Bikes & Big Ideas

A few years ago, Kitsbow undertook an incredibly ambitious plan to move to Old Fort, North Carolina, and bring all of their apparel production to the United States, after years of working with overseas factories. And not only did they do just that, but in doing so they trained an entirely new workforce and spearheaded the revitalization of their new hometown, which had been losing manufacturing jobs for decades. So we brought their CEO, David Billstrom, back onto the show to talk about how they did that while weathering a global pandemic; how doing so has been a boon to the brand, their customers, and their local community; and how they hope to be a blueprint for other companies to do the same.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Covid shields and facemasks (2:22)
• Moving to North Fort, NC (7:58)
• The Toyota Way (22:37)
• Domestic manufacturing & efficiency (29:14)
• Revitalizing a community (35:25)
• Employee purchase as a Public Benefit Corporation (50:12)
• David’s Big Idea (57:46)

RELATED LINKS:

• Ep. 20: How the Outdoor Industry is Helping Fight Covid
• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Revel Bikes recently launched the new Rail 29, so we sat down with their founder, Adam Miller, to get the rundown on the new bike and its development process; navigating COVID & the maturation of the bike industry; the rest of the Revel lineup; wheel sizes and mullet-skepticism; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Check-in since last time (Ep. 25) (2:10)
• Revel’s new Rail 29 (5:51)
• Growth & navigating COVID (12:17)
• The maturation of the bike industry (27:21)
• Revel bike lineup (31:19)
• Wheel sizes (37:50)
• Adam’s Big Idea (48:53)

RELATED LINKS:

• Revel Rail 29
• Ep. 25: Adam Miller
• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Chelsea Kimball got a later start in MTB than a lot of pro riders, but she’s making up for lost time and is part of the inaugural class of women participating in Darkfest, among a whole lot of other huge accomplishments. So we sat down with her to talk about all of it, including her longtime commitment to van life, Freeride Fiesta and getting props from Yoann Barelli, the state and future of women’s freeride, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Growing up climbing & getting introduced to MTB (1:16)
• Van life & Chevy Astros (7:04)
• Freeride Fiesta (17:54)
• Darkfest & getting women into freeride events (22:14)
• The state and trajectory of women’s freeride (24:00)
• Future riding goals (28:04)
• 2022 plans (29:12)
• Windrock (32:04)
• Path to success in the MTB industry (33:51)
• Chelsea’s Big Idea (39:36)

RELATED LINKS:

• Ep. 108: Yoann Barelli
• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Rotational impact protection in bike helmets has deservedly gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and MIPS has long been the pioneering technology in that space. But Lazer thought there was a lighter, more comfortable, more breathable way to accomplish the same goals, and developed KinetiCore to do just that. And so we sat down with Lazer’s Head of Marketing for North America, Chris Smith, to get the rundown on what KinetiCore is supposed to do and how it does it; why Lazer went to the effort to develop their own technology; helmet testing standards and safety; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• KinetiCore design goals (1:37)
• Helmet testing standards around the world (14:22)
• KinetiCore design details (22:45)
• Virginia Tech’s helmet testing & KinetiCore helmet lineup (26:15)
• Jackyl KinetiCore MTB helmet & Accessory mount safety (35:28)
• Chris’ Big Idea (46:34)

RELATED LINKS:

• GEAR:30 on Helmet Tech, Pt. 1: Sweet Protection
• GEAR:30 on Helmet Tech, Pt. 2: Giro / Bell
• GEAR:30 on Helmet Tech, Pt. 3: Pret
• GEAR:30 on Helmet Tech, Pt. 4: POC
• GEAR:30 on Helmet Tech, Pt. 5: WaveCel
• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Lea Davison announced her retirement from international racing after the final World Cup of the 2021 season, but she’s definitely not walking away from bikes or racing. So we sat down with the two-time Olympian and 20-plus year XC pro to talk about the career that’s taken up her entire adult life to this point; the highs and the lows; the state of XC racing; mentorship & career evolution; what comes next, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Getting started in bike racing & qualifying for World Championships at 17 (2:06)
• Racing first full pro season without an ACL (6:34)
• Evolution of the XC race scene (11:23)
• What could be improved? (18:56)
• Racing World Cups (21:10)
• Mentorship & development (23:57)
• Competing in the Olympics (27:10)
• Postponement of the 2020 Games (35:28)
• Favorite moments and proudest accomplishments (40:50)
• Career evolution & team roles (45:31)
• What’s next after announcing retirement? (49:13)
• Lea’s Big Idea (54:22)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

There are a lot of smart people working in bike suspension, but EXT founder Franco Fratton might have the most impressive resume — which includes working for the Ferrari and Lotus Formula One teams. And so we sat down with Franco to chat about his career and life story; his suspension design philosophy; how he went from focusing on motorsports to making some of the best bike suspension out there; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Franco’s background in suspension and EXT history (2:34)
• Getting started in bike suspension (15:31)
• Upcoming EXT air shock (24:51)
• Twin tube vs. mono tube dampers (34:08)
• Coil vs. air springs (48:12)
• Novel ideas & gaining acceptance (55:08)
• Franco’s Big Idea (57:56)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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
• EXT Era Review
• EXT Storia Review

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

Martin Maes practically grew up in the GT pits with his father, and had raced for them since he was a teenager. But he made the move to Orbea for 2022, and so we sat down to chat about his career trajectory and the value of a change of pace; the mental aspects of racing & injury recovery; becoming a father; bike setup for Enduro and DH racing, and a whole bunch more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Fatherhood & the 2021 season
• Concussions & rider safety
• Finishing the season strong
• Signing with Orbea
• Bike setup, sizing, & parts spec
• Racing DH & Enduro
• 2022 Plans
• EWS format & doubleheaders
• Martin’s Big Idea

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Yoann Barelli just announced the formation of his Into The Gnar Progression Team  — so we got him back on Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about it. And along the way we talk about Yoann’s career shift into freeriding; what he’s learned about coaching & training in recent years; his plans for 2022 — including teasing some very big news — and a bunch more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• One year on Guerrilla Gravity (2:10)
• Moving away from racing & into freeriding and building (6:48)
• Sponsorship responsibilities & new opportunities to be a pro
• Getting back into training (11:54)
• Coaching Update (17:03)
• Into the Gnar Progression Team (21:19)
• 2022 plans (46:09)
• Freeride Fiesta recap (51:44)
• Yoann’s Big Idea (58:18)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Push Industries is one of the best-known suspension tuners and manufacturers of high-end shocks out there, and their founder, Darren Murphy has a whole lot to say on the topic of suspension. And so we sat down with Darren to chat about his background and how he got into suspension in the first place; the Eleven Six shock and what makes it stand out; his approach to product development and tuning; making everything in-house in Colorado; how to set up your suspension; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Darren’s background in MTB & suspension (1:36)
• History of Push (17:31)
• Eleven Six Shock (26:46)
• Push’s product development process (33:18)
• Shock tuning for a given bike (38:38)
• How to set up your suspension (53:16)
• Darren’s Big Idea (1:03:30)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• 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

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

Mountain bike suspension has improved immensely in recent years, but designing rear suspension kinematics is inherently a game of tradeoffs, with no ideal one-size-fits-all solution. Cascade Components founder and engineer Jimmy Davis saw an opportunity to make his personal Santa Cruz Nomad better for where and how he rides, and soon a new business was born, making aftermarket suspension links for an ever-growing range of bikes. And so we sat down with Jimmy to talk about suspension design and the inherent tradeoffs that come with each decision; what their links do and who they’re for; working with Neko Mulally on his Frameworks DH race bikes; brakes & chain guides; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Origins of Cascade Components (1:46)
• First aftermarket link (6:42)
• Suspension design philosophy (13:11)
• Neko Mulally's custom links (26:38)
• North Fork Brakes (30:25)
• Chain Guides (39:36)
• Jimmy’s Big Idea (43:23)

RELATED LINKS:

• Introducing: Blister Labs
• Getting Here: Gunnison & Crested Butte
• This Week’s Gear Giveaway
• Gear Giveaway / Newsletter Signup
• Become a Blister Member / Get our new Buyer’s Guide
• Register for the 2022 Blister Summit
• Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
• Ep. 101: Neko Mulally

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