Matt Manser (of GEAR:30 fame) and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to the very impressive (and very candid) Vali Höll about her remarkable season; race tactics; racing styles; Greg Minnaar & whether she can imagine still racing in 20 years; and more. TOPICS & TIMES:How Vali & Matt met (3:47)Do you remember your 1st bicycle? (6:45)Vali's ski background (8:33)Choosing biking over skiing (11:14)Sport parents, ranked (14:39)Processing this past season (18:11)Winning Juniors vs winning Elite World Cup (26:48)Tactics (30:11)Greg Minnaar / winning 20 years from now (34:31)Assessing yourself as a rider (39:57)Style / Styles (48:32)Lenzerheide (53:52)29ers vs. Mullets (56:00)School (1:00:00)Vali’s Big Idea (1:08:10)RELATED LINKS:Vali’s YouTube ChannelThis Week’s Gear GiveawayGear Giveaway / Newsletter SignupBecome a Blister Member / Get our new Buyer’s GuideRegister for the 2022 Blister SummitBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bikes & Big Ideas

Vali Höll, New World Cup DH Overall Champion

Mountain bike tech is evolving rapidly, and patent applications are a great window into what’s coming down the pipeline. So we talked to someone who's very keyed into this world: Dan Bacon of Wheelbased. We discuss cockpit integration (and why some of us hate it); electronic brakes(?!?!); active suspension; automakers joining the fray; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:SRAM integrated brakes (6:28)Shimano electronic brakes (13:35)Ohlins active suspension (19:27)SRAM active suspension (27:13)Shimano automatic dropper post (38:16)Automakers getting into bikes (41:02)Dan’s Big Idea (48:26)RELATED LINKS:WheelbasedShimano Electronic BrakingSRAM Integrated BrakingOhlins Active SuspensionSRAM Active SuspensionShimano Active SeatpostBecome a Blister Member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dan Bacon of Wheelbased on Integration, Active Suspension, & the Future of MTB Tech

Alex Desmond is an engineer, and when a friend of his suffered a stroke and was no longer able to ride a bike, Alex decided to do something about it. Six years later, the fruits of that project are here — as the Orange Phase AD3. Not only is the end result remarkable, but the story of how it came to be might be even wilder, so we sat down with Alex to get the rundown on the project, including a whole lot of the technical details; getting the likes of Martyn Ashton and Lorraine Truong involved; the limitations of other adaptive mountain bikes; and how Alex ultimately used the project to land a job at Orange.TOPICS & TIMES:Origins of the AD3 project (1:40)AD3 design (3:39)Early prototyping (13:15)Getting Lorraine involved & Alex’s job at Orange (26:42)Plans for the AD3 (32:49)Alex’s Big Idea (37:07)RELATED LINKS:Orange Phase AD3Alex DesmondLorraine TruongBecome a Blister Member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alex Desmond on Designing a Better Adaptive MTB

When we last checked in with We Are One’s Dustin Adams, he broke the news that they’d be making a bike. Now 18 months later, it’s here. So we figured it was a great time to get Dustin back onto Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about The Arrival, including balancing versatility vs. focusing on specific attributes; the modular frame platform and plans for future models; frame repairs, and making things in North America. And if that’s not enough, Dustin also drops several bonus big ideas in this one.TOPICS & TIMES:The Arrival (0:47)Modular frame platform (3:58)Suspension kinematics (7:56)Superboost rear, & the peril of new standards (13:18)Builds & supply chain drama (17:44)Building in North America, and Big Idea #1 (22:52)Repairing frames (30:42)Internal cable routing & problems with tube-in-tube guides (35:04)Dustin’s other Big Ideas (39:46)RELATED LINKS:We Are One ArrivalDustin Adams on Racing, Manufacturing, and We Are One’s Next Big Thing (Ep. 19)Become a Blister Member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We Are One Founder, Dustin Adams, on The Arrival

The last few weeks have been jam-packed with outstanding Downhill racing, so Noah Bodman and David Golay sat down to talk about all the action at World Champs, including Greg Minnaar further cementing his status as the GOAT; the incredible Val di Sole course; mind-blowing saves & returns from injury; the Lenzerheide World Cup, including utter domination by the French; Vali Holl finding her form, and more. We also discuss a whole bunch of new suspension bits that we’ve been testing from Fox, including the updated 34 fork and both the new DHX and Float X rear shocks.TOPICS & TIMES:Update on Noah’s twins (0:46)World Championships & the GOAT (1:31)Lenzerheide & French domination (16:56)New Fox 34 (25:09)Fox DHX and Float X (27:22)RELATED LINKS:2022 Fox 34Become a Blister Member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reviewer Reports: Race Recaps and Fox Suspension

Mountain biking with inadequate brakes is terrifying, if not downright unsafe, but the role of pads and rotors is often underappreciated. So we sat down with Daryl Simmons of Galfer USA to go deep on brake pads and rotors, including differences in pad materials and why the classic metallic vs. organic debate doesn’t tell the whole story; what factors influence wet-weather performance and heat resistance; rotor design and how to think about choosing rotor sizes; and a whole lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:History of Galfer (1:18)Sintered vs. organic brake pads (2:35)Tradeoffs with pad materials (5:01)Wet-weather brake performance (8:32)Brake fade & heat resistance (13:38)Galfer’s pad lineup (19:23)Rotor sizes & reasons to size up (or not) (24:04)Choosing relative rotor size (front vs. rear) (30:58)Rotor shapes & cutouts (35:20)Daryl’s Big Idea(s) (40:09)RELATED LINKS:GalferBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Galfer on MTB Brake Tech

Chris Porter is one of the most interesting and most opinionated figures in the mountain bike world, he’s back on Bikes and Big Ideas this week. There was a lot we weren’t able to cover in our first conversation a few months ago, so this week we discuss the Geometron G1 & how Chris chooses to set up his personal bike; dual-crown Enduro forks & how we both wish they were more common; EXT suspension, including the Era fork and custom G1-spec Storia shock; & much more.TOPICS & TIMES:Nicolai / Geometron G1 & G1-spec EXT Storia (1:10)Chris’ bike setup (4:35)Mullet bikes vs. 29ers (6:16)Dual crown Enduro forks & bikes as fashion pieces (21:52)MORC 36 dual crown conversion (22:30)Formula dual crown prototype (38:08)Development with EXT (42:06)EXT Era (56:32)Chris’ Big Idea (1:08:28)RELATED LINKS:Ep. 64: Mojo Suspension & Geometron Bikes founder, Chris PorterNicolai / Geometron G1EXT StoriaEXT EraBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris Porter on Mullets, Dual-Crown Enduro Forks, & More

Our summer biking season is flying by and we’ve been spending a ton of time on a lot of very interesting bikes and gear — with a lot more to come. So we decided to check in with several of our reviewers to hear about the gear they’ve been most impressed by so far this year; the new products they’re most excited to check out; and along the way we talk about mullet bikes, bike shop pranks, and unveil several genius new ideas that we definitely shouldn’t be giving away for free.TOPICS & TIMES:Pivot Trail 429 (1:01)Commencal Meta TR, bike weight, & shop pranks (3:02)Privateer 161 & tradeoffs in seat tube angles (13:22)Pedals: flat vs. clipless vs. magnetic (21:15)Shimano Deore 12 speed (30:54)Vorsprung Secus & “NOS for your bike” (31:57)Pivot Firebird (34:35)Mullet bikes (36:53)High-pivot bikes — Forbidden Dreadnought, GT Force, & Trek Session (38:37)RockShox ZEB (40:50)Specialized Status & shady cryptocurrency purchases (41:12)Nicolai G1 (45:23)Öhlins RXF38 (46:21)We Are One Arrival (46:55)RELATED LINKS:Pivot Trail 429Commencal Meta TRPrivateer 161Vorsprung SecusPivot FirebirdForbidden DreadnoughtGT ForceTrek SessionRockShox ZEBWe Are One ArrivalBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gear of the Year (So Far)

Our guest this week is Steve Vanderhoek, who just put out one of the best video edits of the year, in which he and Yoann Barelli rode nearly all of the gnarliest features in the Sea to Sky Corridor in one truly wild day. So we sat down with Steve to talk about everything that went into making that day happen; the mental challenges of riding scary, high-consequence lines; filming and riding with Yoann and Remy Metailler; balancing all that with his career as a paramedic and firefighter; and a whole lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:Injury update (0:53)Riding & filming in the golden age of freeride (4:37)Starting a career as a firefighter and paramedic (6:24)Balancing riding with a separate career (14:42)Riding with Remy and Yoann, & the importance of riding partners (18:55)Le Tour de Gnar (25:55)The mental aspects of pushing boundaries & knowing when to walk away (27:45)Scouting & building huge lines (40:22)Steve’s Big Idea (48:22)RELATED LINKS:Le Tour de GnarLe Tour de Gnar GoPro FootageRemy Metailler Squamish EditBBI Ep. 49: Yoann Barelli on his move to Guerrilla Gravity; Coaching; Comfort Zones; & MoreBBI Ep. 56: Remy Metailler on Doing Stupid Stuff, ResponsiblyBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Steve Vanderhoek on Le Tour de Gnar, Freeride, and Firefighting

Today we have Blister Bike Editor David Golay talking to reviewer Dylan Wood about all the bikes and gear they’ve recently been spending time on, including some A-B comparisons of short-travel, DW-link bikes at both ends of the price spectrum; a range of longer-travel Enduro bikes both fairly conventional and quite unusual; some very intriguing pedals; and they mix in some thoughts on the importance (or lack thereof) of bike weight, and the current state of the Shimano vs. SRAM drivetrain wars.TOPICS & TIMES:Pivot Trail 429 (1:03)Ibis Ripley AF (2:30)Shimano drivetrains (7:37)Canfield Lithium (12:05)Commencal Meta TR (17:43)Forbidden Dreadnought (27:41)Hustle REMtech magnetic “clipless” pedals (35:48)RELATED LINKS:Pivot Trail 429Ibis Ripley AFCanfield LithiumCommencal Meta TRForbidden DreadnoughtBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reviewer Reports: DW-link Head-to-Head; Forbidden Dreadnought; Shimano vs. Sram; & Category-Defying Pedals

Sabra Davison grew up ski racing and running, but when she got into mountain biking, she saw girls participating at far lower rates — so she decided to do something about it. Sabra (along with her sister, World Cup XC racer and two-time Olympian, Lea) founded Little Bellas to get girls into riding bikes, and develop the confidence to keep with it. We sat down with Sabra to talk about Little Bellas; how to make skill building fun; removing barriers to participation in what is an expensive sport; and a whole lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:Little Bellas’ mission (1:03)Sabra’s riding background & switching gears (2:02)World Champs qualification (3:45)Founding Little Bellas; ski racing & running vs. mountain biking (5:38)Little Bellas programs & “disguised fun” (8:13)Girls’ attitudes to exercise and the outdoors (12:31)Pro ambassadors & downplaying competition (17:53)Gear Up program & removing barriers to participation (24:06)How to get involved (27:49)Sabra’s Big Idea (29:21)RELATED LINKS:Little BellasBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Little Bellas / Sabra Davison

When he was in his 20s Matt Gilman lost his sight due to diabetes, but that hasn’t stopped him from riding trials — and maybe even more remarkably, working as a bike mechanic. His story is an incredible one, so we sat down with Matt to talk about his approach to riding; how he manages to ride by feel; his career as a bike mechanic and how he adapted to doing that blind; and a whole lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:Matt’s biking background (0:41)Vision loss & getting back on a bike (4:25)Blind trials & riding by feel (23:46)Mechanic work (37:18)Matt’s Big Idea (50:17)RELATED LINKS:Matt’s WebsiteBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blind Trials Rider & Bike Mechanic, Matt Gilman

The first-generation Manitou Dorado turned a lot of heads more than 20 years ago, in large part thanks to its inverted layout and wild-looking carbon chassis. The all-new, fourth-generation Dorado is a major update to what Manitou calls “the longest-standing inverted downhill fork” — including a return of the carbon chassis, after more than a decade hiatus. But there’s a whole lot more going on, too, so we sat down with Manitou’s Phil Ott to discuss the past and present of the Dorado; the advantages and disadvantages of inverted forks; fork offset; and a whole bunch more.TOPICS & TIMES:History of the DoradoThe new 4th GenerationDorado ProDorado ExpertDorado CompWhy inverted?Fore-aft vs. torsional stiffnessFork offsetUpcoming projects from ManitouPhil’s Big IdeaRELATED LINKS:New Manitou DoradoBlister Mountain Biking 101: Fork OffsetBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New Manitou Dorado

Few (if any) riders have the power, balance, & creativity of Brad Simms. So you might assume it’s been a pretty quick and easy path to prominence for someone this unique. But it hasn’t been an easy road, and in this conversation, Brad spells it all out; talks about how close he came to calling it quits; his new partnership with Canyon bikes; his interest in all types of riding; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Brad’s history (1:53)Early influences & riding styles (14:33)Fear (22:39)Competing against yourself (24:45)Riding in 100+ countries (28:26)Partnering with Canyon Bikes (36:35)Filming for Taco Bell (42:19)Future plans (43:33)RELATED LINKS:Impossible Wallride2020 CompilationBecome a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested Butte See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Rise — and Rise — of Brad Simms

Which ski brand is most similar to Transition? Guerrilla Gravity? Specialized? Which bike company is most like K2? ON3P? Moment? We answer all of these questions and more in Part 2 of Bikes vs. Skis. Check it out, and let us know your answers in the comments section on our site.TOPICS & TIMES:Transition (2:04)Propain (5:35)Guerilla Gravity (7:08)Commencal (11:22)Q: Cool Kid Co.s: Does size matter? (15:03)Rossignol (20:31)Trek (23:28)Head Skis (24:49)Giant (28:21)Santa Cruz (29:14)Salomon (32:41)K2 Skis (32:13)YT Bikes (37:52)Canyon (41:10)Volkl Skis (43:49)Ibis (45:14)Yeti (50:07)Coalition Snow (53:54)Evil (56:17)Privateer Bikes (59:00)Banshee (1:00:46)Revel (1:02:04)Which bike company will see the most growth in the next 5 years? (1:04:28)Pole Bikes (1:07:32)Starling (1:11:14)Canfield (1:13:18)Forbidden (1:17:10)Which industry is currently weirder? (1:23:51)The role of team athletes (1:29:12)RELATED LINKS:Become a Blister MemberCamping in Gunnison & Crested ButteBikes vs. Skis, 2021: Part 1 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bikes vs. Skis, 2021: Part 2

The most interesting conversations and ideas from the bike world, and beyond. Hosted by Jonathan Ellsworth and co-hosted by Claudio Caluori. Part of the BLISTER Podcast Network.

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Bikes & Big Ideas

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