Bikes & Big Ideas

David Golay reviews the 2024 Trek Slash for BLISTER

Trek on the New High-Pivot Slash (Ep.186)

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The Trek Slash has been in their lineup for a long time, but the new sixth-generation bike is a big departure from the earlier iterations — first and foremost because of its new high-pivot suspension layout — and we sat down with the lead engineer on the project, Matt Yerke, to hear all about it.
Blister Mountain Bike Knee Pad Roundup — 2023

D3O On The Past, Present, and Future of MTB Armor (Ep.185)

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The mountain bike armor market has evolved a lot in recent years, and D30’s non-Newtonian materials have had a big hand in shaping those changes. So we sat down with them to chat about the ways MTB armor has changed; where they see it going in the future; the tradeoffs inherent to designing protective gear; testing standards + their pros and cons; kids’ armor; and a whole lot more.
Chromag’s Full Suspension Bike Development (Ep.184)

Chromag’s Full Suspension Bike Development (Ep.184)

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Chromag is unquestionably *the* first brand that a lot of people think of when it comes to hardcore hardtails, which makes their recent foray into full-suspension bikes especially interesting. And as we uncover in this conversation with Chromag engineer Joe Swann, the path to launching the Darco and Lowdown has been a long and winding — and fascinating — one.
Story Time With Ryan “R-Dog” Howard (Ep.182)

Story Time With Ryan “R-Dog” Howard (Ep.182)

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Ryan “R-Dog” Howard is one of the most stylish mountain bikers of all time, and it turns out he’s quite the storyteller, too. We sat down with Ryan to chat about everything from his four appearances at Red Bull Rampage; his absurd new “company vehicle;” and what Ryan describes as “the best trip of his life — even though it ended with a broken leg; and a whole lot more.
Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)

Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)

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High-pivot Trail bikes are becoming increasingly common, but Deviate Cycles was a pioneer of that trend, and we sat down with Deviate co-founder Ben Jones to talk about why they went that direction when few companies were; gearboxes & mass adoption of new ideas; onshoring production & their wild Lowlander 3D-printed titanium and carbon fiber prototype; & a whole lot more.
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