We check in with reviewers Dylan Wood (who gets to keep his seat at the bar), David Golay (who is now reconsidering what makes brakes good or bad), and Eric Freson (who still enjoys a sick jazz soundtrack) to get their updates on the Trek Slash, EXT Storia shock, Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, and the Banshee Phantom V3.
What if you could buy a bike without immediately looking to swap out a bunch of the stock parts? And what if this dream build of yours was competitively priced? Sherpa Custom Mountain Bikes is a brand-new company that allows you to customize every part and color of your new bike, with over 1,000,000 combinations to choose from; their “photorealistic 3D dream builder” provides life-like graphics that allow you to scrutinize every detail of your custom build; and they’re also offering a life-time warranty on their frames and rims. Sound too good to be true? We sat down with the founders of Sherpa to question them about this intriguing ambitious new venture.
Structure Cycleworks arguably makes the coolest bikes out there — or the ugliest bikes out there. So we talked to their founder, Loni Hull, about why he introduced a front-linkage suspension design; why rear-linkage designs are everywhere, while front-linkage designs are utterly uncommon; and the pros and cons of bringing such an unorthodox bike to market. So whether you are a true bike dork or you just appreciate outside-the-box thinking and design, consider this a ‘Must-Listen.’
Today, Trek officially released an update of their enduro-focused Slash, so we offer our initial impressions of the new bike and ask what this big new release might be able to tell us about where we are in terms of the evolution of bike geometry. To this end, we also talk about a couple other examples, including the Pivot Switchblade and the Rocky Mountain Instinct BC.
Eliot Jackson and Katie Holden have just launched the Grow Cycling Foundation, so we caught up with Eliot to talk about Grow Cycling; their plan to get a Velosolutions Pumptrack built in downtown Los Angeles; how to create a more welcoming bike culture; his terrific podcast, Reggy Radio; night owls; and more.
Any One of Us, the film about Paul Basagoitia and spinal cord injuries, just won an Emmy! So we are reposting the conversation we had with Paul, who was the first back-to-back winner of Crankworx Slopestyle; participated in Red Bull Rampage numerous times; and was one of the top riders in the game. But one tiny mishap led to a crash that left him paralyzed, and Paul’s life was changed in an instant. But that’s not the end of the story — Paul is currently making an absolutely incredible comeback.
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.’
Bike sales are through the roof this season, and all around the world, a lot of people are hitting the trails. So we talked to the executive director of the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, Dave Ochs, to discuss the implications of — and potential solutions to — increased trail use.
David Golay and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the backstory of the new ZEB fork and why RockShox built it; who it’s for; its available configurations and compatibility; the ZEB vs. the Lyrik and more, with RockShox’s Chris Mandell.
Everybody’s favorite bike-POV-commentator is back to talk about chasing Nino Schurter down trails in Switzerland; his thoughts on e-bikes (now that he’s been riding one frequently); his company, Velosolutions’ first “all-electric” build; the status of the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships; and more.
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.
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.
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.
We sit down with bike-industry veterans Simon Stewart and Joe Parkin to announce their brand-new shop name; talk about what it’s like to own and operate a bike shop in these times; and finally, we discuss Joe’s wildly addictive creation that our editor-in-chief calls, the “Crack Waffle.”
Which bike company is currently the most like which ski company? Here in part 2, we get into more arguments and offer more parallels and analogies between these two industries to get a better sense of the current position, reputation, and trajectory of a bunch of different brands in these sports.
By the time he hit his mid-20s, Adam Miller had already founded three bike companies: Borealis Fat Bikes, Why Cycles, and Revel Bikes. So we talk to Adam (who is now 28 years old) about how and why a kid from Alaska started three bike companies, and what he believes makes Revel bikes different — and better.
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.
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.
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.
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.