GCN Tech Show: Silca CEO reveals bike industry secrets

In this week's show, Alex Paton and Ollie Bridgewood are joined by the CEO of Silca, Josh Poertner, who's here to discuss some of the biggest tech issues around at the moment. Poertner is somewhat of an industry legend having spent 13 years working at Zipp before moving into his current role as CEO at Silca which specialises in cycling parts and accessories. 

Poertner knows more than most not only about the inner workings of the bike industry but also the underpinning science in bike design and material technology.

Ollie wastes no time in quizzing him on the significance of bike stiffness and the impact that has on the types of bikes we ride now, while Alex takes the opportunity to put some industry myths to Poertner to see which carry any weight.

There’s some great insight from Poertner and we’ll have even more on the GCN website in an exclusive interview with him coming up in the next few days.

Hot tech this week

Also on the show, the guys take a closer look at what’s hot in the world of bike tech right now.

Paul Smith x Factor collab

Ollie was at the Rouleur Live bike show last week in London and got a closer look at the latest limited edition bike from Factor. The bike brand has partnered with legendary fashion designer Paul Smith to create a striking Ostro VAM featuring very specific colourways and finishes as well as Smith's familiar signature. As a self-professed cycling fan, Smith jumped at the chance to create something special.

• Read more: Chris Froome rides Paul Smith designed Factor Ostro VAM at Singapore Criterium

DT Swiss AR1600

Also at Rouleur Live, Ollie spotted the most recent addition to the DT Swiss wheels catalogue. The AR1600 is a 30mm deep wheelset aimed at the climbers amongst us. These wheels are coming to market at an incredibly attractive price of around $750. Although they use an aluminium rim, they weigh around 1,600 grams per pair.

• Read more: Even more amazing hot tech from Rouleur Live

SRAM recall

In case you missed it, there was news from SRAM this week regarding a partial recall of some of their shifters. The recall only affects aftermarket shifters from the RED, Force, Rival and Apex groupsets. This is the result of an excess of thread lock present on the clamping bolt. This means the clamp bolt can be tightened to the correct torque even though the lever can still be loose on the bar.

As we had Josh Poertner in the studio we decided to take full advantage and ask him to help the boys with this week’s Bike Vault. First up Alex gets a slating for not obeying his own rules with his Bike Vault entry, before the guys go through the rest of the week's entries – you can have your say on them in the GCN App.

If you think you have a bike that is deserving of the 'super nice' accolade, submit it in the GCN App to see if we agree with you!

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