Speaking of Bikes gives you a front row seat to the culture, technology, and economics of cycling. Each episode dives into the stories, people, and trends shaping the sport—from the rise of e-bikes and cutting-edge tech to the personalities driving today’s racing scene and the brands behind tomorrow’s innovations. Whether you’re a lifelong rider, an industry insider, or just curious about the business and lifestyle of bikes, Speaking of Bikes connects you to the conversations that matter most in the world of cycling.
Rob, who's been building carbon fiber frames in Taiwan since 1996, explains why he founded Factor Bikes and why competitive cycling is built into the DNA of the brand. Quality carbon manufacturing is a differentiator for the Factor business. We learned a lot in this discussion about what it takes to make a good bike.
22 Oct 2026
Episode 28: The Report from Bentonville
Mark and Peter check in from Arkansas, where they attended the People for Bikes Shift Conference, rode the new mountain bike park and raced Big Sugar gravel. The region and the bike industry are both changing in many ways. We take you through our insights.
14 Oct 2026
Episode 27: Red Bull + Cervelo? How Lars Rikse is Steering Cervelo Into the Future.
Lars Rikse, Global Managing Director of Cervelo, came to his current role from Red Bull and consulting in many industries before that. Can he apply all of those learnings to move Cervelo into its next phase of growth? Listen in as he charts the future for a brand rooted in engineering and racing.
1 Oct 2026
Episode 26: Episode 25: Patrick Pan: Everything You Wanted to Know About X-Lab
X-Lab is the most disruptive bike business in the United States. Patrick runs sales and marketing for the new Chinese brand. He shares with us where they came from, how they're launching in the US and what they're planning for the future.
4 Sept 2026
Episode 25: How to Make Your Business go Viral: Louis Phillips, co-founder of INTVL
The INTVL app gamifies running and cycling by allowing you to take territory with your workouts. Louis had been a fitness influencer, and he used highly effective social media video content to market his app. We learned a lot in this episode.
21 Aug 2026
Episode 24: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Fresh back from France, Mark and Peter just attended the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift and rode the grueling L'Étape which finished with the legendary climb of Mount Ventoux. They share their insights from the event and what they saw around Avignon and Nice.
15 Aug 2026
Episode 23: Chris Bell of PeopleForBikes: How the Bike Industry Works with Power Brokers in Washington, D.C.
"The bike industry is being attacked on several fronts." Chris Bell of People For Bikes explains how the industry gets things done with Congress, whether that relates to trade tariffs, domestic manufacturing or bike infrastructure. It's a process that requires both expertise and patience.
30 Jul 2026
Episode 22: Pat Cunnane: A Plan to Return Bicycle Manufacturing to America
Domestic manufacturing is a complex topic, but Pat breaks it down for us: trade tariffs, federal policy and why bike assembly is the entry point for brining bike building back to America. Pat has decades of experience, and this is a really informative and interesting discussion.
22 Jul 2026
Episode 21: USA Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk: The LA Olympics will create the next generation of American Champions
Brendan gives us his honest perspective on the state of American bike racing. That includes the Olympic superiority of our women's teams, the booming category of American MTB racing and the challenges faced by road racing events around the world.
30 Jun 2026
Episode 20: The Current State of Enthusiast Media
Today we speak to Caley Fretz who is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Escape Collective, the member-funded independent cycling media company he launched in March 2023 alongside Wade Wallace. A journalist with over a decade in cycling media, he previously served as a senior editor at VeloNews and editor-in-chief at CyclingTips, where he built a distinctive, writer-driven voice. He's covered fifteen Tours de France, hosts the Spin Cycle podcast, and has raced everything from road to downhill. He's based in Durango, Colorado.
17 Jun 2026
Episode 19: The Best Places to Ride Your Bike in America
The People For Bikes 2026 City Ratings are out. We spoke to Martina Haggerty and Grace Stonecipher from the organization to understand how they measure bike infrastructure and which cities are on the way up. You may be surprised by some of the cities that are at the top of the list.
12 Jun 2026
Episode 18: The Search for America's Next Tour de France Winner
We speak with Roy Knickman, who's leading a new North American junior cycling team. He shares his own background as a decorated pro and Olympic medalist, along with his thoughtful approach to getting young people excited about bike racing.
20 May 2026
Episode 17: The Inside Scoop From Two Players in the Chinese Bike Market
In this episode we hear directly from two insiders from the Chinese bike industry. Joe Whittingham, founder of China-based Panda Podium, sells Chinese made bikes to the Western market. And Raymond Cheng, a Hong Kong-based distributor, sells Western brands into the Chinese market. They both get into detail with Mark about how the bike industry is doing in China.
13 May 2026
Episode 16: Mark Visits the Shanghai Bike Show
We get a field report directly from Shanghai: Where does China fit into the global bike industry, and how are the Chinese brands doing? There were 7,500 bike brands at the show, and Mark gives us the inside story.
29 Apr 2026
Episode 15: Erik Saltvold: Do Bike Shops Still Matter?
Erik is the largest independent bicycle dealer in the United States, with 35 locations around the country. He shares with us his own experience and where he thinks bike shops are going in the future.
21 Apr 2026
Episode 14: Sea Otter Classic 2026: The Chinese Invasion
We take you through what we saw at Sea Otter this year, and why China was the dominant story of the event. And some special guests join to give us their perspectives as well.
10 Apr 2026
Episode 13: Joe Laverick: the bike racing whisperer
Joe has a thoughtful point of view on many different kinds of bike racing, including road, gravel and criteriums. He also takes us through his somewhat controversial, but really smart, recent Substack post about the sport. This is a really interesting conversation.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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