David Golay, Author at BLISTER

Story Time With Ryan “R-Dog” Howard (Ep.182)

August 10, 2023 by David Golay

Ryan “R-Dog” Howard is one of the most stylish mountain bikers of all time, and it turns out he’s quite the storyteller, too. We sat down with Ryan to chat about everything from his four appearances at Red Bull Rampage; his absurd new “company vehicle;” and what Ryan describes as “the best trip of his life — even though it ended with a broken leg; and a whole lot more.

David Golay reviews the Commencal Supreme V5 for Blister

Flash Review — Commencal Supreme V5

August 14, 2023August 10, 2023 by David Golay

We've started spending time on Commencal's latest iteration of the Supreme DH race bike. Check out our early impressions.

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Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

Flash Review — Nicolai Nucleon 16 Supre Drive

August 8, 2023 by David Golay

The Lal Bikes Supre Drive is one of the most intriguing developments in mountain bike drivetrains to come around in a while, and we got a first ride on the Nicolai Nucleon 16 that's equipped with it.

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Cotic RocketMAX Gen4

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by David Golay

Steel full-suspension bikes are popping up with increasing frequency, but Cotic has been on that trend longer than most, and their latest Gen4 RocketMAX is a big Enduro bike with some seriously impressive ride characteristics.

Prevelo founder Jacob Rheuban on Designing a Better Kid’s Bike (Ep.181)

August 3, 2023 by David Golay

Kids’ bikes aren’t (or shouldn’t be) just scaled-down adult ones, and Prevelo founder Jacob Rheuban has a lot of great insights to share on what goes into making a good one.

Simon Stewart reviews the Propain Ekano 2 for Blister

Flash Review — Propain Ekano 2

August 3, 2023 by David Golay

Propain describes the Ekano 2 as a more nimble, playful sort of long-travel eMTB, but is it? Check out our initial impressions.

Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions

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David Golay reviews the Forge+Bond 30 AM and 25 XC wheels for Blister

Forge+Bond 25 XC and 30 AM Wheels

August 4, 2023August 2, 2023 by David Golay

Forge+Bond’s wheel lineup is growing with the addition of new XC and AM options — and a price drop while they’re at it.

David Golay reviews the Santa Cruz Stigmata for Blister

Flash Review — 2024 Santa Cruz Stigmata

August 1, 2023 by David Golay

We got a first ride on the new Santa Cruz Stigmata last week — check out our initial impressions (and one of our “gravel-curious” reviewer's thoughts on this sort of riding in general).

Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions

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2024 Santa Cruz Stigmata

August 1, 2023 by David Golay

Longer, lower, and slacker tend to be the standard buzzwords for an updated mountain bike, but Santa Cruz has applied them to their new Stigmata Gravel bike in a big way.

Miranda Miller is best known as a gravity MTB racer — and former DH World Champ — but she’s been branching out widely in her career, including riding a lot of gravel, and on this week’s episode of Bikes & Big Ideas we sat down to talk about what drove her to take a risk on something new; her DIVRGNT Minds project; highlighting lesser-known riding destinations; and a whole lot more.

Miranda Miller on DVRGNT Minds, Burnout, & Riding All the Bikes (Ep.180)

July 27, 2023 by David Golay

Miranda Miller is best known as a gravity MTB racer — and former DH World Champ — but she’s been branching out widely in her career, including riding a lot of gravel, and we sat down to talk about it.

David Golay reviews the 2024 RockShox SID Family for Blister

2024 RockShox SID, SID SL, and SIDLuxe

July 27, 2023 by David Golay

With the RockShox BoXXer DH fork getting an update last week, the SID and SID SL were seemingly due for one of their own, and now those new versions are here, along with an updated SIDLuxe rear shock. Check out RockShox’s latest XC suspension offerings.

David Golay reviews the Canyon K.i.S. System for Blister

Flash Review — Canyon K.I.S. System

July 26, 2023July 25, 2023 by David Golay

Canyon’s “Keep It Stable” (K.I.S.) system is a deceptively simple mechanism meant to calm down a bike's steering in certain situations, and we just got a first ride on it.

Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions

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Starling Mega Murmur

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 by David Golay

Starling has just launched a longer-travel version of their Murmur, now with a fully-UK-made frame, appropriately dubbed the “Mega Murmur.”

Race Face Era Cranks

May 27, 2025July 21, 2023 by David Golay

Race Face calls the Era the “strongest, stiffest, and most durable” carbon crank they’ve ever made, and we’ve spent nearly a full year on a pair to find out how those claims hold up on the trail.

Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)

July 20, 2023 by David Golay

The Lal Bikes Supre Drive is an extremely interesting take on reinventing the mountain bike drivetrain, and we sat down with Cedric and Alex from Lal to get the whole story of taking it from a prototype to production, getting bike companies (and the public) on board with a very novel concept, and a whole lot more.

Gear of the Year (So Far) (Ep.178)

July 13, 2023 by David Golay

We’ve been testing a huge range of bikes and gear this summer, so we sat down to chat about some of the things that have impressed us most so far, including bikes across the travel spectrum, SRAM’s new GX Transmission, and a whole lot more.

David Golay reviews the SRAM GX Transmission for Blister

Flash Review — SRAM GX Eagle Transmission

July 11, 2023July 11, 2023 by David Golay

We've been spending time on the new SRAM GX Transmission. Check out our impressions so far.

Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions

To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.

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SRAM GX Transmission & Bronze Stealth Brakes

July 11, 2023July 11, 2023 by David Golay

SRAM’s new T-Type groupsets launched just a few months ago with high-end XX SL, XX, and X0 tiers, and now there’s a new, more affordable GX version. While the high-level details closely mirror those of the higher-end variants, SRAM has done a lot more than just make a less-expensive, heavier version of the Transmission. Check out our First Look for all the details.

Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)

July 6, 2023 by David Golay

High-pivot Trail bikes are becoming increasingly common, but Deviate Cycles was a pioneer of that trend, and we sat down with Deviate co-founder Ben Jones to talk about why they went that direction when few companies were; gearboxes & mass adoption of new ideas; onshoring production & their wild Lowlander 3D-printed titanium and carbon fiber prototype; & a whole lot more.

2023 Specialized P.Series

July 6, 2023 by David Golay

Specialized has overhauled its longstanding P.Series line of Dirt-Jump bikes, and the lineup now includes versions for the whole family, with wheel sizes ranging from 20’’ to 27.5’’.