Bikes & Big Ideas

We talk to Ibis Cycles founder, Scot Nicol, about the new Ripmo 2; the current Ibis lineup; Scot’s background in the early (and awesome) days of mtn biking; the history and trajectory of Ibis; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• The Ripmo 2 (4:55)
• The current Ibis lineup (16:55)
• More Ibis metal bikes? (23:44)
• 25: 15 The Ibis Tranny
• 28:00 The Ibis Trans-Fat
• 28:50 Scot’s favorite Ibis bike name
• 32:11 Ripley vs Ripmo
• 34:57 Scot’s bike background
• 41:36 The evolution of bikes in the past 15 years
• 55:53 What will mtn biking look like in the next ~40 years?
• e-bikes (1:02:12)

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What will the mountain biking industry look like 10 years from now? What current product categories currently have the most room for improvement, and where will the actual advances in bike tech have happened by the end of 2029? What categories of riding will have grown, and which will have shrunk? Will we have fewer or more bike parks? We discuss all of this and more — including our wildest predictions for this next decade.

And in the Comments Section below, we’d love to hear what you predict the bike industry will look like in 10 years.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Follow up on last episode ‘Gear Awards’ (1:35)
• Predictions for 2020 - 2029 (3:42)
• What gear has the most room for improvement? (20:22)
• Where will we actually see the most improvement? (32:04)
• Are we in a golden age of bike design? (39:40)
• Will # of mtn bikers increase or decrease? (43:40)
• Which types of riding will get bigger or smaller? (44:34)
• Will we see fewer or more bike parks? (52:14)
• Fewer or more riders pedaling up bike parks? (53:12)
• Wildest predictions for the next decade? (1:00:40)

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Of the entire past decade, what was the most influential bike or bike part? What were the best bikes or bike parts? What were the biggest gear trends? And what was our selection for the Best Product of the Decade? We cover all of this and more with Noah Bodman and David Golay.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Most Influential Mtn Bike, 2000-2009 (3:10)
• Most Influential Mtn Bike, 2010-2019 (11:45)
• Most Influential Components (20:00)
• Best Mtn Bike (24:10)
• Best Components (36:25)
• Biggest Mtn Bike Gear Trends (46:40)
• Best Product of the Decade (41:11)

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Paul Basagoitia was the first back-to-back winner of Crankworx Slopestyle, participated in Red Bull Rampage numerous times, and was one of the top riders in the game. But one tiny mishap led to a crash that left him paralyzed, and Paul’s life was changed in an instant. So we talk to Paul about his ascension in the sport, the events surrounding his accident, his road to recovery, how he views Rampage today, and his new Red Bull / HBO film, Any One of Us that chronicles it all — and provides an unfiltered look at life after a spinal cord injury.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Paul’s new film, Any One of Us (1:45)
• Winning Crankworx on Cam Zink’s bike (5:16)
• Competing at Rampage & managing fear (13:17)
• Paul’s crash (15:12)
• Are you scared watching friends drop in at Rampage? (32:30)
• Spinal injuries & stem cell research (33:36)
• Wings for Life (wingsforlife.com) (38:15)
• Paul’s recovery & current status (39:05)

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These days, a lot of brands — and especially a lot of outdoor brands — like to talk about sustainability. But what concrete steps are companies taking to measure, reduce, and offset their carbon emissions? And what can be done to hold companies more accountable?

Climate Neutral is a non-profit that enlists brands to reduce and pay for their emissions, and that helps consumers identify which companies are taking real action.

So we talk to Climate Neutral CEO, Austin Whitman, about how Climate Neutral got started; his (impressive) background; the problem of “greenwashing”; the lower-than-you’d-think costs of reducing carbon emissions; the legitimacy of carbon offsets; and what individuals & companies can do right now.

Check out Climate Neutral’s current Kickstarter campaign

TOPICS & TIMES:

• What is Climate Neutral? (2:43)
• How did Climate Neutral get started? (3:45)
• Austin’s (impressive) background (9:24)
• What Climate Neutral does & doesn’t do (20:40)
• Greenwashing & how to avoid it? (28:32)
• Costs / Price of reducing carbon emissions? (36:11)
• Carbon offsets — are they legit? (44:22)
• Near-term goals of Climate Neutral? (52:22)
• What should individuals & companies do right now? (58:16)

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Reviewers Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, Dylan Wood, and David Golay discuss our new BLISTER Brand Guide to Mountain Bikes; why we saw a need for it; the trends and takeaways we’ve seen in the process of building it; and … the revolutionary new Badonkadonk bike.

See our Mountain Bike Brand Guides (many more coming soon)

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Dylan’s Crash = Your Gain (1:27)
• Why do a guide like this? (4:22)
• Market Trends (11:10)
• Components, Suspension, & Tires (19:13)
• Mullet bikes & the Badonkadonk (20:31)

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Coming straight to Crested Butte after an amazing World Cup season finale, Claudio Caluori sits down with Jonathan Ellsworth in BLISTER HQ to recap this incredible World Cup Downhill season; discuss whether this was the best WC DH season ever; talk about Loic Bruni and Amaury Pierron’s epic battle; and frame Danny Hart’s season. Claudio also offers his biggest takeaways from the men’s and women’s seasons; how the sport has evolved in terms of trails, equipment, and talent; and what, if anything, could be done to make the series even better.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Was this the best WC season ever? (1:54)
• “Perfect” Riding vs. Pushing the limit (7:18)
• Framing Danny Hart’s season (20:33)
• Biggest takeaways from the men’s season (23:52)
• Loic & Amaury’s battle (25:55)
• Biggest takeaways from women’s season (29:00)
• Thoughts on women riding Rampage? (33:35)
• What changes would you make to the WC series? (36:12)
• Are riders better than ever? (43:56)
• Predictions for next year? (50:55)

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What do politics, religion, and e-Bikes have in common? They’re all topics that get people extremely worked up, often result in name calling, and are rarely productive. And this needs to change, because e-Bikes are not going away, so we need to figure out fast how to have more constructive conversations about e-bikes — and, in particular e-mountain bikes.

To this end, we’re talking today to Dave Wiens, the executive director of the International Mountain Biking Association, to help clarify what all the fuss is about; identify what the biggest issues are with e-mountain bikes; present the concerns that advocates — and the opponents — of e-bikes most need to understand; and lay out what the best way forward looks like.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Current debates about e-Bikes (2:26)
• IMBA’s role and stance (6:03)
• What groups does IMBA hear from the most? (11:42)
• Arguments against e-bike trail access (13:13)
• Arguments for e-bike trail access (24:11)
• Why distinguish between classes of bikes? (26:47)
• Have there been many on-trail issues with e-bikes? (36:12)
• What’s the best way forward? (41:10)

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For many of us, bikes are primarily fun. But for many others, bikes are major drivers of economic development, critical sources of transportation and health care, vehicles of educational opportunity, and instruments of equality.

World Bicycle Relief was started by the founder of SRAM to provide bikes to some of the communities around the world that could use them the most, and in today’s conversation, you’ll learn exactly how and why bikes are such a significant and life-changing tool.

Our guest today is Dave Neiswander, the CEO of World Bicycle Relief. Dave has been with WBR for over a decade, and as you will see, he is an impressive guy with an impressive background, and he does an excellent job talking about the origins of World Bicycle Relief; its trajectory and challenges; the bikes themselves and all the product design that goes into them; and what each of us can do to support the mission of World Bicycle Relief.

Take Action: Go to worldbicyclerelief.org to sign up for one of their upcoming events, make a donation, and share what they are up to with your friends and colleagues.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Origin Story of World Bicycle Relief (3:49)
• How Dave first got involved with WBR (8:41)
• Why bikes matter so much (16:24)
• Mission Statement of WBR (19:25)
• How does WBR select new locations to assist? (21:21)
• Important Stats & Results (37:13)
• Winning the Wharton / Lipman Prize (43:53)
• The bikes / designing for particular performance (49:03)
• The Buffalo Bike (54:07)
• The Charger Bike (55:51)
• Future plans for World Bicycle Relief (59:17)
• Biggest lessons learned that others might benefit from? (1:05:07)
• Best ways for individuals and companies to get involved? (1:07:31)

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Sometimes, “different” is better. Other times, it’s just dumb. So today we’re discussing a number of very unconventional bike products and asking: Why does this product exist; what problem is it trying to solve; who is its target audience; and … is the product more likely to become the next big thing, or, is it more likely destined for the dustbin of history?

Jonathan Ellsworth talks to Blister’s new ‘oddities expert,’ David Golay, about the Trust Message linkage fork; Structure Cycleworks’ SCW1 linkage fork / frame system; high-pivot Trail bikes and the Forbidden Druid; Starling Cycles’ ‘Jack Drive’ bikes; and Tannus Armour tire inserts.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Introducing David, our ‘Oddities Expert’ (2:35)
• David’s Nicolai G16, Mojo Special Edition (3:12)
• Trust Message linkage fork (4:20)
• Structure Cycleworks’ SCW1 linkage fork/frame system (13:20)
• High-Pivot Trail Bikes / the Forbidden Druid (19:12)
• Starling Cycles’ ‘Jack Drive’ bikes (25:55)
• Tannus Armour Tire Inserts (30:55)

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