Skids & Giggles Mountain Bike Podcast

We sat down with Nikolai Räber to talk about his work for Velafrica , micromobility and social entrepreneurship in Africa. As some of our regular listeners will know, we donated the 2021 proceeds of our Stutz & Giggles campaign to Velafrica and that's why we are also grateful to have had the opportunity to get Nikolai's perspective on the real difference the bicycle - and our contribution - ca...

We sat down with Abby Hogie to talk about her journey with bikes and the ups and downs of racing downhill world cups so far, about inspiration and women in the sport and about her pre-race play list and her stance on the controversial cats vs dogs issue. Together with Anna Newkirk , Abby forms the recently launched Beyond Racing team and we got to hear all about their plans on and off the track, t...

We sat down with Darren Mace , host of the Trail Tracker mountain bike channel on Youtube. In his videos, Darren is exploring his favourite trails in Switzerland and elsewhere, but also reviews bikes and documents some of his pseudo-scientific experiments , much like a traditional mountain bike magazine. It was very interesting to hear Darren's take on his top destinations, both the ones closer to...

We sat back down with James Drew to talk about the state of the bike industry as we enter 2022 and to catch-up on some of the themes and trends we discussed when we first sat down for Episode 1 almost exactly a year ago. Some of the challenges from last year, like delivery times or parts availability, have unfortunately not subsided and will most likely stay with us for another year. However, 2021...

We put together a bonus episode of all the 2021 answers to one of our signature closeout questions, asking our guests to describe what makes a great skid! We cover it all, from feelings, visuals, technical details to sounds and a lot of "milk"! Enjoy! We also put together a bonus episode about our bike magicians extraordinaire, Harry & Harriette Skidini !

We put together a bonus episode of all the 2021 answers to one of our signature closeout questions, asking our guests to imagine themselves as an imaginary bike magician extraordinaire, Harry or Harriette Skidini. By the stroke of their magic dropper post, they can make riding a bike more awesome for anyone and we ask our guest what they would do in that position. Enjoy! We also put together a bon...

We sat down to wrap up the first year of the Skids & Giggles Podcast and to talk through some of our favourite conversations and storylines of 2021. After 30 episodes , there is a lot to reflect on, from behind the scenes insights, chance encounters to personal impressions and key takeaways. We also take the time to go through some open listener questions on winter riding, e-bikes and touch on...

We sat down with Anna Newkirk to catch-up at the end of an eventful 2021. After finishing school late in the spring, Anna completed a busy racing calendar and we cover some of the highs , lows and key takeaways of her first season as an almost full-time athlete. It was also interesting to hear her perspective on some of the peculiarities of the '21 season, such as the double header format in World...

We sat down with a Secret Trail Fairy to talk about her love for the sport, her passion and inspiration for building trails as well as the challenges and thoughts that go into her work that's hidden away in the forest. Of course, in contrast to former guests Greg Jolliffe or Dominik Bosshard , the Secret Trail Fairy operates in a grey area of the rules and that's why she chose to remain anonymous....

We sat down with Lucas Huppert to catch up ahead of Crankworx Rotorua , the final event of a busy season. We talk through highlights such as Flat Out Days , Night of the Jumps , Audi Nines , sponsor projects and, of course, the other Crankworx stops in Innsbruck and British Columbia . Naturally, not everything was great in 2021, so it was interesting to hear Lucas' perspective on mindset, risk and...

We sat down with Robert Janssen to talk about the technology , design and ideas behind Vain Bicycles . By bonding 3D printed aluminium lugs with traditional steel tubes, Robert has created a sleek, modern-looking frame and we dive deep into the manufacturing process, how he is working with suppliers and how sustainability and transparency fit into all of it. However, what truly stood out to us is...

We sat down with Chris "Flying Grizzly" Visscher to talk about the GrizzlyLine in Lenzerheide , the secret to his whip and how he got to be the only bike-riding grizzly bear we know. Big events like Huckfest or Crankworx Whip-Offs have allowed him to showcase his unique style to a wider audience, but it's his passion for bikes, the community and going big that are driving his video projects, socia...

We sat down with Dominik Bosshard to talk about how not being very good at dirt jumping got him to Red Bull Rampage , Züri Trails and his work with bikes today. Of course, photography and his work for Trail Devils is what put Dominik on the map, but it's his involvement with the Jump Park and his goal to provide the infrastructure, development paths and opportunities to the Swiss dirt jump scene t...

We sat down with Remy Allemann and Gian-Luca Hurni after the first round of the Swiss Enduro Series to talk about the maiden race in Lenzerheide , launching a new race series in Switzerland and their plans for the future of Swiss Enduro racing. We talk through some of the highlights and mishaps of the first race as well as the main takeaways for the next rounds of the series. Together with our for...

Friend of the podcast and good riding buddy Luise Rohland chipped in with a great listener question the other day. Inspired by on the bike chats on our recent trips and a new Youtube series, she was wondering if we could discuss our own take on "how do you learn how to mountain bike?" Naturally, we had to sit down with her and talk about her views and techniques to do just that. Of course, Luise i...

We sat down with Terrance Malone to talk about vintage mountain bikes, Terra One and how he came to design a new tire for your old ride. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Terrance knows a thing or two about the business of bikes, product design and developing custom tires. In his free time, he is also actively involved in the vintage mountain bike community here in Switzerland, not...

Pascal recently got to join a heli biking trip to celebrate the birthday of friend of the podcast and Bicycle Repairman at Biroma Bikes , Beat . Of course, we had to sit down and talk through the experience. How does it work, where did we go and what kind of riding do you have to expect when you are using a helicopter to get up the mountains? We talk about jank and flow and how that fits into heli...

We sat down with Karin Christen to talk about her journey with mountain bikes – and we mean that quite literally! Not only has she discovered her love for riding while chasing the surf around the world, but combining mountain biking, travelling and her work remain a fixture to this day. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from Karin's riding over the years, her favourite destinations, ho...

Summer has truly arrived here in Switzerland, the snow has been melting away for real this time around, gondolas have opened up for the season in the alpine and there are new destinations to explore! We recently got a crew back together for a riding weekend in Scuol in the Lower Engadine region and, as it was the first trip to this area for us, we sat down to recap our impressions. The trails , th...

We sat down with Phil Law of Pembree to pick up on the theme of sustainability, in-house design and local production that we have already discussed on previous episodes . We also invited the three-time Skids & Giggles Podcast champion and star performer of our first few episodes James Drew back to the conversation to provide the perspective of the Swiss market and to shed light on how Pembree...

We sat down with Greg Jolliffe to talk about his journey with bikes so far, his time at the renowned BASE mountain bike programme in Scotland, racing downhill and enduro, and the path that eventually led him to a career as a professional trail builder. Some of Greg's standout projects so far include building slopestyle courses for Joyride Whistler , film projects for Cut Media , and, of course, hi...

Spring has arrived here in Switzerland and the snow has been melting away slowly but surely. Trails are running really good at the minute and we've been out to a couple of trail days and weekends already. Good times were had with riding buddies, former guest Robin Schaub , and we even got to meet some of our listeners in person! We took the opportunity with this episode to talk a little bit about...

We sat down with Lucas Huppert to talk about his journey in mountain biking so far, juggling his apprenticeship as an electrician and his dream of a professional slopestyle career and the not so secret rules of contest after parties. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from his goals as a competitive rider and his plans for the future, Red Bull Joyride in Whistler , to his experiments in...

We sat down with Nik Wicki to talk a little bit more about Zermatt , hosting an Enduro World Series event and how to design a course that is not only fun to ride and race, but also safe for everyone, from elite racers, spectators as well as the numerous volunteers. As the Race Director and Course Designer for Traillove Zermatt , Nik not only has a interesting perspective on how the race in 2020 we...

We sat down with Jan Cadosch and Dario Lohner to talk about their trip to Zermatt last year and how they managed to take the Pinkbike Photo of the Year 2020 . Of course we discuss how the competition went down, what the infamous Pinkbike comment section had to say about the photo and what "the headless rider" is all about. In the slightly less lighthearted parts of the conversation, we cover Jan's...