215 episodes

Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the most interesting conversations and ideas from the bike world — and beyond.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bikes & Big Ideas BLISTER

    • Sports
    • 4.9 • 118 Ratings

Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the most interesting conversations and ideas from the bike world — and beyond.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Dakotah Norton on Finding Consistency, Moving to Mondraker, the State of US DH Racing, & More

    Dakotah Norton on Finding Consistency, Moving to Mondraker, the State of US DH Racing, & More

    Dakotah Norton finished the 2023 DH season strong, with two podiums and a 6th place finish over the final four races, but as he put it, the season started with “near failure.” We sat down with Dakotah to talk about the struggle of finding consistency at the limit; his move to Mondraker Factory Racing and the dissolution of his former team at Intense; the state of DH racing both at home and abroad; how to better develop up-and-coming American DH racers; and a whole lot more.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Getting up to speed with the new team (2:20)
    The 2023 season (3:45)
    Finding consistency in a chaotic season (6:34)
    The dissolution of Intense Factory Racing (17:35)
    Finding a new team mid-season (21:38)
    The state of World Cup DH racing (22:41)
    Broadcasting races (25:34)
    Running World Cup DH (30:25)
    Developing American DH talent (33:42)
    Dak’s 2024 goals (41:09)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

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    • 45 min
    Sarah Sturm on Her Unconventional Path to Gravel-Racing Stardom

    Sarah Sturm on Her Unconventional Path to Gravel-Racing Stardom

    Gravel racing has exploded in recent years and Sarah Sturm — who only started racing bikes in college, after burning out on competitive soccer — quickly vaulted to stardom in the sport. So we sat down with Sarah to hear the surprising and hilarious story of her path into gravel racing; chat about the struggle of not excelling at something you’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy toward; the evolution and professionalization of gravel racing; the overall state and health of the sport; and a whole lot more.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Introducing Sarah (1:25)
    Racing cyclocross & moving to gravel (2:49)
    Sarah’s first forays into mountain biking (6:46)
    Being the “doomsday prepper of bike racing” (19:20)
    The evolution of gravel racing (27:37)
    “Marginal gains people” (39:22)
    The health of the sport (45:51)
    Sarah’s 2024 plans & goals (51:22)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

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    • 55 min
    Reviewing The News w/ Ryan Palmer, February 2024

    Reviewing The News w/ Ryan Palmer, February 2024

    On our second episode of Reviewing The News with hosts Simon Stewart and Ryan Palmer; Ryan may have uncovered what Kyle and Rachael Strait are keeping secret before their big announcement on Friday (March 8th); Simon considers adopting Ronan Dunne’s pre-race hydration program after watching his incredible Red Bull Hardline winning run; there’s a brake lever lawsuit to talk about; Ryan’s father-in-law’s souped-up scooter; exploding lithium-ion batteries; and Cannondale’s wild Moterra SL lightweight full-powered eMTB.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Fezzari name change (2:53)
    Kyle and Rachael Strait’s new bike sponsor (4:38)
    Red Bull Hardline Tasmania (8:44)
    The dangers of racing Hardline before a World Cup DH season (12:35)
    Brake lever lawsuit & the broken health care system (22:13)
    Dutch police field testing e-bikes (34:22)
    Lithium-ion battery task force in NY (47:18)
    Frankenstein Batteries (49:40)
    Lithium-ion battery safety (50:51)
    Cannondale Moterra SL (1:00:32)
    The future of lightweight lower-power eMTBs (1:13:28)
    Cornhole College Scholarships (1:21:37)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

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    • 1 hr 24 min
    Norco on their New High-Pivot Optic and Sight

    Norco on their New High-Pivot Optic and Sight

    High-pivot bikes are becoming increasingly common but they’re still mostly reserved for longer-travel Enduro and DH models. Given that, Norco’s decision to move their 150mm-travel Sight and especially the 125mm-travel Optic to that layout was arguably a bit of a surprise — and it wasn’t one Norco made lightly. 
    So we sat down with Norco engineer, Colin Ryan, to get the rundown on the new Optic and Sight, including the decision to go high-pivot and the testing that they used to validate it; how the suspension design of the new bikes differs from their other high-pivot models (and the prior-generation Optic and Sight); their new Ride Aligned setup guides; and a whole lot more.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Introducing Colin (2:50)
    The new Optic & Sight (3:47)
    Test mules for the new bikes & lessons learned (10:06)
    Shock spec and developing tunes (19:29)
    The new Ride Aligned setup guides (23:58)
    Wheel sizes (31:37)
    Geometry (37:32)
    Sprindex springs & making setup easier (42:51)
    Idler pulley testing (44:23)
    The Fluid & getting weird with the Optic (46:23)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 52 min
    Ed Masters on Hardline, the 2024 Race Landscape, Pivot’s Prototype DH Bike, & More

    Ed Masters on Hardline, the 2024 Race Landscape, Pivot’s Prototype DH Bike, & More

    The first Tasmanian edition of Red Bull Hardline is coming up, so we sat down with Ed Masters to talk about the event, building and testing the course, and getting prepared to ride it. Along the way, we talk about Pivot’s wild prototype DH bike, the state of Enduro and DH racing in general, Ed’s outlook on the future, and a whole lot more.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Ed’s injury updates (3:49)
    Hardline Tasmania (7:36)
    The Pivot DH prototype (10:58)
    Hardline course building and testing (14:47)
    The state of Enduro racing (19:17)
    How to fix racing? (24:39)
    World Cup Downhill (37:14)
    Coping with uncertainty (45:20)
    Ed’s 2024 plans (48:31)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 51 min
    Continental on Designing, Developing, & Testing Their Overhauled Tire Lineup

    Continental on Designing, Developing, & Testing Their Overhauled Tire Lineup

    Continental’s overhauled gravity tire lineup has had a lot of success, both on the World Cup Downhill circuit and with everyday riders (we’ve personally been huge fans of the Kryptotals). 
    It’s a big departure from their prior offerings, with 5 new tread patterns to go with overhauled casings and rubber compounds, and we sat down with Alexander Hänke, the product manager behind the lineup, and Dan Brown, the CEO of Atherton Bikes and Team Director of Continental Atherton Racing, to talk all about their development, hear their takes on what makes a good tire, and a whole lot more.
    RELATED LINKS:
    BLISTER+ Membership
    BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials
    Blister Labs
    This Week’s Gear Giveaway
    Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
    TOPICS & TIMES:
    Introducing Alex and Dan (1:46)
    Where to start when overhauling a complete tire lineup? (4:02)
    Designing tires for World Cup Downhillers vs. mere mortals (9:24)
    Beginning the development process (13:12)
    Starting with casing designs & their importance (16:42)
    Tread pattern design (22:38)
    Splitting the Kryptotal into front and rear models (25:08)
    The Continental gravity tire lineup (28:32)
    Rubber compounds & why softer doesn’t always equal more grip (33:56)
    Choosing which variants to offer (42:02)
    OUR OTHER PODCASTS
    Blister Cinematic
    CRAFTED
    GEAR:30
    Blister Podcast
    Off The Couch

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 52 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
118 Ratings

118 Ratings

Captain Pao ,

Great Info

Anything and everything you never thought you needed to know. Great job David!

Haabø ,

In it for the conversation

I loved the recent episode with Dan from Privateer bikes. I find the “in the weeds” talk with bike builders and designers and Paul Aston types to be engaging. Learning about the inspiration, the mechanics and whys of bike design really breathes life into an industry of products that feel corporations and lifeless.

MeVP997 ,

Good stuff, no fluff

Goes deeper and more honest than all the other mtb content out there.

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