along with Hottie and Fatty, talk about all aspects of cycling — design, manufacturing, marketing, riding, racing, management and more, all from a thoughtful perspective. It's a podcast for the thinking cyclist.
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Leadville — The 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race Podcast, p/b Shimano is the show for people racing (or just interested in) The Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race. Fatty (a 25-time LT100 finisher), Hottie (4-time finisher 5-time crew chief), and a host of experts answer your questions, give you training tips, detail the course, and tell the stories about the highest and hardest one-day mountain bike race in America: The Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race.
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AJA #46: Safety Pins, TPU Wins & Indoor Suffering
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Josh tackles why we're still pinning race numbers instead of printing them on jerseys, then dives into the tech story behind Silca's translucent TPU tubes. We talk about real-world marginal gains for everyday riders, and Fatty's recommendations for indoor training setups. Last but not least, you do NOT want to miss Josh's unfiltered take on the UCI…
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We rarely chase trends or product announcements on the Marginal Gains Podcast. The news of the day we mostly leave to other shows. So allow us while we make an exception to our normal behavior and take a stab at the 32 inch wheel. The wheel size is not the new thing here. It's the tire that's creating some buzz. A viable, tubeless mountain bike tir…
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AJA #45: Pump Accuracy & Cheap Carbon Parts
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58:49
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Hear why that "psst" when you pull the chuck is just hose air (not lost PSI), how to set smarter pressures for tandems and "big-butt" weight splits using a bathroom scale, and what tread actually grips on loose-over-hard. Josh also demystifies analog vs. digital gauge accuracy (and drift) and tackles the carbon-on-the-cheap question—when a bargain …
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Marginal Gainers are familiar with Best Bike Split -- the website where using rider data you can forecast a finish time on a specific course. It has been a great tool for years for amateurs and pros alike. Josh has frequently referenced BBS on the show. Fatty and Hottie have discussed it on their Leadville Podcast. But we wanted to know what is und…
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AJA #44: Hookless Controversy, Tire Myths, and Aero Hacks
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59:23
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Josh tackles the fallout from his viral "hookless is a scam" comment, clarifies the real risks and physics behind hookless rims, and dives deep into tire pressures, gauges at altitude, and disc wheel aerodynamics.
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Brendan Johnston: Racing, Resilience, and Results
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Australian cycling champ and Grand Prix contender Brendan Johnston shares the races that shaped him, the setbacks that tested him, and an upcoming project that may become his ultimate proving ground.
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Dusty conditions. Gusty Winds. Record Times. New Tech. This Leadville Trail 100 MTB had a lot to remember it by. We cover it all and then some in our annual Race Recap Show. We kick things off by checking in with racers at the startline. Were there nerves? Yes. Was there optimism? Sure. We then go out on course and out to Twin Lakes Alternate which…
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Lauren Stephens has been easy to spot in both Road and Gravel events; just look for the stars and stripes. She has won three US titles: two gravel and one road. Oh, but there's so much more to her career. How about more than 30 UCI road race victories? She has twice won the Joe Martin Stage Race, the Tour of the Gila and Unbound 100. Lauren has als…
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We're out of time for the big gains. The training is done. But between now and race day we can find ways to save time on the Leadville course. One of those ways is to maintain your momentum even when the course tries to slow you down. In this episode we will emphasize some basic mountain biking skills and overlay them onto some crucial spots of the…
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Nailing Your Taper for Leadville and Race Rules Update
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44:04
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There's a lot to training for an event like Leadville: The miles, the intervals, the weeks of wondering if you're getting it right. But what about those last couple weeks. For this year we're talking about the days between July 26th and August 9th. This is the time most coaches will outline a training taper. The idea sounds straight foward: back of…
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AJA #43: CRR/CDA and Hookless plus The Magnus Effect
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1:00:05
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We take a look at what has become a dilemma for some Marginal Gains seekers and that is optimizing aero, rolling resistance on a tubeless, hookless rim. Josh has an admittedly unpopular take on the subject. We also get into the aerodymanic idea known as the Magnus Effect. The principle says that a spinning object will develop unequal pressure on ei…
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We know, the title sounds like we're doing an episode about drug paraphernalia, but trust us, it's the (very good) answer to one of many great questions posed to Josh in this latest listener-driven Q&A episode. We get into using the right lube under the right conditions (including super dry moondust mountain biking), aero combos with the Conti Aero…
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The Marginal — and maximal — gains of a great bike fit
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Behind every great cyclist is a great bike fit, which means a great bike fitter. Honestly, we're not sure it's possible to overstate the gains — or losses— a bike fit can bring. And a startling number of top pros we've had on this show trust Barry Anderson of Cyclologic, in Scottsdale Arizona. Barry has popped up on our radar numerous times and for…
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When it comes to the Leadville Trail 100 MTB Race, tires are the most hotly debated tech topic. The participants' page and other forums are littered with discussions on what tire to run, what tire is best, what tire is the lightest, and so on. These discussions can be somewhat beneficial but what most of them lack is real data. Well we found one te…
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From Running to Riding to RED-S and Beyond with Cécile Lejeune
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Cécile Lejeune is a rising star in women's pro cycling, but this Frenchwoman (and now Arizonian) is no stranger to speed. With roots in Tri and a number of impressive running records in her native country, Cécile has been challenging herself since the age of 12. A RED-S survivor, Cécile brings an inspiring and candid story to this year's Life Time …
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AJA #41: Hard water, hard jobs, and hard to get
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59:41
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Fatty is obsessed with mini compressors and so jumps the line in this episode of Ask Josh Anything with several questions he has about Silca's new Elettrico series, Silca's innovative, just-released electric mini pump that is available everywhere (except the US) now. We also got some great feedback/pushback on part of Josh's recent FAQ episode, and…
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We are on the ground at Sea Otter chasing Marginal Gains. A top theme at this year's show is something we have been discussing in our episodes: the wider tire revolution. Older XC tires have found new life on gravel race bikes and tire makers are responding. We hear from two major players on the tire side of things. Plus Dylan Johnson weighs in on …
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Levi Leipheimer & Melisa Rollins: The Growler from Pro and RD perspectives
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We've done plenty of interview episodes before, but this one's a little different. The twist here is we have pro cyclist Melisa Rollins joining as co-host in hopes of improving her chances at Levi Leipheimer's The Growler, a race that boasts the world's largest payout in a one-day race: a $156,000 purse, split evenly among men and women.…
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AJA 40: How will new tariffs affect Silca, bike retailers, and customers?
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We had a whole suite of super nerdy and fun questions ready to ask Josh...and we will still ask them, next time. But we also wanted to know Josh's thoughts about how the newly-announced tariffs might affect Silca, the businesses it buys from and sells to, and its customers. The resulting unscripted conversation is a must-listen.…
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The Meteoric Rise of 2024 Unbound Champ Rosa Klöser
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2024 Unbound Champion Rosa Klöser's trajectory to the top step started with a stolen townie, and has kept surprising —and impressing — ever since. You're going to love this conversation with this analytical, detailed, smart, and fast fellow marginal gainer.
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After 190 episodes of the show that breaks down, builds up, gets you ready, and freaks you out for the highest and hardest one day mountain bike race in the country, we've reached our red carpet, our 6th and Harrison. We want to wrap up by talking about other places you can learn about this race, our top advice, and our favorite episodes. Everyone,…
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Two of the big, recurring themes on this show have been fueling and hydration. It's an eating and drinking contest disguised as a bicycle race after all. In this interview, Hottie is joined by Andy Blow of Precision Fuel to take a sweat test and get some insights into the hydration equation.
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This is a little different from most Ask-Josh-Anything episodes. Here, we ask Josh to answer the questions he gets most often. What we got was an insightful hour of experiences, career advice, and thoughts on the culture within pro cycling teams. This is seriously an episode you do NOT want to miss.
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TrainerRoad's Jonathan Lee puts the "smart" in smart trainers
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Jonathan Lee is Communications Director and one of the OG's at TrainerRoad, one of our favorite tools for marginal-gaining our bodies. TrainerRoad is all business (or at best, Type 2 fun) about making you the strongest, fastest version of yourself...or at least, it was that way until recently. Hottie and Fatty talk with Jonathan about TrainerRoad's…
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AJA #39: Short cranks, bar tape and tandems
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55:26
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Short cranks are all the rage right now, and it just wouldn't be right to let this cycling trend go by without asking Josh to weigh in on its actual merits from aero, weight and engineering perspective. We've also got practical answers for your tire inserts and rolling resistance questions, measuring CRR, old-school cables and bar tape strategies, …
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