BLISTER Gear Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles
The Wild Tale of Constru-Bikes & Their Massive Bike Theft and Trafficking Ring (Ep.227)
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.
2025 RockShox Flight Attendant Forks & Shocks
Right on the heels of RockShox launching their new Vivid Coil shock and Charger 3.1 fork damper, they’ve released new electronically-controlled Flight Attendant versions of all the above (and the air-sprung Vivid). Check out what they’ve come up with.
Stuff We Like: June 2024
This month’s edition of our Stuff We Like series includes tons of warm-weather and travel-friendly apparel, bike tools, camera gear, hair-care products, and more. Check it out to see what gear our reviewers have recently been digging.
Coffee Gear, Pt. 4: “Hero Espresso” & Jonathan’s Current Setup (Ep.43)
Today’s the day. Simon Stewart and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss the coffee gear Jonathan ended up going with on his quest to create daily doses of ‘hero espresso’.
Flash Review — Shimano GRX Di2 2 x 12-Speed Drivetrain
Shimano’s new semi-wireless GRX Di2 drivetrain brings a lot of interesting new functionality to the table, and we’ve started spending time on it. Check out our early impressions.
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‘Wade in the Water’ with David Mesfin & Jonathan Ellsworth (Ep.15)
Our guest is David Mesfin, the writer, director, and producer of ‘Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture’ that chronicles the 1000-year-old tradition of Black surfing and highlights some of the black surfers and surfing organizations that are forging the next chapters of this tradition.
2024 Specialized Chisel
Hot on the heels of the recently released Epic and Epic EVO, Specialized is announcing the new Chisel. The Chisel keeps similar kinematics and geometry to the Epic, but gets an impressively light aluminum frame to bring down cost. Let’s look at what Specialized has welded up.
2024-2025 Peak 110 by Bode
Here are our measured specs, rocker profile pictures, and flex pattern numbers for the Peak 110 by Bode.
Flash Review — Scott Solace Gravel eRide
We’ve been riding the Scott Solace Gravel eRide on two different continents. Check out our impressions so far.
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Scott Solace Gravel eRIDE
The Scott Solace Gravel eRIDE puts the excellent TQ HPR50 drive system in a Gravel / All Road package. Throw in a few geometry tweaks, generous tire clearance, and options for Road and Gravel builds, and the Solace starts to look very interesting.
Here to Climb: Sasha DiGiulian on Fitting In, Standing Out, & Her New Documentary (Ep.312)
We talk to professional climber Sasha DiGiulian about her unconventional journey, major setbacks, and remarkable achievements in and beyond the climbing world. We also go behind the scenes of the new documentary about her life, Here to Climb.
Flash Review — COROS Dura Cycling Computer
We’ve been logging some hours on the new COROS Dura cycling computer. Check out our initial impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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Win MTB Gear From Giro
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get a helmet, a pair of goggles, and a pair of gloves from Giro!
Travel Gear + Bringing Back the Snake Bite Black (Ep.301)
Jonathan and Kristin discuss their recent trips; the question of ‘why we travel?’; bringing back the endangered Snake Bite Black; and they dive into some of their favorite travel gear.
Kavenz VHP 16 V7
The Kavenz VHP 16 is now in its 7th iteration, and it still stands out as a unique combination of often disparate handling traits. Check out our Full Review and Deep Dive for our impressions after a few months of saddle time.
BLISTER Reviews, Podcasts, & Articles:
Mondraker Dune
The Mondraker Dune XR is exceptionally good at going downhill and adds the impressive Bosch SX drive system to help bring it back up for more. Check out the Full Review to see what Mondraker has done to make the Dune XR so unique.
Deep Dive: Mondraker Dune XR
The Mondraker Dune XR is one of the more unique light-assist eMTBs we’ve tested, and as such there aren’t many direct comparisons, so we’re including some full-power eMTBs that match up a bit closer as well.
We compare the Mondraker Dune to the Pivot Shuttle LT, Orbea Wild, Devinci E-Troy, Canyon Torque:ON CF, and Trek Slash+.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.
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Team USA Snowboarder, Bea Kim (Ep.328)
At the age of 17, not many of us find ourselves competing for World Cup titles, or speaking in front of the United Nations. But then there’s Bea Kim, and you’re definitely going to want to get to know her and her story.
Vorsprung Smashpot V2 Coil Spring Fork Conversion Kit
Vorsprung’s new Smashpot V2 still lets you convert your fork to a coil spring, but V2 offers increased tunability, a wider range of travel and fork compatibility options — including dual-crown ones — and a new dual-rate progressive spring setup for longer-travel configurations. Check out our First Look for all the details.
Formula Nebbia
The Nebbia is Formula’s first air shock, with a strong focus on tunability and ease of service. After a few months of testing, we have gotten a good sense of how it performs — and the results are even more interesting than expected.
GEAR THERAPY: Elite Football Player Gets Back into Skiing (Ep.317)
BLISTER+ member, Pete Brantley, talks about getting back into skiing; playing football for the Oregon Ducks (and Chicago Bears!); poses his most-pressing gear questions; and gets Jonathan’s best recommendations.
Win an IR Waxer From mountainFLOW
The winner of our Gear Giveaway this week will get an Infrared (IR) Waxer from mountainFLOW!
The Design, Development, & Testing of Enve’s new M-Series Wheels (Ep.243)
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.
Flash Review — Enve M6 Wheels
Enve says that their new M-Series wheels ride very differently from Enve wheels of old, and we’ve started putting those claims to the test with their new Trail bike wheels, the M6. Check out our early impressions.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.
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Enve’s Fifth-Generation M-Series Wheels
Enve has launched the fifth-generation versions of their flagship M-Series mountain bike wheels, promising a very different ride feel from past M-Series wheels. The data they’ve provided to quantify that is pretty eye-popping, and there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on with their design — including new, Enve-designed hubs. Check out what they’ve come up with.
How Do You Know How “Safe” Your Helmet Is? | Blister Summit Video
Testing standards are hugely important, but when it comes to ski/snowboard and cycling helmets, the current ones have limitations. In this clip, Steven Kennedy, Sr. Director of R&D at Giro, shares some thoughts on Giro’s in-house testing approach, the Virginia Tech helmet testing standards, and more.
‘A Sunday in Hell’ w/ Joe Parkin & Simon Stewart (Ep.26)
We revisit the 1977 film ‘A Sunday in Hell,’ often regarded as one of the greatest bike racing films of all time. To do it justice, Simon Stewart is joined by former pro cyclist Joe Parkin, who raced Paris-Roubaix himself in 1988, and knows what it takes to suffer through “The Hell of the North.”