Bikes & Big Ideas

PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings are more than just a list of which cities have the best bike paths; they are a comprehensive look at how a city manages bike infrastructure, and have become a tool cities use to identify areas needing improvement, and a valuable resource for for individuals interested in advocating for change in their own communities.  City Ratings is a massive undertaking, so we sat down with PeopleForBikes’ Martina Haggerty and Grace Stonecipher to get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into producing them and how they’re reshaping the ways some cities approach bike infrastructure.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.comRELATED LINKS:Momentous: livemomentous.com use code: BlisterOneSkin: oneskin.co/BLISTERGet Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Who Are PeopleForBikes and What They Do (0:38)Why & How City Ratings Got Started (2:20)How Many Cities are Included (3:41)City Ratings Methodology (4:10)Best Cities (11:12)Pushback? (13:03)How to get involved to help your city become more bike-friendly (18:04)Biggest Challenges (21:43)International Cities (24:35)Ebike considerations? (26:36)Next year’s ratings (28:28)What advice can you offer a city to help improve its score? (29:27)Other PFB Initiatives (30:25)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

After 22 years, Cam McCaul and Trek parted ways, leading to a new partnership with Revel Bikes, so Simon caught up with his old friend Cam to get the inside story on how his new Partnership with Revel came to be. And it’s not all bike and sponsor talk. Fans of Red Bull Rampage have been listening to Cam’s commentary for years, and today he also talks about how hard it was being on the mic when Adolf Silva got injured, what he thinks about the future of Rampage, and much 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.comRELATED LINKS:Episode Sponsor: oneskin.co/BLISTERBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Cam & Simon’s Elevator Show (3:27)Signing with Revel (6:09)Cam’s Take on MTB Design (16:46)Broadcasting (19:59)Kissing the Blarney Stone (21:21)Stunt Work (24:10)Adolf Silva’s Rampage Injury (36:34)The Future of Rampage (42:34)Worst Injury (47:42)What Gets Cam Fired About Bikes? (51:23)Cam’s Music Recs (1:00:10)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED

Hunt Bike Wheels has been building durable, affordable wheels since 2015, so Simon caught up with their Brand Manager, James Stokoe, to talk about about their early days based in a garage, their first gravel wheels, moving into the MTB market, rider-focused engineering, why wheels make the most sense when upgrading a new bike, some highly entertaining stories from James, and 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 GuideBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredHunt Bike WheelsTOPICS & TIMES:Hunt’s History (3:41)First Gravel Wheels (8:36)The move into MTB Wheels (13:31)Rider-Focused Engineering Approach (15:40)Aluminum & Carbon Wheels (20:01)Hub Design (27:40)Why Durability is so Important (35:08)Hunt’s Customer Service (45:07)Upcoming events for Hunt (52:29)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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 GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredMike’s The Grimy Handshake SubstackTOPICS & 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 CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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.comRELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideBLISTER Digital Access PassTOPICS & 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 CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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.comRELATED LINKS:Trail WorkDillon Osleger on Historic Trails, Changing Climates, & Evolving Communities (Ep.133)Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideBLISTER Digital Access PassTOPICS & 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 CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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.comRELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & 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 CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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 GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredMike’s The Grimy Handshake SubstackManitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT (Ep.328)TOPICS & TIMES:Mike’s Dumpster FireLoudenville World Cup HighlightsLuca Shaw Finally Gets a WinVali Holl DominatesNova Mesto XC World Cup Insights Tom Pidcock Owns the Nova Mesto CourseGiro D’Italia Recap & Durango’s Sepp Kuss’ Stage Win SRAM’s Precedent-Setting Legal Victory  Leadership Changes at KonaIndustry News: Company Closures and ReopeningsNew Products: Manitou’s New Mezzer Upcoming RockShox Flight Attendant Video TeaserCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

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.comRELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & 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 CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast