The Roller Door

  No matter your life trajectory, you can always choose a different path and you can always choose to use your voice to enact change. On this episode of the Roller Door, North American Brand Manager Katie Zaffke, joins Hannah to talk with long time friend of the brand, Aneela Mckenna. Aneela is a legend in the industry, not only for her vivacious laugh and mischevious glint in her eye (and her scottish whit to boot), but for creating spaces for people to find their voice and confidence both on and off the bike. From Scottish parliament to MTB guide, she has turned her love of bikes into a force for inclusion and belonging.  Questions or comments? Email podcast@santacruzbicycles.com/ Thanks for listening!

On this episode, Tobin Ortenblad puts on his co-host hat and joins Hannah in interviewing Keegan Swenson. Pre season, why Cape Epic is so hard, preparing for Unbound, and why Cyclocross should have a comeback. It's always a pleasure to sit down and talk with these two HTSQD athletes and get a look into the world of top tier gravel racing and beyond. If you have any nerdy gravel questions or questions in general, email  podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We thank you for listening!

All new? Hasn't the Bullit been around forever? Yes, this OG model has gotten a major revision and is better than ever. Think Vala on steroids. We'll let Aaron and Jack explain the rest.  On this episode of the Roller Door, Hannah sits down with Design Engineer Aaron Thielk and Ebike Product Manager Jack Russell, to introduce the all new Bullit. We may be biased, but this thing rips. Hope you enjoy. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's podcast@santacruzbicycles.com Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Hannah sits down with the two Syndicate women, veteran Nina Hoffman and fresh junior Ellie Hulsebosch, to get an inside look at life on the road, balance, and all things racing. These two are new teammates and their mutual respect and connection is palpable and fun to whitness. We hope you enjoy. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's podcast@santacruzbicycles.com Thanks for listening!

We're back! On this episode of the Roller Door, Hannah sits down with the two Syndicate women, veteran Nina Hoffman and fresh junior Ellie Hulsebosch, to get an inside look into life at the top of the UCI DH food chain, how they got there, and their lives in general.  Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's podcast@santacruzbicycles.com Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with HtSQD racer and People's Champ Tobin Ortenblad on training, cyclocross tactics, gravel fashion, and more. Tobin's always full of informational insight, strong opinions and good laughs. We always enjoy talking with Tobin, and we hope you do too. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's podcast@santacruzbicycles.com Thanks for listening!    

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with legendary freerider Vero Sandler about her experience before, during, and after the Redbull Rampage. There's an awful lot to unpack here. We hope you enjoy, and remember– if you have questions for Vero or anyone at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com/ Thanks for listening!  

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with some of the group that brought the Vala, Santa Cruz's new full power e-bike, to market. You'll hear from Kiran MacKinnon, Jesse Carlin, Peter Mueller-Wille, and Mark Matson on choosing a new suspension platform, picking a drive system, and bringing the bike to life. If you're curious about the particulars of the Vala, like power statistics, geometry, and details, be sure to listen to our other episode, titled 'Introducing the Santa Cruz Vala, with Product Manager Jack Russell.' If you have questions for the team here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.  We thank you for listening!

At long last, 2024 marks the first ever women's field in the iconic (and somewhat controversial) freeride competition, the Red Bull Rampage. In this episode of the podcast, Garen and Hannah chat with UK freerider Vero Sandler about her path to becoming one of the sport's foremost freeriders, what the Rampage means to her, bike setup, and more. The women are digging in the red, hard Utah desert now: be sure to watch live on RedBull TV: Thursday 10/10 at 6PM PST.  Let's Go Vero!  

What's a Vala? How's this new Bosch motor? Wait… a 4-bar bike from Santa Cruz? Is this the end of VPP? Who's Jack Russell, anyways? To hear the answers to these questions, along with many more, press play– there's a lot to know about Santa Cruz Bicycles' new model, the Vala. Questions? Gripes? Please email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.  If you enjoy the podcast, you can help others to do the same by subscribing or giving us a 5-star rating.  Thanks for listening!  

In this episode of the Roller Door Podcast, Garen and Hannah talk through the updates to the  Santa Cruz Hightower, along with several off-piste tangents. If you have questions about the new Hightower (or anything Santa Cruz) please email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We thank you for listening!

If you're listening to this podcast you surely love riding bikes, but it's not all nose-bonks and power wheelies. In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah circle back with Matt Miller on findings from Matt's Paydirt-funded trip to the Netherlands. Matt loves riding bikes so much that he's built his life around building better cycling infrastructure, which is something all of us can be thankful for. If you have questions for Matt or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We thank you for listening!  

This week we launched the latest Bronson: our go-to aggressive trail bike. Listen as Garen and Hannah talk with Santa Cruz Director of Product Josh Kissner about how several small refinements and a few big ones have drastically improved the suspension and ride feel of one of our most popular models. If you have questions for Josh, please let us know by emailing podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.  Thanks for listening; we hope you enjoy.  

Annie Ford is a climate activist, marine biologist, surfer and mountain biker with a passion for doing hard things. She's got the world record for descending the most vertical on a bike. She rode her mountain bike- with a surfboard- from the north tip to the southern tip of New Zealand. Most recently, she rode her Santa Cruz Nomad from Ensenada, Mexico to Whistler, BC to raise funds towards ending the pursuit of new oil and gas along the Australian coast.  In this episode of the Roller Door, we hear about Annie's drive, her cause, and the stories (good and bad) from her trip North. Inspiring stuff. Congratulations, Annie.  

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen chats with Keegan Swenson, Tobin Ortenblad, and Sam Dale about their races, their bikes, and their experiences at the 2024 Downieville Classic. Is Downieville technical enough for an ex-world cup downhiller on a bigger bike to beat the fastest endurance riders on XC bikes? To find out, give a listen. Any questions? Please email: podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy.

To chat with Sam Dale is to consort with a calm, wise man: steady in his words, rich in story, humble as they come, Sam is the kind of person you wish you had more time with. Luckily for us, he's now living in Santa Cruz. In this podcast, we click it down a couple notches and hear about Sam's beginnings, his years as a world cup racer, why he moved to Santa Cruz, and more.  We hope you enjoy - and if you have any questions for Sam or anyone here at Santa Cruz, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks!

--- SPECIAL DROP --- In this special episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah sit with everybody's Wingman, Tobin Ortenblad, to hear about how this year's Unbound Gravel race unfolded for the HtSqd team.  We throroughly enjoyed this open, informative talk, and we hope you do to. If you have questions for Tobin, Keegan, Alexis, or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.  Thanks for listening!

In this episide of the Roller Door Podcast, Garen and Hannah sit down with three very inspiring women: Anka Martin, Kelli Emmett, and Sarah Leishman. While their career paths have diverged, these three have a common thread in that they were the founding members of the first (and only?) all-female enduro team under Juliana Bicycles. Listen in for stories of races past, thoughts on the current racing scene, and how Anka, Kelli and Sarah transitioned out of racing and into careers in the cycling industry.  If you have questions for the Santa Cruz team, or if you fancy a deeper dive with Anka, Kelli, or Sarah, drop us a line by emailing podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy.

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah talk with Matt Miller of Santa Cruz-based non-profit Ecology Action. While the subject matter isn't our normal mountain bike specific techy nerdfest, it was one of the more satisfying talks we've had on the Roller Door to date. Matt's a cyclist in every form, and his (and Ecology Action's) mission to get people riding is nothing short of inspiring. Matt and his team recieved a Paydirt grant, which will send them to the Netherlands to learn how to improve bike infrastucture in Santa Cruz -- listen in for statistics on traffic reduction, infrastructure solutions, dirt commuting, and for an open, welcoming stance on getting people out of cars and onto bikes. We're feeling lucky – first Ben Hildred, and now Matt Miller: two inspiring chats with two enjoyable people who clearly love riding their bikes… just like the rest of us.    We hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions for the team here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks for listening!  

In this episode of The Roller Door, Garen and Hannah check in with the one and only Ben Hildred. You may know Ben from such feats as his Olympus Mons, wherein he ascended almost 70K feet in three days on his Tallboy, or from when he 'double everested' by climbing 58,808 feet over 172.5 miles... in 33 hours. Ben's an over-achiever, but hearing him talk through his motives is nothing less than inspriring. Spoiler alert: like the rest of us, Ben just enjoys riding his bike. That's what drives him. In today's podcast, we talk bike riding, motivation, wheel building, bike choices, a bit of tech, and of course, we hear some jokes.  If you want to see what Ben's been up to lately, check out Your Time is Now on youtube, or dig through some archival bits here and here and here.  And if you're interested in some handbuilt wheels from Ben himself, check out Further. Finally, if you like this podcast, please subscribe, give it a rating, or tell a pal. And if you have questions for Ben or any of the team here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, email them to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did recording it.    

On this episode of the Roller Door, Santa Cruz Bicycles Director of Product Josh Kissner regales Garen and Hannah with stories of yesteryear, like why we have build kits named D, R, and S. We also talk through some of the nuances of bicycle geometry, like how we measure and display seat tube angle, and why this matters to the rider. This is another rambling conversation, and I always learn something when chatting with Josh. We close this episode by cracking open the ol' mailbag for some information on shock stroke, Santa Cruz's new bossman, Ochain's and more. Quick note: it was great to see some of our listeners IRL out at the Sea Otter Classic. Thanks for saying hello. It's wonderful to hear that people are enjoying the Roller Door- and remember, our email is podcast@santacruzbicycles.com-- drop a line if you have questions, ideas, whatever. And if you enjoy it, please subscribe. We hope you enjoy, GB

On this episode of the podcast, Hannah and Garen chat up Greg Williams, founder and executive director of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. The conversation wanders from the challenges around funding massive trail projects, getting buy-in from locals (and others), running legendary events, riding e-bikes, and more. Greg's passion for economic development in remote, underserved communities by way of building infastructure for outdoor recreation is remarkable. California is lucky to have Greg, and we're lucky to have him as a friend. We hope you enjoy this recording. If you have questions for Greg or the crew here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks!

In this first episode of The Roller Door's second season, Garen and Hannah talk with Santa Cruz Bicycles Head of Product and Design, Geoff Casey. Geoff's in charge of engineering, product development and the design/ graphical side of Santa Cruz. While he's got a background in designn and enginnering, he's also got a knack for process and helping teams collaborate. We talk about what keeps Geoff motivated, his early days of bike design, how he came to work at Santa Cruz, how the process of bike design has changed over the years, and more.    If you have any questions for Geoff or anyone here at Santa Cruz, please send 'em over to podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.    Thanks for listening!

Episode 1 of the Roller Door's second season is all about ebikes. Garen is joined by Santa Cruz e-bike Product Managers Mark Matson and Jack Russell for a chat about full power vs mid- power ebikes. We also chat about the real-world differences between Shimano's EP8 and EP801 drive units. Have questions? Please write in: podcast@santacrubicycles.com. Thanks for listening!

/;[Today's episode of the podcast features Syndicate downhill racer Jackson Goldstone and his mechanic, Woody. We talk through Jackson's explosive '23 race season, how bike setup changes throughout the year, what it's like to be on the Santa Cruz Syndicate, and lots more. One thing I love about these podcasts is how much I learn from guests, and this episode, for me, delivered-- I could talk to these guys all day. Remember to write in with questions-- that email is podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Also, if you like the podcast, please subscribe-- there's some episodes coming soon that you won't want to miss.  Enjoy!

⚡️ NERD ALERT ⚡️ This episode of the Roller Door is all about the Santa Cruz V10, from the perspective of the people who designed it -- that's Aaron Foley, Joseph Ge, and Kiran Mackinnon. This is an in depth look at the development of the new bike-- from  riding many different configurations on three different prototypes, to taking feedback from Greg Minnaar himself, to tuning axle path, leverage rates, anti-squat and anti-rise independently to make the best DH bike we could, this is a granular glimpse into the making of a bike that taught this team a lot. Write in! podcast@santacruzbicycles.com/  Have fun, enjoy!

On this episode of the podcast Garen and Santa Cruz CEO Joe Graney talk about perfect trails and the state of the bike business after the covid boom before answering some listener mail. Big thanks to those who've written in, and if you haven't, there's still time: Podcast@santacruzbicycles.com Thanks for listening, GB

On this episode of the Roller Door, Garen chats with Juliana Bicycles marketeer, shutttle queen and all around badass Hannah Mirsepassi about Juliana Bicycles, her new V10 8, women's inclusion in the Red Bull Rampage and our sport in general. Remember to write in with questions: Podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We've got a heap of questions in the box right now, and there are some good ones-- thanks to those of you whove written in; we'll be asnwering each and every one.   We hope you enjoy hearing what Hannah's got to say.   Cheers Garen

On today's episode of the podcast, we've got Santa Cruz CEO Joe Graney on the mic for a short, rambling chat about mountain bike media. Joe's got an opinion about everything, but luckily, hearing them is typically pretty entertaining, and I feel like this is no exception. Questions for Joe, or anyone here at Santa Cruz? Email: podcast@santacruzbicycles.com   Thanks for listening - garen  

On this today's episode of the podcast, Santa Cruz Director of Marketing and lover of all things mountain bike Seb Kemp along with uber-grav-grav cyclist, recent e-bike covert and Santa Cruz graphic designer Gene Selkov chat with Garen about the Santa Cruz Skitch: what it is, why it exists, how we like to use it, real-world range expectations, and more. Spoiler alert, while the Skitch functions wonderfully in the e-gravel setting, we find that it's a highly addicting form of transportation, too, and this is mostly us talking about how much we love the bike (sorry). We also hear Gene's complaints about perpetual road construction, fellow e-bikers, and address some listener mail. As always, should you have any questions for us at Santa Cruz, let us know by emailing podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. And finally, if you like the snippet of music in the intro, go give La Luz a listen. Thanks for listening, GB

In this episode of the podcast we chat with Santa Cruz htSQD athlete Tobin Ortenblad, and Santa Cruz director of product Josh Kissner about the recently revised Santa Cruz Stigmata: where it fits in the gravel world, suspension forks on gravel bikes, Tobin's experience at Unbound, and more. For you Santa Cruz owners, Josh and I even get into some Glovebox hacks. There's a lot in here that just doesn't make it into website copy, so if you're hungry for more information on the new bike, this is the place for it. We hope you enjoy. If you do, please help us placate the massive robot in the clouds by liking, and subscribing. And if you have questions for us here at Santa Cruz, email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks!

In this episode of the Roller Door, we chat with the Santa Cruz htSQD-- that's Alexis Skarda, Tobin Ortenblad, and Keegan Swenson-- about their experience at this year's Downievlle Classic. After a 2 year hiatus, the Downieville Classic returned for its 25th running, and as in past years, it didn't disappoint. The team explains pre-race meals, talks through their individual races, and goes deep into bike setup. It's an interesting look at how the fastest riders in the world take on a unique, demanding race like the Classic. We hope you enjoy. If you do, please help us placate the massive robot in the clouds by liking, and subscribing. And if you have questions for us here at Santa Cruz, email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Thanks!

Today we're Out to Lunch with Kiran Mackinnon, on the subject of MX wheels. The nerd alert is blinking bright on this one-- we chat about the benefits, drawbacks, and nuances of mixed wheel bikes. We talk bike geometry, from how geo changes from MX to full 29er's, BB drop, to Butt Reach, Kinematics and more -- this is a wormhole for those looking to define the subtle differences from bike to bike. We hope you do enjoy! Remember to let us know via email if there are questions you have for the team here-- that email is podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. Oh, and if you enjoyed this, make it official by liking or subscribing. Thanks for listening...

Oh, remember -- our little snippet of music is La Luz. 

Chris Naegele is a father, a rider, and a self proclaimed data dweeb. As head of Rider Support, and by wrangling the data points taken from thousands of rider inquries, his department has been able to inform what information should be featured on santacruzbicycles.com, the way we display it, and even influence the design of our bikes.  On this episode of the podcast Garen and Chris define what's warranty and what's not, chat about the early days of GoPro, tough conversations with riders, common questions and about the way Chris rides. We even vist New Dad Corner, and get to soime listener mail.  If you have questions for Chris or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, email us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com And check the Bike Archive Finally, if you like the podcast, tell a pal! Like, subscribe, etc.  Cheers Garen

In this episode of the Podcast we've got Josh Kissner.  As director of product, Josh has been involved with every bike Santa Cruz has made in the last decade or more. We talk about... well, bikes. Which ones are good for which kind of riding, how the product team goes about producing this stuff, Josh's personal bike preferences, and more. A couple of dorks chatting  away. We hope you enjoy-- and if you do, please subscribe, and rate, or like, or whatever. It makes the robot happy.  And if you have any questions for Josh or anyone here at Santa Cruz, write in: podcast@santacruzbicycles.com

Hello and welcome to the Roller Door, a Santa Cruz Bicycles Podcast, where we give you a behind the scenes look and what's going on here at the company, while giving ourselves the chance to sit down and chat with the company we keep. In this episode Garen Becker— today chats with a true champion for the sport of mountain biking-- Ben Cathro is a longtime downhill racer, mountain bike skills coach, creator of the excellent video series How To Bike, and team manager-- and racer for Pinkbike's world cup downhill team. We chat about technique, bike tech, ebikes as a training tool, changes to the world cup race program for this year, and more. Links to Ben's youtube channel and the How to Bike series are below. We hope you enjoy!    Cathrovision How to Bike 

Welcome to the Roller Door, a Santa Cruz Bicycles Podcast where we give you a behind the scenes look and what's going on here at the company, while giving ourselves the chance to sit down and chat with the company we keep. This episode is the first in a series we're calling Out to Lunch: In these episodes we'll dig into a particular subject with the people behind the product: in todays case, that subject is the Santa Cruz 5010, and that person is everyon's favorite human dyno, Kiran MacKinnon. Is there something you'd like to know about Santa Cruz Bicycles? Or mountain bikes in general? Don't forget to write in with questions, statements, judgements, accustations, and musings that pertain to our beloved sport of mountain biking . It's what we're here for. The email is podcast@santacruzbicycles.com. We hope you enjoy, and we hope to hear from you.           Oh and a reminder that our 15 seconds of music comes from La Luz. The track is Morning High.  

Welcome to the Roller Door, a Santa Cruz Bicycles Podcast, where we give you a behind the scenes look and what's going on here at the company, while giving ourselves the chance to sit down and chat with the company we keep.  In this episode Garen talks with Jack Russel. Jack's an industrial designer turned product manager here at Santa Cruz. Wide range of topics today, and big time nerd alert-- we talk about the evolution of bike geometry, aluminum vs. carbon, Jack's move from engineering to product management and what those two jobs mean here at Santa Cruz, airplanes, and of course, ebiking! Jack and I share an office, so he's an easy guy to get on the podcast-- so if you have any questions for Jack, or if you thik of any topics you'd like us to cover, please let us know by emailing us at podcast@santacruzbicycles.com.