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The Rodeo Labs Podcast
Our Four Favorite Things from 2024
At the end of the year, most publications and their writers come out with the four or five favorite products they used in the past year. Most of these things are the cutting edge of their categories or a niche product that fits a specific year. These stories are great because they often allow journalists to write about their favorite things and are often useful to a wide range of people.
This year we here at Rodeo Labs wanted to get in on the fun, but to stay true to our roots we did things a bit differently. So we got together our host and resident bike journalist Logan Jones-Wilkins, CEO and Head Intern Stephen Fitzgerald, engineer and fourth finish at the Tour Divide Cade Richenberger, and product manager/master tinkerer Drew Van Kampen together for a podcast. Specifically, a podcast discussing our four favorite things from four different categories.
At the end of the year, most publications and their writers come out with the four or five favorite products they used in the past year. Most of these things are the cutting edge of their categories or a niche product that fits a specific year. These stories are great because they often allow journalists to write about their favorite things and are often useful to a wide range of people.
This year we here at Rodeo Labs wanted to get in on the fun, but to stay true to our roots we did things a bit differently. So we got together our host and resident bike journalist Logan Jones-Wilkins, CEO and Head Intern Stephen Fitzgerald, engineer and fourth finish at the Tour Divide Cade Reichenberger, and director of product development/master tinkerer Drew Van Kampen for a podcast. Specifically, a podcast discussing our four favorite things from four different categories.
We didn’t limit ourselves in this discussion to new products like most end-of-year lists do – some of our products are much older, while others are still to hit the shelves – but we did do all non-Rodeo products to ensure our recommendations stay true to things we have simply enjoyed and would like to put on your radar. Most importantly, we also didn’t limit ourselves to a set clock, so for this pod, we lingered a bit to cover all the ground we needed to and we found some pretty interesting rabbit holes along the way.
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Shimano GRXTR – A long term review of the new Di2 mullet
52:52|After spending a few thousand miles on the new Shimano GRX/XTR Di2 mullet (yep, flows right off the tongue), Drew Van Kampen and Logan Jones-Wilkins dig deep into their feelings, sensations, and opinions around the new electronic offering from the Japanese component giant. In line with their reviews of the SRAM XPLR update, a detailed look at the TRP Vistar/Classified groupset, and hopefully more reviews to come, Drew and Logan looked at the groupset from a few different perspectives. This time, both also made some big claims on how it all stacks up against other groupsets, a small tangent into crank lengths and power meters, and one (1) small rant on the pursuit of 13 speeds. Host: Logan Jones-Wilkins Guest: Drew Van Kampen Editor and producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsOur Four Favorites Things of 2025
01:40:49|Welcome back to the Rodeo Labs Podcast and our annual Four Favorite Things episode. We got Drew, Stephen, Logan, and Cullen Perkey, a new member of the round table of bike geeks, on the show to discuss their four favorite bike things they used this past year.From bottom brackets to shifters, mountain bike pants, and insulated bottles, we went wide and weird with it, but everything had a good explanation and a bit of banter. Here is the full list of components we highlighted:Components: XTR Di2 Rear Mech, SRAM Rival shifters, Wolf Tooth Bottom Bracket, and the Garbaruck 13s SRAM XPLR cassette.Tires: Vittoria Peyote 2.25 race, Peyote 2.1 trail, Vittoria Terreno Pro T30, and Seal-It sealant.Clothing and Accessories: Specialized Prime Bib Shorts, RDO Lab Explorts 3.0, Patagonia Dirt Craft Pants, and the Elite Ice Fly insulated bottle.Misc. Value Add: King Cage Stainless Steel Cage, Crank Brothers Candy Lace Clip-in Shoes, Shokz Openrun Pro open ear headphones, and the BBB CoreCap. Host: Logan Jones-WilkinsGuests: Stephen Fitzgerald, Drew Van Kampen, Cullen PerkeyEditor and Producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsExecutive Producer: Stephen FitzgeraldThe Trailside Chat – a status check heading into the new year
50:05|Success, we are learning, comes in many forms. At Rodeo this year, we've had a successful year – by some metrics, it's been our best year – but from another perspective, it has been a year of immense challenge. Those challenges have extended all the way to the holidays, with new hurdles around every curve.Yet, as we tend to do, we are set on taking the wins and losses in stride as we flip the page to 2026. To process the past year, both for Rodeo Labs and our host, Logan, who is going on a parallel odyssey of his own, we talked about it here on this podcast episode.Lastly, thank you for your support this year. We have enjoyed slowly building this podcast up, and we plan to continue with pace in 2026!Hosts: Logan Jones-Wilkins and Stephen FitzgeraldEditor and producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsThe Rodeo Cyclo-Podcast
48:07|Cyclo-cross has never not been a part of the Rodeo story, even if it hasn't been front and center. For a company that doesn't not make cyclo-cross-capable bikes, all these double negatives leave us pondering the sport every time we hear #crossiscoming. This year, Stephen answered the call of cyclo-cross, and so too did Cam Little, a Rodeo rider from West Virginia and Marian University. Now that the season has wrapped up, it was time to podcast about it, even if Logan, our host, is somewhat of a cyclo-cross skeptic. Host: Logan Jones-WilkinsGuests: Stephen Fitzgerald and Cameron Little Editor and Producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsTyler, The Road Bike Creator
52:01|What even is a road bike? We investigate with Tyler Simon, an engineer, cyclist, and the mind behind the most road-optimized Rodeo Trail Donkey we have ever been a part of. Plus, Stephen and Logan get into the question of all-road bikes and why Logan is all over this new cycling trend.Host: Logan Jones-WilkinsGuests: Tyler Simon and Stephen FitzgeraldEditor and producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsBig Tire Talk – what is behind the shift to mountain bike tires on gravel?
01:23:12|It is finally time to talk big tires.The subject is all the rage these days, but we've been here for a while – riding our thick gravel tires on rigid drop bar bikes for years. Nevertheless, we are intrigued by a lot of what is coming to the discourse, especially some of the quantitative testing we are seeing from certain corners of the internet. Most notably, John Karrasch, a.k.a @flexfitbyjohn on Instagram.The bike fitter, a turned-off-road rolling resistance guru, has refined a form of the Chung method for testing to objectively measure the rolling resistance of countless tires, posting comprehensible graphs that demonstrate the comparative value of each. Karrasch also has a Patreon where he goes deeper into the data and breaks down the nuances of the different traits of the tires he tests.Now, he is a niche-expert who has become a legend in the small corner of the internet that is interested in going fast on gravel. He is also a frequent pen pal with the Rodeo Labs crew, so we had to have him on the podcast to really get into the nitty-gritty details.If you want to learn more about John's testing, check out his Patreon account here.Logan has also written some pretty detailed stories on the subject. Here is a story he did for Cycling Weekly on some of his favorite options.Hosts: Logan Jones-Wilkins, Drew Van Kampen, Stephen FitzgeraldGuest: John KarraschRodeo Rider Files – Dave Pryor and the curious case of East Coast gravel
27:07|When Dave Pryor started UnPAved of the Susquehanna in 2018, gravel cycling was crystallizing into a discipline in cycling. It was reserved for the real hipsters, early movers, and the dreamers. Since then, gravel has changed, as has UnPAved. Now, the race is part of Pryor's full-time job, an institution in Pennsylvania cycling, and also unique in the landscape of gravel cycling. In our most recent mini-episode on our Rodeo riders, we spoke to Pryor to learn more about a few things. Mostly, we chatted about the power of Pennsylvania's vast gravel goods, the strange place gravel racing holds on the East Coast, and what gravel means to him and his Flaanimal. Enjoy!Host: Logan Jones-Wilkins Guest: Dave Pryor Producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsIn Pursuit of Super Smooth Cycling – Inside the gravel suspension movement with Cane Creek
01:50:43|Suspension forks on gravel bikes is a dividing line in the cycling world. For many, they are a tool that expands the use of the bike and reduces the stress associated with the rugged terrain that gravel biking revolves around. Others dismiss the tech as reinventing mountain bikes from the 1990s. We’ve been wanting to dig into this topic for a while because Rodeo Labs bikes could be well-suited for a little suspension, if that is your thing. This summer, Logan finally got enough time on two different fork options to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of gravel suspension. Stephen, who has been trying suspension forks for the last year, joined in on the podcast to add his two cents. Nevertheless, we wanted this podcast to be more than simply Stephen and Logan breaking down their experiences. So, we called up Will Hart, the product marketing manager at Cane Creek, to get into the gritty details of their Invert gravel fork and muse on the philosophy behind building specific gravel tech. If you are interested in investigating this further, Logan tested the Cane Creek Invert SL and the Rock Shox Rudy Ultimate XPLR. Both options had 30mm of travel, with the Rock Shox priced at $929 compared to the Cane Creek Invert SL at $1,099. Stephen tested the Cane Creek Invert CS and Fox 32 TC – Grip SL. Both forks had 40mm of travel, with the Fox priced at $999 and the Cane Creek at $1,199. Host: Logan Jones-Wilkins and Stephen Fitzgerald Guest: Will Hart Producer: Logan Jones-WilkinsDonkey Dreamland – Why we take the trips we do
01:01:46|At Rodeo Adventure Labs, adventure is in the name of our company, so our side quests are quite crucial to what we do. These quests have shifted over the years – from Silverton, to Florida, and recently to the Dolomites – but the goal behind the travel has remained the same: bring people together to ride bikes in great places. In this episode of the Rodeo Labs Podcast, Drew, Stephen, and Logan delve into the traveling Rodeo has undertaken, both locally and abroad. Where have we gone, what have we learned, and why does it mean so much independent of economic returns? Lastly, Drew and Stephen break down the most recent trip to the Dolomites and explain why Italy’s northeast might be a Trail Donkey “Dreamland.”Host: Logan Jones-WilkinsGuests: Drew van Kampen and Stephen Fitzgerald Producer: Logan Jones-Wilkins