Four TikTok bike hacks, one power drill: Alex and Ollie judge the internet
The tests run from a drill-repaired frayed cable to a chain wrapped in electrical tape, and the video passed 110,000 views in under a day.
GCN TechStory of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
We Rate TikTok Bike Hacks
What happens when two mechanics take the internet's favorite bike shortcuts into the workshop? GCN Tech found out on Sunday. In "We Rate TikTok Bike Hacks," Alex and Ollie try four viral tricks: mending a frayed cable with a power drill, digging old sealant out with a drill bit, a homemade Presta-to-Schrader adapter and, most alarming of all, wrapping a chain in electrical tape. The description promises verdicts on which ones work and which are rubbish.
It went up late in the week and is already the channel's fastest mover, gathering views at more than twice the pace of anything else on the channel right now.
The bigger total still belongs to the weekly show. Episode 458, which asked whether the UCI's review of its technical rules could bring rim brakes back to pro racing, has passed 320,000 views, and its comment section has kept going since we last looked. Viewers argue about the dangers of courses rather than speeds, about giving Tour riders a single bike for three weeks, and about the oversized time trial helmets some would happily see reviewed. Several simply say they miss rim brakes.
The week also opened a new format. GCN Tech Talk Ep. 1 sat down with Dr Xavier Disley, founder of AeroCoach, to talk about keeping secrets while advising rival WorldTour teams, benchmarking wheels and spotting fake wind tunnel claims. Around it came a jacket reproofing guide and a run of shorts on Shimano's redesigned pedals.
All told, eleven uploads and close to 2.6 million views, which is about the channel's usual stride. Among sports channels of a similar size, that put it fourth for views gained, with the World Poker Tour far out in front.
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What viewers say
The comments under "Will New UCI Rules Resurrect Rim Brakes? | GCN Tech Show Ep. 458"
Rim brakes are awesome and I miss them. Easy to fix, easy to maintain, inexpensive, and low maintenance.
@BCI-VCNLLCSee it on YouTubeI think the problem is not that the speeds are dangerous, it's that the courses are
@PandaMojo26See it on YouTubeI hope the UCI reviews the rules on the silly oversized aero time trial helmets.
@bikeskimawk670See it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on GCN Tech right now
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- Channel
- GCN Tech
- Subscribers
- 870,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 2,597,276
- Videos published this week
- 11
- Video published
- October 4, 2026
- Video views so far
- 111,162
The numbers
Here is how GCN Tech's week looks in figures.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which brand makes the Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 road groupsets?
Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 are all Shimano's road groupset lines, with Dura-Ace at the top.
