The Rundown: Fresh off pulling off the Michael Myers Memorial Time Trial, the guys dig into a big day of product news: a brand new mechanical SRAM Transmission that costs a fraction of the electronic version, a new Garmin subscription, and a debate about whether sky-high component prices are really buying you anything. Plus a Milan-San Remo for the ages.
Dialed Podcast 360 Recap
A cheaper mechanical Transmission drops, Garmin starts charging for data, and the table argues marginal gains.
Backpedal: Michael Myers TT in the Books
The Michael Myers Memorial Time Trial came together thanks to a big push from the Dialed Cycling Team, with John Hatfield and Lance both putting in long hours setting up and tearing down. Turnout was steady year over year, Ian raced and won his age group, and the whole crew was relieved to have it run smoothly. Lance is also bouncing back from his back injury, riding every day, and Ian and Lance did a hard two-man breakaway practice lap around Sauvie Island that drove home just how much faster a big group rolls than two riders alone.
SRAM Eagle 90: Mechanical Transmission Arrives
The headline product news: SRAM dropped a mechanical version of its Eagle Transmission, called Eagle 90. The hanger-less Transmission design mounts the derailleur directly to the frame's universal derailleur hanger interface, making it far more durable, and until now it was electronic-only and pricey. The new mechanical Eagle 90 groupset comes in dramatically cheaper while shifting, by Lance's account after riding it, just as crisply as the electronic version, even under full load. SRAM also launched new mountain bike brakes that bring near-downhill stopping power at cross country weight, now running mineral oil and shipping with a bleed kit in the box. The big catch is that Transmission needs a UDH-compatible frame.
Garmin Connect Plus
Garmin also launched Connect Plus, a paid subscription at roughly seven dollars a month that layers on a conversational insights feature, expanded charts, extra coaching tidbits, and profile badges. The table's verdict was lukewarm: nothing is being moved behind the paywall yet, but the worry is future features might be, and the current AI features are not compelling enough to justify the cost. The wish-list item everyone agreed on was being able to actually talk to your ride data and get a real debrief.
EPO Chain Mail: Are Marginal Gains Worth It?
A sharp listener question asked whether top-end gear is really built for pros chasing marginal gains rather than the rest of us. The consensus: a lot of the premium is weight savings and materials that most riders will barely notice, but the high-end stuff sells anyway because people put their pension where their passion is, and buying nicer often means buying once. The frustrating flip side is discontinued parts, like recently retired eleven-speed groupsets that now cost more used than they did new. The crew also riffed on motivation when races get canceled and old-school cycling wisdom worth retiring, landing hard on ditching elitism and gatekeeping.
Leadout News: Milan-San Remo
Champ Bailey called a classic. The final twenty kilometers of Milan-San Remo delivered, with attacks on the Cipressa and Poggio as Tadej Pogacar threw everything at Mathieu van der Poel and could not shake him. Van der Poel timed the sprint perfectly to take the win. With Tour of Flanders and a Pogacar debut at Paris-Roubaix on the horizon, the monuments are setting up beautifully.
Talk to the guys
Got a question or an idea for the show?
Ask us anything about the podcast, pitch a topic for a future episode, send general feedback, or ask about gear. We read every one.