Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca

Fatty sits down with 2024 Leadville champion (and his daughter) Melisa Rollins to discuss her meteoric rise from riding borrowed bikes to the professional peloton. Joined by fitter Barry Anderson, they dig into the biomechanical challenges of world-class power, the dangers of athletic stoicism, and the chaotic reality of stage racing in Africa.

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–SRAM 10-tooth cog controversy.

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 tire to be precise. When Maxxis started showing its 32 inch Aspen, bike builders took notice. Some fired up their CAD programs to see if they could make it work. Using heat and steel, drawings were then turned into something rideable. One of those designers is Daniel Yang. Yang MFG and Neuhaus Metalworks have produced the Nova; a mountain bike buit around the 32 inch wheel. Steel, fully rigid, geared or single speed. We met up with Daniel on the trail and took the Nova for a test ride. After, we sat down at a park picnic table for a discussion on what it took to fit these wheels into a frame, who this bike is for and who it is not for and what could be mountain biking's next big move.

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 is fine, and when it's a dentist bill waiting to happen.

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 under the hood. For that we turn to its founder Ryan Cooper. Before Best Bike Split, Ryan was a lot like us: a competitor with the hopes of going faster. Unlike most of us, he's really good at math. His ability to come up with equations and sus out variables gave him the tools to invent Best Bike Split. But the inspiration was more of an experiment -- a story will leave for him. In the interview, Ryan shares what he can about how BBS comes up with its forecasted times. He also talks about some new features he has in the works like factoring in tarmac conditions to better hone in on times. Ryan also wants listeners to get a taste of BBS and he is extending a discount to listeners of the pod. Use the code MARGAINS25 for a discount and as Ryan says: Race smarter. Ride faster. Win more.