Bikes & Big Ideas

Since 2008, Portland Design Works (PDW) has quietly been designing products that inspire people to commute by bike, ride to the grocery store, or to simply hop on and go somewhere fun. Today, we're catching up with founder Erik Olson about his history in the bike industry, why being fluent in Chinese was integral in building relationships in Taiwan, his first products and getting PDW off the ground, his commitment to sustainability, what's in his coffee mug, and more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Coava Coffee (1:04)Riding with his Dog in the Basket (2:17)Erik's history in the bike industry (3:11)Studying and working in China (7:44)Transitioning from Planet Bike to starting your own business (10:01)Starting PDW in Portland (12:36)PDW's First Products (14:41)Expanding the catalog (19:55)Sustainability (24:40)Navigating challenging times in the industry (27:15)Development & distribution (30:37)Their Most Popular Products (35:48)E-bike specific products (38:33)What's the future look like for PDW? (44:47)Donating to Grassroots Advocacy Organizations (47:22)What Erik's Riding (49:50)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been testing a massive range of bikes, from the XC-oriented Kona Hei Hei to the long-travel, full-power Santa Cruz Bullit, so David, Simon, and Dylan sat down to talk about a whole bunch of them. We also dive into Shimano's long-awaited XTR Di2 wireless drivetrain and the Deore and XT versions that just launched, the consistency of Shimano's new brakes, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Kona Hei Hei (1:46)Yeti MTe (10:46)Pivot SL/AM (22:36)Specialized Turbo Levo 4 (31:45)Santa Cruz Bullit (40:13)Salsa Blackthorn 145 (46:17)Esker Woodsy (52:48)Santa Cruz Hightower & Bronson (1:02:51)Shimano XTR Di2 & Deore / XT versions (1:17:48)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ultra-fast long-distance bike rides have garnered a lot of attention of late, headlined by Lael Wilcox's record-setting circumnavigation of the planet. But as impressive as many of those efforts are, there's something lost in moving so quickly. Seeing the world by bike is a great way to slow down, take it all in, and have an experience that other methods of transportation can't replicate.Chris McCaffrey finished a seventeen-month ride around the world last fall, and we sat down to hear his whole story, from the trans-Atlantic rowing effort that sparked his interest in long-distance human-powered travel, to the incredible places he saw and people he met along the way, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Why ride around the world? (2:29)Trans-Atlantic rowing attempt (6:23)Chris's first big bikepacking trip (17:56)Lessons learned from that trip (24:03)Bike setup for the ride around the world (26:45)The route (32:10)Setting off (39:01)North America (43:22)Europe (49:12)Asia (51:03)Getting sick (1:04:44)Favorite places & next destinations (1:25:20)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the May edition of Reviewing the News, we start with some good news regarding the return of Revel Bikes and the acquisition of Rocky Mountain by four Canadian investors. World Cup DH racing kicked off with two exciting races with vastly different conditions, Christopher Blevins continued his XC winning streak in Nova Mesto, and the incredible Giro d'Italia was one we won't soon forget, plus a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Revel Returns (3:13)Rocky Mountain's New Owners (13:01)Christopher Blevins' Domination (16:22)Mathieu Van Der Poel Crashed and Burned (24:01)The Fantastic Giro d'Italia (34:23)Visma's Stage 20 Tactical Masterpiece (53:00)Simon Yates' Redemption (39:47)Terrible Conditions at the Bielsko-Biała DH World Cup (58:59)A Dry, Blown-Out Track in Loudenville (1:05:31)Jackson Goldstone's Incredible Race Run (1:08:25)Gracey Helmstreet's First Win For Canada (1:14:13)Recent favorite products (1:17:44)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Esker Cycles came on the scene in 2018 with a couple of sleek carbon fiber mountain bikes featuring an unknown Dave Weagle suspension platform called Orion. Weagle's design was originally conceived for motorcycles and was dependent on a single front sprocket layout, which, back when Orion was developed, didn't include mountain bikes since multiple chainrings and front derailleurs were still the norm. Orion was shelved until Esker founder Tim Krueger approached Weagle looking for a suspension design, and the first Esker bikes started to take shape. Steel and Titanium hardtails followed as Esker expanded its product portfolio, and while Esker's first suspension bikes were carbon fiber, Tim had aluminum in mind from the beginning, with the dream of offering high-quality, affordable mountain bikes. A lot has changed since the early days of Esker, so today we're catching up with Tim Krueger — and he doesn't disappoint — essentially pulling back the curtain on what it's been like to be a small bike brand during a volatile time in the bike industry. Tim also discusses their decision to abandon carbon fiber bikes in favor of aluminum, focusing on affordability, his take on geometry, their new metal bikes, and much more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredEsker CyclesTOPICS & TIMES:Tim's First Bike Shop JobTeaching Was Not for TimGetting Hired as a Product Manager for SalsaAdventure by BikeTim's Time Guiding Bike Packing ToursMeeting Dave WeagleBlowing the Dust off Orion SuspensionBootstrapping EskerScraping Together $250K Manufacturing in Taiwan vs ChinaAll in for MetalEsker's New Aluminum BikesDirect and Bike Shop Sales StrategyBox of BikesEsker's Conservative Approach to GrowthCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is big news in the bike world today: Revel Bikes is back. And Revel's founder, Adam Miller, is now once again the owner of Revel. It was almost exactly five years ago that I was sitting down with Adam in Blister HQ talking about Revel's meteoric rise. A lot has transpired since then, including the company announcing that it was shutting down just a few weeks ago. But today, Revel is back, Adam Miller is back, and I sat down with Adam to get the whole story.RELATED LINKSGet Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Jonathan's talk w/ Adam from 2020David Golay's talk w/ Adam in 2022TOPICS & TIMES:Shout Out: New BLISTER+ Members (1:23)The News: Revel is Back (2:35)Refresher: Adam's Background (6:26)Why Did You Sell in 2021? (12:12)What Caused Revel's Meteoric Rise? (22:43)How Was Retirement? (41:57)Getting the News that Revel was Done (48:15)The Decision to Try to Buy Revel Back (50:29)What's the Current State of Revel? (57:59)What's Different Going Forward? (1:02:19)Inventory, Logistics, & Tariffs (1:05:19)Customer Confidence? (1:10:00)Biggest Lessons You've Learned? (1:12:46)What Happens Now? (1:21:15)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fox has launched a ton of new suspension over the last month or so, and we've been testing just about all of it. So David and Zack sat down to chat about how that's going so far, and how the new forks and shocks stack up against their predecessors; chat about our respective experiments with long-shocking and dual-crown-equipping our personal Enduro bikes; check in on Pivot's new Trailcat SL & LT, and a bunch more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Fox 36 & 36 SL (2:08)Fox Float X2 and DHX2 (11:03)Pivot Trailcat SL & LT (14:19)Trickstuff Maxima (28:47)Kavenz VHP 18 & Geometron G1 DH mode (38:33)OneUp Wave Pedals & Clip Pedal Update (56:56)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April of 2024, Kona Bikes set up their tent at Sea Otter, then promptly tore it back down when Kent Outdoors, who owned Kona at the time, pulled the rug right out from under them and declared that Kona was no longer in business. A year later, we sit down with Kona founder Jacob Heilbron about why he and other Kona founder Dan Gerhard sold Kona to Kent Outdoors; what happened at Sea Otter; how things have been going since buying Kona back; rebuilding the brand image; what their future plans look like; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredKona BikesTOPICS & TIMES:A Quick Kona HistoryThe Decision to Sell KonaKent Buys KonaFrom Record Sales to No SalesKent Blows it with Direct-to-Consumer StrategyKent Blows it Again with BOGO SaleThe Kona Sea Otter Debacle Jake and Dan buy Kona BackWhat Motivated Dan and Jake to Buy it BackKona's FutureTariffs' Affect on KonaWhat Jake is RidingNew Bikes on the WayCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's no doubt that Spring is a busy time in the bike world, with lots of news, early-season racing, new products being launched, and the consistently shaky state of the bike industry, giving Mike and Simon no shortage of things to talk about. It seems like every month there's a sad story of hard times for a bike brand, and April's bummer news is Revel Bikes closing its doors. Thankfully, bike racing gives the lads something positive to chat about since the season is off to a fantastic start for mountain bike World Cup XC racing, not to mention we're witnessing true road racing greatness as Tadej Pogačar rips through the Spring Classics in a way not seen since the likes of Eddie Merkcx, Fausto Coppi, and Sean Kelly. All of this and more in the April edition of Reviewing the News.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Revel Bikes Closes Its Doors (3:00)Specialized's Turbo Levo's High Speed Limit (19:32)What's Happening with GT (33:28)OuterBike Down to One Event (34:48)Tariff Updates (37:38)Canyon Reduces US Workforce (38:59)RIP Arni Nashbar (44:30)First Two UCI World Cup XC Races of the Year (48:00)Road Racing Spring Classics (54:56)Mike's Starling Murmur (1:02:56)Santa Cruz Bullit (1:11:57)New Bosch Race Motor (1:14:06)What We're Reading and Watching (1:21:57)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a fine line to walk in developing a new product, especially as a new brand without an existing track record. Make something plain and in line with existing options, and you risk getting lost in the noise; go too weird and unconventional, and it can be hard to find willing early adopters.Outlier MTB took a chance with their wild-looking Void and Pendulum pedals, but they're not just different for the sake of being different — there's sound thinking behind the designs. So we sat down with Outlier founder Cam Belisle-O'Donnell to chat about where the concept came from in the first place; what their prototyping and development process looked like; the initial public reception & coming to market with something that looks so novel; some other projects they have in the works; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Founding Outlier & the pedals' notable features (4:36)“The Lefty of MTB pedals” (12:42)The first prototypes & early testing (19:50)Pendulum vs. Void & the tradeoffs (24:24)Manufacturing challenges & running a small company (44:54)Future Outlier products? (50:17)Ramping up production (52:33)Lab testing (56:25)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High-pivot bikes are generally thought of as super planted, smashy, gravity-oriented bikes, but that isn't inherently true, as some shorter-travel high-pivot Trail bikes have demonstrated in recent years. But isolating the main reason for going high-pivot — a more rearward axle path than can realistically be achieved with a more conventional suspension layout — from all the other variables that go into designing a bike is hard to do in practice.Cascade Components wanted to learn more about what a more rearward axle path does while changing as few other variables as possible, and their new high-pivot conversion kit for the Specialized Stumpjumper is the result. They're also offering a limited run of 20 of the kits, so we sat down with founder and engineer, Jimmy Davis, to hear all about the project, including why Cascade chose to take it on; why they used the Stumpjumper as the basis for it; what they learned; and more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:The Stumpjumper 15 High-Pivot Conversion Kit (1:53)Why make a high-pivot conversion? And how? (3:01)What goes into the kit? (7:12)Ride characteristics vs. the stock bike (15:48)Chassis stability & the Genie shock (18:49)Leverage curves & suspension tuning (25:29)Relating different kinematic variables (30:06)Why use the Stumpjumper as the basis for the kit? (33:48)Versatility & tradeoffs of the conversion (37:30)Pricing (40:22)Who's it for? (40:54)Generating anti-squat from the axle path vs. chain growth (44:49)Data acquisition & lessons learned (46:18)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lal Bikes' Supre Drive offers some compelling upsides over a conventional derailleur drivetrain, but it also needs a frame built around the system. Lal began by partnering with Nicolai on the Nucleon 16, but now they are ready to launch their first bike under the Lal Bikes brand. So we sat down with Cedric Eveleigh, the founder of Lal and inventor of the Supre Drive, to hear all about the new Katana, get the story of its design and development, chat about material selection and ride feel, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredLal KatanaCedric Eveleigh of LAL Bikes on Reinventing the Derailleur (Ep.94)Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)TOPICS & TIMES:The Supre Drive (2:32)Nicolai Nucleon 16 (3:57)The Katana's development (8:56)Initial concepts for the Katana (18:11)Ride feel of steel frames (19:00)Performance goals for the Katana (24:48)Handling & geometry (26:54)Suspension kinematics (31:23)The Supre Drive and parts compatibility (38:37)Pricing & availability (55:05)Final details (58:33)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is here, and things are busy in the bike world, giving Dylan and Simon lots to talk about in our March edition of Reviewing the News. They kick things off with a fun conversation about which pro athletes shred on both bikes and skis, which leads them into a recap of the very well-attended Red Bull Tennesee National DH race and who's going into the season with good speed. This time of year typically means lots of new products to get excited about, and the lads go over some of their favorites. Plus, they get into the head-scratching news about Rocky Mountain deciding to sell their bikes in REI, other industry news, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Athletes Who Shred on Both Bikes and Skis (4:40)Red Bull Tennessee National DH Race (8:28)Red Bull Cerro Abajo (17:03)Rocky Mountain Bikes in REI (22:17)Yamaha Buys Brose (25:31)Tariffs on Steel Affect Chain Prices (28:17)Specialized lost a Ton of Money Last Year (32:33)Flatbike Pop-off Pedals (36:39)SRAM's New Cable Actuated Drivetrains (40:57)The Future of Brake Fluid? (46:41)The Year of Lightweight Full-Power eMTBs (48:07)What We're Reading and Watching (56:04)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mountain bike gearboxes have had a small but vocal set of proponents for over a decade but have yet to see widespread adoption. That might be changing, at least in World Cup DH, and Atherton Racing is one of several teams debuting, or at least testing, a gearbox bike for this season.So we sat down with Rob Gow, the Head of Design at Atherton Bikes, to talk about the new A.200.G and what spurred its development in the first place; what it took to adapt the A.200.M to accept a gearbox; what Atherton's design process looks like in general; the pros and cons of gearboxes — both for DH racing and more broadly — and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Rob (3:00)The A.200.G concept & why go gearbox? (6:17)The development timeline & process (13:58)Comparing the A.200.M and A.200.G (28:45)Gearing & setting up a gearbox vs. a conventional drivetrain (36:51)The future of gearboxes (42:47)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding period-correct tires has become next to impossible or prohibitively expensive when restoring vintage mountain bikes. Bike industry veteran and vintage bike enthusiast, Wakeman Massie, recognized this void and founded House of Looptail to fill it. Wakeman has painstakingly recreated some of the most iconic tires in mountain bike and BMX history.In today's Bikes and Big Ideas conversation, Wakeman talks about some of the other well-known products he designed before getting into vintage tires, like the Travel Agent, Tooth Fairy, 1x1 Blowerdrive, Surly Singleator, and the legendary Surly 1x1 frame. Wakeman and Simon discuss the challenges of recreating tires when the drawings and molds no longer exist, why the new tires are better than the old ones, why vintage mountain bikes deserve to be ridden and not thrown in the landfill, and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayHouse of LooptailTOPICS & TIMES:Starting out in Bike Shops (2:31)Industrial Design Degree and Working for QBP (4:11)Earning Trust with the Travel Agent (8:52)Designing the Surly 1x1 (11:18)Starting House of Looptail (23:53)The Snake Belly Tire (30:53)Working with Panaracer (34:40)The New Tires are Better (37:56)The Ritchey Megabite Z-Max (45:04)How to Remake a Tire with No Drawings or Molds (48:53)What's Next (52:24)What Wakeman is Riding (55:33)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Golay and Zack Henderson sat down to chat about a ton of the new gear we're currently testing, including bikes across the travel spectrum, some suspension products, and a bunch more. Plus we dive into the merits of active chain devices and talk about our early impressions of the Rimpact Chain Damper and how it stacks up against an Ochain.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Pivot Trailcat LT (1:44)Transition Sentinel (7:31)Santa Cruz Bronson (15:23)Ochain vs Rimpact Chain Damper (23:46)Ibis Oso 1.1 (28:46)RockShox Zeb Charger 3.1 (37:09)RockShox Vivid Coil (44:18)Outlier Void & Pendulum Pedals (56:27)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another month has gone by, giving Mike and Simon plenty to talk about in the latest edition of Reviewing the News. In the last episode, they were super excited about the upcoming Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania, and today they get into the results, the insane speeds throughout the course, Asa Vermette's rise to elite-level racing, and Jackson Goldstone's redemption. It wouldn't be a Reviewing the News episode without some bike industry news, so the lads discuss the recently imposed tariffs, the return of Nukeproof, and what's happening with Rocky Mountain, plus a fun conversation about some new cycling startups. All of this and more in our February edition of Reviewing the News.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBLISTER+ Real World TestimonialsBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Mike's Looking Fit (1:29)Hardline Tasmania (4:27)Gates 100k purse predictions for ‘25 (12:31)Atherton Racing vs Aon Racing (20:00)Nukeproof Rising From the Ashes (25:45)Tariffs Again (34:01)Rocky Mountain Bikes Update (40:45)Arkansas Cycling Startup Accelerator (42:42)What We're Reading and Watching (1:02:16)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Brannigan announced his retirement from World Cup Downhill at the end of the 2024 season — but he's not done racing, and just put up a very strong result at Red Bull Hardline Tasmania, finishing 11th despite a minor crash.So we sat down with George to talk about his decision to step away from World Cups to race other events; his move to Transition that went alongside it; his thoughts on the state of World Cup racing; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Retiring from World Cup racing (2:32)One last season & gaining a new perspective (7:57)Finding a team for 2025 (11:51)The state of World Cup DH (16:41)Looking back on George's 15-year World Cup career (21:21)Hardline Tasmania 2025 (25:18)Hardline Wales & evolution of the track (29:36)George's 2025 plans and goals (41:52)Filming (45:34)The Motorhead edit (53:33)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following his 2020 DH World Championships win, Reece Wilson's downhill racing career got a massive boost that helped land him a spot on Trek's Factory DH team. Unfortunately, several challenging, injury-marred seasons followed. But 2025 is shaping up quite differently with the introduction of his newly formed AON Racing team, so we sat down with Reece to find out what inspired him to build a team from the ground up; his decision to partner with Gamux; why belt-driven gearbox bikes are the future; his insane new Lotus; and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredJoin Us! Blister Summit 2025TOPICS & TIMES:Leogang 2020 Curse of the Rainbow StripesWorst InjuryReece's “Niggle”AON RacingGamux PartnershipHow the Team Riders were ChosenGates Belted Purse ChancesBenefits of Gear Boxes and Belt DrivesReece's Sweet New LotusDH Training on eBikesNicolai eMTB PartnershipCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Camille Balanche had an outstanding 2022 race season, winning the World Cup Overall title, and carried that momentum into 2023 before a horrifying crash in Andorra ended her season. We sat down with Cami to talk about her recovery and continued injury struggles in 2024; her move to Yeti and their re-emergence in World Cup Downhill; the state of the sport and the myriad rule changes for this season; how much longer she hopes to keep racing; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredJoin Us! Blister Summit 2025TOPICS & TIMES:Cami's move to Yeti (2:30)Learning about the 2025 rule changes (8:02)Qualifying in 2025 (13:22)Team status & restructuring (15:53)Pay in women's DH (20:06)Re-establishing Yeti in World Cup DH (22:47)Cami's monster crash in Andorra & returning to form (27:40)Cami's 2024 season & injury struggles (29:59)The conversations around head injuries & how to better care for them (37:22)Cami's goals for 2025 (42:26)The 2025 race calendar (44:06)How much longer will Cami race? (45:59) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump's tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico are high on Mike and Simon's lists of topics to talk about — and it looks like there will be some uncertain times ahead for the bike industry. Speaking of Mexico, we're hearing some good things are going on down there in regard to trail building, and since Mike is spending the winter in Baja, it's the perfect opportunity to have the conversation about Mexico as a mountain biking destination. Red Bull Hardline is just a few days away, so be sure to tune in quickly for a preview. The start list is insanely stacked and Mike and Simon can't wait to see who has the best early-season form, plus they throw out some predictions. All of this and a whole lot more in our first Reviewing the News episode of 2025.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideJoin Us! Blister Summit 2025TOPICS & TIMES:Mexico as a Mountain Bike Destination (1:37)Walton Money in Mexico (14:32)Trump's tariffs impact on the Bike Industry (30:01)De Minimis Loophole Closed (35:06)Good Bye to Richey's Rainbow Stripes (38:04)RedBull Hardline Tasmania Preview (45:09)What We're Reading & Watching (52:48)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Kona Process 153 and Transition Sentinel V3 have about the same suspension travel, not super different geometry, and were both developed by companies based in the same part of the world. They also ride very, very differently. So we sat down to talk about both of them and why they differ, some other new components we're testing, including the Vorsprung Telum and OneUp Clip Pedals, and a bunch more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredJoin Us! Blister Summit 2025TOPICS & TIMES:Transition Sentinel V3 (2:07)Kona Process 153 (9:14)Vorsprung Telum (20:59)OneUp Clip Pedals (29:26)Enve M6 Wheels (40:37)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we last spoke with Chris Currie — the man behind Ministry Cycles and the striking Psalm 150 frame — he had just sent a prototype frame off for lab testing, hoping to move into production if all went to plan. Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way, but Chris made some design changes and is still working toward offering frames for sale.With the latest V3 frame off for testing, it was a good time to check back in with Chris to hear all about what's happened over the last two years to get here; what goes into lab testing & why it's important; what he'd do differently with the benefit of hindsight; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:Ministry Cycles on Suspension Design, Machining Frames, & Launching a Bike Company (Ep.157)BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredJoin Us! Blister Summit 2025TOPICS & TIMES:The Psalm 150 (2:56)Lab testing the earlier prototypes (4:51)What goes into lab testing? (8:42)The limitations of computer modeling & importance of physical testing (11:49)Refinements of the V3 frame (18:42)The pros and cons of various construction methods (26:13)Bike industry struggles going into 2025 (35:34)20/20 hindsight & the path to the V3 frame (43:18)Welded front triangle versions (49:29)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mountain bikes are, in many ways, better than ever, but we're also seeing fewer and fewer bikes that feel like truly specialized tools for a specific job. And for many folks, that's great — many big Enduro bikes climb pretty well, plenty of more versatile Trail bikes still hold their own in burly terrain quite effectively, and so on.Being well-rounded is certainly one way for a bike to stand out, but it can also make for a bike that doesn't truly excel in any specific area. So we got a bunch of our bike reviewers together to talk about — and argue over — the bikes and other gear we were most impressed with from 2024, and talk about what makes them stand out.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Cannondale Moterra SL (2:41)Santa Cruz Vala (4:26)Kavenz VHP16 V7 (9:06)Deviate Highlander II (13:58)Privateer 161 V2 (16:23)Spot Mayhem 140 (21:42)Specialized Stumpjumper 15 (25:20)Specialized Epic Evo (28:54)Trek Top Fuel (32:19)Yeti ASR (34:15)Chromag Lowdown (39:42)Schwalbe Radial Tires (43:45)Michelin Wild Enduro MS & DH22 (51:15)Michelin DH16 (56:12)Manitou Mara Pro PB (58:38)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we last sat down with Steve Mathews from Vorsprung, he shared a lot of the high-level details of their then-unreleased Telum shock. But he needed to keep some of the most interesting details under wraps — until now. So we sat back down with Steve to get the full rundown — first and foremost, how the Telum's novel Rapid Revalve system (which is meant to make re-valving the shock take only a few minutes) works. And Steve shares a lot of good info on the Telum more broadly, his approach to suspension tuning, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Re-introducing the TelumDamper design (2:10)The Rapid Revalve system (7:19)How Rapid Revalve differs from standard adjusters (14:01)The Tuning Hub (23:24)Damping curves & what Rapid Revalve can (and can't) do (31:50)“Placebo dials” & Steve's tuning philosophy (35:54)Hydraulic bottom-out & changing shock stroke (41:00)Spherical bearings (44:59)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2024 was an interesting, strange year for the bike industry, with the challenging retail landscape dominating a lot of the news. Thankfully, there has been plenty of good news to discuss, too. Dylan and Simon sat down on New Year's Eve to wrap up the last Reviewing the News for 2024, and they recapped some of the memorable stories from across the whole year, sprinkled in a bit of recent news from December, discussed their picks for best racing moments, and reminisced about their best rides of the year.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBLISTER+ Real World TestimonialsBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Norco's 2025 DH Team (3:31)GT Bikes to Pause Operations (7:09)Rocky Mountain Restructuring (10:22)Explore Act Passes Senate (15:38)Lithium-ion Batteries Still Unregulated (18:29)2024 Industry News Recap (22:28)2024 Racing Highlights (34:02)Favorite Riding Moments of ‘24 (41:13)OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time we spoke to Braydon Bringhurst, he'd just wrapped up his hugely ambitious ‘8600FT' project and put out an excellent film on the effort. He's now taking on another huge project of a very different sort, so we sat down with him to hear all about his newly founded Hard MTB League.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:What is Hard MTB? (1:16)Where did the idea come from, and why start it? (2:57)The courses & varying disciplines (13:48)October's testing event (17:27)The response from riders (19:28)Timing & other details (24:55)Who's likely to excel? (28:12)Plans for 2025 and beyond (31:25)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes a chance encounter can wildly reshape someone's life, and the series of events that led Ashley King to frame building, and later founding Significant Other Bikes, is a wild one. So we sat down with Ashley to hear her story and get her take on frame building, running a business, and a whole lot more. We also discuss the importance of bringing in outside perspectives and folks with diverse backgrounds — and how that plays into the Significant Other name.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Ashley's discovery of the magic of bikes (1:37)Building hydroponic systems & learning fabrication (4:14)Ashley's time as a bike messenger in NYC & what brought it to an end (5:04)Fixed gear bikes (15:11)Making the leap to frame building (18:01)United Bicycle Institute's frame building class (25:18)COVID & small builders (30:34)Founding Significant Other (35:46)The MADE show (41:15)Ashley's intro to mountain biking (45:12)Significant Other's frame offerings (47:59)The custom frame process (53:58)The Significant Other name (55:31)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mountain biking when it's cold and rainy out might not sound very appealing, but our Pacific Northwest-based bike reviewers have a lot of experience on that front — and having a good time doing it. So we sat down to chat about how to make the most of the less appealing part of the riding season, from layering strategies to glove selection, tire choices and bike setup, and more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:How to deal with humidity (3:08)Shoe selection & tradeoffs (8:39)Glove strategies (14:25)Jackets & layering (18:54)Bike setup (34:16)Brake pads (36:47)Tire selection (39:51)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bike news slowed down a bit in November, allowing Mike and Simon to get into some fun topics, like the history of multitools, and Mike's fifty-year-old truck project/money pit. But there was still plenty of bike industry conversation, too, thanks to the seemingly limitless discounts that continue to disrupt the retail landscape. They also discuss the not-so-fun topic of bike theft and offer some insight on how to protect your bikes and recover them if they are stolen, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Mike's Fifty-Year-Old Truck Project (0:50)The Bike Industry's Global Discounts Continue (6:43)Deepest Discounts We've Ever Seen (8:51)How Can The Bike Industry Reset (13:37)De Minimis Reform (23:08)Bike theft (28:04)The History of Multitools (43:12)OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon Stewart and David Golay are back for their first joint Reviewer Reports episode in a while, to talk about a whole bunch of what they've been testing lately. There's a lot to cover, from three very different Trail bikes to a couple of lightweight eMTBs, the ultra-adjustable Geometron G1, two very different takes on electronically-controlled suspension, and more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Nicolai G1 (2:19)Rocky Mountain Instinct Powerplay SL (13:23)Canyon Spectral:ONFly (23:42)K.I.S chat (27:38)Kona Process 153 (34:49)Spot Mayhem 140 (39:43)Forbidden Druid V2 (46:59)Fox Live Valve Neo vs. RockShox Flight Attendant (58:17)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting more people on bikes, and building better bike infrastructure to facilitate it, is something of a chicken-and-egg problem. People need to feel safe to get out in the first place; getting municipalities to take the issue seriously often takes a demonstrated need for better infrastructure.PeopleForBikes is doing a lot to advocate for bike riders of all stripes — from casual commuters to dedicated mountain bikers, urban delivery riders to weekend roadies, and everyone in between. So we sat down with their CEO, Jenn Dice, to hear all about what PeopleForBikes does, and why it's important; chat about what you can do to advocate for better bike infrastructure in your community; how the proliferation of eBikes has changed the landscape; and much more.RELATED LINKS:PeopleForBikesBLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:PeopleForBikes & their mission (1:21)Infrastructure & policy to facilitate bike access (4:04)City Ratings (7:35)The Great Bike Infrastructure Map & community engagement (13:21)E-Bikes and their infrastructure needs (14:45)E-Bike classifications & regulations (17:59)MTBs & trail access (29:57)Managing shared use trails (31:04)The LA Olympics & car-free goals (36:12)Tariffs & the bike industry (41:58)Getting involved with PeopleForBikes (45:21)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Fairbrother's wild effort to bikepack through the entire 2022 EWS season was an incredible accomplishment, and he's just kept stacking up bonkers feats of endurance on a mountain bike in the years since. So we once again sat down with Matthew to talk about what he's been up to of late, including winning the NZ Rally despite forgoing all the assisted transfers; kayaking one of them with minimal experience in a kayak; more animal encounters (check out our earlier episode with Matthew for a real all-timer there); how he manages to switch between race mode and getting in the right mindset to just grind out massive miles and elevation; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:Matthew's 2022 EWS Tour (Ep.139)BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Taking on the NZ Rally (2:23)Transferring by… kayak? (12:35)Animal encounters (15:56)Toggling between a focused race mindset and gutting out massive miles and elevation between stages (20:14)Winning the NZ Rally despite forgoing all the assisted transfers (17:49)The North Shore Triple Triple Crown (22:50)The Triple Triple Crown ride (29:28)Matthew's bike setup (30:11)Ranking the difficulty of Matthew's exploits (38:10)Food & planning (39:19)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

October is always an exciting month because of Red Bull Rampage, but this year was extra special due to the historic first women's competition. Dylan and Simon recap this truly amazing event in the Utah desert and offer their take on some of the results. They also cover the usual industry news — some good, some bad — some exciting new products, and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBLISTER+ Real World TestimonialsBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Dylan's Grand Canyon Trip (1:10)Red Bull Rampage Women's Competition (4:29)Brendog Robbed Again? (14:33)Number Five for Brandon Semunuk & A $500 Bike Cleans Brendog's Line (17:43)The Green River Classic (25:31)The Pro's Closet is Back (32:01)Dylan's Costco Master Plan (51:59)Simon's Latest Crash (57:01)New Rocky Mountain Light-Assist eMTB (1:00:59)Other New Products (1:04:44)OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Red Bull Rampage finally included a women's category this year, with Casey Brown doing a whole lot to spearhead it, and the event was spectacular. If you haven't watched it yet, well, you should. Casey's run starts at 29:25, but do yourself a favor and watch the whole thing.We sat down with Casey to hear how it felt to finally have the door opened to women; talk about what goes into getting yourself to Rampage as an athlete, and everything it takes to actually be there and put a run together; the process of scouting, building, and testing her line; the competition day and what all went down; how to make the event even better next year; and what's next for women's freeride beyond Rampage.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Learning that the women's event was finally on (2:07)Casey's training & prep, and the logistics that go into competing (6:48)The new venue & building a line (7:46)Scouting a line & coordinating with other riders (14:28)The format of the women's event (18:28)Casey's line (20:21)The crux (25:45)Potential changes for next year(31:55)The next frontier in women's freeride (36:57)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ethan Eggert is hard at work refining his Arid Cycles Spade Enduro bike, which has gone through three different suspension layouts, numerous geometry and kinematic tweaks, and one catastrophically broken frame — and he's just 19 years old. We sat down with Ethan to get the whole story — including his plans to eventually offer bikes for sale — and it's a good one.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Ethan's background & the inspiration behind Arid (1:30)The Spade V1 & learning how to design a frame (7:02)Geometry, suspension kinematics, & radical experimentation (13:37)The Spade V2 & refining the recipe (21:53)Frame failure (24:46)The Spade V3 (28:56)Commercialization & next steps (37:27)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot of mountain bike hip packs are pretty cheaply made, and/or lightly tweaked versions of basic casual designs. High Above does things differently, from focusing on MTB-specific designs to making all their packs in the US from top-quality materials. So we went down to High Above HQ to chat about all of it, get the rundown on some upcoming High Above products — including some non-hip-pack models — and see how they go about designing, testing, and making their bags and other gear.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Kyle and Spencer (1:46)High Above's history (2:36)Kyle and Spencer taking the reigns & their backgrounds (4:23)The pros and cons of US manufacturing (10:26)Designing, testing, and refining packs (15:49)High Above's current product lineup (23:13)Upcoming High Above products (35:48)Potential future offerings (39:29)High Above's mission and company ethos (43:02)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enve's new fifth-generation M-Series wheels are a big departure from earlier iterations, with dramatically different rim profiles — and some very wild claims about improved compliance — new, Enve-built hubs, and a whole lot more. So we sat down with Enve's VP of Product, Jake Pantone, to pull back the curtain on their long development process, the goals for the new wheels, the athlete feedback that drove those changes, and get the full story of Enve's new MTB wheel lineup.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Design goals for the new wheels (2:15)Prototyping carbon wheels (5:43)Testing & development with the Commencal Muc-Off team (7:40)Bike changes & the evolution of wheel designs to match (20:18)The M-Series lineup (25:56)Rim profiles & ride quality (36:23)Impact testing (42:40)Enve's Innerdrive hubs (53:15) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September was an interesting month in the bike industry with one the biggest retail bike stores in the country announcing its closing; Motion Instrument's future looking grim; and news of Rad Power Bikes' bizarre plan to sell eBikes in Best Buy stores. Simon and Mike have plenty to talk about on the industry side alone, not to mention all the exciting bike racing like the inaugural Lake Placid UCI XC World Cup; the US Cup DH; and the mind-blowing win by Tadej Pogacar at the UCI Road World Championships; plus a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Asheville's Hurricane Aftermath (2:39)The Pro's Closet Closing (4:29)Rad Power Bikes in Best Buy (16:11)Motion Instruments Out of Business (28:17)Road World Championships (34:35)Tadej Pogacar's Dominance (39:27)Lake Placid World Cup XC (44:09)US Cup DH (49:57)Bosch Updates CX Motor (53:44)OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dylan Wood and Simon Stewart have been busy testing bikes and filming head-to-head comparisons, which means they've also been spending a lot of time on the same bikes. So, they got together to go over everything from longer-travel eMTBs like the Cannondale Moterra SL and Mondraker Dune XR to XC race bikes like the Yeti ASR and Cannondale Scalpel, then went down some geometry rabbit holes and a few other tangents.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Cannondale Moterra SL (2:43)Mondraker Dune XR (14:02)Yeti ASR (22:29)Cannondale Scalpel (32:22)Specialized Stumpjumper (39:51)Spot Mayhem 140 (45:12)Slack Head Angles (51:54)OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Showerman's new short film ‘Coming Home' tells her story of doing just that — both in literally returning to her hometown in Vermont, and in finding community and acceptance in the women's freeride scene after coming out as trans. You can, and should, stream the film for free now.We sat down with Alex to dive deeper into her story and hear more about some of the themes that the short-film format didn't leave time for. Alex's retelling is touching, funny, and full of insights about what it really means to be at home in your own skin, the women's freeride scene, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Alex's childhood in Vermont (1:25)Getting into MTB (4:19)Finding & building community in the freeride world (6:28)Coming out as trans (10:52)The women's freeride scene (16:50)Alex's three-year road trip out West & back injury (18:28)Navigating the pressure to perform, and finding joy in riding again (55:53)Coming home (26:12)Foundation (30:06)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maxxis' new High Roller doesn't look much like High Rollers of old, and Maxxis is talking a very big game about how widely their DH racers are using it. So we sat down with the Manager of their Bike division, Aaron Chamberlain, to talk about the impetus to update the High Roller; hear the story behind its development; peel back the curtain on how Maxxis manages their product line; and a whole bunch more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:The concept for the new High Roller (3:12)Maxxis' tire development and testing process (10:04)Adding new tires & balancing options vs. simplicity in the lineup (14:45)The High Roller name (27:58)Upcoming High Roller variants 31:26OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Ferrentino is back behind the microphone in this episode of Reviewing the News, and Mike and Simon get right into what happened in the bike industry in August. They recap the exciting UCI MTB World Championships in Andorra; Mike gives his take on the interesting Specialized and Frameworks partnership; and they both agree that cross-country mountain bike courses should be longer. Simon puts Mike on the spot about his racing history, and they wonder if the bike retail landscape is ever going to return to ‘normal', and lots more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBLISTER+ Real World TestimonialsBlister LabsThis Week's Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer's GuideTOPICS & TIMES:The Breck Epic (1:49)Howard Grotts' Crash (4:02)MTB World Championships (10:58) Mike's Microphone Looking Safe 24:58)Spot Bikes vs Gates Lawsuit (25:57)Scott's Two CEOs (30:35)Specialized/Frameworks Partnership (34:18)Lifetime Events and Races Doing Well (41:10)Mike's Racing History & the Leadville 100 (43:21)Amazon Accountability (57:33) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're hard at work testing a huge range of bikes and other gear, as always, and David Golay sat down with Zack Henderson to talk about a whole bunch of it, from the Trek Top Fuel to the Marin Alpine Trail, the Forbidden Druid V2 to the Trek Slash+, and a whole bunch more. Plus we get off in the weeds about bike geometry, and wrap things up by issuing a big “I told you so” to a certain manufacturer.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Trek Top Fuel (1:40)Trek Slash+ (7:32)Knolly Fugitive 140 (16:06)Forbidden Druid V2 (20:51)Marin Alpine Trail (33:34)Privateer 161 V2 (43:22)Manitou Mara Pro PB vs Formula Nebbia (52:11)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More and more women are riding mountain bikes, so why are there so few women-specific bike brands out there? It's not just about making bikes for everyone — though that's important, too. Kara Williard and David Golay sat down with Ludi Scholz, the Off-Road Category Manager at Liv, to hear all about it.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMESLudi's Background & Role at Liv (2:53)Women-Specific Bikes (7:14)Why This Matters (11:31)Frame Design / R&D (15:14)Suspension Tuning (21:09)Liv's Lineup (25:40)Pique & Intrigue X (29:12)What's Next for Liv (32:02)The Industry at Large (32:43) OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gearboxes have some clear advantages for more gravity-oriented mountain bikes — less unsprung weight, the ability to shift while not pedaling, no derailleur to damage, and more — but have yet to reach widespread adoption. Zerode is perhaps the company best known for making gearbox mountain bikes, and we sat down with founder Rob Metz and Ali Quinn of Zerode to hear the story of Rob founding the company, and the homemade gearbox that kicked it all off; why they're fans of gearboxes; their new World Cup DH race team; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week's Gear GiveawayTOPICS & TIMES:Zerode's backstory & history (3:46)Why gearboxes? (6:29)Early production bikes (12:58)Ali's introduction to the company (17:01)Pinion vs. Effigear (25:01)Standard Pinion vs. Smart Shift? (28:50)Selling gearboxes to the public (35:33)The G3 & the DH team (43:01)Future direction and new products? (45:58)OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.