{"id":1965269,"date":"2026-05-31T09:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965269"},"modified":"2026-05-31T09:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:45:21","slug":"the-great-gravel-debate-32-inch-wheels-and-ride-audio-confessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1965269","title":{"rendered":"The Great Gravel Debate, 32-Inch Wheels, and Ride Audio Confessions"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Velo-Podcast-thumbnail-5-29-26.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Josh Ross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published May 31, 2026 03:45AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Table of Contents<\/h4>\n
    \u2022<\/span>Get right to the audio episode!<\/span><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Last week I was the one who missed the podcast, but this week it was Logan Jones-Wilkins. He is currently on the ground in Emporia, Kansas for Unbound 2026, but unfortunately, his Starlink connection failed. That left host Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and me to do our best to talk about the newly released Specialized Crux, despite not having touched it yet. Jones-Wilkins isn\u2019t there to set the record straight, so Charlebois and I get into why we don\u2019t need massive tires, and Levy argues that we all need slacker front ends and suspension. He was definitively overruled by the roadies who are perfectly happy riding nimble bikes on 40mm tires.<\/p>\n

    Before we get to the bikes though, we kick things off with Levy\u2019s newfound love for the Garmin 1040 Solar. I blow his mind by revealing the hidden external battery pack feature, and we spiral into a debate about ride audio because Levy just discovered he can control his music from his head unit. That leads to a confession from Lisa: she actually rides with a tiny Bluetooth speaker. Levy and I think it\u2019s completely outrageous, but perhaps she is actually the smart one here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.<\/p>\n

    Next, as is becoming a regular thing, we talk about reader comments and answer questions. Plus, we talk about Cam Jones and Robin Gemperle racing a 32-inch wheel bike from Scott at this year\u2019s Unbound. Scott is calling it a prototype, but it looks like a finished, production-ready frame to us. Is this the moment 32-inch wheels finally break through, or is 32-inch destined to fail because regular people hate the idea? Drop a comment so we know how this audience feels.<\/p>\n

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    ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Finally, we dive into the 2026 Road Bike Buyer\u2019s Guide. I break down our testing methodology, explain why I refuse to recommend \u201ccheap\u201d bikes just for the sake of having a budget category, and discuss what actually makes a bike like the Specialized Tarmac SL8 the best all-arounder on the market.<\/p>\n

    Timestamps<\/h2>\n

    00:00:00 Intro
    \n00:01:13 a mini review of the Garmin 1040 Solar
    \n00:09:53 Music and headphones on the ride
    \n00:14:20 Unbound and Cam Jones riding a 32-inch bike
    \n00:22:34 Reader questions
    \n00:29:14 Road bike buyers guide
    \n00:45:26 Specialized Crux initial discussion<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Subscribe to the Velo Podcast<\/h3>\n

    \"Listen<\/p>\n

    \"Listen<\/p>\n

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    ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Articles covered this week<\/h2>\n
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    • Unbound Gravel Hub<\/li>\n
    • Defending Unbound 200 Champion Will Race a 32-Inch Gravel Bike in 2026<\/li>\n
    • The best headphones for cycling<\/li>\n
    • The best gravel bike\u00a0<\/li>\n
    • Specialized Crux 5 review<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
      \n
      \n
      Josh Ross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      Published May 31, 2026 03:45AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/velo-podcast-5-29-26\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Velo-Podcast-thumbnail-5-29-26.jpg”] Josh Ross Published May 31, 2026 03:45AM Table of Contents \u2022Get right to the audio episode! Last week I was the one who missed the podcast, but this week it was Logan Jones-Wilkins. He is currently on the ground in Emporia, Kansas for Unbound 2026, but unfortunately, his Starlink connection failed. That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1965269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1965269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1965269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1965269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1965269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}