Bikes & Big Ideas

Since its inception in 2001, Red Bull Rampage has demanded athletes walk a fine line between risk and reward, and the unfortunate injuries that go with that have been numerous. But with four riders heli-evac’d with serious injuries, this year’s Rampage was arguably the heaviest we’ve seen, and has left us with many questions about how, and if, the event should continue. Shortly afterward, several of our reviewers weighed in with their thoughts in our “Debatable” series, which asked the question, “should Rampage be shut down?” Today, we continue that conversation with an open (and quite passionate) discussion on what we think needs to happen to make the event safer for the athletes, more transparent to the fans, and ideally better to watch, too.RELATED LINKS:Debatable: Should Rampage Be Shut DownBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Xan: The Venue (1:07)Dylan: Let the Athletes Course Correct (11:04)Simon: On-Site Medical Assessments (19:09)Zack: Expand the Event (28:34)David: Make it a Jam instead of a Comp (35:58)Jonathan: Increase Transparency, Cover Athletes (46:27)The Athlete's Decision (55:12)Our Consensus: Changes for Next Year (1:01:29)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

Priority Cycles may be a new brand to the full-suspension MTB world, but they’ve got a ton of experience building belt-drive, gearbox bikes — and now they’ve launched the Vanth, a remarkably affordable high-pivot Pinion gearbox-equipped Enduro bike. So, why did Priority decide to enter the full-suspension bike market now, how did they come up with the wild-looking Vanth design, and what makes the Vanth so much more affordable than most other full-suspension gearbox bikes? We dive into all that and much more with Eddie Meek of Priority and Mike Schwartz, who served as an engineering consultant on the project.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Eddie (3:20)The Priority brand (4:38)Introducing Mike (6:34)Why a high-pivot Enduro bike? (11:20)Other prototypes (16:01)Marketing the Vanth as a brand not known for MTBs (20:55)Belt vs. chain drive for a gearbox (27:53)The Vanth (38:10)Kinematic goals (45:00)Frame materials (51:43)Pricing & availability (56:45)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

Madrone Cycles got its start making parts to repair a variety of SRAM mountain bike derailleurs, but now they’re taking on a much more ambitious project: building their own derailleur from the ground up. Third-party derailleurs had a brief run in the earlier days of mountain biking, but SRAM and Shimano have completely dominated the market for decades now. So why is Madrone taking on the big players now, and what sets their new Jab derailleur apart? We sat down with Madrone founder, Aaron Bland, to discuss all that and more.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Founding Madrone & starting with SRAM derailleur rebuilds (1:57)Electronic shifting & the resurgence of third-party mechanical derailleurs (4:02)The hardest details to get right (12:57)Evolution of the Jab design (17:25)Serviceability & Madrone’s rebuild service (22:58)Clutch & pivot designs (27:43)Modularity (32:26)Jab options (41:34)What’s next from Madrone? (47:37)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

Paladin Bikes was founded by a group of robotics engineers who love bikes and wanted to build their own — and do it in the US. The AM1 is the result, and while it’s a relatively conventional All-Mountain bike when it comes to its geometry and specs, there’s a ton about it that stands out, from its machined construction to its suspension layout, and in a lot of the smaller details.So we sat down with Paladin co-founder and General Manager, Stefan Klein, to get the rundown on Paladin and the AM1, from the decision to found the company in the first place, to opting for machined construction, the challenges of founding a bike company in 2025, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Stefan (1:49)Founding Paladin (4:18)Why machine a frame? (6:22)The AM1 & forgoing clamshell construction (9:25)Tradeoffs in manufacturing techniques (12:49)AM1 design details (22:11)Next steps & refinements (28:00)Flex testing (32:19)FEA vs. physical strength tests (33:57)Bringing the AM1 to market (34:40)Future plans & models (36:50)Entering the bike industry in 2025 (40:05)Standing out in the market without being too out there (42:08)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

September delivered some incredible bike racing, featuring the Mountain Bike and Road Bike World Championships, the Lenzerheide World Cup DH and XC, and the US Open Downhill, providing us with plenty to discuss. News on the bike industry side was a familiar affair, with YT going through a rough patch and retail sales being slow. There was also some rather shocking news about Giant regarding alleged labor law violations in Taiwan. Dylan and Simon go over all that, plus some cool new products we’re testing, and we give our thoughts on the potential new mountain bike wheel size that looks to be gaining traction. All this and more in this month’s Reviewing the News episode.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Are 32” Wheels Coming? (2:01)Markus Flossman Buying Back YT (8:07)Giant’s Alleged Labor Law Violations (14:33)MTB World Championships Recap (18:01)XC World Championships Recap (22:25)Road World Championships Recap (30:21)US Open in Killington (33:35)Has Dakota Norton Found His Form? (33:58)New Products (37:03)Off-Grid eMTB Battery Charging (52:53)Handlebar width? (58:18)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

We sat down to talk about Chromag’s growing full-suspension lineup, and how the new Reazon slots into it; Trek’s surprising move to turn the Fuel into a modular platform, including adding a second 160+mm-travel Enduro bike in the Fuel LX; a couple of new eMTBs from Yeti and Propain; Hope’s new GR4 brakes; and a bunch more.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Norco Revolver 120 (1:12)Chromag Reazon (7:01)Trek Fuel LX (13:24)Propain Sresh SL (26:30)Yeti LTe (36:02)Hope GR4 Brakes (44:54)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

With their athletes taking wins at the Tour de France and Red Bull Hardline, Enve has been having a hell of a summer. So today we’re talking with Enve’s Jake Pantone about what they’ve been up to, the increasingly blurry lines between bike categories, how wide Gravel tires should be, and why you might want to put a suspension fork on your drop bar bike. And Jake also shares exciting news about their plans to make Mountain Bikes.RELATED LINKS:Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Winning the Tour de France & Red Bull Hardline (1:31)Having the GOAT as an Enve Athlete (2:47)Blurry Lines Between Bike Categories (7:57)How Wide Should Gravel Tires Be? (16:40)Bigger Tires vs Suspension Forks (21:40)Gravel Bikes as a One Bike Quiver (24:47)Going From Wheels to Road & Gravel Frames (33:02)Enve to Make Mountain Bikes? (40:13)What’s Next for Enve (41:39)Investing in R&D (43:54)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast

The list of world-class cyclists that have come out of the Durango Devo junior cycling program is astounding. Christopher Blevins is on a tear and is currently leading the UCI XCO overall. Riley Amos crushed the XC U23s last year. Sepp Kuss made a name for himself shepherding Jonas Vingegaard through the mountains and then went on to win a Grand Tour himself, and Quinn Simmons’ aggressive attacks made headlines during this year's Tour de France. So today, we catch up with Durango Devo co-founder Chad Cheeney to find out what the secret is to consistently turning out some of the best bike riders in the world.RELATED LINKS:Durango DevoBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGet Our Free Newsletter & Gear GiveawaysBLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Culture & Passion (1:43)Paying Attention to Kids (3:15)OG Durango XC History (3:35)Athletes Having Kids (5:50)What is Durango Devo? (9:30)Finding Coachable Moments (12:05)Raising Money as a Non Profit (13:34)Super Athletes of Durango Devo (15:52)Little & Scrawny Christopher Blevins (17:41)Sepp Kuss’s La Vuelta España Win (21:44)Life as a Fort Lewis Cycling Coach (36:40)Up and Coming Talent (38:56)What bike are you riding? (44:08)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister Podcast