Bikes & Big Ideas

We talk to Lance Canfield about their new Tilt and Lithium bikes and the rest of the Canfield Bikes 20/21 lineup; the origins story of Canfield; the evolution of Rampage and competing in the first Rampage comps; the mountain bike industry today; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Origins of Canfield Bikes (3:35)
• Getting into bikes, jumping off roofs (8:49)
• Competing at Rampage in its first years (16:49)
• Move to Fruita (26:23)
• Describe the Canfield customer (28:28)
• The 20/21 Canfield lineup (32:25)
• Thoughts on the mtn bike industry today (46:28)
• What’s your current big idea? (51:30)

RELATED LINKS

• Survivor Endurance phone case 
• Our experience with the Survivor Endurance

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Anneke Beerten was on episode #34 of Bikes & Big Ideas, and we did not expect to have the 2 x world champion BMX rider, 3-time Four Cross world champion, and Queen of Crankworx (who hails from the Netherlands) back on the show under these circumstances. Anneke was in an accident and suffered a serious concussion, so we wanted to check in with about what happened; get a firsthand report of her recovery; and present a public service announcement that we all need to hear.

But we then shift gears and talk about her time at Travis Pastrana’s very own theme park, where she participated in the Pastranaland Pit Bike Championships. So this is both a serious and super fun conversation.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Anneke’s accident (2:44)
• Concussions (10:49)
• Anneke’s recovery progress (22:32)
• Advice for others (27:31)
• Pastranaland Pit Bike Championships (32:44)
• Project updates & the upcoming season (37:00)

RELATED LINKS

• Bikes & Big Ideas, ep. 34: Anneke Beerten on Racing, ‘Badass’ Books, & Big Ideas

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For many of us, it’s shoulder season, where the riding conditions are either wet, muddy, cold — or all of the above. And some of us live in places where we just regularly encounter wet, muddy, or cold conditions.

So today we’re talking about why some of the gear that’s intended for wet/muddy riding sucks; which products have worked the best for us; and we then turn to a conversation about forks from Fox, RockShox, and Manitou.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Wet-weather MTB Gloves (0:49)
• Why are MTB jackets often bad? (3:10)
• Fox Flexair NeoShell (5:48)
• 7Mesh Skypilot (10:23)
• Endura MT500 II (12:21)
• Long-travel single-crown forks (15:41) 
• 2021 Fox 40 (20:15)

RELATED LINKS:

• Biking 101: Mountain Bike Fork Offset
• GEAR:30 podcast on “Waterproofness” & Comfort

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Trainers? Trainers?? Roadies have been using them forever, but many mountain bikers dismiss them (like we did). But Simon Stewart (aka, Mr. Tank Driver / co-owner of BV Bike Company) lays out a compelling case for why all cyclists — including mountain bikers — should reconsider their stance on the modern, indoor trainer.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Why Simon got a trainer (2:53)
• What do you like about it? (6:35)
• Weekly training schedule? (16:57)
• Where to demo one / closing thoughts (22:49)

RELATED LINKS:

• See the Wahoo Kickr

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A bike without pedals? Dog mushing? Surfing mountains? Today’s episode is a mindbender, and the backstory here all starts with episode #22 of Bikes & Big Ideas, so you should listen to it if you haven’t already.

We’re talking today with Jordi Ponti from Barcelona-based Gravity Scooters, and we discuss how the idea of a gravity scooter came to be; the advantages of ditching your pedals — and seat posts; designing a DH scooter; dog mushing; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Origins of Gravity Scooters (3:13)
• Coming up with the downhill scooter (5:48)
• Advantages of ditching the pedals (8:48)
• Designing a DH oriented scooter (11:59)
• Where are people riding these? (15:52)
• Mushing (17:17)
• Most common questions & reactions (21:04)
• Brakes & wheel size (26:56)
• Price (28:55)
• Where can people demo a scooter (31:26)
• Find Gravity Scooters on the web (32:46)

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We check in with reviewers Dylan Wood (who gets to keep his seat at the bar), David Golay (who is now reconsidering what makes brakes good or bad), and Eric Freson (who still enjoys a sick jazz soundtrack) to get their updates on the Trek Slash, EXT Storia shock, Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, and the Banshee Phantom V3.

TOPICS & TIMES:

DYLAN WOOD

• Trek Slash: General ride impressions (2:32)
• RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Thru Shaft (3:32)
• Geometry - is it radical enough? (7:55)
• Climbing (9:21)
• Sizing (11:48)
• Slash vs Megatower (15:19)

DAVID GOLAY

• EXT Storia Rear Shock (20:41)
• Hayes Dominion A4 Brakes (27:22)

ERIC FRESON

• Cowboy Bebop (35:49)
• A bit about Banshee (38:31)
• Banshee Phantom V3 (39:59)
• How niche is this bike? (45:12)

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What if you could buy a bike without immediately looking to swap out a bunch of the stock parts? And what if this dream build of yours was competitively priced? Sherpa Custom Mountain Bikes is a brand-new company that allows you to customize every part and color of your new bike, with over 1,000,000 combinations to choose from; their “photorealistic 3D dream builder” provides life-like graphics that allow you to scrutinize every detail of your custom build; and they’re also offering a life-time warranty on their frames and rims. Sound too good to be true? We sat down with the founders of Sherpa to question them about this intriguing ambitious new venture.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT: https://blister.getspot.com

TOPICS & TIMES

• What is the concept of Sherpa (5:19)
• Sherpa’s 3D Bike Builder (9:23)
• Market Research (13:32)
• Component Options (17:41)
• When can people start ordering (21:29)
• Supply chain (23:11)
• Sherpa’s 1st bike: the Everest (30:42)
• Wheel sizes (34:52)
• Riding in Crested Butte (35:32)
• Future plans? (37:41)
• Closing Thoughts (40:22)

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Structure Cycleworks arguably makes the coolest bikes out there — or the ugliest bikes out there. So we talked to Structure Cycleworks founder, Loni Hull, about why he introduced a front-linkage suspension design; why rear-linkage designs are everywhere, while front-linkage designs are utterly uncommon; and the pros and cons of bringing such an unorthodox bike to market. So whether you are a true bike dork or you just appreciate outside-the-box thinking and design, consider this is a ‘Must-Listen.’

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT: blister.getspot.com

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Your background (8:42)
• When & why did you start Structure? (13:53)
• Learning curve? (27:32)
• First racers on the bike (31:05)
• Geometry & hard tails (31:58)
• Benefits of Structure’s design (38:38)
• Wheel sizing (45:22)
• Durability (46:57)
• Warranty (50:59)
• Trajectory of the bike industry (53:08)
• Market acceptance & adoption (55:45)
• Loni’s Big Idea (1:00:53)

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Today, Trek officially released an update of their enduro-focused Slash, so we offer our initial impressions of the new bike and ask what this big new release might be able to tell us about where we are in terms of the evolution of bike geometry. To this end, we also talk about a couple other examples, including the Pivot Switchblade and the Rocky Mountain Instinct BC.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• The new Trek Slash (1:34)
• Bike geometry (5:21)
• Pivot Switchblade (14:17)
• Rocky Mountain Instinct BC (19:11)
• Caveat for Gunnison Valley Riding & Testing (21:34)
• Closing Thoughts (23:27)

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Mountain bikers Eliot Jackson and Katie Holden just launched the Grow Cycling Foundation, so we caught up with Eliot to talk about Grow Cycling; their plan to get a Velosolutions Pumptrack built in downtown Los Angeles; how to create a more welcoming bike culture; his terrific podcast, Reggy Radio; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Night Owls vs. Early Birds (2:23)
• What is the Grow Cycling Foundation? (5:24)
• Putting a Velosolutions Pumptrack in LA (20:50)
• How to develop a more welcoming bike culture (28:59)
• How Eliot got started mtn biking (41:56)
• On being “the biggest nerd of all time” (47:42)
• On becoming entrepreneurial (51:38)
• On being a podcast host / Reggy Radio (57:28)
• Future plans for Grow Cycling (1:04:42)
• How to get involved with Grow Cycling (1:13:16)
• Eliot’s Big Idea / Bad Idea? (1:18:29)

ELIOT’S ARTICLE IN OUTSIDE MAGAZINE

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