Welcome Mountain Bikers! Thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. I’m your host, Shawn Spomer. Today we have a treat! Charlie Sponsel, sometimes known as Team Robot is on the show. Charlie was a professional mountain bike racer, has a hilarious and informative presence on the internet, and is a down-to-earth, straight shooter when it comes to both bikes and, more importantly, life in general. We run the gamut of topics on today’s show, and I even had to call him back up to get his stance on chainstay length because we missed it the first time around. If you didn’t know, Charlie has a monthly advice column on Vital MTB, so if you have a question, hit him up by writing [email protected] on the old email.

A big thanks goes out to Jenson USA, supporter of The Inside Line for the last four years! Keep your bike running strong with parts from Jenson. If you use coupon code “insideline” all one word at checkout on jensonusa.com, you’ll receive 10% off qualifying items. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires just launched the updated Shorty tire. You can check out our review on VitalMTB.com with Squamish shredder, Joel Harwood, who gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars. A specialty tire for wet conditions, the Shorty is available now on maxxis.com

In our episode today, I speak with Charlie about trail advocacy and stewardship. Well, Santa Cruz Bicycles, through their Paydirt initiative is donating $1 million to trail projects over 3 years. You can see current funding recipients or submit your project to the program at santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt

Charlie, thank you. Listeners, we definitely thank you and I hope you enjoy the show.