Most riders have no idea if their TT bike would actually pass inspection.

Dave sits down with Stephan, a national road cycling commissaire based at

Cycle Lab N1 City, who measures TT bikes against UCI regulations for a

living — and puts a bike through the exact test riders face on race day.

Before the demo: reaction to the biggest story to come out of the Tour de

France this week. Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of Stage 15 on the descent

into Plateau de Solaison, ending his bid for a third yellow jersey with a

fractured collarbone. Remco Evenepoel took the stage win, his first road

victory at the Tour, while Tadej Pogačar showed real sportsmanship in how

he handled the closing kilometres.

Then it's down to business: what "default" position actually means, why

the UCI cares about 750mm and category height limits, and why a bike that

looks fine to the eye can fail on a technicality worth three millimetres.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — Cold Open: Coffee, Colours & Cycle Lab N1 City

1:49 — Meet Stephan: Commissaire & TT Bike Specialist

3:37 — Tour de France: Vingegaard's Crash & Pogačar's Sportsmanship

5:32 — What Makes a Commissaire Qualified to Judge Your Bike?

6:44 — Why the UCI Regulates TT Bikes: Man vs Machine

10:42 — The Jig Demo: Measuring a "Default" Position

18:10 — The Non-Compliant Bike Example

19:44 — Category Heights Explained: Why Taller Riders Get Less Room

25:41 — The Jig Built for Western Province Cycling

26:17 — Why the Time Trial Is the Purest Test in Cycling

30:35 — Chasing KOMs & Wrap-Up

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1

Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

James Ross-Marsh @jamesrossmarsh

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

SOIL SEARCHING on YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DYUE9tW24E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZEaRtB5hzs

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

We put the Switch Carbon Comp through three weeks and 500km of everything the Western Cape could throw at it: smooth tar, fast gravel, and rock climbs nobody sane would call "gravel." It didn't flinch. Titan Racing, a proudly South African bike brand out of Stellenbosch, built this as a genuine entry point into carbon gravel racing — wireless 1x12 SRAM Apex AXS shifting, Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres, and a carbon frame with clearance up to 50mm, all finished in one of the most understated paint jobs we've tested this year. At 9.4kg and under R53,000, it's the bike that had two reviewers arguing over whether it deserved an 8 or a 9 out of 10 — not because it's flawed, but because at this price, almost nothing else comes close. It's also built to grow with you: upgrade the wheels, widen the cassette, or just ride it stock for years. If you're gravel-curious and don't want to remortgage anything to find out, this is where you start.

0:00 — Titan, What Have You Done? (First Reactions)

1:47 — The Price Reveal: What R52,999 Buys You

4:02 — Frame, Finish & The Minimalist Paint Job

7:07 — Three Weeks, 500km: The Real-World Test

7:31 — The Extreme Terrain Torture Test

9:11 — Weigh-In: Does 9.4kg Hold Up?

9:43 — Final Verdict: Scoring the Switch Carbon Comp

11:39 — Final Thoughts (Your Turn)

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1

Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #gravelbike #giantrevoltreview #bikereview

Every rider who's done a stage race has seen it: the school kids handing

out water, the local guy who's swept the same piece of singletrack all

year so it's ready for you. James Beers joins The Breakaway to unpack

what actually happens to the money you pay to enter a race — and why it

matters more than most riders realise.

This is a big one. James breaks down the real, direct link between event

entry fees and rural community income in South Africa — school fees paid,

local trail builders employed, families supported through a single race

weekend. It's not corporate box-ticking. It's tangible, and it compounds

year on year.

We also get into the Giro d'Italia GC battle — Jonas Vingegaard's

gearing, Tadej Pogačar's dominance, and what's coming in the next two

weeks. Plus two big pieces of South African cycling news: performance

coach Reece McDonald's move into the WorldTour pipeline with Q36.5 Pro

Cycling, and Daryl Impey's new role as a Sport Director at Ineos

Grenadiers for 2026.

# === CHAPTERS ===================================

0:00 — Intro: Do Races Actually Help Communities?

2:05 — James Beers' Toyota Commercial Stunt Double Story

6:35 — The Philosophy of Riding When the Stoke Is High

15:10 — Cape Epic's UNCO Valley & the Beaded Bracelets

23:14 — Craig Wapnick, go2berg & Community-Powered Events

28:46 — Whose Job Is It to Fix the Trails?

43:48 — The Trail Pass: An Easy Lever Riders Ignore

49:14 — Giro d'Italia: Vingegaard's Gearing Under the Microscope

52:47 — Could Different Gearing Have Changed the Giro?

1:07:28 — Pinarello-Q36.5 & Reece McDonald's Move to the WorldTour Pipeline

1:08:06 — Daryl Impey Joins Ineos Grenadiers as Sport Director

1:14:18 — Wrap-Up & Thanks to James Beers

# === LISTEN ON THE GO ===========================

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699

# === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO =========================

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1

Website: https://activehobo.com/

Instagram: @theactivehobo

Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

# === THE CREW ===================================

Dave @davlewjenkins

# === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ======================

Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U

Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH

Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY

🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount

# === WORK WITH US ===============================

Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com

Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com

#ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling