Bikes & Big Ideas

4.1 (9)
SPORT
UPDATED WEEKLY

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.

3 DAYS AGO

2025 Red Bull Rampage Winner, Hayden Zablotny

Hayden Zablotny showed up at Red Bull Rampage and became the first rookie to win since Brandon Semenuk did it back in 2008. Hayden’s path to the top step of the podium is a fascinating story chronicling a young, talented rider struggling to get noticed. Today, he joins us to talk about that journey, how he became known as “the poacher,” finally getting the coveted Rampage invite, his winning run, and how he kept his head in the game during one of the heaviest injury-laden Rampages ever. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Getting started on Two Wheels and his BMX Legend Dad (4:14) Racing BMX and Building Skills (6:43) Moving to BC and Discovering Mountain Biking (8:14) Finding His Niche in Freestyle (10:09) Poaching Proving Grounds and Getting Noticed (24:11) Getting the Rampage Invite (35:49) Building His Line (41:48) Staying Focused Amidst all the Injuries (43:30) Breaking Down His Winning Run (46:34) Hayden’s Biike Setup (51:45) What’s next? (58:46) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 1m
25/12/2025

Vali Höll on Her 2025 Season & the Dissolution of the YT Mob

Vali Höll is in the midst of one of the most dominant runs we’ve seen in World Cup DH racing, taking her third consecutive overall title and fourth consecutive World Championships win in 2025. And she did it despite her team, the YT Mob, shutting down mid-season amidst YT’s ongoing financial struggles. Vali joins us to tell the story of her season, what happened with the Mob, how she pressed on regardless, how she ended up signing with Commencal for 2026, and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Blister Podcast Ep.388 TOPICS & TIMES: The YT Mob & YT’s insolvency (2:50) Team contracts & how the season unfolded (5:13) Racing after team funding was cut (18:11) Talks with other teams & moving to Commencal (23:45) Consistency & race results (25:25) Racing for a new contract & managing pressure (27:52) Bikepacking & gravel bikes (31:20) Vali’s goals for 2026 (35:21) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

38 min
18/12/2025

Reviewer Reports: Lal Katana, Norco Sight VLT, Yeti LTe, & More

We’re currently testing a huge array of bikes, from the super-efficient Norco Revolver, to the long-travel, Bosch CX-equipped Yeti LTe, with a whole lot in between — including the Lal Katana, with its novel Supre Drive. David and Simon sat down to share our thoughts on all of those and more, and along the way, we got into some debates about wheel sizes, geometry preferences, and more. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Yeti LTe (1:37) Cannondale Moterra (15:39) Norco Sight VLT (24:51) Trek Fuel MX (34:40) Lal Katana (49:51) Norco Revolver (58:22) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 5m
11/12/2025

Gamux Founder Pascal Tinner on AON Racing, the ‘Trophy Truck,’ & More

Gamux has never done things the conventional way and takes pride in that. But they aren’t being different for the sake of being different, either. Founder Pascal Tinner is back on the show to talk about what they’ve been up to, from their partnership with Reece Wilson’s AON Racing, to the ‘Trophy Truck’ prototype race bike, and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: AON Racing & Reece Wilson (1:45) The Sego (14:44) DH prototypes (22:38) Body types & bike design (29:03) The Trophy Truck (33:40) Riders & building a team (36:32) 2026 & beyond (45:10) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

52 min
04/12/2025

Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (November, 2025)

For November’s Reviewing the News Episode, Mike clues us in on what's been going on in the Cyclocross season so far. Then we have a bunch of bike industry recalls to wade through — some of which are legitimately dangerous — which segways into Mike and Simon trying to understand why Rad Power Bikes is not issuing a recall for batteries that could burn down your house. 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 TOPICS & TIMES: Mike’s Cyclocross Season Update (5:32) Rad Power Bike’s Battery Problems (15:01) Can Trek’s Coaster Brake Failures Make Better Cyclists? (24:52) You Can Still Get Injured on a Peloton (32:56) Lezyne Floor Pumps at Risk of Exploding (38:58) Will the Bike Industry Ever Go Back to Normal? (42:44) Mike’s Madrone Derailleur (46:30) Charging eBikes Off-Grid (59:27) Mike’s Heading to Mexico to Fix his Teeth (1:07:02) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 11m
27/11/2025

Best Bikes of the Century, Part 2

In Part 2 of our series on the Best Bikes of the Century, Simon Stewart, David Golay, and Xan Marshland are back, plus Zack Henderson also joins them to dig into 16 more brands as they continue the hard work of trying to single out the best bikes from the last 25 years. Since they focused on many prominent brands from the early 2000s in Part 1, they take a closer look at newer brands, direct-to-consumer bike companies, plus a couple of OG ones, just to mix it up. 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: Best Bikes of the Century Survey Blister Craft Collective Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Pivot (0:59) Canyon (7:03) YT (12:59) Forbidden (16:44) Norco (22:02) Mondraker (27:16) Scott (33:06) Salsa (38:38) Orbea (43:33) Commencal (47:04) Transition (50:15) Evil (56:56) Devinci (59:55) Revel (1:02:13) Marin (1:05:31) Surly (1:12:01) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic GEAR:30 Blister Podcast CRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 18m
20/11/2025

Best Bikes of the Century, Part 1

Today, we’re kicking off a new series for Bikes and Big Ideas: we’re setting out to identify the best bikes of the 21st century from over 30 brands. We’ve done a similar series over on our Gear:30 podcast for skis, but that was easy compared to doing the same for bikes. Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll be hearing about our choices. We’re also including a survey, as we want to hear from you. Additionally, we’ll be sending the same survey to some bike industry luminaries, too. Once we've reviewed an array of brands, we’ll discuss how our selections align with your answers. And for our grand finale of this series, we’re going to offer our choices for the Very Best Bikes of the Century. It may seem like an impossible task, but we’re hoping we can agree on a top 10, maybe even a top 3, and if the stars align, one single bike. Or, we may never speak to each other again, but we’re willing to take that risk. Part 1 kicks off with Simon Stewart, David Golay, Dylan Wood, and Xan Marshland. 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: Best Bikes of the Century Survey Blister Craft Collective Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Yeti (1:58) Klein (8:20) GT (11:11) Turner (13:57) Titus (18:40) Intense (22:05) Ibis (23:41) Rocky Mountain (28:05) Kona (31:40) Giant (36:14) Santa Cruz (40:08) Cannondale (49:48) Specialized (54:28) Gary Fisher (1:05:25) Trek (1:08:36) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 19m
13/11/2025

Reviewer Reports: Bikes Big & Small, Wet-Weather Gear, & More

The days are getting short and the weather is turning foul, but we’re still testing a ton of new bikes and gear. David Golay and Zack Henderson sat down to discuss a bunch of it, including the very burly Priority Vanth, the super lively Propain Hugene, a bunch of wet-weather apparel, and more. RELATED LINKS: SennzaFinne Blister Craft Collective Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Wet weather gear (2:47) Propain Hugene (18:00) Priority Vanth (29:14) FSA KFX i28 XC/Trail wheels (40:05) MRP Lift V2 damper (46:31) 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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TRAILER

Introducing: Bikes & Big Ideas

BIKES & BIG IDEAS is the new podcast from BLISTER that will be focusing on both of those things — bikes AND big ideas. The bike world is full of a lot of smart and fascinating people who are really passionate about bikes. But so many in our community are also really passionate about protecting and being good stewards of the places we love to ride, and finding ways to create a more sustainable future. So the aim of BIKES & BIG IDEAS is to bring you the most interesting conversations and stories from across the bike world, while also on occasion going way beyond bikes per se to take a look at some of the biggest ideas and potentially game-changing innovations in the areas of sustainable design, cleaner energy, biotech, and more. The one and only Claudio Caluori will be joining me regularly to co-host BIKES & BIG IDEAS, and we are going to be interviewing folks within the bike community — athletes, company founders, product managers, engineers, trail advocates et cetera — and then in some episodes, we’ll be taking a look at the latest developments, biggest breakthroughs, and emerging industries that could help to improve the present and the future. Our first episode of BIKES AND BIG IDEAS drops next week, and in episode #1, Claudio and I will talk more about the impetus for this podcast and how it came to be. So subscribe today where ever you get your podcasts to catch episode number 1 with me and Claudio, and we will talk to you next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25/04/2019

•

2 min

4.1

out of 5

9 Ratings

Just listen, you'll not regret this excellent find

14/05/2022

UK Mountainbiker

I am a serious radio and podcast fan and always on the look out for interesting content and presenters. Since the Blister Review website is a great go-to location for thoughtful and interesting information, the various Blister podcasts were the next logical step. For me it’s really about bike stuff, but general outdoor subjects, including gear are of interest also and strangely even skiing topics can enthrall even though I’ve not been on skis for over 50 years. It’s a mindset thing. Jonathan Ellsworth, Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Blister has some great ideas about what podcast should be like and is an excellent interviewer, which means that his podcasts are just so worth a listen for anyone interested in sport in the outdoors. That includes The Blister Podcast, Bikes & Big Ideas, The Gear : 30 Podcast, All Things Climbing & Off The Couch. The philosophical, thoughtful approach is much appreciated by this listener. Just listen, you'll not regret this excellent find
Not sigma

31/05/2024

pizza.salami

Not skibdii sigma enough