The Endurance Bike is Dead

I’m back, but Mike Levy is still playing in the woods on a bike. We’ll talk to him about that soon, but for now, Logan Jones-Wilkins, Lisa Charlebois, and I get into women’s cycling shoes, 13-pound climbing bikes, and the death of the endurance road bike.

Women’s Shoe Buyer’s Guide

To kick things off, we look at the women’s shoe buyer’s guide that Charlebois recently published. We don’t spend much time debating the actual shoe choices. Instead, this conversation is all about why it’s critical to carve out dedicated space for that guide, and what Charlebois thinks about the current market mix of women-specific and unisex shoes. Does a unisex approach take away from the quality of the selection?

Everesting Roam on a 13lb Bike

That topic provides a perfect transition into the shoes Charlebois chose for her recent Everesting Roam adventure—a brutal format with no sleep allowed and no hill repeats, ending only when you hit 29,000 feet of elevation.

The conversation quickly shifts from shoes to the absolutely bonkers 13-pound bike she used for the effort. As someone who prioritizes comfort and vibes—and normally rides a metal frame—what was the experience actually like on a stiff, ultra-light carbon bike? And did we manage to convince her to leave the handlebar bag at home for once?

The Endurance Bike is Dead

The obvious question: Wouldn’t she have been more comfortable on an endurance bike? It’s possible, but maybe no one should be riding a dedicated endurance bike in 2026. Jones-Wilkins recently reported on a rider who managed to win a stage of Tulsa Tough on a gravel bike. Does that mean we can officially put the endurance bike genre out to pasture?

Ironically, the concept of using a gravel bike as an all-road endurance machine was initially a bridge too far for Charlebois. Jones-Wilkins argues that while some insist the gravel bike is an industry marketing scam, that label really only applies to pure road bikes. Did we change any minds?