Betty Birrell picked up mountain biking nearly 30 years ago and at 73, she’s still riding serious trails on the North Shore. So David Golay and Kara Williard sat down with Betty to talk about her trajectory as a mountain biker; motherhood; how the sport has (and hasn’t) changed; and the North Shore Betty documentary short that Patagonia released recently. Along the way, Betty shares some great insights on staying motivated and continuing to do the things we love in the outdoors long after a lot of folks have hung it up. TOPICS & TIMES:Betty’s introduction to MTB (2:50)The early North Shore riding scene (5:57)Motherhood & having an “adventure buddy” (13:54)Perseverance & keeping going (22:22)Risk tolerance & aging (26:29)Role models and mentorship (32:05)Keeping current (36:15)Self-identity & athletics (42:14)Betty’s Big Idea (48:01)RELATED LINKS:Episode sponsor: Over the EdgeNorth Shore BettyBecome a Blister MemberBlister LabsThis Week’s Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideOUR OTHER PODCASTSOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister Podcast
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"North Shore" Betty Birrell on MTB at Age 73

Bikes &amp; Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the most interesting conversations and ideas from the bike world — and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports

Health & Fitness

When it comes to rear shocks for mountain bikes, there are tons of options for both air- and coil-sprung versions, but the Cane Creek Tigon is both — an “air-charged coil shock,” as Cane Creek describes it. So we sat down with Cane Creek’s Will Hart to get the rundown on the Tigon, including why Cane Creek decided to make it; what its pros and cons are relative to their other shock offerings; who it’ll work best for; and more. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership This Week’s Gear Giveaway TOPICS & TIMES: Introducing Will (1:38) The Tigon (3:34) “Air-charged coil” shock (10:29)  Setting sag & air / coil interplay (15:31) Cane Creek’s shock lineup & choosing between their offerings (18:50) Suspension kinematics & what the Tigon is best suited for (22:56) The Tigon damper (27:03) Base tunes vs. wide adjustment ranges (34:18) Durability (40:26) OUR OTHER PODCASTS Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Off The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cane Creek on their “Air-Charged Coil” Tigon Shock

We’ve been testing a huge variety of bikes, from the E-Gravel Scott Solace to a bunch of high-pivot Trail bikes (including the Deviate Highlander II), plus several new forks, some new tires, and a whole bunch more. So we sat down to chat about all of it; recap the World Cup DH season opener; recount being repeatedly heckled on the local trails; and argue about the relative merits of tire inserts vs. beefier casings. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership This Week’s Gear Giveaway TOPICS & TIMES: World Cup DH season opener (1:44) Norco Fluid VLT & Canyon Neuron:ONFly (12:34) Bosch SX Motor (13:21) Deviate Highlander II (24:51) Yeti ASR (30:25) Michelin’s new Enduro and DH tires (41:34) Fox 38 Grip X2 (57:51) Formula Belva (1:05:31) Scott Solace (1:11:04) OUR OTHER PODCASTS Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Off The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reviewer Reports: World Cup DH Recap, Tons of Bikes, Suspension, Tires, & More

Carbon fiber bike frames have become ubiquitous in the high-end world, but metal bikes are making a comeback — and the number of steel full-suspension bikes we’ve reviewed in the last few years is a testament to that. So we sat down with Daniel Yang and Nick Neuhaus of Neuhaus Metalworks to chat about the case for metal bikes; hear the story of their respective journeys into frame building; talk about bike sizing and size-specific geometry; and discover that Daniel and our Bike Editor, David, are maybe secretly the same person (?) RELATED LINKS: Bag Balm BLISTER+ Membership This Week’s Gear Giveaway TOPICS & TIMES: Introducing Nick and Daniel (2:50) Are Daniel and David secretly the same person? (13:57) Group learning & sharing info (15:24) Metal bikes (18:40) Carbon fiber frames & industrial design (26:12) The UDH (35:00) Frame sizes & size-specific geometry (50:37) Making biking more inclusive (58:20) The case for custom bikes (1:03:29) OUR OTHER PODCASTS Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Off The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neuhaus Metalworks on Metal Bikes’ Resurgence, Learning to Build Frames, Size-Specific Geometry & More

Simon welcomes guest co-host Mike Ferrentino to go over a busy, weird month in the bike world. Of course, they have to talk about what happened to Kona, which leads to a discussion about the negative effect Venture capital and investment companies seem to have on the bike industry. But there’s also fun stuff going on with companies like Gates, and Mike places a bet with eating his microphone as the stakes. Plus they get into the incredible start to the XC World Cup season for U.S. athletes, the new Canyon lightweight eMTB, the scourge of poison oak, and, naturally, some discussion of zombies. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials Blister Labs This Week’s Gear Giveaway Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide TOPICS & TIMES: What's going on with Kona? (0:41) Enve is being sold again (9:25) Rapha closed their U.S. office (14:42) The Mountain Bike capital of the world (18:03) Gate’s 100k belt drive prize & Microphone eating (29:00) Recap of the first two XC World Cups (34:46) New Yeti ASR (42:22) XC bike amnesia (52:03) Canyon Neuron:ONfly first ride (56:04) Poison Oak (1:03:30) 28 Days Later sequel and Zombies (1:04:47) OUR OTHER PODCASTS Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Off The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, April 2024

The Norco Factory Team has a new DH race bike, and the story of its development is an interesting one. So we sat down with engineers Adrian Ward and Kirk McDowall to hear their take on the goals and design intent of the bike; what they learned from the development of the existing Enduro bike, the Range (and its modified DH version); the original test mule for the new race bike; working with Greg Minnaar to continue the bike’s development; and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials Blister Labs This Week’s Gear Giveaway Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide TOPICS & TIMES: Introducing Adrian and Kirk (2:03) Origins of the DH bike project (3:59) Racing DH on the Range (6:35) The next steps (13:27) Kirk’s testing (17:28) Building “the fastest race bike” (22:53) The design of the bike (28:41) Wheel sizes & going MX (32:33) Suspension layout (41:07) Greg Minnaar & reconsidering 29’’ wheels (46:52) Future development (56:26) OUR OTHER PODCASTS Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Off The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"North Shore" Betty Birrell on MTB at Age 73

Download our free app to listen on your phone