Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Last year Christopher Blevins became the first American man to win a World Cup race since 1994, taking first in the final XCO race of the season at Snowshoe, West Virginia. He’s also the 2021 short track world champion, and has notched numerous podium finishes at national and internat...

In this episode Chris, Jeff, and Matt talk about the 12 best mountain bike destinations in the United States that was recently shared on Singletracks. We'll go over the criteria we consider when choosing our favorite mountain bike destinations and go through the list and share more about the best spots to visit. Moab, Utah Sedona, Arizona Bentonville, Arkansas Grand Valley, Colorado (Fruita / Gran...

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Pat White is a longtime product manager for Kona Bicycles and Doug Lafavor aka Dr. Dew has been designing bikes at Kona for decades. In this episode we ask: Which factors make a hardtail ‘hardcore’ or more aggressive compared to say an XC or entry-level hardtail? What are aggressive h...

Mike Giese is an industrial designer based in Salt Lake City who has designed products for bike brands like Revel, Trust, and most recently, Evil Bikes. Evil just announced their first electric mountain bike, and we’re curious to learn about some of the design challenges that were involved. In this episode we ask: How do industrial designers and engineers work together? Does one usually take the l...

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Dee Tidwell is a professional coach and the founder of Train to Ride which provides cycling-specific training programs and plans for mountain biking, road, gravel, and moto riding. He’s also a two time Big Mountain Enduro Master’s Champ and has worked with countless professional athle...

Gary Moore is the executive director of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association, COMBA. The group is dedicated to the interests of the Front Range mountain biking community in and around Denver. In this episode we ask: What is the Colorado Mountain Bike Association's mission and how large is your membership? How many miles of singletrack does COMBA help support? When and why did COMBA get its start...

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Dr. Adam Phaneuf is a Doctor of Chiropractic with a degree in Exercise Science based in Bellingham, WA. He’s also a bike fitter and has studied bicycle biomechanics. In this interview we ask Adam: Is it true that cycling is lower impact than other activities like jogging? Do you think...

Craig Durkin is the founder of Wandrer.earth, an exploration game that encourages people to explore new places by bike and by foot. He and his wife Pearl are also good friends, and we’ve been riding together regularly for a few years now. In this episode we ask Craig: Are you still biking abandoned railroad tracks with this contraption ? Why did you first get into mountain biking? What is Wandrer...

Aaron and Emily Kerson founded PNW Components in 2015. The customer-focused brand is known for offering quality components like dropper posts, handlebars, and now clothing at affordable prices. In this interview we ask: What kind of bike industry experience did you have before starting PNW? Did you observe any problems you wanted to solve, or were there efficiencies that were being overlooked? Wha...

Otis Guy started racing mountain bikes at Repack in the late 1970s and competed at the first mountain bike World Championships in 1990. He’s also been a frame builder since the 1980s and currently works as a youth cycling coach in Northern California. In this interview we ask Otis: How did you get introduced to mountain bikes and mountain biking? What appealed to you about riding off road? How do...

Aaron Abrams is Director of Product for Marin Bicycles and is currently based in Taiwan. The Marin bike brand has been around since 1986 and the company’s slogan says their bikes are “Made For Fun.” In this episode we talk about how mountain bikes are specced, and how product managers make decisions about which parts to include. When planning out the builds for a bike like the Marin Rift Zone 29 (...

Matt De Young is the executive director of the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship, a non-profit that “builds and maintains great trails for everyone, and connects communities to nature through responsible outdoor recreation.” In this episode we ask: How is the SCMTS organized? How many miles of bike trails does SCMTS support? When and why did the SCMTS get its start? Why the name change from M...

Dale Boyd and Drew Hall are mountain bikers and trail builders living in Mobile, Alabama. They’re part of a group called Ride the Rebellion that posts videos and podcasts about their efforts to build and ride trails in a part of the US that isn’t traditionally known for mountain biking. In this episode we ask: What was the local mountain bike scene like when you first got into the sport? How did y...

Ben Turits runs a coaching business and sports therapy practice called The Endurance Collective. He’s a former professional mountain bike racer and current USA Cycling coach working with both pro and amateur athletes alike. In this episode we ask: How did your first enduro race go? What type of training did you do to prepare? What does VO2 max measure? How is it measured? Is using heart rate data...

Anthony Duncan is the Director of Local Programs at IMBA and is based out of Johnson City, Tennessee. The IMBA Local program is designed to support grassroots mountain bike organizations through services, education and mentorship programs. In this episode we ask Anthony: How long have you been at IMBA? What were you doing before joining? The IMBA local program was launched at the end of 2017 which...

Terry Palmeri is the Executive Director of the Southern Off Road Bicycle Association (SORBA). The organization has been around since 1989 and today SORBA is made up of 48 chapters spread across seven states. In this conversation we ask: Why and how did SORBA get its start? What sorts of issues were southern mountain bikers struggling with in the late 1980s? How is SORBA organized? How many miles o...

Pat White is a longtime product manager for Kona Bicycles and Doug Lafavor aka Dr. Dew has been designing bikes at Kona for decades. In this episode we ask: Which factors make a hardtail 'hardcore' or more aggressive compared to say an XC or entry-level hardtail?  What are aggressive hardtails good for in terms of riding style or trails? What are the limits? How important is frame material wh...

Susie Murphy is the executive director of the San Diego Mountain Bike Association and is also a board member with the California Mountain Biking Coalition. What is the San Diego Mountain Bike Association's mission, and how are you organized? When and why did the SDMBA get its start? How long have you been with the SDMBA, and how did you get involved? Did the recent boom in mountain bike participat...

Manon Carpenter is a downhill mountain bike world champion and advocate for the environment living in Caerphilly, Wales . She recently premiered a documentary film titled Trails on Trial that explores how trails connect the land with communities and various stakeholders. In this interview we ask: When did you first get interested in the idea of environmental protection? Was the connection between...

Travis Counsell is the executive director of the new England Mountain Bike Association, also known as NEMBA. He’s currently based out of Vermont. Tell us a bit about NEMBA. What’s the organization’s mission and how large is your membership? How is NEMBA organized? How many miles of singletrack do NEMBA clubs support? When and why did NEMBA get its start? What were you doing before joining NEMBA? N...

In this episode of the Singletracks podcast, Matt interviews Jeff about bikepacking the Huracan 300 in Central Florida. This was Jeff's first big bikepacking trip and there was much to be learned over three days of seemingly non-stop riding. Matt asks: Why did you decide to ride the Huracan? How did the trip unfold? What were the biggest surprises? What did you learn that will be helpful for next...

Matt Lyon is the President and CEO of Hydrapak. He’s worked in the outdoor industry for decades and serves as the Board Chair of the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership. In this episode we ask Matt: How did Hydrapak get started? How many leaky reservoir prototypes did you go through? What’s the hardest part of the pack to reliably seal? Do you have any tips for cleaning and caring for hydrat...

Rachel Fussell is the electric mountain bike Policy and Program Manager at People for Bikes. The group’s stated mission is to change the world through bikes by focusing on empowering cities, creating connections, and supporting the bike industry. In this episode we ask: What are the current regulations at the federal, state, and local level regarding eMTB trail access? What types of conflicts exis...

In this episode of the Singletracks podcast Gerow, Jeff, and Matt discuss current and future mountain bike trends, starting with a recap of what's been trending over the past couple of seasons. Mixed wheel mountain bikes More great trails in more places High pivot mountain bikes Electronic bits and baubles, from drivetrains to droppers Next, we move on to the trends we see shaping up for 2022. Lon...

Singletracks editors Gerow, Jeff, and Matt look forward to more mountain biking adventures in 2022!  In this episode we talk about the MTB stories that are on our 2022 editorial calendar in the areas of trails, gear, progression, and community. We also share our personal goals for skills, fitness, racing, travel, event coverage, repair skills, and trail building. This episode of the Singletra...