Bikes & Big Ideas

We’ve spent a lot of time on the Avinox M2S drive system, and aside from its mountains of power, it’s also very good across the board. And while plenty of brands spec the M2S, most options are expensive. So, today we're talking with Ari’s Tyler Cloward about their new Wire Peak, because it has the M2S motor, it's made out of metal, and it is one of the more affordable options available. 

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Ari History (2:24)

What Happened to Fezz? (4:46)

Pioneering the Direct-to-Consumer Model (6:37)

The La Sal Peak (10:40)

Wire Peak Development (16:32)

Why Avinox (24:18)

Design Goals (30:17)

Impossible Climbs  (34:42)

Ari’s Mountain Bike Lineup (37:58)

What's Next for Ari (41:28)

Where Can You Ride One? (46:57)

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As parents, Cam and Simon kick off October's news with a Halloween full-size candy bar rant before breaking down the first-ever Red Bull Hardline in British Columbia. And since Cam was in the broadcast booth for the Hard MTB league finals, we get his on-location report, plus some industry news on recalls, wheels falling off, and perhaps the return of a storied brand.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Full Size Candy Bars & Pacman (1:41)

Things You Don’t Want to Be (6:56)

Marketplace Ad of the Month (11:52)

Cam’s Hard MTB League Recap (16:58)

Red Bull Hardline BC (28:00)

NorthShore Racks on Pause (40:16)

RockShox Zeb Stop-Ride Notice (44:02)

Cannondale Closing Connecticut Office (47:22)

Is Tomac Bikes Coming Back? (49:17)

What We Are Reading & Watching (52:40)

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Allied’s Fitz is one of the lightest 140mm-travel bikes we’ve ever tested. So today, Allied’s Director of Product, Sam Pickman, joins us to tell the development story, what inspired the lightweight focus, why they chose a four-bar suspension arrangement, and why he thinks Trail bikes have gotten so heavy over the years. 

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Allied’s Story & making bikes in the US (2:40)

The Switch to Overseas Production (5:13)

Gravel Bike Success (6:31)

Moving into the Mountain Bike Space (7:57)

Inspiration for the Fitz (14:36)

From Concept to Production (18:35)

Travel (22:24)

Suspension Design & Geometry (24:33)

Prototypes and Testing (34:11)

Adjustability (36:30)

What’s Next? (50:42)

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Specialized showed a lot of glimpses of the Demo 11 as it was being developed, but there was much more going on behind the scenes that couldn’t be gleaned from looking at the series of lugged prototypes. So we brought Nicco Deluca from the Ride Dynamics team on to tell the whole story.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Nicco’s Role at Specialized (1:49)

Goals for the Demo 11 (2:15)

Leverage curve testing (4:03)

The Demo 10 & its limitations(9:29)

High Gear (12:45)

Kinematic refinement (16:03)

Design tradeoffs (19:27)

Drivetrain packaging (21:34)

Anti-squat & anti-rise (27:02)

Adjustability (30:47)

Final notes (38:45)

We caught up with Cam McCaul to run down the 2026 Red Bull Rampage that left fans in awe at the women’s event and frustrated after the cancellation of the men’s competition. Cam shares his on-location perspective of the insane amount of work done by the build teams, the Robin Goomes vs. Hannah Bergemann showdown, as well as his thoughts on the men’s cancellation and whether it should have been postponed.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Did the venue take a lot of effort on by the dig teams (2:28)

Women’s and Men’s Dig Team Collabs (4:27)

Bergemann vs. Goomes Showdown (5:40)

Men’s Event Cancellation (13:42)

Rampage Rookies Setting a High Bar  (16:51)

Highlights (19:20)

Jaxson Riddle  (21:30)

Szymon Godziek (25:58)

Carson Storch Crash (27:57)

Why cancel? Why not postpone? (33:31)

Why Didn’t They Move it to Friday? (39:57)

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The first-ever Whistler DH World Cup did not disappoint, including crazy weather, wild racing action, some heroic performances, and tons of crashes — Cam and Simon couldn’t wait to talk about it. Cam had a gnarly crash himself and shares that story along with his behind-the-scenes preview of this week’s Red Bull Rampage. Of course, we sprinkle in some industry news and introduce a couple of recurring segments as well.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Cam’s Crash (1:01)

Number One Thing You Don’t Want To Be This Month (12:05)

First Whistler DH Recap (18:32)

Asa’s Mind-Blowing Win (25:03)

Women’s Results (32:39)

Juniors & Who to Watch Next Year (36:02)

What is MTB X ( 2:13)

Beyond Gravity (54:45)

Air Rage (56:59)

Fart Blasters? (59:44)

Marketplace Ad of the Month (1:03:16)

Industry News (1:05:50)

X-Lab (1:13:10)

What We’re Reading & Watching (1:19:42)

Cam’s Rampage Preview (1:21:05)

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Bull Rampage, and the third year of Rampage including a women’s category. The fight to make that happen was a long one, and for this selection from The Vault, we’re revisiting a conversation we had with Casey Brown on Bikes & Big Ideas back in 2023 about the importance of having a women’s competition, the year before it finally came to be.

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We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. Email us at: [email protected]

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For the Full Episode: Casey Brown, Vaea Verbeeck, and Hannah Bergemann on Women at Rampage (Ep.191)

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Maxxis has a new member of the Minion family, the Minion DHX, and a new DH casing to go with it. We’re joined by Sean Day, who led the development of both, to go deep on their designs, the thinking behind them, and how they fit into Maxxis’ expansive lineup.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Development of the Minion DHX (2:49)

Design concepts & goals (9:49)

Tread Pattern & Knob Design (11:34)

Athlete testing (14:39)

Front vs. rear tire design (18:55)

Choosing widths for a given tire (22:30)

The new DH casing (24:14)

Casing thread count & tradeoffs (28:48)

Choosing between tires (38:18)

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Greg Hardy started sewing his own bikepacking bags while getting his PhD in materials science, which led him to put his career on hold, move to Asheville, NC, and found Rockgeist — which became one of the top bag makers in the bikepacking world. But things came crashing down when Hurricane Helene left their workshop under six feet of water. Greg joins us today to tell that story and how they rebuilt Rockgeist afterward.

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Rockgeist

TOPICS & TIMES:

Sewing bags and Getting a PHD (1:21)

Founding Rockgeist (4:34)

Why Asheville, NC? (6:20)

Greg’s First Bag (10:25)

Custom Framebag Challenges (11:38)

Welding Versus Sewing (18:31)

Hurricane Helene Devastation (22:17)

Rebuilding Rockgeist (25:05)

New Products (31:50)

Greg’s Bikepacking Plans (38:39)

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Was the Soldier Hollow World Cup XC race the first true test for 32” wheels? Blister Reviewer Xan Marshland had boots on the ground at the race, and joined Simon for a recap of the racing action, thoughts on the big wheels, course design, and Bjorn Riley’s crazy popularity.

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Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to weigh in.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

On-location at Soldier Hollow(1:27)

Big Wheels Everywhere (4:16)

Course Design & NICA Racing (5:19)

Results & Highlights (8:59)

Final Take(22:00)

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