AJA #49: Helping Fatty Everest (A Marginal Gains Intervention)

Fatty drops a bombshell: he's turning 60 and attempting an Everesting challenge this June — and he needs Josh and Hottie to marginal-gain every aspect of the ride. From course selection and bike setup to tire choice, chain wax strategy, pacing by heart rate, and why a leaf blower might be his secret weapon, the crew breaks down how to get a self-described "card-carrying AARP member with a paunch" up 29,029 feet of climbing on a decade-old bike.

Most of us hardly give those water bottles in our cages a second thought. It's plastic. It's there. It's got what we need. But in the late 20-teens, Carina Hamel and her partner started giving those bidons and second thought. And a third. And a fourth. And like a lot of new ideas, they thought, "There's got to be a better way." Their critical thinking led them to develop Bivo Bottles: stainless steel bottles that fit properly in bike cages.  Since late 2020, Bivo has been trying to convince cyclists that they are better off with a metal bottle than plastic. They've made progress but the ride has  not been smooth. First came Covid, which delayed their launch and stalled their grassroots marketing campaign. Then just as they started getting  momentum, along came massive tariffs which threatened to end Bivo altogether.  But Bivo is still here and as of this episode, celebrating a five year anniversary. We talk to co-founder Carina Hamel about their ideas, innovations and a chance run in with a NASA engineer. 

Josh answers listener questions about essential race-day gear, from what to pack for Cape Epic to whether digital torque wrenches are worth the beeping. We into Lifetime's controversial drop bar ban at Leadville, exploring whether safety concerns justify the change and what aero options remain for marginal gainers. 

For most of us getting into a wind tunnel is but a dream. Tunnels are hard to find and harder to afford. As an alternative Josh has recommended the Chung Method. It's proven yet it does take some expertise to get right. What if there were something in the middle? Something that is more accessible and less expensive than a wind tunnel yet doesn't require the hours of commitment and trial and  error of field testing? Our guest believes he has just that.  AiRO may sound like a company that is trying to latch onto the "AI" craze. But its founder, Ingmar Jungnickel, has been into cycling aerodynamics long before Chat GPT became a thing. He has a degree in engineering, he's developed on-bike aero hardware, and he worked for Specialized where he logged many hours in that company's wind tunnel. All of that, along with a chance opportunity to work with speed skaters, led him to develop a CFD program that attempts to make cycling aerodynamics more accessible.  Ingmar's back story includes meeting are own Josh Poertner. But the real story here is how good Computational Fluid Dynamics has become. The potential of AiRO and its data even blew the mind of Josh as you will hear in this episode of Marginal Gains. 

This Ask Josh Anything grab-bag starts with Tucson's new aluminum velodrome, evolves (devolves?) into altitude hacks for hour records, "no-rules" speed dreams, and holiday gift picks. From buying a kid's first bike (and why chain waxing might be the cleanest parenting win) to ESG-minded shop habits, Roubaix wheel diameter fever dreams to, aero brake-hose routing, and the Clik Valve debate—this episode covers the weird, practical, and wildly opinionated. Happy Holidays!

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.