Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tom & I headed to Ice Bike 2026, the in-house show for the UK distributor Madison, to see if there was any real substance behind the latest industry hype. While brands like Shimano and Pro are pushing 3D-printed saddles Maxxis giving us 32-inch production tires, the conversations behind the scenes tell a different story.
I caught up with Dominic Langan, Managing Director at Madison, to discuss the brutal reality of the Taiwan overstock crisis and why the traditional bike shop retail model is failing. Watch that podcast here: youtu.be/8KRqMzmS_5c?si=s5ZcFg1HnFOFrl0F
We also talk shop with Truman from Park Tool about the headache of measuring tension on the latest carbon spokes. Join our CPD comunity, Mapdec Technical on Skool.com skool.com/mapdec
Is the high-street bike shop as we know it dead, or are we just witnessing a shift toward workshops and community hubs like the one we've built at Mapdec?
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome to Ice Bike
00:15 – Pro’s 3D-printed saddle "outer sheath"
01:09 – "Off-road" vs. all-road saddle shapes
02:01 – First look at the new Factor bike
02:50 – DT Swiss hub cutaways and bearing tolerances
04:02 – Profile Design aftermarket stems and TT tilt boosters
05:12 – 32-inch production tires are here (Maxxis & Vittoria)
05:30 – Coros GPS units & 120-hour solar battery life
07:12 – MissGrape "bombproof" bikepacking gear test
08:21 – Park Tool update: The end of an era
09:01 – Grease Geeks: PPL-1 vs. HPG-1 technical details
12:29 – The Carbon Spoke problem: Tension meters & algorithms
18:02 – The Retail Death Spiral: Taiwan's overstock crisis
21:05 – Why Mapdec ditched retail for a gym and workshop
27:01 – Final thoughts: Is the bike shop dead?
Thanks to @parktool @profiledesign @BikeBizMag
Tom & I headed to Ice Bike 2026, the in-house show for the UK distributor Madison, to see if there was any real substance behind the latest industry hype. While brands like Shimano and Pro are pushing 3D-printed saddles Maxxis giving us 32-inch production tires, the conversations behind the scenes tell a different story.
I caught up with Dominic Langan, Managing Director at Madison, to discuss the brutal reality of the Taiwan overstock crisis and why the traditional bike shop retail model is failing. Watch that podcast here: youtu.be/8KRqMzmS_5c?si=s5ZcFg1HnFOFrl0F
We also talk shop with Truman from Park Tool about the headache of measuring tension on the latest carbon spokes. Join our CPD comunity, Mapdec Technical on Skool.com skool.com/mapdec
Is the high-street bike shop as we know it dead, or are we just witnessing a shift toward workshops and community hubs like the one we've built at Mapdec?
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome to Ice Bike
00:15 – Pro’s 3D-printed saddle "outer sheath"
01:09 – "Off-road" vs. all-road saddle shapes
02:01 – First look at the new Factor bike
02:50 – DT Swiss hub cutaways and bearing tolerances
04:02 – Profile Design aftermarket stems and TT tilt boosters
05:12 – 32-inch production tires are here (Maxxis & Vittoria)
05:30 – Coros GPS units & 120-hour solar battery life
07:12 – MissGrape "bombproof" bikepacking gear test
08:21 – Park Tool update: The end of an era
09:01 – Grease Geeks: PPL-1 vs. HPG-1 technical details
12:29 – The Carbon Spoke problem: Tension meters & algorithms
18:02 – The Retail Death Spiral: Taiwan's overstock crisis
21:05 – Why Mapdec ditched retail for a gym and workshop
27:01 – Final thoughts: Is the bike shop dead?
Thanks to @parktool @profiledesign @BikeBizMag
