Bikes & Big Ideas

Anneke Beerten on Racing, ‘Badass’ Books, & Big Ideas (Ep. 34)

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Anneke Beerten was born in the Netherlands, started racing BMX when she was 4, then became a 2 x world champion in BMX, a 3-time Four-cross world champion, the Queen of Crankworx, and she’s won, podiumed, and top 5’d many enduro, DH, DS races. She also just won the So Cal Enduro and Snow Summit DH. So Blister reviewer Dylan Wood and Jonathan Ellsworth caught up with Anneke to talk about racing; what she’s up to these days; ‘badass’ books; business ideas; and you’ll get to hear ‘the story of Dylan and Anneke.’

Pivot Cycles’ Elorie Slater on Industry Trends, Bike Prices, & Female Participation in MTB (Ep. 30)

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We talk with Elorie Slater about her unusual path to becoming the head of marketing for Pivot Cycles; her take on the bike industry in the time of COVID, and where the industry goes from here; bike prices and “entry level” pricing; and the notion of women-specific gear and female participation in mountain biking.

The History & Future of the BC Bike Race with Dean Payne & Simon Stewart (Ep. 29)

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We talk with Dean Payne, the president and co-founder of the BC Bike Race, about the origins and evolution of one of the most epic bike races and events in the world. And Simon Stewart (aka, Mr. Tank Driver) is sitting in as co-host to discuss with Dean all things BC Bike Race, the world’s largest hockey stick, drinking with Russell Crowe, and what goes into putting together an event like this.

Cam McCaul on Bike Films, Preparing for Big Lines, & the TGR Film, Accomplice (Ep. 28)

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Cam McCaul goes on Blister's Bikes & Big Ideas podcast to discuss filming for TGR's Accomplice, commentating, preparing to ride big lines, the most underrated type of mountain biking, and more

We caught up this week with Cam McCaul to talk about some of the bike films that made the biggest impression on him; the new TGR film he’s in called, Accomplice; how he prepares for riding big lines; his work as a commentator; and which discipline he thinks many people fail to really appreciate: slopestyle, DH, or big-mountain riding.

Bikes vs. Skis (2020 edition), Part 1 (Ep. 24)

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Bikes vs. Skis: which bike brand is most similar to which ski brand, and how are different bike brands stacking up against each other? We discuss this and more on Blister's Bikes & Big Ideas podcast

Which bike company is currently most like which ski company? And which bike and ski company do most other bike and ski brands secretly wish they could trade places with? Noah Bodman, Jonathan Ellsworth, David Golay, and Eric Freson make parallels and analogies between these two industries to see if it gives us a better sense of the current position, reputation, and trajectory of a bunch of different brands in these sports.

Why & How Chris King Became a B Corp (Ep.23)

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Chris King Precision Component's Kirby Bedsaul goes on Blister's Bikes & Big Ideas podcast to discuss how and why Chris King became a certified B Corp

What, exactly, does it mean for a company to be a Certified B Corporation business, and why should anyone care? To learn more, we reached out to Chris King Precision Components — which just completed the process of becoming one of the very few B Corp manufacturing companies in the bike industry — and asked about what the process of becoming a B Corp entails, why they decided to do it, and we also discuss Chris King’s approach to manufacturing out of their homebase of Portland, Oregon.

Best / Worst Ideas for Our Blister ‘Crash Course’ Videos (Ep. 22)

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As a way to show our appreciation for our Bikes & Big Ideas listeners, we discussed our best / worst ideas for the bikes edition of our Blister ‘Crash Course’ video series — and some of the ideas are truly magnificent. So check it out, and then please feel free to suggest your own best / worst ideas for our ‘Crash Course’ bike videos.

Basketball Legend Bill Walton on His Love of Bikes, Life, & Humanity (Ep. 21)

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Bill Walton discusses bikes, Bike for Humanity, basketball, and music on the Bikes & Big Ideas podcast

Bill Walton is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, his passion for bikes is all-time, too. So we talked to Bill about his life-long love of bikes, and about his upcoming event, Bike For Humanity, which is a virtual event that Bill created as a way for all of us to show our solidarity in these times. We also discuss the top-5, all-time, NBA ‘bike’ guys; Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and more.

How the Outdoor Industry is Pivoting to Fight COVID-19 (Ep.20)

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Kitsbow, Industry Nine, Shaggy's Copper Country Skis discuss manufacturing PPE during the coronavirus pandemic on Blister's Bikes & Big Ideas Podcast.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, a number of companies in the outdoor industry are pivoting away from their normal operations and product offerings to provide healthcare workers with critical gear. So we talk to physician assistant and Blister reviewer, Sascha Anastas, about the scope of the problem, and we then talk to Kitsbow, Industry Nine, and Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis about how they are each helping the cause.

The Basics of Servicing Your Bike, with Simon Stewart (Ep. 18)

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Simon Stewart breaks down the basics of servicing your bike on Blister's Bikes and Big Ideas podcast

For many of us, it will soon be time to dust off our bikes and get back to riding. So what are some of the most important things you can do to your bike if you haven’t been riding it? To answer this, we talked to Simon Stewart, who has a long history in the bike industry, and who currently owns and runs the bike shop, Boneshaker Cycles, in Buena Vista, Colorado.

The Upcoming DH Season (Ep.17)

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Jonathan Ellsworth, David Golay, Ben Sims, & Noah Bodman discuss on Blister's Bikes & Big Ideas podcast the upcoming 2020 UCI World Cup Downhill Mountain Bike Season

The World Cup Downhill season starts in just a couple of weeks, so we checked in with Blister reviewers Noah Bodman, David Golay, and Ben Sims to get their thoughts on and predictions for the upcoming season. We also discuss the future prospects and popularity of World Cup DH racing versus the popularity and trajectory of Enduro World Series racing, and we place one very big wager on the upcoming season.

Drilling for Oil under Moab’s Slickrock Trail? (Ep.16)

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Recently, a preliminary proposal from the Bureau of Land Management was put forward to auction the right to drill for oil and natural gas under Moab’s Slickrock Trail, one of the most famous mountain bike trails in the world. How is this possible? And what should each of us be doing to protect our trails? For answers to these questions and to learn what exactly happened with Slickrock Trail, we talked to Ashley Korenblat, the founder of Public Land Solutions.

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