WIN A ROCKSHOX BOXXER - Vital MTB Downhill Fantasy

Watch this interview - Ronan Dunne's 2022 season was going so poorly that his parents secretly signed him up for the army. Thankfully for us and Ronan, his results improved, he continued to race World Cup Downhill and now he's a podium finisher.

On today's podcast, Tech Editor Jason Schroeder brings you a pulse check on the state of our beloved mountain bike industry. Last week, during the Sea Otter Classic, he chatted with some industry folks from Santa Cruz Bicycles, Maxxis Tires, Feedback Sports, Transition Bicycles, Industry Nine, Orbea, FSA Components, Trek Bicycles, Hunt Wheels, and Privateer Bikes. And asked one simple question: now that we are a few years past the COVID bike boom, what is the state of the industry? Are things good? Are they bad? And where do you see things going in the next 12-24 months? Here is what people had to say.  

:43 - Maxxis Tires 
5:57 - Santa Cruz Bicycles
8:21 - Trek Bicycles
9:52 - Hunt Wheels
17:00 Transition Bikes
21:27 - Feedback Sports
24:32 - FSA
26:52 - Industry Nine
32:11 - Orbea Bikes

More Sea Otter content: https://www.vitalmtb.com/tags/sea_otter_classic_event

More MTB news: https://www.vitalmtb.com/

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

1:28 - Checking in with Brandon Turman

5:15 - Crankbrothers SOS Tools

8:32 - B Zone loamers and Fort William predictions with George Browne

14:14 - Mondraker on moving to the U.S.

21:18 - Dillon Lemarr chats working at TLD and Fort William predictions

34:31 - Kiran MacKinnon from Santa Cruz Bicycles chats suspension tuning and bike development

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

:35 - Derek Teel of Dialed Health
 4:03 - Nik Nestoroff chats slalom finals prep and Maven brakes
 6:11 - 2024 news with Industry Nine
 8:43 - New forks from SR Suntour
 14:43 - John Hall from Intense Cycles
 28:39 - Intense’s gearbox downhill bike
 40:33 - Transition Bikes
 49:06 - Checking in with Marco Osborne
 52:47 - Norco Sight and Optic link + 60-Year Anniversary
 55:54 - Dual Slalom Finals

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

:53 - Tannus Inserts new Fusion 

3:08 - Ride Wrap

5:41 - DEITY Components - new grip and two new pedals (coming in June)

12:45 - Dakotah Norton - Slalom update

14:40 - Ari Bikes - custom slalom bike for Kyle Strait; updates on the new DH bike

17:45 - New Hunt Wheels coming this summer…

21:09 - Privateer Bikes now being sold in the US

23:48 - Interview with Braydon Bringhurst

More Sea Otter content:

Day 2 Photo Gallery #1 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-2

Day 2 You Tube Video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/sea-otter-classic-2024-crazy-and-cool-day-2-slalom-practice-raw

vitalmtb.com

Join Vital Tech Editor, Jason Schroeder, as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

Day 1 Photo Gallery #1 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1

Day 1 Photo Gallery #2 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1-part-2/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1-part-2

Day 1 You Tube Video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/sea-otter-classic-2024-crazy-and-cool-day-1

To learn more and hear our thoughts on the new Grip X2 damper, check out our First Ride review.

After years of mostly positive reviews intertwined with some shortcomings, FOX has ditched its Grip2 and FIT4 dampers for model year 2025 forks. In their place are three new dampers that seek to offer a heightened level of discipline-focused performance and features.

Grip SL - XC, short track, marathon
Grip X - all mountain, trail
Grip X2 - all-mountain, enduro, gravity

We joined FOX for a few days at their HQ in Scotts Valley, California, to get the run down from their engineering and development team on the new damper line and the goals surrounding each product.

0:00 - Overview of Grip dampers with Bill Brown, Head of Engineering
14:35 - Grip X2 details and development goals with Sergio Avanto, Manager of Product Performance
SUPERCROSS TALK WITH SERGIO
27:19 - Who was most difficult to work with (hint: the world's fastest German SX racer)
Epic insight into James Stewart during his prime 
45:49 - Jett Lawrence vs. James Stewart
50:13 - Similarities between supercross suspension and mountain bike suspension  
55:48 - Remi Gauvin of the Rocky Mountain Gravity Team talks about the differences in performance and setup between Grip 2 and Grip X2

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

The first-ever Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series race took place at Ride Rock Creek in North Carolina this weekend. Clay Harper, founder of the series, has a vision to bring back national-level downhill mountain bike race events and round 1 has proven to be a strong start. Jack Rice was at the event and caught up with Clay and others to get their thoughts on the weekend. Our show concludes with the Pro Women's and Men's press conference audio which can also be watched on our site.

Contents
0:00 - Clay Harper, Race Director
9:39 - Sean Griz McClendon
13:26 - Callie Howrath
15:27 - Neko Mulally and Sean Leader
17:51 - Cory Rimmer
23:14 - John Hall
27:23 - Pro Women's Press Conference
37:51 - Pro Men's Press Conference

The Redcar Rocket, Danny Hart, handles the dreaded 17 without a flinch. Watch the video of this interview

• Watch Danny's Vital RAW
• Watch Danny's Bike Check video

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

The 2024 Tennessee National Downhill mountain bike race at Windrock Bike Park is in the books with Dakotah Norton and Frida Ronning taking Elite wins.  This was the first downhill event at Windrock since Aaron Gwin took over ownership of the park and racers and fans alike seemed stoked with the track and the way the event was run. Jack Rice checks in with racers and the people who make #USDH so great.

Asa Vermette was on pace to challenge the time of Dakotah but washed out in a corner injuring his hip and resulting in a DNF. In the Junior classes, Dane Jewett posted a time that would have been 2nd in Elite Men and Aletha Oostgard's time would have been 2nd in Elite Women.  Dig into the results, G-Out Project Photos and more on VitalMTB.com

Interviews
0:00 - Dakotah Norton
4:44 - Don Rogers
6:11 - Asa Vermette (pre-race run)
8:39 - Clay Harper
13:56 - Luca Shaw
15:51 - Angel Suarez
17:46 - Neko Mulally
21:31 - Ryan Griffith
22:42 - Frida's Mechanic, Josh Thwaite
24:42 - Jack Pederson
26:08 - Kale Cushman
28:21 - Lucas Dedora