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The latest episode of The Mountain Cog Podcast features an in-depth discussion with Ruth Cañamar from the Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists (SDMB) about transforming Tucson's mountain biking landscape through community-driven initiatives. The conversation highlights the successful recent Poker Ride event, which brought together various cycling groups, bike shops, and community members for a day of non-competitive riding and socializing at Tucson Mountain Park, demonstrating the power of inclusive community events in mountain biking.

Ruth shares her personal journey into mountain biking and her role in expanding SDMB's reach through various programs, including women's skills clinics, trail maintenance workshops, and partnerships with local organizations. The episode delves into important discussions about making mountain biking more accessible and the vital role of volunteer-driven advocacy groups in maintaining and developing trail systems. Listeners gain valuable insights into the behind-the-scenes work of mountain bike advocacy and the importance of community engagement in trail development.

Raffle - Cannondale Habit 3 MTB ($5/ea or $20 for 5)

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/sonoran-desert-mountain-bicyclist-raffle

Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists (SDMB)

Web: https://www.sdmb.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sdmb_mtb

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SDMB.org

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This episode delivers an expert comparison of leading electronic suspension systems, featuring Mountain Cog host and suspension specialist Dane Higgins' detailed analysis of SRAM Rockshox Flight Attendant, Fox Live Valve, and Fox Live Valve Neo. The discussion examines how each system approaches terrain detection and suspension adjustment, with Flight Attendant's cross-country focus contrasting with Neo's gravity-oriented design. Installation requirements, compatibility considerations, and real-world performance characteristics are thoroughly explored.

Pricing and value propositions also take center stage, with systems ranging from $1,400 to $3,500 depending on configuration. The hosts provide valuable insights into how these systems benefit different riding styles and skill levels, from competitive racing to casual trail riding. Key technological features are explained, including wireless versus wired configurations, battery life expectations, and integration capabilities with other bike components. The episode concludes with practical recommendations for various rider profiles, helping listeners make informed decisions about electronic suspension upgrades

SRAM Rockshox Flight Attendant https://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/collections/flight-attendant

Fox Live Valve Neo
https://ridefox.com/pages/neo-technology

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Mountain Cog dives deep into the evolution and future of SRAM's mountain bike components with industry veteran and SRAM Field Guide Jimmy Nordloh.

Discover the fascinating history behind SRAM's acquisitions, including: Zipp Wheels and Time Pedals, while exploring breakthroughs like the Buttercups suspension technology (surprisingly inspired by chainsaw grips). Learn why properly bedding your brakes is crucial for optimal performance and the true story behind SRAM's approach to component serviceability. Jimmy shares insider knowledge about SRAM's future, manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, and their commitment to bike shop partnerships, making this episode essential for anyone interested in mountain bikes.

SRAM MTB Products
SRAM MTB: https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain
Rockshox: https://www.sram.com/en/rockshox
Truvativ: https://www.sram.com/en/truvativ
Zipp: https://www.sram.com/en/zipp
Quarq: https://www.sram.com/en/quarq
Time: https://www.sram.com/en/time-sport
Hammerhead: https://www.hammerhead.io/
Velocio: https://velocio.cc/?__woopraid=gtJLkWVFnj0g

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In this episode the boys are joined by Tim March who ghostwrote Steve Peat’s new autobiography “Forged By Speed – The Making of a Mountain Bike World Champion”. 

Steve Peat needs no introduction, he had a prolific downhill race career with 17 World Cup wins, 2 World Cup Overall titles, and a World Championship title.  He is currently the head coach and team manager of the Santa Cruz Syndicate race team.  He is hands down one of the fastest and most successful downhill mountain bike athletes in history.

He’s well known, not only for being wicked fast on a bike, but for his rock star persona.  There’s no other athlete that we can think of that embodied the “work hard – play hard” philosophy more than Peaty.  His party animal shenanigans are as well documented in the media as is his downhill supremacy.

The book, which was underpinned by ~20,000 journal entries that Steve religiously kept throughout his career, tells the deeper story of Steve’s upbringing, thought process, training methodology, challenges, and a healthy amount of his infamous shenanigans.

Ghostwriter Tim March (who himself, is a Professional BMX racing legend and long-established bike journalist), worked for several years with Peaty to document and give fans a true inside look into Steve’s back story and the trials and tribulations that lead to his success.

Forged By Speed – The Making of a Mountain Bike World Champion 

• Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/forged-by-speed/id6717572064
• Amazon (U.S.): https://www.amazon.com/Forged-Speed-making-mountain-champion/dp/1839810963
• Amazon (U.K.): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forged-Speed-making-mountain-champion/dp/1839810963
• Web: https://www.adventurebooks.com/products/forged-by-speed

Peaty’s (Steve Peat’s mountain bike product company)

• https://peatys.com/

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Who is Faction Bike Studio?  You can think of them as the creative minds behind your next bike. 

Faction Bike Studio is a cutting-edge industrial design and engineering consulting company based in Quebec, Canada.  Essentially, bike brands (small, medium, and the big guys) hire Faction to help them design and engineer their company’s bikes or bike parts.  They’ve done 350 projects for over 100 customers since they were established in 2010.

This is the first of 2 podcasts we’ve got planned with Faction Bike Studio.  In this episode we chat with Faction Bike Studio’s Product manager Adam Robbins who introduces Faction.  In the second episode, we’ll bring on Simon (Faction’s R&D Lead Engineer) to answer detailed questions about how and why bikes are designed the way they are…

We need your help!  Please submit any questions you have about how and why bikes are designed the way they are… submit your questions using the “Send Us A Text” link above or via Instagram or Facebook.

Faction Bike Studio links... 
Web: https://factionbikestudio.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/factionbikestudio/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/factionbike/

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Outbound Lighting is a premier bicycle light manufacturer in Chicago, IL.  In this episode, the boys sat down to chat with Tom Place (Co-Owner, Engineer, Testing, & Customer Service) from Outbound Lighting to go deep on all things related to mountain bike lights.

And as the title of this podcast would suggest, we learned that there’s a lot more to a great mountain bike light than just the number of lumens.  Those things include; beam pattern, light requirement, runtime, battery management, thermodynamics and heat, mounting systems, durability, charge time, size, weight, price, and the user interface. 

After this episode Josh was so intrigued that he went ahead and ordered two Outbound Lighting Trail Evos (their flagship light) for his wife and him to test out (at full price).  Will advise on their experience in a future episode, but we are optimistic that they will love them.    

Outbound Lighting
Web: https://www.outboundlighting.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outboundlighting/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutboundLighting/

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To celebrate Dane’s 25th episode co-hosting the MCP, the boys sit down to debate the benefits, issues, and costs of electronic mountain bike components.  In addition to electronic components (shifting, droppers, suspension, brakes?, etc.) the boys also cover other bike-tech topics like the right way to torque bolts, when grease is really needed, and more.  And.  Of course.  There are a few “minor” disagreements about Shimano vs. SRAM. 

Some links to accompany this episode... 

Shimano MTB Components (Acoustic)
https://mtb.shimano.com/us/products/mtb/ 

SRAM MTB Components (Electronic & Acoustic)
https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain

PinkBike Video: Broken On Live TV: The Untold Story of Pivot’s New Phoenix DH Bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNinULVRHcU

Torque’ng got your down?  Here’s an article about bikes + torque + tools.
https://bike.bikegremlin.com/18208/tightening-torque-and-torque-wrenches-explained-101/

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In this episode Josh & Dane sit down with Chris Johnson who is the CEO & President of the Tonto Gravity Riders (TGR).  TGR has built and maintained some amazing gravity focused trails in Arizona including in the Pinal Mountains Trail System and Sunrise Bike Park.

TGR is a large group of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts that share a passion to better the user experience. It is a large core of highly experienced trail volunteers who have worked on many projects throughout Arizona. Many of them have been working together for over a decade now and it shows in their work! Sustainability is #1. 

They share a vision for the great recreational possibilities that await all user groups, especially mountain bikers within the Pinal Mountains by providing the resources needed to restore, maintain and help re-develop the Pinal Mountain Trail System.

Tonto Gravity Riders (TGR)

Web: https://www.tontogravityriders.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tontogravityriders/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TontoGravityRiders/

Trails

Pinal Mountain Trail System: https://www.trailforks.com/region/pinal-mountain-trail-system/

NRA Jumps: https://www.trailforks.com/poi/1410/

Sunrise Bike Park: https://www.sunrise.ski/summer/downhill-mountain-biking/

Mt Graham Trail System: https://www.trailforks.com/region/pinaleno-mountains-mt-graham/

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In this episode we dive into the value of bike-adjacent businesses deliberately planning for and taking actions to make it convenient for cyclists to visit their establishments.

Tucson’s Hop Shop does exactly that… in fact, they are of 1 of only 11 businesses in Arizona to get a “Bicycle Friendly Business” award by the League of American Bicyclists.

In this episode, the guys sit down with Jessie & Sarita from the Hop Shop.  The Hop Shop is a bottle shop & beer garden in North Tucson that has a deep connection to both the mountain & pavement bike communities.  It’s located off Tucson’s infamous 150+ mile paved “loop” trail system.

The Hop Shop is a popular “post ride” location where mountain bikers, commuters & roadies can enjoy a fresh pint and amazing pizza from the Hop Shop's neighbor Ciao Down (which is a “culinary studio” next door that delivers the pizza to your table inside or outside the Hop Shop). Oh, and you can bring your bike inside, in fact, it’s encouraged.

Episode links...

Web: https://www.tucsonhopshop.com/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/tucsonhopshop/profilecard/?igsh=eWJwMGZ5NmQxZThz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/NT5ZtV6rwunyrCEs/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

The Loop: https://tucsonloop.org/

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In this episode Josh & Dane sit down with the President (Nick Giovannucci) and Vice President (Matt Hrabko) of the Tucson Off-Road Cyclists and Activists (TORCA).  They are doing some amazing work relative to building & maintaining big mountain trails on Mt. Lemmon in Southern Arizona.

The mission of Tucson Off-Road Cyclists and Activists (TORCA) is "To preserve the tradition, condition, and etiquette of the trail; and to present novel trail opportunities in a sustainable and responsible manner."

They represent all facets of the mountain biking community and enjoy riding all of the trails that Tucson has to offer. TORCA invites you to get involved so that mountain biking's voice becomes louder and our trails get faster!

TORCA...
Web: https://www.torca.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torcamtb/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TucsonTORCA/

Santa Catalina Trails Plan: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coronado/home/?cid=FSEPRD974570

Home Grown MTB: https://homegrownmtb.com/

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