Racing the EWS for the first time is a daunting prospect, but Eric Olsen decided to spice things up by bike touring between the first three rounds to boot. So right after his return from Europe, we sat down with Eric to talk about where the idea came from and what his goals were for the trip; how things went, including encountering golf-ball-sized hail & (almost) running over a bunch of schoolchildren; raising money for World Bicycle Relief & the idea of bikes as transportation; how his fellow racers reacted; his company, Jank Components; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Tour de EWS inspiration (3:25)
• Goals for the trip (6:01)
• Route & itinerary (9:53)
• Golf-ball-sized hail & other memorable moments (14:50)
• People’s reactions (18:20)
• Packing a bike & gear (25:48)
• Racing after bike touring (33:37)
• EWS prep & track walks (35:45)
• Running over schoolchildren (37:37)
• Race support & self-sufficiency (43:13)
• European bike touring culture (44:43)
• World Bicycle Relief fundraiser (46:56)
• Lessons learned & teasers for the future (48:50)
• Jank Components (54:19)
• Eric’s Big Idea (57:25)

RELATED LINKS:

• Tour de EWS Blog
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Trinity MTB’s V2 high-pivot prototype can serve dual-duty as an Enduro or DH bike, with or without a gearbox — to say nothing of the 3D printed construction, or any of the other fascinating design details. So we sat down with Trinity’s Chase Warner and Mic Williams to hear all about what is one of the most interesting bikes out there; learn the story behind its development; and get some teasers about the V3 bike, which they promise will be even wilder.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• The origins of Trinity & Chase’s initial concept (2:30)
• Getting Nigel and Mic on board (5:10)
• The V1 prototype (12:20)
• Revisions, refinements, & V2 (42:42)
• V3, what comes next, & bringing the bike to market (1:02:55)

RELATED LINKS:

• Ep. 93: Williams Racing Products
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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We’ve got a ton of bikes in for testing right now, so David Golay and Dylan Wood sat down to talk about a bunch of the stuff they’ve been spending time on across the travel spectrum, including the new Santa Cruz Hightower and Megatower; some shorter-travel options from Niner and Rocky Mountain; and a couple more Enduro bikes from Kavenz and Pivot.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Niner JET 9 RDO (2:05)
• Rocky Mountain Element (5:40)
• Santa Cruz Hightower (12:49)
• Santa Cruz Megatower (15:47)
• Kavenz VHP 16 (26:27)
• Pivot Firebird (37:19)

RELATED LINKS:

• Reviewer Reports (E.120) 
• Kavenz (Ep.117)
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Betty Birrell picked up mountain biking nearly 30 years ago and at 73, she’s still riding serious trails on the North Shore. So David Golay and Kara Williard sat down with Betty to talk about her trajectory as a mountain biker; motherhood; how the sport has (and hasn’t) changed; and the North Shore Betty documentary short that Patagonia released recently. Along the way, Betty shares some great insights on staying motivated and continuing to do the things we love in the outdoors long after a lot of folks have hung it up.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Betty’s introduction to MTB (2:50)
• The early North Shore riding scene (5:57)
• Motherhood & having an “adventure buddy” (13:54)
• Perseverance & keeping going (22:22)
• Risk tolerance & aging (26:29)
• Role models and mentorship (32:05)
• Keeping current (36:15)
• Self-identity & athletics (42:14)
• Betty’s Big Idea (48:01)

RELATED LINKS:

• Episode sponsor: Over the Edge
• North Shore Betty
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Hope has been making mountain bike disc brakes for longer than just about anybody, and earlier this year they launched their new Tech 4 lineup of brakes. So we sat down with Hope’s design engineer, Sam Gibbs, to talk about the new brakes & what changed from the prior Tech 3 models; how to choose the right brakes, rotors, and pads for you; and along the way we go pretty deep on the finer points of brake tech and all the tradeoffs inherent to designing them.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Sam’s role at Hope (1:39)
• New Tech 4 lineup (3:55)
• The Tech 4 lever (7:48)
• Caliper design & piston materials (17:18)
• Brake design & tradeoffs (21:57)
• Choosing the right brake for you (32:28)
• Rotor sizes & heat management (39:11)
• Brake pad options & tradeoffs (42:18)
• Sam’s Big Idea (53:32)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
• Galfer on MTB Brake Tech (Ep.81)
• Fanatik

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Mountain bikes and beer are a classic combination, but there aren’t many bike companies that were literally founded in a brewery. REEB is one, though (the name is a clue there), and as you might expect from a bike company with as interesting an origin story as theirs, REEB does a lot of things differently. So we sat down with Jeff Lenosky and Adam Prosise to get the rundown on the company history; talk about their model lineup and how each one came about; discuss their manufacturing ethos, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• REEB’s origin story (3:16)
• Jeff & Adam joining REEB (7:01)
• REEB’s design philosophy (15:38)
• Redikyelous (20:11)
• Sqweeb (21:45)
• SST (28:09)
• BREWser (38:32)
• Jeff’s Big Idea (49:27)
• Adam’s Big Idea (50:16)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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We’ve been busy testing a whole lot of new suspension from RockShox, as well as bikes across the whole spectrum, from XC to Enduro, so Jonathan Ellsworth and David Golay sat down in Blister HQ to talk about all of it, including the new Santa Cruz Megatower V2, the Rocky Mountain Element, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• RockShox Flight Attendant (4:48)
• RockShox’s new 2023 lineup (12:38)
• YT Capra (17:33)
• Santa Cruz Megatower (19:30)
• Orbea Rallon (22:56)
• Antidote Carbonjack (25:02)
• Orbea Occam LT (28:36)
• Rocky Mountain Element (31:26)

RELATED LINKS:

• Become a Blister Member
• Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER BLISTER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Jess Blewitt first rode a mountain bike in 2018, but her list of accomplishments is already extensive — including being the two-time New Zealand DH National Champ and having earned a top-ten finish at World Championships — and she’s only 19. So we had Jess on to talk about how she’s put it all together so quickly and how her background as a ski racer helped; her career highlights to date; her brutal crash at Snowshoe and how she recovered from it so quickly; what she’s got planned for 2022 — including a very intriguing teaser — and much more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Ski racing &  transitioning to MTB (2:21)
• Learning to ride a DH bike & starting to race (6:54)
• Jess’ incredible 2021 season (12:18)
• Formation (15:11)
• Snowshoe crash & recovery (22:54)
• NZ National Champs (27:41)
• Fort William update (30:54)
• Racing vs. freeriding & doing both (33:34)
• What’s next? (37:55)

RELATED LINKS:

• Become a Blister Member
• Introducing: Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Gear Giveaway / Newsletter Signup
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER BLISTER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Lots of mountain bikers have idly thought about designing their own frame, but actually doing it is an entirely different matter. But ex-pro racer Even Turpen took the leap, and his Contra Bikes prototype is nearing production readiness (and was perhaps the coolest thing we saw at Sea Otter this year). So we brought Evan on the show to talk about the bike design and what he wanted to accomplish with it; the a-ha moment that sparked the project in the first place; learning to design and fabricate a bike starting from square one, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Growing up skateboarding & pivoting to mountain biking (2:19
• Working in a bike shop & the a-ha moment (5:54)
• Learning to design a bike (14:10)
• First single-pivot prototype (19:02) 
• Learning fabrication (27:04)
• Patent infringement & heading back to the drawing board (40:36)
• Production bike design & status (50:39)
• The Contra name (58:38)
• Evan’s Big Idea (1:01:57)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Gear Giveaway / Newsletter Signup
• Become a Blister Member / Get our new Buyer’s Guide
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
• Ep. 117: Kavenz

OUR OTHER BLISTER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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Kavenz founder Giacomo Großehagenbrock got an early start in the mountain bike industry when he landed an internship at Nicolai when he was just 17. He followed that up by founding 77designz, making chainguides, stems, and more, but he still had the itch to design his own bike — so Kavenz and the VHP16 were born. But the story is a lot more complicated — and interesting — than that, so we sat down with Giacomo to get the full rundown, including the trials and tribulations of starting a bike company; the design goals for the VHP16 and all the tradeoffs inherent to bike design; the new VHP18; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Giacomo’s introduction to the mountain bike industry (2:22)
• Founding 77designz (7:12)
• VHP16 design philosophy (10:14)
• High-pivot bikes & their tradeoffs (20:01)
• The new VHP18 (34:49)
• Mullets (38:41)
• Giacomo’s Big Idea (43:15)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Gear Giveaway / Newsletter Signup
• Become a Blister Member / Get our new Buyer’s Guide
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

OUR OTHER BLISTER PODCASTS

• Off The Couch
• GEAR:30
• Blister Podcast

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