Bikes & Big Ideas

Blister Podcast Network

Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to bringing you the most interesting conversations, news, and developments in the bike world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (July, 2026)

    hace 1 d

    Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (July, 2026)

    In the midst of some of the most dangerous fire conditions ever seen in the American West, Mike and Simon discuss wildfire prevention and what the different levels of fire restrictions mean.  From the bike industry, there's the shocking news from Cannonale to shutter their factory racing program next year, SRAM’s plan to build a massive factory in Portugal, and Mike gives a heartfelt tribute to the late Charlie Cunningham. The World Cup DH and XC stop in Lenzerheide delivered exciting racing, giving Mike and Simon plenty to get fired up about, and with the La Thuile World Cup right around the corner, they offer up some predictions, too. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Mike’s The Grimy Handshake Substack TOPICS & TIMES: Monarch Crest Ride (1:24) Wildfire Prevention & Fire Restrictions (7:18) Tribute to Charlie Cunningham (19:30) Cannondale Shutting Down Factory Racing Program (23:00) New SRAM Factory in Portugal (28:00) Overlanding E-Bikes (30:31) Lenzerheide World Cup Recap (39:39) La Thuile World Cup Predictions (49:57) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min
  2. Chris Blandford on Resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, Founding Firsthand Framebuilding, & More

    25 jun

    Chris Blandford on Resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, Founding Firsthand Framebuilding, & More

    It’s never been easy to make it as an independent framebuilder, and it’s only getting harder. Chris Blandford knows the struggle well, and might well be doing more than anyone else currently to support small US builders, from founding Firsthand Framebuilding to resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, and more. He’s here to tell us all about it. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER Digital Access Pass TOPICS & TIMES: Introducing Chris (2:40) The Portland, OR framebuilding scene (6:26) Chris’ introduction to framebuilding (10:22) Founding Firsthand & the Firsthand vision (13:20) Framebuilding classes (18:25) Acquiring Paragon Machine Works (31:18) What’s next? (44:59) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min
  3. Dillon Osleger on ‘Trail Work,’ Historic Maps, the Erosion of Public Land Access, & More

    18 jun

    Dillon Osleger on ‘Trail Work,’ Historic Maps, the Erosion of Public Land Access, & More

    We tend to think of maps as objective representations of the physical world around us, but they're subject to the biases, goals, and editorial choices of the folks making them — just like any other piece of writing, film, or method of communication. Dillon Osleger's excellent new book, Trail Work, lays out how the erasure of trails from historic maps erodes our collective access to public lands; how and why those maps have evolved over the decades; the biggest challenges facing public land advocates, especially in the American West; and a whole lot of other topics that are vitally important to anyone who likes spending time outside. He joins us to discuss all of it. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Trail Work Dillon Osleger on Historic Trails, Changing Climates, & Evolving Communities (Ep.133) Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER Digital Access Pass TOPICS & TIMES: Trail Work (2:14) Inspiration & goals for the book (6:52) The evolution of MTB trail access (9:09) Mixed-use trails & managing user interactions (13:10) The deliberate disappearance of trails (16:47) The trail degradation feedback loop (21:31) Maps as a language (29:06) The erasure of place names & their history (35:37) Stewardship & how we can do better (40:08) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
  4. Ashley King of Significant Other Bikes on Full-Suspension Frame Development, Production vs. Custom Frames, & More

    11 jun

    Ashley King of Significant Other Bikes on Full-Suspension Frame Development, Production vs. Custom Frames, & More

    Like most small framebuilders, Ashley King launched Significant Other making custom rigid frames, but she turned that model on its head by launching the Ded Reckin full-suspension XC/Trail bike, and taking it to serial production. And if that’s not enough, she’s already built prototypes of two more full-suspension models, too. So we brought Ashley back on the show to tell the whole story, from deciding to build the original Ded Reckin show bike to offering it as a production model, material selection and opting for a mix of steel and titanium, developing the Doom Scroll Prophecy prototypes, and a whole lot more. And for a lot more on Ashley’s background, the founding of Significant Other, and her path into frame building, check out Ep.253 of Bikes & Big Ideas. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Moving from custom rigid frames to production full-suspension bikes (3:00) The Ded Reckin show bike (10:37) Design brief & details (17:30) Looking like a Significant Other (21:43) Production readiness & refining the details (25:05) 3D printed parts & mixing construction techniques (31:27) The preorder model (35:41) The Doom Scroll Prophecy (38:27) Naming the bikes (52:19) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min
  5. Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (June 2026)

    4 jun

    Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (June 2026)

    Mike had to make a trip back to Mexico to help his 97-year-old Mom move, and amidst spider bites, broken windows, explosive dog diarrhea, and the usual technical issues (he needs his own full-time tech support department), he miraculously joined Simon to go over a very busy month — from racing to the courtroom, they have a lot to get through.  Paragon Machine Works' reopening is the best news, and looks poised to keep frame builders stocked with crucial parts. Niner Bikes has been “paused”, whatever that means. Kona has a new boss (Mike is skeptical). The Loudenvielle DH World Cup was a crash-fest, but Luca Shaw emerged from the carnage on the top step, and Vali Holl continued her dominance on the notoriously tricky track. SRAM’s legal win against the UCI sets a precedent, and tons more.  Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Mike’s The Grimy Handshake Substack Manitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT (Ep.328) TOPICS & TIMES: Mike’s Dumpster Fire Loudenville World Cup Highlights Luca Shaw Finally Gets a Win Vali Holl Dominates Nova Mesto XC World Cup Insights  Tom Pidcock Owns the Nova Mesto Course Giro D’Italia Recap & Durango’s Sepp Kuss’ Stage Win  SRAM’s Precedent-Setting Legal Victory   Leadership Changes at Kona Industry News: Company Closures and Reopenings New Products: Manitou’s New Mezzer  Upcoming RockShox Flight Attendant Video Teaser CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min
  6. Manitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT

    28 may

    Manitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT

    The long-travel single-crown fork landscape has shifted a ton since Manitou unveiled the original Mezzer in 2019, and the new second-generation version has seen a lot of changes to better match modern bikes — including splitting the lineup into the standard Mezzer and the beefier Mezzer LT. Both get a host of intriguing performance-oriented changes, too, so we brought Manitou Product Manager Phil Ott back on the show to discuss them, and tell the development story of the new forks. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Goals for the Updated Mezzer (2:29) Versions & Splitting the Lineup (4:39) Chassis Stiffness & Friction (8:50) Dropouts & Alignment (21:41) Spring Design (28:14) Damper (35:42) Adding High-Speed Rebound Adjuster (42:20) Compression Damping (47:35) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min
  7. Spot’s Ryan Palmer on their New Lightweight Trail Bike

    21 may

    Spot’s Ryan Palmer on their New Lightweight Trail Bike

    Spot’s Ryan Palmer and Simon Stewart have been talking about bikes for years, so when Spot dropped their new Diggity 125 Trail bike, Simon quickly wound him up for a chat. Ryan shares details about their design decisions, why Spot’s Living Link suspension layout gives them more kinematic control throughout the travel, their interesting take on size-specific chainstay length, the lightweight Trail bike trend, and a whole lot more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Spot Bikes Outerbike Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: What’s With the Name Diggity? (2:40) What Were the Design Goals? (8:13) How Did You Land on 125 mm? (13:06) How Important was Weight? (14:35) Why it's More Than a Shorter Travel Mayhem 140 (23:17) Geometry (29:43) Spot’s Take on Size-Specific Chainstays (32:44) Where Can You Ride One (50:47)  Spot’s 30 Day Return Guarantee (53:15) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 h
  8. Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald on His Unbound Return & Racing for Charity

    14 may

    Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald on His Unbound Return & Racing for Charity

    Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald is coming out of retirement at age 55 to raise money for the Life Time Foundation by racing the Unbound Gravel 200, a race he won over a decade ago. Tune in to find out why he’s starting dead last, what’s changed in his training approach, his bike setup, and why he’s passionate about kids’ charities, plus some bonus gravel tips & tricks for one of the most challenging gravel races in the world, by one of the best to ever do it. Don’t miss this one.  Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.com RELATED LINKS: Donate to Chase The Race with Yuri Hauswald Lifetime Foundation Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Specialized’s Ride to Vegas (1:18) Yuri’s Bike Racing History (3:13) Winning the Unbound 200 in 2015 (5:35) Why Come out of Retirement to Race it Again (9:23) Why Emporia Kansas Changed Yuri’s Like (11:53)  Training & Fundraising (18:37) Having a Coach and Fueling (26:43) What the Hell is a Mud Stick (30:21) Yuri’s Unbound Gravel 200 Tips & Tricks (33:16) Bike Setup & Tire Choice (41:47) How Can We Find You in the Race (46:52) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min
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Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to bringing you the most interesting conversations, news, and developments in the bike world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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