Bikes & Big Ideas | BLISTER Outdoor Media & Gear Reviews

Kokopelli Trail FKT: Failure & Redemption w/ Hannah Otto (Ep.232)

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by David Golay

Last time we checked in with Hannah Otto, she was fresh off setting the FKT on the Whole Enchilada in Moab, Utah. Her follow-up was to chase the FKT on the Kokopelli Trail, where she had an extremely harrowing first attempt last fall — but, undeterred, she returned in the spring and beat the prior time by well over an hour. So we sat down with Hannah to hear all about it.

Neko Mulally on the Upcoming Frameworks Enduro Bike, DH Bike Testing & More (Ep.231)

July 18, 2024 by David Golay

Neko Mulally is getting ready to offer his Frameworks Enduro bike for sale, so we sat down to hear about its development; discuss the various DH frame variants Neko has been testing; talk about the expanded Frameworks team and how Neko’s approach to his own racing has evolved; and a lot more.

David Golay reviews the 2025 Geometron G1 for Blister

Geometron Bikes on the Design & Development of the New G1 (Ep.230)

July 11, 2024 by David Golay

Geometron arguably did more than any other bike brand to kick off the geometry revolution of the late 2010s, but they haven’t been content to rest on those laurels. The latest version of their G1 Enduro bike features a host of interesting — and maybe surprising — updates, so we sat down with them to hear all about it.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, June 2024 (Ep.229)

July 4, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Mike Ferrentino and Simon Stewart get into the polarizing topic of bicycle access in wilderness areas, the inclusion of women at Red Bull Rampage, a new tire valve standard, and much more in the latest episode of Reviewing the News.

Reviewer Reports: Specialized Epic Evo to the RAAW Madonna, Lots of Tires, & More (Ep.228)

June 27, 2024 by David Golay

We check in on a whole bunch of the bikes, tires, and other gear we’re currently testing, from the razor-sharp Specialized Epic Evo to the ultra-composed RAAW Madonna, and a wide range in between.

The Wild Tale of Constru-Bikes & Their Massive Bike Theft and Trafficking Ring (Ep.227)

June 20, 2024 by David Golay

Thousands of high-end bikes have been stolen across the Western US and wound up in Jalisco, Mexico. The story behind the trafficking ring and how Bryan Hance of Bike Index uncovered it is a *wild* one — hear all about it on this episode.

Dan Bacon of Wheelbased on the (Potential) Future of MTB Tech (Ep.226)

June 13, 2024 by David Golay

A lot of wild patent applications have been filed in the bike world of late, so we brought Dan Bacon from Wheelbased back on Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about a bunch of them, from Bilstein’s wild fork damper to Shimano’s electronic brakes, a carbon fiber cooler from Yeti (the BIKE company), and many more.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, May 2024 (Ep.225)

June 6, 2024 by Simon Stewart

MTB racing season is in full swing and Simon Stewart and Mike Ferrentino have a lot to cover on this iteration of Reviewing the News, from World Cup XC to Hardline, the Giro d’Italia and upcoming Tour de France, and a whole lot more.

EXT’s New Storia and Arma V4 Shocks (Ep.224)

May 30, 2024 by David Golay

EXT is updating their (already impressive) Storia and Arma rear shocks, so we sat down with their founder, Franco Fratton, to hear all about the new dampers; the potential for truly “active” suspension systems in the bike world; tease some upcoming EXT products, and more.

Cane Creek on their “Air-Charged Coil” Tigon Shock (Ep.223)

May 23, 2024 by David Golay

Air- and coil-sprung rear shocks have been used on mountain bikes for decades, but Cane Creek’s “air-charged coil” Tigon shock is a novel concept. So we sat down with Will Hart from Cane Creek to hear all about it.

Reviewer Reports: World Cup DH Recap, Tons of Bikes, Suspension, Tires, & More (Ep.222)

May 17, 2024May 16, 2024 by David Golay

We’ve been testing a huge spectrum of bikes — from Gravel to Enduro — plus a bunch of new tires, suspension, and more. Simon Stewart and David Golay sat down to talk about all of it, recap the World Cup DH season opener, and more.

Neuhaus Metalworks on Metal Bikes’ Resurgence, Learning to Build Frames, Size-Specific Geometry & More (Ep.221)

May 10, 2024 by David Golay

High-end metal bikes are having a resurgence, and we sat down with Daniel Yang and Nick Neuhaus of Neuhaus Metalworks to talk about why; hear their takes on frame design and size-specific geometry; discuss the value of communal learning; and a whole lot more.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, April 2024 (Ep.220)

May 2, 2024May 2, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Simon Stewart is joined by special guest host Mike Ferrentino to talk about Kona’s Sea Otter debacle and the state of the industry more broadly; the start of XC World Cup season; new XC race bikes being awesome; microphone eating; zombies; and more on the latest iteration of Reviewing the News.

Norco’s New DH Race Bike (Ep.219)

April 25, 2024 by David Golay

Norco hasn’t been shy about the fact that they’re working on a new DH race bike, and we sat down with Norco engineers Adrian Ward and Kirk McDowall to hear all about it.

Reviewer Reports: So Many New Bikes (Ep.218)

April 18, 2024 by David Golay

It’s been an insanely busy last few weeks for new bike launches, and we’ve been riding a whole lot of them. We sat down to chat about our early impressions of a *lot* of new bikes, from the Specialized Epic Evo to the Yeti SB165, and a whole bunch in between.

Reviewing the News w/ Ryan Palmer, March 2024 (Ep.217)

May 2, 2024April 11, 2024 by Simon Stewart

In their third installment of Reviewing The News, Ryan and Simon get into: the slopestyle strike; Scott’s apparent management instability; riding in Tuscany; some reflections on how we ever rode without dropper posts; and some new lightweight eMTBs running the hotrod Bosch SX motor — including the 39 lb Norco Fluid VLT.

Brook Macdonald on Fresh Starts, DH Race Bike Design, Moving to Forbidden, & More (Ep.216)

April 4, 2024 by David Golay

Brook Macdonald’s return to racing World Cup DH after breaking his back at Mont Sainte Anne in 2019 was nothing short of remarkable, but the last few race seasons have still been difficult ones for Brook. On this week’s episode of Bikes & Big Ideas, he opens up about a lot of those struggles, and the things he’s changed in order to come into the 2024 season feeling refreshed, reenergized, and with a renewed hunger to compete.

Georgia Astle on Racing, Freeriding, & Finding Her Way to MTB (Ep.215)

March 28, 2024March 28, 2024 by David Golay

Georgia Astle’s path to freeride stardom was an unconventional one — she didn't bike much growing up, despite living in Whistler — and it’s given her an interesting perspective on the state of the sport, finding and developing talented young riders, and a whole lot more.

Dakotah Norton on Finding Consistency, Moving to Mondraker, the State of US DH Racing, & More (Ep.214)

March 21, 2024 by David Golay

Dakotah Norton is one of the most decorated American DH racers in recent years, and we sat down with him to chat about his 2023 season, including his rocky start and strong finish to it; moving to Mondraker Factory Racing for 2024 and beyond; the state of US DH racing and how to build a better series of stepping stones to World Cup Downhill; and much more.

Sarah Sturm on Her Unconventional Path to Gravel-Racing Stardom (Ep.213)

March 14, 2024 by David Golay

Sarah Sturm’s path to gravel-racing stardom was unconventional, and her telling of the story is highly entertaining. So we sat down with Sarah to hear all about it, and chat about taking on new challenges; failure; peeing one's pants(?); the state and health of gravel racing; and much more.

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