Skids & Giggles Mountain Bike Podcast

Former guest Jan Favre , Bryson and Pascal signed up for the hardtail category of the first round of the Swiss Enduro Series in Leukerbad and we relive the experience through a three-piece recording contained in one single episode. In the first part, we sat down to lay out our expectations and goals for the weekend and discuss our preparations and equipment for the race. The second part is a colle...

After leaving some unfinished business on the island last year, Pascal returned to finish Trans Madeira in 2023 and of course we sat down to debrief after the race, to find out how it went and what it really was like to do it on the hardtail ! More importantly, we lay out the general principles of racing multi-day adventures, what to expect in terms of riding, preparation and planning as well as s...

We sat down with Nic Walser to talk about his journey to become a coach to some of the world's fastest mountain bike racers . After working towards a professional downhill racing career himself, Nic started coaching friends during his sport science studies as a hobby that allowed him to combine his own passion for bikes and racing with the insights from the text books and the lab. It was really in...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are so hot right now, so we sat down to find out what the big fuss is all about and what it really means for our little world of mountain biking. Consider this a piece of performance art , as we use OpenAI 's ChatGPT not only to generate a short intro for our podcast, but also to answer and discuss some of the more relevant questions we...

We sat down with Ysaline Van Kampen to talk about getting into Enduro , bike racing and her own path into the sport. Having grown up as a ski racer in a ski town , Ysaline found the love for the mountain bike on her home trails in the Chablais region and, over the last few years, has competed at almost every level in Enduro. She has a great perspective on the different development paths , skills a...

We sat down with Adrian Greiner , founder and "chief idea haver" of Bikeplan , one of the very few dedicated consultancies that help destinations develop and implement successful mountain biking projects in their regions. With a team of specialists from environmental engineering, spatial planning and scenography, to tourism, business, community engagement and trail building, the company can cover...

We sat down with Vitor Büchli to talk about his recent fiesta of Freeride events, the Home- Land edit that just launched and his path to becoming a full-time rider. After having completed his vocational training in the summer of '22, Vitor embarked on a wild series of events that quite literally took him around the world: from Flat Out Days in Slovenia to Huckfest in Norway and from Crankworx in W...

Pascal sat down with Andri Hafen to talk about Bikehub , bike shops and the future of helping people getting the most out of their bikes. As one of the core mountain bike shops in Zurich, Bikehub has been serving the local community for more than a decade and it was great to hear Andri's perspective on the shop and the sport over the years. From bikes, equipment and riders, to the challenges of a...

We sat back down with James Drew to take the pulse of the bike industry and answer some of the key questions as we enter 2023. The boom time hangover has left many players on the ropes and it was interesting to hear James ' perspective on some of the challenges facing businesses today: from relatively basic cash flow problems to the more complex backdrop of geopolitics interfering with the pandemi...

As requested by many of our listeners, we sat down to talk about the making of Bryson's custom hardtail frame under the supervision of legendary frame builder Paul Brodie . Yes, the Paul Brodie of Brodie Bicycles fame. We go through the process step by step, from the first meeting with Paul, to the course format and what to expect from a guided experience, to design principles and geometry decisio...

Pascal sat down with Stefan Lorenz to talk about Scar Cycles , some recent projects and how he came to make his own bikes in his garage. With the HFS high-pivot gearbox prototype bike on show at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days (incl. the very pretty 612 Parts Die Bremse ) and a TEBP feature on Pinkbike of Brotlos Design’s mpEV01 that he helped bring to life, Stefan’s work was front and center...

We sat down with Felix Lüttin to talk about curiosity, solving bike puzzles and the journey with his brand 612 Parts so far. Having been featured by the European Bike Project on Pinkbike , Felix's Die Bremse (the brake in German) has certainly made waves online and it was also on display at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days . Of course we had to go behind the scenes of their development and hear...

We sat down with Reto Aebischer to talk about home-made carbon bikes , learning by doing it wrong and his many workshop projects . Starting out with making kiteboards and skis , he quickly progressed to his first carbon road bike and is currently working on the second iteration of his high-pivot enduro bike . And no, unfortunately, you can't pre-order one at this point. Naturally, Reto and his fri...

We sat down with Jan Favre to talk some more about hardtails , industry fads and his single-speed adventures. Jan felt triggered by the Hardtails episode we recorded with Luise Rohland over the summer and sent in a thoughtful riposte to our conversation. Naturally, rather than letting the DM rot in our inbox, we invited Jan for a recording to elaborate on his message, some of the thinking and rati...

We sat down with Abby Hogie and Anna Newkirk to catch up after the 2022 season, their first racing together as the Beyond Racing team, and there was a lot of ground to cover: from the ups and downs of running your own team , season highlights and fun travel stories, to pit setup, lit custom kits and sponsor projects , to the upcoming changes to the World Cup , injuries and the key lessons for next...

Pascal sat down with Sandro Schmid to talk about his journey with bikes, making a living in the bike industry and creating content in, and for, Switzerland. Through his social media channels on Youtube and Instagram , his presence at events , coaching , pump track shows and media projects , Sandro is one of the more recognisable mountain bikers in the country and it was interesting to retrace the...

We sat down with Ramona Kupferschmied to talk about mindset, her racing career and big sends . After recently stepping away from cross country racing during the pandemic to focus on downhill and freeride events, she has a great perspective on the different disciplines, progression, the value of having the right people around you and of enjoying your time on the bike. It was interesting to hear the...

Pascal sat down with Velolas Babs , Laura , Seraina and Gina to talk about bringing more women into the sport, building a community and sharing their passion for riding. Through women-only bike courses, group rides and events, the Velolas provide a platform and environment for female riders, to support their progress from the basics all the way to becoming seasoned riders. It was interesting to he...

Wet sat down with Jarno Hoogland to talk about the Trail Taxi , his work for the IMB , and, of course, his life in Swissneyland . Jarno recently launched the Trail Taxi as a non-guided uplift service for the lower Valais , a region that offers some of the best mountain bike riding in the country. It was great to also hear his thoughts on the sustainability of the company and on how he is giving ba...

We sat down with Luise Rohland to talk about hardtails, her experience racing one at SES Laax and, naturally, why you would want to do without rear suspension in the first place. Of course, there are many different shades of hardtails, from the fully rigid, single speed version that Bryson built himself, to Luise 's more modern do-it all trail bike, all the way to Pascal 's silly long and slack Mo...

After a little break since recording back to back episodes with Jo Dovat and Dave Spielmann , we reconnect to talk about Pascal's current fundraiser, A Bike for Ukraine , the idea behind the raffle , a few more details about the bike and, of course, how you can get involved (raffle closes 23 June 22). We close out the show with a recap of the main reason for the break, Trans Madeira . We touch on...

We sat down with Dave Spielmann to talk #allaboutmtb . By all accounts, Dave was living the dream of a professional fun haver. Working as a mountain bike guide for over a decade, he spent his time touring some of the best riding spots with guests , media projects and press camps . If he wasn't riding, he was running a bike school and IMBA Switzerland , or providing expertise for industry bodies ....

We sat down with Jo Dovat to talk about all things BMX , bringing more kids into the sport and, all things going well, all the way to the Olympics . Jo is the current Swiss national BMX coach looking after the youth categories, managing around 40 riders between the age of 10 all the way up to the junior ranks. Naturally, he has a great perspective on talent development , progression and how to kee...

We sat down with Domi Widmer to talk about his love for bikes and his riding career, pandas and, of course, his new business, Bam Bike . After coming up on the traditional path of cross country racing, Domi was an early member of the Biroma Team , one of the very few slopestyle teams with the specific goal of providing young talents a platform to develop. Domi maintains a diverse bike habit in com...

Pascal sat down with Baba and Rolli Anderegg to talk about fun mountain biking experiences that are not only about bigger, better, faster and further, but also about the community, inclusivity and the love for the sport. With the Grischa Trail Ride as well as the Kleinstes Bikefestival in Parpan amongst their events, Baba and Rolli have a great perspective and it was interesting to hear their side...