Bikes & Big Ideas

Vero Sandler just competed in the first-ever REAL MTB event, so we caught up with this Kiwi with the French name who lives in Wales to talk about the experience and get her thoughts on being the first (and only) female in the comp; the importance of checking your junk (???); the art of “getting slidey”; her current big idea; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Electric fences, sharks, & cows (1:54)
• X Games Real MTB (5:59)
• Check Your Junk! (9:34)
• Being the only woman in REAL MTB (13:52)
• Women’s freeride (18:12)
• Favorite dance moves (23:47)
• Getting Slidey (27:21)
• Digging (34:11)
• 2021 plans & signing with Santa Cruz (37:37)
• Formation (41:12)
• Vero’s Big Idea (44:15)

RELATED LINKS:

• Vero Sandler: REAL MTB 2021
• Vero Sandler: Behind the Scenes REAL MTB

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

Chris Porter has long been known as one of the earliest and most vocal proponents of the longer/lower/slacker trends in mountain bike geometry, and his Geometron bikes have pushed the envelope further than just about anything else out there. Chris has opinions on a whole lot more than just bike geometry, though, and in our recent conversation we got his takes on wheel sizes, eBikes, suspension tuning, Vladimir Putin(?), and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Background & motorcycles (2:16)
• Founding of Mojo & trashing a rental house (5:46)
• Experimenting with geometry (10:24)
• Mondraker & Fabien Barel (17:47)
• Partnership with Nicolai (26:42)
• Trail Nirvana (34:35)
• “eBikes ruined it” (36:37)
• Geometron Bikes (44:32)
• Tradeoffs in bike design (50:38)
• Craft vs. Math in bike setup (55:58)
• Wheel sizes & the death of 27.5? (58:12)
• Chris’ Big Idea (1:11:51)

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

Carson Storch is one of the most talented freeriders in the world, but it is his intense passion for mountain that might actually be the most notable thing about him. We recently caught up with Carson about how his recovery is going from a recent injury — and how he approaches rehab in general; his background and his ascendance in slopestyle and freeride mountain biking; his plans for 2021; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Injury update (0:00)
• The MTB scene in Bend, OR (15:04)
• Slopestyle (22:21)
• First trip to Crankworx (27:15)
• The mentality & preparation of a pro rider (30:26)
• Red Bull Rampage (41:34)
• Risk tolerance: filming vs comps (45:56)
• Black Sage Fest (49:39)
• Quarterpoint teaser & 2021 Plans (53:52)
• Carson’s Big Idea (58:25)

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

We talk with the pioneer of women’s freeride about growing up in the bush of New Zealand; her first bike (it was a mullet??); moving to Revelstoke; choosing mountain biking over skiing; career detours; being “toothless & ruthless”; Rampage; Formation; the future of women’s freeride; & more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Growing up in the bush of New Zealand (3:00)
• First bike: a mullet?? (10:49)
• Moving to Revelstoke (15:16)
• Choosing mountain biking over skiing (21:03)
• Gaining support as a mountain biker (23:50)
• Career detours and a breakout year (28:19)
• Training & the Gym (33:13)
• Toothless & Ruthless (38:22)
• Advice for people coming up in the industry (42:31)
• Inspirations & Red Bull Rampage (46:55)
• When to send & when not to send (54:03)
• Formation (57:00)
• The future of women’s freeriding (59:09)
• Casey’s big idea (1:03:20)

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

Blister reviewers David Golay and Noah Bodman talk about trends in modern bikes, including a possible ceasefire in the geometry wars; the relative consistency of Downhill bike geometry; the decline of weight weenie-ism; an outrageously long bike from 30 years ago; how all bikes should be sized to fit Noah Bodman; and a whole bunch more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Trail bike geometry, and a ceasefire in the geometry wars
• Downhill bikes, and their progression
• Trails changing bikes, or vice versa? A chicken or egg problem
• The decline of weight weenie-ism
• Rich Williams — a man ahead of his time
• Size-specific chainstay lengths — a passing fad, or good idea?
• All bikes should be sized for Noah?
• The resurgence of high-pivot bikes, and their tradeoffs

RELATED LINKS

• Ep. 59: Reviewer Reports: Longer-Travel Enduro Bikes
• First Look: 2022 Trek Session

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

We talk to Steve Mathews of Vorsprung Suspension about moving to Whistler and breaking everything in the bike park; studying automotive engineering as the closest thing to getting a degree in bikes; founding Vorsprung and developing suspension products; leprechauns(??); magic bikes(???) and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Growing up in Melbourne & racing DH (1:37)
• Studying automotive engineering as the next best thing to a degree in bikes (2:18)
• Founding Vorsprung to avoid working outside in the winter in Whistler (3:44)
• The Corset, Luftkappe, & making air suspension not terrible (14:50)
• Competition in the suspension industry (25:17)
• The Smashpot and Secus — the next steps (35:04)
• Tractive & Fractive (42:01)
• Electronic suspension & leprechauns in your bottle cage (50:39)
• Dual-crown enduro forks, linkage forks, & the future of suspension (1:00:02)
• Steve’s big idea (1:24:24)

RELATED LINKS

• Ep. 38: The Strangest Bike? Structure Cycleworks founder, Loni Hull

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

We talk to Blister bike editor, David Golay, about 4 longer-travel enduro bikes from Privateer, Santa Cruz, Rocky Mountain, & Marin that he’s been spending time on in the PNW.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Privateer 161 Update (1:10)
• Rocky Mountain Altitude (3:25)
• Marin Alpine Trail (8:01)
• Santa Cruz Nomad (13:53)
• Bikes & Ice Cream (19:01)

RELATED LINKS

• Ep. 51: Privateer: Origins, Philosophy, & Trajectory
• Ep. 53: Privateer 161, Suspension, & Wheel Size

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

We talk to Kera Linn about her rather meteoric rise in the mountain biking world — from her first time on a mountain bike, to her recent signing with Cannondale. We also talk about her equally interesting backstory (which includes playing all of the sports and going to all of the colleges), so we cover all of that and more in this really fun conversation.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• PSA: Mango Mouth (1:44)
• Current MTB interests (8:10)
• Kera’s background (11:12)
• Falling in love with DH in Crested Butte (30:36)
• From 1st ride to becoming a pro (39:36)
• Living in a minivan in California to race (50:30)
• Signing with Cannondale (53:15)
• Kera’s big idea (58:57)

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

Cassie Abel is the co-founder and CEO of Wild Rye, which is a company that creates apparel for women-identifying outdoor-lovers, regardless of age, background, size, or skill level. But Cassie is not only running a women's apparel company, she is working to change the entire business landscape for women.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• What is Wild Rye & why the name? (2:11)
• Cassie’s background (3:49)
• Operating out of Ketchum, Idaho (10:48)
• Call-out culture (24:50)
• Sustainability (31:47)
• Women-Led Wednesday (33:17)
• Receiving the Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship (38:36)
• Pivot Cycles x Wild Rye collab (42:14)
• Another big idea from Cassie (50:53)

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

Rémy Métailler has described himself as someone who is “just trying to be as responsible as he can while doing stupid stuff.” So we wanted to talk to him about his approach to riding super steep, gnarly lines, and what allows him to get comfortable on these “stupid” lines. We also talk about his background, filming, Rampage, mullet bikes, and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Growing up in France riding bikes & skiing (10:13)
• Moving to Whistler / the bike park scene (18:18)
• Red Bull Rampage (25:56)
• Filming on an enduro bike (35:26)
• Hip-hop (40:01)
• Gambling in Vegas (42:59)
• Calculating line choices (46:53)
• Propain bikes (50:42)
• Riding mullets & Remy’s bike quiver (52:32)
• 2021 plans (56:08)
• Rémy's big idea (58:15)

RELATED LINKS

• Rémy's YouTube Channel
• Rémy's Instagram

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