Bikes & Big Ideas | BLISTER Outdoor Media & Gear Reviews

Transition Smuggler, Starling Murmur, Pivot Shuttle LT, & More (Ep.158)

May 4, 2023February 23, 2023 by David Golay

David Golay sat down with the newest member of the Blister bike review team, Simon Stewart, to talk about a ton of the new bikes they’ve been testing — including some interesting takeaways about the wildly-varied class of ~140mm-travel Trail bikes.

Ministry Cycles on Suspension Design, Machining Frames, & Launching a Bike Company (Ep.157)

May 4, 2023February 15, 2023 by David Golay

Chris Currie has taken a long, winding road to founding Ministry Cycles, and the bike he’s launching with, the Psalm 150, is every bit as interesting. So we sat down with Chris to get the whole story.

Neko Mulally’s World Cup DH Bike Development (Ep.155)

Neko Mulally’s World Cup DH Bike Development (Ep.156)

May 4, 2023February 9, 2023 by David Golay

When we last caught up with Neko Mulally he had just launched his Frameworks self-designed World Cup DH race bike project, and now a year later, he’s learned a whole lot — and changed a lot of the frame design details along the way. So we sat back down to get the whole story.

Braydon Bringhurst on Climbing the Whole Enchilada (Ep.155)

May 4, 2023February 2, 2023 by David Golay

A few months ago, Braydon Bringhurst pulled off the incredible accomplishment of climbing the Whole Enchilada trail in Moab, Utah in a single day — and *rode* every inch of it. So we sat down with Braydon to get the whole story.

Geoff Kabush on Longevity, Having Fun, & Career Evolution (Ep.154)

May 4, 2023January 26, 2023 by David Golay

Geoff Kabush has had about as long and varied a career as a professional racer can have, so we sat down with him to chat about the ups and downs over the years, his favorite events and stories, what keeps him going, & a whole lot more.

Pivot Factory Racing’s Newest Member, Jakob Jewett (Ep.153)

May 4, 2023January 19, 2023 by David Golay

Jakob Jewett’s World Cup DH career is off to a great start, so it’s wild to imagine that he was once on track to be a professional skier instead. We caught up with Jakob to hear all about his 2022 season, his approach to racing, his ongoing love of skiing, and a whole lot more.

Gamux on Doing Everything Differently (Ep.152)

May 4, 2023January 11, 2023 by David Golay

The Gamux Sego is about as visually striking as bikes get, and the story of its development and the brand that spawned it is every bit as interesting. And so we sat down with founder Pascal Tinner to get the whole story.

Gear of the Year, 2022

May 4, 2023January 5, 2023 by David Golay

We reviewed more mountain bikes and gear than ever before in 2022, and so David Golay, Dylan Wood, and Luke Koppa sat down to recount a bunch of their favorites.

Andrew Gardner on Open-Mindedness, Gravel Riding, Velocio, & More (Ep.150)

May 4, 2023December 29, 2022 by David Golay

We’re joined by Velocio co-founder Andrew Gardner to recap a recent “gravel” ride that he and Jonathan Ellsworth went on, and to discuss gravel riding more broadly, including the limitations of the term “gravel”, the ways that bikers group themselves into specialized cliques (possibly to their detriment) and much, much more.

Ed Masters on The 2022 Season, Team Dynamics, Rule Changes, & More (Ep.149)

May 4, 2023December 22, 2022 by David Golay

The one and only Ed Masters is back on Bikes & Big Ideas to chat about his strong 2022 season, the upcoming rule changes for 2023, and a whole lot more — including what might be the wildest mid-race-run mishap story of all time.

Ellie Smith on Racing all the Disciplines, Bike Setup, Welding, & More (Ep.148)

December 15, 2022 by David Golay

Ellie Smith entered the 2022 race season with few expectations and little more of a plan than to do her best and see where things went from there. Then she won the Australian National DH Championships (on an Enduro bike) — and that was just the start.

David Golay reviews the Fezzari La Sal Peak for Blister

Canyon Spectral 125, Trek Fuel EX, Santa Cruz Nomad, & More (Ep.147)

December 8, 2022 by David Golay

We’re still hard at work testing bikes and have updates on a lot of the new ones we’ve been spending time on, including the new Trek Fuel EX, the mulleted Santa Cruz Nomad, and much more.

A Very Deep Dive on Suspension with EXT’s Franco Fratton, Pt. 2 (Ep. 146)

December 1, 2022 by David Golay

EXT founder Franco Fratton is back on Bikes & Big Ideas to continue our deep dive on suspension design and technology, and he’s got a ton to teach all of us about damper design, performance, and some of the common misconceptions about them in the mountain bike world.

Lots of people have dreamed of building their ideal bike; few have actually done it, and fewer have made something as impressive as the Machina Bikes prototypes. So on this week’s episode of Bikes & Big Ideas, we sat down with founders Tom and Sion to get the whole story.

Machina Bikes on Building a Dream Bike (Ep.145)

November 24, 2022 by David Golay

Lots of people have dreamed of building their ideal bike; few have actually done it, and fewer have made something as impressive as the Machina Bikes prototypes. So we sat down with founders Tom and Sion to get the whole story.

The development of the Trinity MTB has been one of the coolest ongoing projects in the bike world, and Mic Williams is back on Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about the latest — including the now-operational gearbox, which is poised to pick up where Honda left off with the RN-01.

Trinity MTB’s Gearbox & V3 Prototype (Ep.144)

November 17, 2022 by David Golay

The development of the Trinity MTB has been one of the coolest ongoing projects in the bike world, and Mic Williams is back on Bikes & Big Ideas to talk about the latest — including their exciting and now-operational gearbox, which is poised to pick up where Honda left off with their famous RN-01.

Hannah Otto on Setting the Whole Enchilada FKT (Ep.143)

November 10, 2022 by David Golay

Hannah Otto just demolished the FKT for the Whole Enchilada trail in Moab — including the road climb to the top — and we sat down with her to get the whole story.

The Orogenesis Collective on Building the World’s Longest MTB Trail (Ep.142)

November 3, 2022 by David Golay

What if there was a Pacific Crest Trail, but for mountain bikes? The Orogenesis Collective is making it happen, with the planned route covering over 5,000 miles and spanning three countries. So we sat down to chat about the route, the story behind its founding, what you can do to help, & much more.

LoveYourBrain on Care, Community, & Recovery from TBIs (Ep. 141)

October 27, 2022 by David Golay

We sat down with Adam Pearce of LoveYourBrain to chat about everything LYB is doing to provide resources and support for folks recovering from traumatic brain injuries, how the conversation around TBIs is changing, and much more.

A Very Deep Dive on Suspension with EXT’s Franco Fratton, Pt. 1 (Ep.140)

October 20, 2022 by David Golay

EXT founder Franco Fratton has more experience working on suspension than just about anyone, and we brought him back on Bikes & Big Ideas to kick off a series of episodes where we’ll be going very deep on suspension design and tech.

Matthew Fairbrother’s Outrageous EWS Tour (Ep.139)

October 13, 2022October 13, 2022 by David Golay

Racing a full EWS season is hard. Bikepacking between all the races makes it a lot harder. But that didn’t stop Matthew Fairbrother from doing just that, and on this week’s episode of Bikes & Big Ideas we sat down with him to get the whole crazy, hilarious, remarkable story.

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