The Rundown: Lance and Ian are fresh off a San Diego training block, complete with an impromptu ride alongside Chris Horner, and the whole crew is back to talk cyclocross, holiday training, and the unglamorous but essential world of cleaners and lubes. There are solid tips for newer riders and an honest first look at Wahoo's big new head unit.
What Happened on Dialed Podcast 350?
A San Diego base block, the great chain lube debate, real tips for new cyclists, and a hands on look at the Wahoo Elemnt Ace.
Backpedal: San Diego and a Ride With Chris Horner
Lance and Ian flew to San Diego on hotel and flight perks and stacked up 14 hours over three days of base miles in 65 to 70 degree sunshine. The highlight was a chance run in with Chris Horner, who spotted their Dialed kits on the PCH, texted them, and ended up leading them on a two and a half hour tour of Rancho Santa Fe while chatting away at a pace that had everyone else gasping. A 70 year old rider latched onto their wheel all the way to the Pannikin coffee shop and got the surprise of meeting Horner.
Champ Bailey: Schedules Set and a Cancelled Race
A UCI cyclocross race in Sardinia was cancelled by a storm, screwing the riders who skipped a training block to be there. Van der Poel announced eight or nine races and a likely run at a seventh world title, while Wout van Aert, still recovering from his Vuelta knee injury, planned only about four. The segment also celebrated local racer Robin Cummings winning a national title, and marveled at the masters fields, including 24 racers in the 70 to 74 category and a 90 year old national champion.
Hot Seat: Backing a Rider
The hot seat rounds asked who wins the van der Poel versus van Aert head to head battles (the table leaned heavily toward van der Poel barring a mechanical), and a fun marketing thought experiment: if you had the budget, would you sponsor van der Poel or Tadej Pogacar? The answer came down to your market, with Pogacar owning Tour de France visibility and van der Poel spanning road, gravel, and cyclocross year round.
The Main Topic: Cleaners, Lubes, and New Rider Tips
The crew compared chain care setups. Lance runs Squirt and Muc-Off degreaser, Matt uses Rock N Roll Gold and wants to try Silca, and Jake leaned into the Silca chain waxing approach for being less messy and backed by real science. The lab's own ultrasonic chain waxing service got a walkthrough: strip the chain to bare metal, wax and dry it, and always clean the full drivetrain too. Top tips for new riders: get a proper bike fit, learn to fix a flat before you need to, take care of your chamois, always wear a helmet, and keep isopropyl alcohol on hand for cleaning.
Gear Talk: Wahoo Elemnt Ace and SRAM Brakes
Lance ran the new Wahoo Elemnt Ace for three days. He loved the maps, the preloaded US and Europe maps, the battery life, and the novel wind speed readout that shows headwind in red and tailwind in green, but flagged the huge size, a first day that would not connect or upload, and the inability to push his Coach Cat workouts to it yet. Ian's gripe was disc brake drama on his older 11 speed SRAM Red, which led to a chat about how much the latest generation SRAM Red braking has improved.
One Last Thing
Matt reviewed an affordable Magene carbon wheelset around 900 dollars after a discount. Ian's planned Saturday zone 2 ride got rained out again. Lance celebrated his daughters buying a house in Washougal. Jake announced the ninth annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Ride rolling out of the lab at 9am Sunday to Compass Coffee, kicking off the Bikes for Kids fundraising campaign.
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