Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast
631 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 469 ratingsPodcast host Jeff Barber, Editor-in-Chief at Singletracks.com, aims to inform and inspire with topics and interviews from the mountain bike world. Since 2015, we have been sharing weekly stories from under the helmets of the most inspiring and influential mountain bikers.
Join us as we learn from top athletes, product designers, trail builders, coaches, mechanics, artists, and leaders in the mountain biking community.
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/singletracks/support
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Singletracks Editors' Favorite Bikes and MTB Gear for 2023
December 12, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBJeff and Matt look back at some of the best bikes and mountain bike gear tested in 2023, and talk about some of the most interesting new releases this year. Along the way we'll also hit on some of the trends we're following and highlight some of the reviews you might have missed. Listen to our conversation as a podcast, or read a tightly edited transcript and find photos at singletracks.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks --...
The Art of MTB Drivetrains, According to a Product Designer
November 28, 2023 09:07 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBJohn Calendrille has spent decades designing and patenting everything from derailleurs and shifters to dropper posts and brake levers. He's consulted for industry brands including TRP and Box, and now he’s got his own company, Vivo, that sells a customizable 12-speed shifter, the Vivo F3. How did you first get into designing bike components? What are some of the limitations of existing mechanic mountain biker shifters? What makes the Vivo F3 an improvement? Have you found that many riders...
He's the First to Through-Bike the 3,300-mile Continental Divide Trail in Years.
November 14, 2023 09:10 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBKurt Refsnider is a cycling coach and the founder of Bikepacking Roots, an organization that advocates for bikepacking and the environment. He's the only person to have won all three events in the Triple Crown of Bikepacking, and he recently became one of only a few people to have biked the entire Continental Divide Trail (CDT), a 3,300-mile route stretching from Canada to Mexico. Are you glad to be off the trail after three months of riding? How is the Continental Divide Route different...
How Bike Bearings Work, and Why You Should Pay Attention to Them
October 31, 2023 08:48 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBMatt Harvey is the co-founder of Enduro Bearings, a company dedicated to producing premium, high quality bearings for the bicycle industry. He's been working in bike shops starting as a teenager and later for industry brands like Gary Fisher and Bianchi. What was your 'aha' moment for forming Enduro Bearings? What makes bicycle bearings different from bearings used for other purposes? What are the challenges involved in designing high performance bicycle bearings? Which parts of a mounta...
DW-Link Patent Protection Just Ended. Here’s What Might Happen Next
October 17, 2023 07:45 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBThe patent for the acclaimed DW-Link suspension design recently expired, and we wanted to know: What does its expiration mean for the mountain bike industry? Matt and Jeff interviewed several industry experts, including those involved in licensing the DW-Link patent, to make sense of it all. Originally published online as an article, this audio version includes snippets from select conversations that were featured as quotes in the written version. Words by Jeff Barber and Matt Miller. Phot...
How Weekend Warriors can Build MTB Strength and Fitness Like a Pro
October 03, 2023 08:37 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBBen Plenge is a professional mountain bike coach and founder of The Strength Factory. He's trained pro riders and also hundreds of amateurs over the years both in person and online. Why did you choose to focus on strength and fitness training for mountain bikers specifically? According to your website your most popular workout program is Bodyweight Strength. Is there a limit to the effectiveness of these simple exercises? What are some ways to improve riding fitness that don't take time ...
Dylan Johnson Believes his Drop Bar Hardtail is the Perfect Leadville Race Bike
September 05, 2023 20:46 - 6 minutes - 6.13 MBDylan Johnson tells us why he believes his drop bar hardtail is the perfect bike for the Leadville 100 in this audio story. Written and narrated by Matt Miller. This story first appeared on Singletracks.com on August 29, 2023. Photo credit: Dylan Johnson The Singletracks podcast is brought to you by TPC -- The Pro’s Closet. Spring is the perfect time to upgrade, and TPC has an industry-leading selection of new and Certified Pre-Owned bikes, plus frames, wheels and accessories. Each Certifi...
Flat Pedals and a Hardtail: Does Equipment Matter When Learning MTB Skills?
August 29, 2023 08:58 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBAngi Weston is the founder of Radical Roots MTB, a group that provides "fun, safe, mountain bike skills progression" through various lessons, programs, events, and group rides. In addition to working with riders, Angi also trains MTB skills coaches and is based in Bellingham, WA. What led you to launch Radical Roots in 2018? What can riders learn from riding flats that they can't learn riding clipless pedals? Do you think it's better to learn skills on a hardtail than a FS bike? Are the ...
Using Nutrition to Improve Recovery and Fuel Your MTB Rides
August 15, 2023 09:31 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBNichole Dandrea-Russert is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and the author of The Vegan Athlete's Nutrition Handbook. Her website Purely Planted offers tips for adding more plants to our diets, and she's based right here in Atlanta. How did you get interested in nutrition? Have you always been an athlete? For the vegan athletes you work with, is improving performance a primary reason for adopting a plant-based diet, or are other considerations that tend to come first? How does a plant-...
It's the End of the Drivetrain as We Know It (And We Feel...)
August 08, 2023 08:06 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBIn this episode, Matt and Jeff talk about the latest mountain bike drivetrain developments from electronic shifting to Eagle Transmission. What are the advantages of electronic shifting? What are the disadvantages? How does the new SRAM Eagle Transmission wireless electronic drivetrain compare to AXS? What's the deal with dropouts? Is UDH going to be the standard? How have consumers and readers responded to the Eagle Transmission news? How do you think Shimano will respond? We'll al...
Evergreen Delivers the Washington MTB Trail Love ❤️
August 01, 2023 09:30 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBYvonne Kraus is the executive director of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, a mountain bike organization dedicated to creating, maintaining, and protecting sustainable mountain biking opportunities in Washington. Evergreen, if you don't know, is one of the largest, if not the largest, statewide mountain bike association in the US with 8 regional chapters and thousands of members. How did Evergreen get its start? How does Evergreen divide responsibilities between its chapters and the top-l...
How to be a Bike Frame Builder, with Nate Zukas
July 11, 2023 08:31 - 55 minutes - 51 MBNate Zukas is a bike frame builder living in Augusta, GA. He's been building bikes since 2011 and works in steel, titanium, and aluminum. How'd you get started as a frame builder? Is it unusual for a frame builder to work in both steel and aluminum? What's different about working with the two materials? As a frame builder, how much are you able to affect a bike's ride feel and performance? How do you do it? What do you look for in a project or a client? How much of a frame build is yo...
Lachlan Morton Talks Unbound Finish, Kokopelli's FKT, and Biking Without Brakes
June 20, 2023 08:46 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBLachlan Morton is a professional cyclist and mountain biker from Australia, currently riding for UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost. He's notched podium finishes at the Leadville 100, rode the Fastest Known Time for Kokopelli's Trail in 2020, and set the Everesting cycling world record in 2020. He also completed the Alt Tour in 2021, cycling the entire Tour de France route unsupported, beating the peloton by five days. In this interview we ask: Congrats on your podium finish at Unbound ...
Your MTB Braking Questions Answered, Using Data from Brake Ace
June 06, 2023 09:19 - 1 hour - 64.3 MBWe're re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from 2022, so be sure to listen in case you missed it! Check back next week for more another fresh episode. Dr. Matt Miller is the inventor and founder of Brake Ace, a sensor that collects data about your braking and an app that makes braking recommendations to help you ride smarter. He’s also a former elite-level mountain bike racer and has coached riders at all levels of the sport. In this episode we ask: How did you make your way up to the...
How Carbon Fiber Rims Work, and What Makes FusionFiber Different
May 30, 2023 08:27 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBTravis Tomczak is the Global Marketing Director at Forge + Bond. The company manufactures bike wheels and accessories using a lightweight material known as FusionFiber. How does carbon fiber rim manufacturing generally work? What are some of the challenges associated with carbon fiber manufacturing? Are there limitations in terms of how the material can be used, or how it performs? How is FusionFiber different from carbon fiber in terms of the materials used and the manufacturing proces...
How RockShox Tests and Develops Suspension, and Why Service Intervals Matter
May 23, 2023 08:32 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBChris Mandell is the North American Public Relations Manager for SRAM where he's worked for the past 8 years. He currently lives and rides in Bellingham, Washington. Is mountain biking suspension harder to design than say suspension for cars or motorcycles? What's different? How much of RockShox testing is real world vs. lab based? Is shock heat management important for the average rider? What is the advantage of larger diameter fork stanchions? What's the idea behind the electronic su...
How the Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts Get Things Done
May 16, 2023 08:12 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBErnie Rodriguez is the president of MORE, the Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts. MORE has been around since 1992 and the group maintains and advocates for trails in Maryland, Virginia, and the Washington, DC area. Why and how did MORE get its start? Did it start as more of a social club, or were there advocacy concerns in the early 1990s? How is MORE organized? How did you become the president of MORE? How is MORE funded? What is the relationship between MORE and IMBA? What are some ...
Bikepacking 20,000 Miles from Alaska to Tierra del Fugo... Barefoot
May 09, 2023 18:25 - 1 hour - 89.5 MBWe're re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from 2022, so be sure to listen in case you missed it! Check back next week for more another fresh episode. In 2006 Goat and two friends set out to ride mountain bikes from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, and after three and a half years of travel, the trio completed the mother of all bikepacking trips. Riding the Spine is just one of many adventures Goat has experienced over the years, including living in a tr...
MTB Pioneer Wende Cragg on the Early Days of Trail Riding
May 02, 2023 19:17 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBWe're re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from 2022, so be sure to listen in case you missed it! Check back soon for more fresh episodes. Wende Cragg has been a part of mountain biking since the beginning of the sport in California in the 1970s, racing and photographing the early Repack races down Mt. Tam. She was inducted into the mountain bike hall of fame in 1989 and curates the Rolling Dinosaur Archive which chronicles the birth of mountain biking. Tell us a bit about your introduc...
Seth of Backyard Trail Builds Creates Jaw Dropping Ramps, Skinnies, and Bridges
April 25, 2023 19:44 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MBWe're re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from 2022, so be sure to listen in case you missed it! Check back soon for more fresh episodes. Seth Gebel is a mountain biker and trail builder living in Missouri. His popular YouTube channel, Backyard Trail Builds, shows how he builds beautiful trail features like ramps, skinnies, and bridges using natural materials. We ask Seth: Tell us how you got into mountain biking, and trail building. You’ve been building at Howler Bike Park this year...
How to Dial in MTB Suspension from Sag to Rebound for Every Trail
April 18, 2023 08:45 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBSam Anderson is the Brand Manager for Cane Creek Cycling Components based in Fletcher, NC just outside Pisgah National Forest. Cane Creek designs and markets their own line of shocks and suspension forks and assembles many items by hand at their factory in Western North Carolina. What is suspension compression? What is rebound? What do you see people typically getting wrong when it comes to suspension setup? What is meant by a linear or progressive suspension curve as it relates to full ...
Downcountry Mountain Biking, Explained
April 11, 2023 11:39 - 59 minutes - 55.1 MBThe Downcountry category has been around for a few years now, and by this point most mountain bike brands have a bike in their lineup that fits the description. Not only that, there are downcountry tires and shoes available now. But what does downcountry even mean? In this episode, Matt and Jeff take a stab at defining downcountry, taking into account geometry, suspension travel, weight, and components. Other questions addressed include: How do downcountry bikes differ from cross-country a...
Inside Eddie O'Dea's Historic 5,900-mile Eastern Divide Bikepacking Trip
April 04, 2023 08:51 - 47 minutes - 44.2 MBEddie O'Dea is an ultra endurance athlete and member of the board at the Georgia Cycling Association. Last summer he became the first person to complete the 5,900-mile Eastern Divide bikepacking route over the course of 78 days and 10 hours. Why did you decide to attempt ride the full Eastern Divide Route? Tell us about the start of the ride. It seems like you ran into some snags even before you go rolling. Which sections were your favorites? Did you get to hang out in any interesting tow...
How the Vermont MTB Association Got Nearly 10K Dues Paying Members
March 28, 2023 07:59 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBNick Bennette is the Executive Director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, a position he's held for a little over two years. The group recently put together a 5-year Strategic Plan to "ensure the sustainability of mountain biking in Vermont and thoughtfully promote exceptional riding experiences for all through advocacy, education, and community-driven stewardship." How did your experience as a consultant help you craft the VMBA 5-year Strategic Plan? Vermont was an early adopter ...
Are Pro MTB Race Bikes THAT Different from Stock? We Asked a Team Manager
March 21, 2023 08:32 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBRyan Gaul is the Trek Factory Racing DH team manager and technical director. He’s been at Trek for about 10 years and is based in Madison, WI. How close to stock do DH and enduro riders run their bikes? Which aspects of a bike are modified to suit track conditions, and what stays the same for every race? Do World Cup racers take many risks when it comes to equipment, or are they pretty conservative? Is it common to run test parts, or prototypes in races? Is it difficult to convince athl...
How a World Cup MTB Race Team Operates, with Trek Factory Racing
March 14, 2023 08:23 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBMatt Shriver is the General Manager and technical director for the Trek Factory Racing cross country team and is based in Durango Colorado. He’s a former pro rider himself and previously served as the technical director for the Trek WorldTour road team for seven years. How did you make the transition from professional racing to managing race teams? What are the responsibilities of a pro team liaison? Does Trek Factory Racing provide coaching resources to athletes, or do athletes tend to b...
MTB Confidence, Motivation, and Mental Skills Training with Dr. Kristin E. Keim
March 07, 2023 09:36 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBDr. Kristin E. Keim is a sports psychologist and a member of the US Olympic Committee Sport Psychology and Mental Training Registry. She has helped countless individual athletes and teams achieve their goals using a holistic, strength-based approach to sports psychology. (Click here or see the link below for Dr. Keim's complete bio). In this interview, we ask Dr. Keim: What are some of the areas where athletes like mountain bikers face mental challenges? Is it common for athletes to incor...
He Designs Florida Bikepacking Routes that Include a Dose of Swamps, Sand, and Alligators
February 21, 2023 08:09 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBKarlos Bernart is the Founder, Off Road Architect, & Event Mastermind at Singletrack Samurai. His group organizes and plans a number of rides and bike routes in Florida including the Huracan 300, CFITT, and the Florida Divide. How did you get into mountain biking and route planning? Is your goal to include as much singletrack as possible when you design bikepacking routes like the Huracan 300? How has the route evolved over the years, and why? Is it difficult coordinating access with land...
Lennard Zinn on the Physics of Mountain Biking, Bike Fitting, and Fitness
February 14, 2023 09:19 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBLennard Zinn is a bike designer and frame builder with a shop in Louisville, Colorado. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic cycling team and worked with Tom Ritchey on some of the earliest mountain bikes. He’s also the author of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, one of the world’s best selling guides to mountain bike repair. In this episode we ask: How did you get into designing and building bikes? Zinn and the Art of MTB Maintenance was first published in 1996, and it’s now ...
The Ins and Out of MTB Trail Building, with Mike Repyak at IMBA Trail Solutions
February 07, 2023 20:19 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBMike Repyak is the Director of Planning and Design at Trail Solutions, the trail development arm of the International Mountain Biking Association. He’s been involved in recreation planning and trail network design for many years and is currently based in Madison, Wisconsin. In this episode we ask: How is Trail Solutions related to IMBA, and what does it do? What are some ways designers can influence trail riders' experience? Would you say we generally have the right mix of green, blue, a...
Sizing Up or Down Plus Handlebar Widths and Crankarm Lengths: MTB Fit with Jason at Retul
January 31, 2023 09:17 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBJason Williams is the Senior Sports Scientist in the Human Performance division at Specialized and a bike fitter at Retul, a Specialized brand that’s focused on delivering technically advanced bike fitting and product matching technology. Retul works with top level athletes and uses collected data to help inform product design, notably the Specialized Body Geometry line. In this episode we ask: Is bike fitting today different than it was 10 or 20 years ago? Have bike fits always been so da...
Matt and Jeff Weigh in on the Least Useful MTB Innovations
January 24, 2023 09:11 - 50 minutes - 50.2 MBIn this episode Matt and Jeff discuss the results from a recent survey that asked, "What is the least useful mountain bike innovation?". For those who missed our survey, the top five answers among nearly 10,000 votes were: Electronic suspension control (22%) Electronic shifting (17%) Flip chips (14%) Internal cable routing (12%) Hip packs (7%) Commenters pointed a few choices we didn't include in the survey, so we talked about those as well. Steering stabilizers and limiters Tire in...
How to Get the Most out of Your Bike Tires for 2023, with Aaron from Maxxis
January 17, 2023 08:58 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBAaron Chamberlain is the Bicycle Sales and Marketing Manager at Maxxis, one of the largest bicycle tire manufacturers in the world known for producing high quality products. In this episode we ask: Where are we at with bike tire widths? Clearly fat and plus tire adoption have peaked so are things looking pretty stable these days in terms of widths? What are the considerations when choosing the right tire width, especially when there are so many choices? Will a tenth of an inch in width ma...
The Modern State of Bike Repair According to Calvin Jones
January 10, 2023 09:18 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBCalvin Jones is the Director of Education at Park Tool company, a position he’s held for more than 15 years. He’s the author of the Big Blue Book Bicycle Repair and his repair videos on YouTube have been viewed by millions. We ask Calvin: How did you learn how to work on bikes? What type of riding do you like to do? Do mountain bikes require more or less repair and maintenance than other types of bikes? Are today’s bikes easier to work on than the bikes 10 or 20 years ago? Do bike manu...
Our Favorite Mountain Bikes of 2022, And All the Rest Too
December 05, 2022 10:15 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAfter a year of testing and covering the latest mountain bike releases, Matt and Jeff discuss their favorites and talk about trends for 2022 and beyond. Our favorite mountain bikes tested Bikes released and updated in 2022 2022 mountain bike trends Predictions for 2023 mountain bikes A full transcript is available for free at Singletracks.com. Cover photo Hannah Morvay. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks --- Support this ...
Bike Lights: (Almost) Everything You Need to Know
November 21, 2022 09:56 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBTom Place is the co-owner and head of Product Development for Outbound Lighting (outboundlighting.com). He’s a former Cree LED manager and holds multiple LED chip design patents. In this episode, we ask Tom to fill us in on how bike lights work, and how we can get the most out of our setup for night riding. What is the ideal beam shape for trail riding? Are certain beam patterns better than others depending on where you ride (eg. wide open desert vs. thick forest)? How does light placemen...
"I Was Shocked" Hannah Otto Smashed the Whole Enchilada FKT by Nearly an Hour
November 14, 2022 10:25 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBHannah Otto is a World Cup mountain bike racer, FKT record holder, and Leadville 100 winner who has been racing since the age of 9 years old. Last month she set the fastest known time for riding the Whole Enchilada from bottom to top, and top to bottom in a time of 5:50:38. You can watch a short film about her FKT attempt here (https://youtu.be/oErEWLGdPlI) and follow Hannah on Instagram @hannah_finchamp In this episode we ask: How did you first get into mountain bike racing? How do FKT ...
The Dirt Therapy Project Gets Military Veterans on the Trail
November 07, 2022 09:07 - 1 hour - 40.9 MBJonathan Hagerman and his wife Alexandra co-founded The Dirt Therapy Project, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to helping military veterans heal through riding. Jonathan served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009-2013 and deployed to Afghanistan as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. With Veterans Day just around the corner, Matt and Jeff, also both veterans, speak with Jonathan about his experience serving and learn how The Dirt Therapy Project is connecting veterans with mountain biking. Le...
Learning to Build MTB Trails, with Tony Boone
October 31, 2022 08:33 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBTony Boone has been building mountain bike trails for more than 30 years, and literally helped write the book on the subject, contributing to IMBA’s Guides to Building Sweet Singletrack and Providing Great Riding. He established the first bike patrol in Colorado in 1989 and has been an active member of the Professional Trail Builders Association since 1995. In this episode we ask: What was it like working as a Boulder open space employee? How do the early trails compare to the ones you’re...
They Don't Just Look Cool; Steel Enduro Bikes Can Rip Too
October 17, 2022 07:56 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBJoe McEwan is a career aerospace engineer and carbon composites expert who founded Starling Cycles in 2014. The brand’s bikes are developed, engineered and handmade for the demands of UK trails, and the bikes have been well received among both the media and athletes. In this episode we ask: What first piqued your interest in building steel bikes? Have you tried building bikes with other materials? Is it true that that steel absorbs road and trail vibration better than other materials, and...
He Works to Give Bikepacking Racers More Visibility... And to Keep Them Honest Too
October 10, 2022 07:16 - 1 hour - 36.2 MBScott Morris is a self-described “lifelong mountain biker, trail mapper and programmer.” He’s the creator of Track Leaders, a live tracking website for bikepacking races, and TopoFusion mapping software. In this episode we ask: How did first make the connection between mountain biking and computer programming? Why did you and your brother decide to create TopoFusion? Have there been growing pains as bikepacking races like the Arizona Trail Race become more popular? Will some of the unof...
Kate Leeming on Exploring the Planet by Mountain Bike
October 03, 2022 08:11 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBDr. Kate Leeming is an explorer and adventurer who has biked tens of thousands of miles around the world, including 15,000 miles around the Australian continent in 2004 and 2005 and 22,000km across Africa from Sengal to Somalia. In 2019 she became the first person to cycle 1600km through the sands of the Namibian coast and is working toward the first-ever Antarctic bicycle crossing via the South Pole for her educational outreach organization, Breaking the Cycle. In May of this year Leeming ...
Ned Overend Shares Tips for Endurance, Why Durango MTB Culture is so Strong
September 26, 2022 08:26 - 58 minutes - 33.7 MBNed Overend is a mountain bike Hall of Famer and highly accomplished racer, winning the first ever UCI mountain bike World championship in 1990, the XTERRA world champion in 1998 and 1999, and the UCI Masters World Cyclocross Champion in 2012. Today he’s the Specialized XC mountain bike Team Captain and lives in Durango, Colorado. In this episode we ask: How did you end up settling in tiny, out-of-the-way Durango? When did you first hear the term “mountain biking”? What was your initial i...
How to Choose the Right Bike Saddle Size, Men's vs. Women's Saddles, and More Saddle FAQs
September 12, 2022 06:30 - 56 minutes - 32.6 MBThis week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Sean Madsen is WTB’s Saddle Category Manager and is an expert in cycling biomechanics with more than 24 years of experience. Over his career he’s studied and taught bike fitting to thousands worldwide, and he’s helped create many innovative saddle concepts while working with top athletes. In this episode, we ask Sean common questions about bike saddles including: How are bike...
The Central Oregon Trail Alliance has Big Plans for More Trails in Bend and Beyond
September 05, 2022 07:10 - 59 minutes - 41 MBEmmy Andrews is the Executive Director of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance, also known as COTA. The group's mission is to "develop, protect, and enhance the Central Oregon mountain bike experience through trail stewardship, advocacy, collaboration, and education." Tell us a bit about COTA. What’s the organization’s mission and how large is your membership? When and why did COTA get its start? How long have you been with COTA, and how did you get involved? How is COTA organized? How man...
Pro Mountain Biker Christopher Blevins on Racing vs. Playing on the Bike
August 29, 2022 15:12 - 41 minutes - 28.5 MBThis week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Last year Christopher Blevins became the first American man to win a World Cup race since 1994, taking first in the final XCO race of the season at Snowshoe, West Virginia. He’s also the 2021 short track world champion, and has notched numerous podium finishes at national and international mountain, cyclocross, and road races. This past weekend Blevins crashed during the short ...
The Best US Mountain Bike Destinations in 2022
August 22, 2022 18:56 - 1 hour - 76.8 MBIn this episode Chris, Jeff, and Matt talk about the 12 best mountain bike destinations in the United States that was recently shared on Singletracks. We'll go over the criteria we consider when choosing our favorite mountain bike destinations and go through the list and share more about the best spots to visit. Moab, Utah Sedona, Arizona Bentonville, Arkansas Grand Valley, Colorado (Fruita / Grand Junction / Palisade) Crested Butte, Colorado and the Gunnison Valley Park City, Utah Pi...
Why the Humble Hardtail isn't Going Anywhere Anytime Soon
August 15, 2022 08:58 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBThis week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Pat White is a longtime product manager for Kona Bicycles and Doug Lafavor aka Dr. Dew has been designing bikes at Kona for decades. In this episode we ask: Which factors make a hardtail ‘hardcore’ or more aggressive compared to say an XC or entry-level hardtail? What are aggressive hardtails good for in terms of riding style or trails? What are the limits? How important is...
This MTB Trail Builder Creates Jaw Dropping Wooden Features Using Natural Materials
August 08, 2022 08:34 - 57 minutes - 53 MBSeth Gebel is a mountain biker and trail builder living in Missouri. His popular YouTube channel, Backyard Trail Builds, shows how he builds beautiful trail features like ramps, skinnies, and bridges using natural materials. In this episode we ask: Tell us how you got into mountain biking, and trail building. You’ve been building at Howler Bike Park this year. What were you working on there? How much of your time do you spend building on your own land versus paid projects for others? Whe...
Are E-bikes Just Mountain Bikes With Motors? We Asked a Bike Designer
August 02, 2022 17:48 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBMike Giese is an industrial designer based in Salt Lake City who has designed products for bike brands like Revel, Trust, and most recently, Evil Bikes. Evil just announced their first electric mountain bike, and we’re curious to learn about some of the design challenges that were involved. In this episode we ask: How do industrial designers and engineers work together? Does one usually take the lead on starting a new bike project, or are you working in parallel from the beginning? Is it ...