Bikes & Big Ideas

We talk to Blister bike editor, David Golay, about 4 longer-travel enduro bikes from Privateer, Santa Cruz, Rocky Mountain, & Marin that he’s been spending time on in the PNW. TOPICS & TIMES Privateer 161 Update (1:10) Rocky Mountain Altitude (3:25) Marin Alpine Trail (8:01) Santa Cruz Nomad (13:53) Bikes & Ice Cream (19:01) RELATED LINKS Ep. 51: Privateer: Origins, Philosophy, & T...

We talk to Kera Linn about her rather meteoric rise in the mountain biking world — from her first time on a mountain bike, to her recent signing with Cannondale. We also talk about her equally interesting backstory (which includes playing all of the sports and going to all of the colleges), so we cover all of that and more in this really fun conversation. TOPICS & TIMES: PSA: Mango Mouth (1:44...

Cassie Abel is the co-founder and CEO of Wild Rye , which is a company that creates apparel for women-identifying outdoor-lovers, regardless of age, background, size, or skill level. But Cassie is not only running a women's apparel company, she is working to change the entire business landscape for women. TOPICS & TIMES: What is Wild Rye & why the name? (2:11) Cassie’s background (3:49) Op...

Rémy Métailler has described himself as someone who is “just trying to be as responsible as he can while doing stupid stuff.” So we wanted to talk to him about his approach to riding super steep, gnarly lines , and what allows him to get comfortable on these “stupid” lines. We also talk about his background, filming, Rampage, mullet bikes, and a whole lot more. TOPICS & TIMES: Growing up in Fr...

There’s a whole lot of talk these days about becoming more “sustainable,” but there’s a big difference between talking and actually taking action. And Endura is a bike brand that is taking concrete steps to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. We’re talking with Pam Barclay about Endura’s pledge to plant one million trees every year for the next 10 years to cancel out all of the emissions p...

Blister editors Noah Bodman and David Golay join Jonathan Ellsworth to talk about the major rider and team moves in the world of men’s DH and women’s DH; we place our $1000 bets on the upcoming season; and we discuss some of the news and moves in the freeride and enduro scene, too. TOPICS & TIMES: Big changes in the DH world (1:38) Our $1,000 bets for men’s DH (16:29) More news in women’s DH (...

We discuss the Privateer 161; offer more fork and shock comparisons; wrap our heads around Marin’s ‘aggressive hardtail’ called the El Roy; and our bike editor makes the case for why you might want to reconsider swearing allegiance to one particular wheel size. TOPICS & TIMES Privateer 161 (1:11) Suspension Roundup (14:06) Ohlins RXF36 m.2 Air (14:31) Ohlin TTX22 (19:34) Marin El Roy (23:01) D...

Our guest today is Brooklyn Bell , who is a mountain biker and a skier and an artist and a former figure skater and a future frog scientist (maybe). So we talk about all of that and a whole lot more, including Brooklyn’s current big idea. TOPICS & TIMES Preacher, teacher, or frog scientist? (2:20) Brooklyn’s hobbies as a kid (5:06) Art & “Mountain Art” (10:25) Getting into biking in Bellin...

Today our guest is Sam Meegan of Privateer Bikes , which is a company that has been pushing forward certain aspects of bike design that have been gaining broader acceptance in the bike industry and growing in popularity among riders. So come to learn more about the origins, philosophy, and trajectory of Privateer, but stick around to hear Sam’s big idea about how to revolutionize a whole other pro...

PeopleForBikes is one of the most important organizations in the bike world that you might not be too familiar with. So we caught up with Jenn Dice to talk about what the organization is up to; working with a new administration; and what each of us can do to get involved. TOPICS & TIMES What is PeopleForBikes (2:50) Lobbying for bike legislature (6:16) Obstacles & challenges (14:14) Curren...

Yoann Barelli just signed on with Guerrilla Gravity , so we thought this would be a good time to catch up with him and talk about why he thinks GG is a great fit. (And for some important context here, we highly recommend checking out the conversation I had with the founders of GG and their composites engineer .) Yoann and Jonathan Ellsworth also discuss the coaching he’s been doing (see barellicon...

We talk with Blister’s bike editor, David Golay, about some of the gear he’s recently been testing; some of the most surprising products of the past year; some of the standout products of 2020; and a few predictions for 2021. TOPICS & TIMES: Canyon Stoic (2:36) Ohlins suspension (8:13) Most Surprising Products of 2020 (9:36) Standout products of 2020 (11:56) Predictions for 2021 (17:15) Hosted...

Sage Cattabriga-Alosa is one of the best big line skiers of all time, and he’s an extremely good — and extremely passionate — mountain biker, too. So we talked with Sage about how he thinks about the similarities of skiing & mountain biking; riding lines in Virgin, Utah back in 2004; riding with Cam McCaul; what aspect of mountain biking he is most focused on improving; and his film, Balance ....

Noah Bodman is back to offer his review of parenthood (he’s a new dad); discuss carbon wheels; Sweet Protection’s convertible full-face helmet; and a number of forks that Noah has been spending time on. TOPICS & TIMES: Parenthood (3:06) Hunt Impact Carbon Wheelset (7:39) Sweet Protection Arbitrator MIPS (18:56) Forks (20:25) RELATED LINKS Survivor Endurance phone case  Our experience with...

We talk to Lance Canfield about their new Tilt and Lithium bikes and the rest of the Canfield Bikes 20/21 lineup; the origins story of Canfield; the evolution of Rampage and competing in the first Rampage comps; the mountain bike industry today; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Origins of Canfield Bikes (3:35) Getting into bikes, jumping off roofs (8:49) Competing at Rampage in its first years (16:49...

Anneke Beerten was on episode #34 of Bikes & Big Ideas , and we did not expect to have the 2 x world champion BMX rider, 3-time Four Cross world champion, and Queen of Crankworx (who hails from the Netherlands) back on the show under these circumstances. Anneke was in an accident and suffered a serious concussion, so we wanted to check in with about what happened; get a firsthand report of her...

For many of us, it’s shoulder season, where the riding conditions are either wet, muddy, cold — or all of the above. And some of us live in places where we just regularly encounter wet, muddy, or cold conditions. So today we’re talking about why some of the gear that’s intended for wet/muddy riding sucks; which products have worked the best for us; and we then turn to a conversation about forks fr...

Trainers? Trainers?? Roadies have been using them forever, but many mountain bikers dismiss them (like we did). But Simon Stewart (aka, Mr. Tank Driver / co-owner of BV Bike Company ) lays out a compelling case for why all cyclists — including mountain bikers — should reconsider their stance on the modern, indoor trainer. TOPICS & TIMES : Why Simon got a trainer (2:53) What do you like about i...

A bike without pedals? Dog mushing? Surfing mountains? Today’s episode is a mindbender, and the backstory here all starts with episode #22 of Bikes & Big Ideas , so you should listen to it if you haven’t already. We’re talking today with Jordi Ponti from Barcelona-based Gravity Scooters , and we discuss how the idea of a gravity scooter came to be; the advantages of ditching your pedals — and...

We check in with reviewers Dylan Wood (who gets to keep his seat at the bar), David Golay (who is now reconsidering what makes brakes good or bad), and Eric Freson (who still enjoys a sick jazz soundtrack) to get their updates on the Trek Slash , EXT Storia shock , Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, and the Banshee Phantom V3. TOPICS & TIMES: DYLAN WOOD Trek Slash: General ride impressions (2:32) RockS...

What if you could buy a bike without immediately looking to swap out a bunch of the stock parts? And what if this dream build of yours was competitively priced? Sherpa Custom Mountain Bikes is a brand-new company that allows you to customize every part and color of your new bike, with over 1,000,000 combinations to choose from; their “photorealistic 3D dream builder” provides life-like graphics th...

Structure Cycleworks arguably makes the coolest bikes out there — or the ugliest bikes out there. So we talked to Structure Cycleworks founder, Loni Hull, about why he introduced a front-linkage suspension design; why rear-linkage designs are everywhere, while front-linkage designs are utterly uncommon; and the pros and cons of bringing such an unorthodox bike to market. So whether you are a true...

Today, Trek officially released an update of their enduro-focused Slash , so we offer our initial impressions of the new bike and ask what this big new release might be able to tell us about where we are in terms of the evolution of bike geometry. To this end, we also talk about a couple other examples, including the Pivot Switchblade and the Rocky Mountain Instinct BC. TOPICS & TIMES: The new...

Mountain bikers Eliot Jackson and Katie Holden just launched the Grow Cycling Foundation , so we caught up with Eliot to talk about Grow Cycling; their plan to get a Velosolutions Pumptrack built in downtown Los Angeles; how to create a more welcoming bike culture; his terrific podcast, Reggy Radio ; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Night Owls vs. Early Birds (2:23) What is the Grow Cycling Foundatio...

Any One of Us, the film about Paul Basagoitia and spinal cord injuries, just won an Emmy! So we are reposting the conversation we had with Paul, who was the first back-to-back winner of Crankworx Slopestyle; participated in Red Bull Rampage numerous times; and was one of the top riders in the game. But one tiny mishap led to a crash that left him paralyzed, and Paul’s life was changed in an instan...