Bikes & Big Ideas

One of the biggest stories of the World Cup Downhill season that just wrapped up has been the formation of the new rider’s association to better collectively advocate for their interests and those of the sport. So we sat down with newly-appointed rider representative Emilie Siegenthaler to talk about why the riders decided to band together, what they hope to get out of the association, how the 2023 season is shaping up, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• What is the association, and why form one? (2:46)
• How Emilie got involved (7:21)
• Goals for the association (10:33)
• Rider safety & concussions (25:47)
• Discovery/ESO & establishing new lines of communication (28:17)
• What we know about the 2023 season (36:04)
• Voting structure of the association (40:42)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: CRAFTED
• Introducing: Open Mic
• 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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Vaea Verbeeck has had a very impressive and varied mountain bike career as a racer (across a wide range of disciplines), a freerider, and a whole lot more. And so just before she headed off to this year’s iteration of Proving Grounds, we sat down to hear her story about the wild early days of her mountain biking odyssey in Bromont, Quebec; the tragedy that got her to refocus and commit to being a full-time pro; what keeps her motivated, and how her ever-evolving riding style is a key to that; injuries and riding without an ACL; and a whole lot more.

And you can watch Vaea and the rest of the athletes at Proving Grounds starting on September 23 at noon Pacific on NaturalSelectionTour.com, and then on ESPN2 on September 25. 

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Vaea’s Background (2:10)
• The Bromont MTB scene (3:24)
• Stevie Smith & riding with legends (10:34)
• Privateer racing (15:41)
• World Cup racing (22:42) 
• Career evolution & keeping things fresh (34:25)
• Formation (40:37)
• Injuries & riding without an ACL & Heading to Proving Grounds (49:28)
• Vaea’s Big Idea (56:09)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: CRAFTED
• Introducing: Open Mic
• 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
• CRAFTED

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Dillon Osleger is a man who wears many hats — he’s a professional mountain biker, the head of the Sage Trails Alliance, a climate scientist, a founding member of the Protect Our Winters Bike Alliance, and more. So we sat down with him to talk about all of that, and along the way, we get into how the mountain bike community is growing and evolving for the better; how cool historic trails can be (and how to resurrect them); and much more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Rezduro (2:35)
• POW Bike Alliance (7:05)
• Dillon’s background in MTB (9:17)
• Sage Trail Alliance (17:34)
• Climate science (25:21)
• Resurrecting historic trails (31:38)
• Usufruct (36:04)
• Dillon’s Big Idea (48:59)

RELATED LINKS:

• Protect Our Winters’ Mario Molina on the New Climate Bill (Blister Podcast Ep.222)
• Introducing: CRAFTED
• Introducing: Open Mic
• 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
• CRAFTED

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We’ve been testing a ton of bikes, suspension, brakes, and other gear, so Dylan Wood and I sat down to chat about a whole bunch of it, including the Pivot Shadowcat, Intense Tracer 279, Canfield Jedi 29, multiple versions of the Manitou Dorado, plus a whole lot more — and we tease a very big upcoming project that is going to be of interest to a whole lot of folks.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• David’s mustache (1:42)
• Rossignol Mandate (2:49)
• Pivot Shadowcat (8:45)
• Intense Tracer 279 (15:06)
• Santa Cruz Megatower & shock testing (20:15)
• RockShox SuperDeluxe Air vs. Coil (27:38)
• Canfield Jedi 29 (38:38)
• Manitou Dorado (45:45)
• O-Chain (50:51)
• Hope Tech 4 brakes (59:13)

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Reynolds is one of the biggest names in steel and titanium bike frame tubing, and they’ve just released a very interesting report on the environmental impact of their various product lines. So we sat down with their General Manager, Martin Shepherd, to talk about why Reynolds went through the effort to produce the study and what they hoped to learn from it; what Reynolds is doing to curb their own emissions; how and why all recycling isn’t created equal; and along the way we get into Spitfire airplanes, Jaguar race cars, Roman swords, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Starling Cycles & the impetus for Reynolds’ study
• Spitfires, Jaguar race cars, & the lifecycle of steel
• Goals for the study
• What Reynolds learned
• Recycling, bulletproof cars, and Roman swords
• Reynolds’ next steps
• Where other companies should start
• Steel vs. other materials
• Martin’s Big Idea

RELATED LINKS:

• Protect Our Winters’ Mario Molina on the New Climate Bill (Blister Podcast Ep.222)
• Starling Cycles on Simplicity, Design, & Building Bikes in a Shed (Ep.105)
• Introducing: CRAFTED
• Introducing: Open Mic
• 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
• CRAFTED

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Dillon Flinders has some very lofty goals for himself — both on a bike and on skis — so we sat down to talk about them, and how he’s arranging his life to chase both at once. Along the way, we get into the differing cultures of both sports; how a mindset change improved Dylan’s DH race performance; mentorship and fostering the next generation of American DH racers; & much more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Dylan’s intro to MTB & Tuning skis to buy a DH bike(3:26)
• Juggling biking and skiing (6:53)
• Mental approach to racing DH, the Outlaw Bike Team, Injuries & recovery (15:49)
• Ski vs. bike race culture (29:10)
• Mentorship & American DH racing (39:09)
• Racing World Cup DH and competing on the Freeride World Tour (46:50)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: CRAFTED\
• Introducing: Open Mic
• 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
• CRAFTED

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Rae Morrison has been at the pointy end of the EWS circuit for the better part of the series’ existence, and we caught up with her shortly before the upcoming Whistler EWS race to talk about how the series has evolved over the years, and what Rae would do differently if she were in charge; the injury and recovery that spurred her to pursue a career as a pro racer in the first place; her bike setup preferences; her unique team setup and balancing both sides of her relationship with her husband and mechanic, Jesse; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Rae’s MTB origins (2:06)
• Injuries & committing to racing (10:08)
• Racing as a privateer (15:53)
• Making the leap to a factory team (19:54)
• EWS over the years (28:20)
• Rae’s favorite places to ride & race (35:32)
• The 2022 EWS season (36:45)
• Relationship dynamics (43:22)
• Bike setup preferences (51:22)
• Rae’s Big Idea (57:35)

RELATED LINKS:

• 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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Crestline Bikes has been teasing some extremely interesting-looking prototypes — especially their high-pivot VPP DH bike — but details on the project have been scarce. So we sat down with founder Troydon Murison and suspension designer Jimmy Davis (of Cascade Components) to talk about the project, including a whole lot of details on their upcoming lineup; founding the company & involving some big names, including Jimmy and Cesar Rojo; getting advice from Greg Minnaar and Neko Mulally; & much more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Origins of Crestline (3:43)
• Building the team & The GOAT (14:09)
• Jimmy getting involved (17:28)
• Model lineup (18:11)
• High-pivot VPP DH bike (25:07)
• Adaptability & bike design (28:50)
• When will it be available? (38:03)
• The e-bike (39:18)
• Wheel sizes (42:46)
• The Crestline name (46:30)
• Troydon’s Big Idea (47:16)
• Jimmy’s Big Idea (50:28)
• Bonus Big Idea (52:21)

RELATED LINKS:

• 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 sat down with Troy, Paul, Pierce, and Jonah from Over The Edge — our Blister Recommended Shop in Fruita, CO; Hurricane, UT; Todos Santos, Mexico; and Melrose, Australia — to talk about the unique history of OTE; building trails in the early days of mountain biking; the development of mountain bike towns; travel & MTB destinations; servicing bikes at Rampage; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Over The Edge’s origin story (4:13)
• Expansion & the growth of MTB towns (6:12)
• Trail building (13:25)
• Paul’s involvement & maturation (20:50)
• The OTE customer (25:30)
• Service turnarounds & saving trips (30:11)
• Travel & MTB towns (32:39)
• The Hurricane shop (35:53)

RELATED LINKS:

• Over The Edge
• 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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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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.