Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

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 episode we ask Adam: Is it true that cycling is lower impact than other activities like jogging? Do you think mountain biking is higher impact than road cycling?  What are some of the most common ride-related issues folks...

Singletracks tested dozens of mountain bikes in 2021 and three of our editors share their favorites in this special episode. From kids mountain bikes to enduro, and from electric to hardtail, we share the ones we liked best. In addition to sharing our favorites, we'll also talk about our runners up and some of the more unique and unusual bikes we reviewed in 2021. --Keep up with the latest in moun...

This 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 reigning short track world champion, and has notched numerous podium finishes at national and international mountain, cyclocross, and road races. This month he’s got a short documentary film titled “The Long Trave...

Todd Branham had lived, worked, and played in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina for 22 years. He’s a professional trail builder and also directs the Pisgah Stage race, a 5-day, fully-supported mountain bike race that showcases 140 miles of the best singletrack in the forest. How did you end up in western North Carolina? What makes Pisgah National Forest and the surrounding area stand out...

Tyson Swasey is a mountain biker and trail builder who has lived in Moab, Utah for his whole life. He’s currently the Operations Coordinator for Grand County, Utah Active Transportation and Trails. In this episode we ask Tyson: Has Moab always been a tourist destination? Why was the town founded?  It seems like Moab was a mountain bike destination before there were mountain bike destinations....

Ryan Standish is a professional mountain bike racer from Australia who is currently living in the US. In addition to competing in top level mountain bike and gravel races, he’s also working to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. In this episode, we ask: How long have you been riding mountain bikes? How old were you when you realized you were fast? How did you end up in the US after growing up...

Casey Coughlin teaches bicycle repair at Minneapolis College in Minnesota, one of only two colleges to offer a certificate program in the subject. While applying to graduate school she worked as a bike repair tech and later as a manager at Erik's Bikes in Rochester. We ask Casey: What are some of the ways professional bike mechanics learn the trade?  What’s the most common path to getting a j...

Neko Mulally is a professional downhill mountain bike racer and three time US National Champion.  He’s also the co-founder of Windrock Bike Park in Tennessee and is currently part of the Intense DH Factory Racing team. In this conversation, we ask Neko: How did you find your passion for mountain biking at such an early age? What’s it like racing the World Cup on familiar trails at Snowshoe, W...

Fabio Wibmer is an Austrian trials rider and mountain biker with almost 7 million YouTube subscribers and his videos have been viewed more than 1.2 billion times. He’s known for starring in videos like Wibmer’s Law, Fabiolous Escape 1 and 2, and most recently, Home Office. In addition to trials riding, Fabio is also a winning downhill and freeride mountain biker. How are you feeling following your...

Today we’re wrapping up our mid-travel, trail bike mashup with our bike testers, Chris, Gerow, and Matt. We’ll meet the testers, discuss how the bikes were selected, and find out how the test rides were conducted. Then the team will share which bikes were their favorites, and talk about some of the surprises along the way. As a part of this roundtable discussion, Chris, Gerow, and Matt also talk a...

Arrie Rossouw is the co-founder and CEO of LuvTRAILS, an online and mobile platform helping groups raise funds for trail building and maintenance.  Jeremiah Bishop is a professional cyclist with countless major wins in short track, marathon, and ultra endurance racing. He’s also a leading advocate for cycling.  We ask Arrie and Jeremiah: How did Luv Trails come about? How is it connected...

Chip Hawkins is the founder and chairman of the board at Wahoo Fitness (wahoofitness.com). The company’s stated mission is to “create innovative solutions to make hard fought goals attainable and lives better,” through products like smart trainers, bike computers, watches, and heart rate monitors. We ask Chip: Why did you start Wahoo Fitness? What were the limitations of existing fitness sensors a...

Jeremiah Stone is a mountain bike skill instructor who has taught hundreds of riders across the western USA with Ninja Mountain Bike Performance and the Sedona Mountain Bike Academy. He’s also a freelance trail builder and machine operator in addition to being a skilled rider. In this interview, we ask: How did you develop your own mountain bike skills? Did you have a coach? Do you think today’s m...

Joe McEwan is a career aerospace engineer and carbon composites expert who founded Starling Cycles in 2014. The brand’s bikes are developed, engineered and handmade for the demands of UK trails, and the bikes have been well received among both the media and athletes. Find out why Joe thinks carbon fiber is almost the McDonalds of bikes, and also: What first piqued your interest in building steel b...

Gene Hamilton is a mountain bike skills coach and the founder of Better Ride.  He's taught clinics around the world to thousands of riders looking to ride faster and more confidently. In this episode, we ask Gene: How did you get into mountain biking racing? Once you realized that you had hit a wall in terms of your own skills development, how did you go about researching proper mountain bike...

Sean Madsen is WTB’s Saddle Category Manager and is an expert in cycling biomechanics with more than 24 years of experience. Over his career he's studied and taught bike fitting to thousands worldwide, and he's helped create many innovative saddle concepts while working with top athletes. In this episode, we ask Sean common questions about bike saddles including: How are bike saddles constructed?...

Rocky Mountain Bicycles officially got its start in 1981, and this year the innovative brand is celebrating its 40th anniversary. In that time Rocky Mountain has produced countless innovations and firsts, and their sponsored athletes have won races on all of the world’s biggest stages. Today Dre Hestler and Stephen Matthews are joining me to talk about the brand’s history, and to look to the futur...

Chris Smith is the USA Marketing Manager for Lazer Sport (lazersport.com) where he’s worked for more than 7 years. In this episode, we ask: What’s the purpose of the helmet shell? What is it typically made of? What is EPS? What makes it such a good material for helmet construction? Where are most helmets produced? How do retention systems work? What is the purpose of a chin strap? Do you have any...

Jon Yazzie and Nadine Johnson own Dzil Ta’ah Adventures, an adventure travel company based in Arizona. A full-blooded Diné, Jon and his team run bike trips on Navajo land, and use the proceeds to help fund a local youth cycling program. What makes land in the Navajo Nation so special and unique? What is the riding like there? Why did it take so long to receive permits for conducting bike tours on...

Penny Deck is the Operations Manager for the Fraser Valley Mountain Bikers Association in British Columbia. She’s worked as a volunteer trail builder with the North Shore Mountain Bike Association for over 8 years and led the NSMBA Trail Academy. In this episode, we ask Penny: Most mountain bikers have probably heard of the North Shore but may not be familiar with the area. Where is the North Shor...

Tinker Juarez has been a professional mountain biker for more than 30 years. In that time he's competed in the Olympics twice, was crowned the 24-Hour Solo world champ four times, and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. This year Tinker turns 60 years old, and he's still racing strong. In this episode we ask: What was the local biking scene like in California in the 1960s and 70s whe...

Julian Tyo has lived in the Wood River valley for over a decade where he started the Ketchum bike park and managed the development of gravity trails on Bald Mountain and at Sun Valley Resort. Today he’s on the board of the Wood River Trails Coalition and also serves as the Community Recreation Supervisor & Events Manager for the city of Ketchum. In this episode, we ask Julian: How did you end...

Dr. Kate Leeming is an explorer and adventurer who has biked tens of thousands of miles around the world, including 15,000 miles around the Australian continent in 2004 and 2005 and 22,000km across Africa from Senegal to Somalia. In 2019 she became the first person to cycle 1600km through the sands of the Namibian coast and is working toward the first-ever Antarctic bicycle crossing via the South...

Anya Bruhin is a Northwest Arkansas local who has lived and worked in Fayetteville and Bentonville for 25 years. She’s also the education program manager for Bike NWA. In this episode we ask Anya: What makes Northwest Arkansas stand out among mountain bike destinations? For someone visiting for the first time, what are 2 or 3 must ride trails or trail systems? What are some family-friendly rides?...

Cimarron Chacon is the president and race director at GRO Promotions, which offers mountain bike event and trail development services in and around St. George, Utah. She also founded the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association which is now known as the Trail Alliance of Southern Utah. We ask Cimarron: What makes St. George stand out among mountain bike destinations? For someone visiting for the fir...