Bikes & Big Ideas | BLISTER Outdoor Media & Gear Reviews

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, November 2024 (Ep.251)

December 5, 2024December 5, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Simon welcomes Mike Ferrentino back into the studio and they discuss the seemingly limitless discounts across the bike industry; the history of bike multitools; bike theft and how to protect your bikes; old trucks; and a whole lot more.

Reviewer Reports: Lightweight eMTBs, Ultra-Adjustable Enduro Bikes, Electronic Suspension Battle & More (Ep.250)

November 28, 2024 by David Golay

Simon Stewart and David Golay give the rundown on a ton of bikes and other gear we’ve been testing, from a wide range of Trail bikes to a couple of lightweight eMTBs, the ultra-adjustable Geometron G1, and more — including a head-to-head comparison of Fox Live Valve Neo and RockShox Flight Attendant.

PeopleForBikes CEO, Jenn Dice, on Assessing, Advocating For, & Building Better Bike Infrastructure (Ep.249)

November 21, 2024 by David Golay

Getting more people on bikes more regularly is a laudable goal, and building better bike infrastructure is key to making it happen. PeopleForBikes does a whole lot to make that happen all over the US, and we sat down with their CEO, Jenn Dice, to hear all about it — and we dive into off-road bike access & advocacy, the specter of increased tariffs on bikes (and a lot of other stuff), and a whole bunch more.

Matthew Fairbrother on His Self-Supported NZ Rally Win, the North Shore Triple Triple Crown, & More (Ep.248)

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 by David Golay

Matthew Fairbrother has made a name for himself by reeling off one mind-bending feet of endurance after another on a mountain bike. We sat down with him to get the rundown on some of his recent exploits.

Reviewing the News w/ Dylan Wood, October 2024 (Ep. 247)

November 7, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Simon and Dylan recap the latest happenings in the bike world, including the historic Red Bull Rampage women’s competition; they give their take on the men’s competition; cover plenty of good and bad industry news; plus some new eMTBs Simon is really excited about.

Casey Brown on the Inaugural Women’s Red Bull Rampage (Ep.246)

October 31, 2024 by David Golay

Red Bull Rampage finally, belatedly, included a women’s category this year — and it was outstanding. Casey Brown arguably did more than anyone else to get her foot in the door, and to smash it down for others to follow, so we sat down with her to hear all about it. Don’t miss this one.

Arid Cycles on Self-Taught Frame Design, the Spade Enduro Bike, & More (Ep.245)

October 24, 2024 by David Golay

The Arid Spade Enduro bike prototypes are awfully striking for a host of reasons — including that their designer, Ethan Eggert, is just 19 years old. We sat down with Ethan to hear how and why he decided to start building bikes; how the Spade has evolved over its first three iterations; his plans for eventually selling frames; and a bunch more.

High Above on US Manufacturing, Pack Design, Expanding Their Lineup, & More (Ep.244)

October 17, 2024 by David Golay

High Above has been making high-quality bike packs and accessories — in the US — for well over a decade. We sat down with them to get their thoughts on the value (and downsides) of US manufacturing; talk about their design and testing process; get some teasers of what they’re working on; and a whole lot more.

The Design, Development, & Testing of Enve’s new M-Series Wheels (Ep.243)

October 10, 2024 by David Golay

Enve’s new M-Series wheels are the result of a very long and involved development process, and they don’t look, or ride, anything like M-Series wheels of old. So we sat down with Jake Pantone of Enve to get the whole story behind their development.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, September 2024 (Ep.242)

October 3, 2024 by Simon Stewart

On the latest episode of Reviewing the News, Mike and Simon dig into what may have happened to close the doors of one of the biggest retail bike stores in the country; why selling Rad Power bikes in Best Buy stores is a terrible idea; the exciting inaugural Lake Placid XC World Cup; plus a bunch more and the usual banter you don’t want to miss.

Reviewer Reports: Lightweight eMTBs, XC Race Bikes, and Slack Head Angles (Ep.241)

September 26, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Dylan and Simon discuss the bikes they’ve been comparing in our upcoming head-to-head videos, which cover everything from Enduro eMTBs like the Cannondale Moterra SL to XC bikes like the Yeti ASR — which doesn’t have a motor but almost feels like it does.

Alex Showerman on ‘Coming Home’ and Finding One in Women’s Freeride (Ep.240)

September 19, 2024 by David Golay

Alex Showerman’s new short film ‘Coming Home’ tells the story of her journey to women’s freeride, and explores what a home is — in more than just the literal sense of a place to live. We sat down with her to hear all about it.

Maxxis on the New High Roller, Tire R&D, & More (Ep.239)

September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 by David Golay

We sat down with Maxxis’ Aaron Chamberlain to discuss their new High Roller tire; how Maxxis designs, develops, and tests mountain bike tires; why its lineup is so expansive, and a whole lot more.

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino, August 2024 (Ep.238)

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Mike Ferrentino is back handling the co-host duties on this episode of Reviewing the News. Simon admits to missing Mike during his absence, and the lads waste no time getting into recapping the UCI MTB World Championships; cross-country mountain bike courses getting too short; Mike’s take on the Specialized and Frameworks partnership; a belt drive lawsuit; and lots more.

Reviewer Reports: Battle of Unconventional Air Shocks, High-Pivot Trail Bikes, & More (Ep.237)

August 29, 2024 by David Golay

We check in on a selection of the gear we’ve been testing of late, from the Forbidden Druid V2 to the Trek Slash+, plus a bunch more bikes, some air shocks from smaller brands — and a discussion of bike geometry that might surprise you.

Liv Cycling’s Ludi Shuolz on Women-Specific Bikes, Suspension Tuning, & More (Ep.235)

Liv Cycling’s Ludi Scholz on Women-Specific Bikes, Suspension Tuning, & More (Ep.236)

August 22, 2024August 22, 2024 by David Golay

Few companies still make truly women-specific mountain bikes, but Liv Cycling is leading the charge there — we sat down with Off-Road Category Manager Ludi Scholz to talk about what Liv does and why.

Zerode on Gearbox Bikes, World Cup DH Racing, & Building Stuff in a Shed (Ep.235)

August 15, 2024 by David Golay

A lot of mountain bike companies started with one or two people building stuff in a shed, but not many of those folks *began* by building their own gearbox, and even fewer have stayed committed to gearbox bikes. But Zerode isn’t most bike companies, and we sat down with them to hear all about their history, how they got where they are today, their thoughts on gearbox bikes, and a whole lot more.

Vermont Mountain Bike Association on Assessing, Funding, & Building Adaptive Trails (Ep.234)

August 8, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Vermont Mountain Bike Association, in conjunction with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, are building an impressive network of adaptive trails. So we sat down to find out what has made them so successful; what goes into adaptive trail building; and why other trail organizations should take a look at what they’re doing.

Reviewing the News w/ Wade Simmons, July 2024 (Ep.233)

August 1, 2024 by Simon Stewart

Simon is joined by freeride legend Wade Simmons for the July edition of Reviewing the News. Wade and Simon try to figure out why they keep crashing; then get into Crankworx Whistler, the wild Les Gets World Cup, the Olympics, chain lube, and a whole lot more.

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.

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