Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the most interesting conversations and ideas from the bike world — and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Podcast host Jeff Barber, Editor-in-Chief at Singletracks.com, aims to inform and inspire with topics and interviews from the mountain bike world. Since 2015, we have been sharing weekly stories from under the helmets of the most inspiring and influential mountain bikers. Join us as we learn from top athletes, product designers, trail builders, coaches, mechanics, artists, and leaders in the mountain biking community. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/singletracks ...
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The Wild Tale of Constru-Bikes & Their Massive Bike Theft and Trafficking Ring
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Bryan Hance is a bike enthusiast and web developer who combined those two interests in co-founding Bike Index, a database that tracks ownership to help recover bikes that end up stolen. Through that work, Bryan uncovered a sprawling bike theft and trafficking operation, which he traced back to one man, operating out of Jalisco, Mexico — and the sto…
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The Case for High Pivot MTB Design, and How it Works
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Colin Ryan is a Senior Development Engineer at Norco and was involved in the design of the latest Norco Optic trail bike which features a high-pivot design. Prior to joining Norco he worked at General Kinetics testing and developing shock absorbers for military and construction equipment. At a basic level, what problem does a high pivot design solv…
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Dan Bacon of Wheelbased on the (Potential) Future of MTB Tech
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Bike companies file a lot of wild patents, spanning from “nearly released product” to “outrageous pie-in-the-sky idea.” Dan Bacon of Wheelbased chronicles many of the more interesting ones, and we brought him back on the show to talk about some recent highlights, from Bilstein’s proposed fork damper to Shimano’s multiple electronic brake concepts, …
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This Mental Health Counselor is Using Mountain Biking as Adventure Therapy
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Sara Hunter is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in the state of North Carolina and a PMBIA Level 1 Mountain Bike Instructor. Her practice includes individual and couples counseling services plus mountain bike therapy and counseling for athletes and outdoor instructors. She's also a Specialized USA Ambassador. What led you to get into cou…
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino (May 2024)
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Mike Ferrentino is back again as co-host for this month’s iteration of Reviewing the News, and Simon is delighted to have him in the studio to help try and make sense of the Red Bull Hardline drama. There were two exciting DH World Cup races to talk about, as well as an XC World Cup in Nova Mesto to cover. And in a fun change of pace, they get into…
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How to Fuel for Mountain Biking, According to a Registered Dietitian
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Alex Larson is a registered dietitian and multi-sport athlete who helps endurance athletes optimize nutrition and performance. She's written multiple nutrition guides and offers customized nutrition coaching services to athletes around the world. Do athleticism and nutrition go hand in hand? Are athletes generally healthy eaters by nature? What is …
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EXT’s New Storia and Arma V4 Shocks
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We’ve been very impressed with the EXT Storia V3 on a whole bunch of different bikes over the years, but EXT is launching a new V4 iteration soon, and they’ve found a lot to tweak. So we brought EXT founder, Franco Fratton, back to Bikes & Big Ideas to give us a rundown on the new Storia and Arma V4; talk about the potential for truly “active” susp…
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Cane Creek on their “Air-Charged Coil” Tigon Shock
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When it comes to rear shocks for mountain bikes, there are tons of options for both air- and coil-sprung versions, but the Cane Creek Tigon is both — an “air-charged coil shock,” as Cane Creek describes it. So we sat down with Cane Creek’s Will Hart to get the rundown on the Tigon, including why Cane Creek decided to make it; what its pros and cons…
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Reviewer Reports: World Cup DH Recap, Tons of Bikes, Suspension, Tires, & More
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We’ve been testing a huge variety of bikes, from the E-Gravel Scott Solace to a bunch of high-pivot Trail bikes (including the Deviate Highlander II), plus several new forks, some new tires, and a whole bunch more. So we sat down to chat about all of it; recap the World Cup DH season opener; recount being repeatedly heckled on the local trails; and…
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How NICA is Changing Mountain Bike Culture
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Amanda Carey is the President of NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, a non-profit that develops mountain biking programs for student athletes across the United States. Prior to joining NICA, Amanda served as the executive director of Mountain Bike the Tetons and as a mountain bike coach. What drew you to mountain biking initiall…
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Neuhaus Metalworks on Metal Bikes’ Resurgence, Learning to Build Frames, Size-Specific Geometry & More
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Carbon fiber bike frames have become ubiquitous in the high-end world, but metal bikes are making a comeback — and the number of steel full-suspension bikes we’ve reviewed in the last few years is a testament to that. So we sat down with Daniel Yang and Nick Neuhaus of Neuhaus Metalworks to chat about the case for metal bikes; hear the story of the…
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino (April 2024)
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Simon welcomes guest co-host Mike Ferrentino to go over a busy, weird month in the bike world. Of course, they have to talk about what happened to Kona, which leads to a discussion about the negative effect Venture capital and investment companies seem to have on the bike industry. But there’s also fun stuff going on with companies like Gates, and …
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Norco's New DH Race Bike
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The Norco Factory Team has a new DH race bike, and the story of its development is an interesting one. So we sat down with engineers Adrian Ward and Kirk McDowall to hear their take on the goals and design intent of the bike; what they learned from the development of the existing Enduro bike, the Range (and its modified DH version); the original te…
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Reviewer Reports: So Many New Bikes
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We’ve been testing a massive assortment of new bikes and other gear, and David Golay and Zack Henderson sat down to chat about a whole bunch of them, including the high-pivot Norco Optic and Sight, the new Specialized Epic Evo, the newly-mulleted Yeti SB165, and more. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials Blister Labs …
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Reviewing the News w/ Ryan Palmer (March 2024)
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March was an interesting month for bike news. There was a dispute at Crankworx Rotorua which resulted in the men not competing in the finals, Scott is having crazy management drama, there are a bunch of interesting new lightweight eMTBs, and Simon had a recent trip to ride in Tuscany. In our third installment of Reviewing The News, Ryan and Simon g…
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So, You Don't Have Time for MTB Training. Welcome to the Club
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Sara Bresnick is a former professional mountain biker, cycling coach and founder of Pedal Power Training Solutions which offers customized training plans plus advice on nutrition, race strategy, and technique. What are some fitness goals your clients have beyond racing? For example, does it make sense for a rider to work with a coach before a big w…
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Brook Macdonald on Fresh Starts, DH Race Bike Design, Moving to Forbidden, & More
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Racing World Cup DH isn’t easy under any circumstances, but doing so after a spinal cord injury — and needing to relearn how to walk, much less ride — is something else entirely. Brook Macdonald pulled it off, but he’s also struggled with bike setup, burnout, and more over the last couple of seasons. For 2024, though, he’s got a new team, a new bik…
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Velosolutions and Claudio Caluori are Making Their Mark on the MTB World
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Claudio Caluori is a seven-time Swiss National Champion and founder of Velosolutions, "a global network of professionals with profound knowledge in cycling, action sports, tourism and urban development." He's also a popular YouTube personality, delivering entertaining course previews and ride-alongs with top athletes. In addition to building pump t…
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Georgia Astle on Racing, Freeriding, & Finding Her Way to MTB
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Georgia Astle is one of the many ultra-talented riders to come out of Whistler, BC — but she actually grew up kitesurfing and doing a whole bunch of other sports, rather than mountain biking. Once she fell in love with mountain biking in high school, though, her rise through the ranks was astonishingly rapid — first as a racer and later as a freeri…
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Love It or Hate It, Mountain Bikes Aren't As Lightweight as they Used to Be
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In this episode of the Singletracks podcast, Matt and Jeff discuss the current trends around mountain bike weights. Are bikes too heavy, or are they where they should be given how durable and capable they are today? This discussion covers: Examples of specific bikes and their weights Why bike weights might be increasing The benefits to lightweight …
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Dakotah Norton on Finding Consistency, Moving to Mondraker, the State of US DH Racing, & More
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Dakotah Norton finished the 2023 DH season strong, with two podiums and a 6th place finish over the final four races, but as he put it, the season started with “near failure.” We sat down with Dakotah to talk about the struggle of finding consistency at the limit; his move to Mondraker Factory Racing and the dissolution of his former team at Intens…
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Coil Shocks Look Cool on Mountain Bikes. But is that All?
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Will Hart is Product Marketing Manager at Cane Creek, a western North Carolina based maker of suspension and bike components. Besides looking cool, what are some advantages of a coil shock? Are certain styles of riding better suited to a coil shock than others? What makes some FS mountain bikes coil compatible, and others not? How does compression …
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Sarah Sturm on Her Unconventional Path to Gravel-Racing Stardom
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Gravel racing has exploded in recent years and Sarah Sturm — who only started racing bikes in college, after burning out on competitive soccer — quickly vaulted to stardom in the sport. So we sat down with Sarah to hear the surprising and hilarious story of her path into gravel racing; chat about the struggle of not excelling at something you’ve de…
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Reviewing the News w/ Ryan Palmer (February 2024)
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On our second episode of Reviewing The News with hosts Simon Stewart and Ryan Palmer; Ryan may have uncovered what Kyle and Rachael Strait are keeping secret before their big announcement on Friday (March 8th); Simon considers adopting Ronan Dunne’s pre-race hydration program after watching his incredible Red Bull Hardline winning run; there’s a br…
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From Shuttle Vehicles to DH Bikes, Southern Gravity is USA-Made
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Sean Leader is the founder of Windrock Bike Park and Southern Gravity, a Tennessee-based company that builds ramps and shuttle vehicles for bike parks. Not only that, Southern Gravity recently released a prototype steel DH mountain bike that's being tested by top elite and junior DH riders. You've worn many hats in the mountain bike world. When was…
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Norco on their New High-Pivot Optic and Sight
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High-pivot bikes are becoming increasingly common but they’re still mostly reserved for longer-travel Enduro and DH models. Given that, Norco’s decision to move their 150mm-travel Sight and especially the 125mm-travel Optic to that layout was arguably a bit of a surprise — and it wasn’t one Norco made lightly. So we sat down with Norco engineer, Co…
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Ed Masters on Hardline, the 2024 Race Landscape, Pivot’s Prototype DH Bike, & More
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The first Tasmanian edition of Red Bull Hardline is coming up, so we sat down with Ed Masters to talk about the event, building and testing the course, and getting prepared to ride it. Along the way, we talk about Pivot’s wild prototype DH bike, the state of Enduro and DH racing in general, Ed’s outlook on the future, and a whole lot more. RELATED …
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Your Mountain Bike Wheel Questions Answered, from Inserts to Warranties
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Joel Smith is the Brand Leader for Reserve, a Santa Cruz, CA brand that designs and markets wheels for everything from downhill to road biking. Steel Wisdom-Wilhelmsson is engineering lab technician responsible for lab-conditions wheel testing. In this episode we ask: How are MTB wheels assembled? For high-end wheels, is most of it done by hand? Ho…
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Continental on Designing, Developing, & Testing Their Overhauled Tire Lineup
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Continental’s overhauled gravity tire lineup has had a lot of success, both on the World Cup Downhill circuit and with everyday riders (we’ve personally been huge fans of the Kryptotals). It’s a big departure from their prior offerings, with 5 new tread patterns to go with overhauled casings and rubber compounds, and we sat down with Alexander Hänk…
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Reviewer Reports: Nicolai Nucleon Supre Drive, Ibis HD6, & More
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Blister reviewer Zack Henderson makes his Bikes & Big Ideas debut to talk with David Golay about a bunch of the bikes they’ve been testing, including the Nicolai Nucleon 16 Supre Drive, Ibis HD6, and Chromag Lowdown (and they tease some other upcoming reviews that they can’t yet talk about in detail). RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership BLISTER+ Rea…
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Finding Flow with Flat Pedals - MTB Skills
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Carol Baldwin is the founder of Flownetic MTB Skills and is a PMBIA Level 3 certified mountain bike skills instructor. She's also a Singletracks contributor and product tester. In this podcast we ask Carol: Have you alway mountain biked with flat pedals? Was it difficult to switch from clipless to flat pedals? Why? What are the advantages of flat p…
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Reviewing the News w/ Ryan Palmer (January 2024)
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Simon Stewart is joined by bike industry veteran, Ryan Palmer, to kick off the inaugural bike-focused edition of Reviewing the News. Ryan and Simon tuck into what happened to Greg Minaar and Santa Cruz; Mondraker’s new focus on the U.S market and their stacked World Cup DH Team; the state of the industry in both manufacturing and retail going into …
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Rónán Dunne on Joining Mondraker Factory Racing
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Moving up to Elite Downhill racing from Juniors is hard, but Rónán Dunne made that leap in 2021, and promptly started getting great results — despite only racing a handful of World Cups as a Junior and never even making it out of qualifying. After three strong years racing for Nukeproof, Rónán has moved to the new Mondraker Factory Racing team for …
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On Top of the World: How Gravity Logic Builds the Best Bike Parks
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Tom Prochazka is a co-founder and director at Gravity Logic, a bike park design and development company based in Whistler, British Columbia. He served as the manager of the Whistler Bike Park from 2001 to 2007 and designed the iconic Top of the World Trail which opened in 2011. Since then he's worked on bike parks all over the world from the wester…
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Outbound Lighting on Night Riding, Light Design, & More
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There are a lot of good reasons to try mountain biking at night, from simple necessity during the colder, darker months to seeking a new challenge and experience. We sat down with Outbound Lighting’s Tom Place to make the case for (safe) night riding, talk about light design, how to think about putting together a light setup for your needs, and muc…
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RAAW Bikes Founder Ruben Torenbeek
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When Ruben Torenbeek founded RAAW back in 2016, he had a clear vision for the sort of dependable, no-nonsense bikes he wanted to build. He clearly wasn’t alone in wanting a bike in that vein, because RAAW is going strong with an expanding model lineup, a bigger team, and so on. So Ruben and David Golay sat down to chat about all of it, including wh…
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Vorsprung’s New Coil Shock & Development Process
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Vorsprung Suspension has been making a wide range of suspension upgrade products for quite some time now — and we’ve been very impressed with a number of them — but they’ve yet to offer a full standalone fork or shock. That’s about to change. So we sat down with founder and engineer Steve Mathews to hear all about the new coil shock that they’re de…
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We got the gang back together to recap a whole bunch of the bikes and other gear we tested in 2023, and Simon Stewart, Dylan Wood, and David Golay picked a bunch of our favorites, including bikes across the travel spectrum and a variety of softgoods. Along the way, we get into bike design and geometry tradeoffs, headset cable routing, and much more…
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