PODCAST · sports
Bikes & Big Ideas
by BLISTER
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.
Episodes
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2026 Red Bull Rampage Recap w/ Cam McCaul
We caught up with Cam McCaul to run down the 2026 Red Bull Rampage that left fans in awe at the women’s event and frustrated after the cancellation of the men’s competition. Cam shares his on-location perspective of the insane amount of work done by the build teams, the Robin Goomes vs. Hannah...
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Reviewing The News w/ Cam McCaul (September 2026)
The first-ever Whistler DH World Cup did not disappoint, including crazy weather, wild racing action, some heroic performances, and tons of crashes — Cam and Simon couldn’t wait to talk about it. Cam had a gnarly crash himself and shares that story along with his behind-the-scenes preview of this...
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Casey Brown on Getting Women into Rampage
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Bull Rampage, and the third year of Rampage including a women’s category. The fight to make that happen was a long one, and for this selection from The Vault, we’re revisiting a conversation we had with Casey Brown on Bikes & Big Ideas back in 2023…
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Maxxis on the Minion DHX & New DH Casing
Maxxis has a new member of the Minion family, the Minion DHX, and a new DH casing to go with it. We’re joined by Sean Day, who led the development of both, to go deep on their designs, the thinking behind them, and how they fit into Maxxis’ expansive lineup. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please...
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Making Innovative Bikepacking Gear & Rebuilding After Hurricane Helene with Rockgeist’ s Greg Hardy
Greg Hardy started sewing his own bikepacking bags while getting his PhD in materials science, which led him to put his career on hold, move to Asheville, NC, and found Rockgeist — which became one of the top bag makers in the bikepacking world. But things came crashing down when Hurricane Helene...
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Special Race Edition, Soldier Hollow XC World Cup: 32’’ Wheels Galore & Rising Star Bjorn Riley
Was the Soldier Hollow World Cup XC race the first true test for 32” wheels? Blister Reviewer Xan Marshland had boots on the ground at the race, and joined Simon for a recap of the racing action, thoughts on the big wheels, course design, and Bjorn Riley’s crazy popularity. Note: We Want to Hear...
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Simons.Lab on Dampers, Tuning, & the New Zeta
Simon Reiberg’s journey into fork damper design began with him modifying a RockShox Yari to feature a shimmed rebound circuit, and after stints at Trickstuff and Intend, he just launched Simons.Lab and the Zeta aftermarket fork damper. So we sat down with Simon to talk about his take on damper...
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Yeti on the LT & MT, Six-Bar Suspension, & More
Yeti has a long history of unconventional suspension layouts, and they’ve just given their lineup a big shakeup with the new LT & MT, both of which use the Sixfinity six-bar layout from Yeti’s eMTBs rather than the Switch Infinity design from their last several generations of MTBs. So, we sat…
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Reviewing the News w/ Cam McCaul & Simon Stewart
Today is a big day, as we welcome Freeride legend Cam McCaul as the new co-host of Reviewing the News. Cam and Simon Stewart go way back, and Simon has been a fan of what he’s been doing on and off the bike for as long as they’ve known each other. Cam brings a great new perspective to the show…
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Enduro World Cup Racing is Dead. Long Live Enduro?
Shortly after the final Enduro World Cup race of the 2026 season, Warner Brothers Discovery and the UCI made the surprise announcement that the series will not continue for 2027. Despite the uncertain future that leaves for top-tier professional Enduro racing, the announcement was met with a...
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Vali Höll on the Implosion of the YT Mob
For this selection from The Vault, we’re sharing a Bikes & Big Ideas conversation where Vali Höll opens up about everything that went on behind the scenes during the mid-season implosion of the YT Mob race team, and how she managed to win her third consecutive World Cup overall title and fourth...
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The Current State of XC Bikes
With XC bikes gaining popularity, there is a sea of similar-looking offerings from a bunch of brands — with a wider range of performance attributes than first meets the eye. So today, Blister reviewers Xan Marshland and Simon Stewart dig into the broader XC bike category and weigh in on why they...
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Anna Newkirk on Her First Career Win
North American DH racers are collectively having their best season in a long time, and Anna Newkirk is a big part of that success, notching her first career win — the first by an American woman in 23 years — and currently sitting fourth in the overall standings. So we brought Anna back on the…
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The Poacher
Today on The Vault, we’re sharing one of Simon’s favorite moments from a Bikes & Big Ideas conversation where Hayden Zablotny talks about poaching the Proving Grounds event on his way to getting invited to — and then winning — Red Bull Rampage. Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to...
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (August 2026)
Mike and Simon break down the bike racing in July, including the World Cup MTB racing in La Thuile and Andorra, the Tour de France, and the Canadian Open DH at Crankworx Whistler. They talk about Trek’s decision to limit all their eMTBs to 20 mph, and debate whether we’ve had bike shoe design all...
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Reviewer Reports: Yeti LT, Specialized Epic 9, Orbea Rallon, & More
A lot of recently updated bikes have felt like relatively subtle refinements of their predecessors, but there are also a bunch of brands still taking big swings. The new Yeti LT, Orbea Rallon, and Devinci Spartan are all very, very different from the bikes they replaced, and we’ve been testing…
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Building Safer Bike Infrastructure: PeopleForBikes on their 2026 City Ratings
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...
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Cam McCaul on The Future of Rampage, His New Revel Partnership, Side Hits & More
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...
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All Things Wheels with James Stokoe of Hunt Bike Wheels
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...
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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...
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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,...
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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…
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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…
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (May, 2026)
Mike and Simon unpack the first DH and XC World Cup of the season, and there’s a whole lot to talk about, including course drama, fast Frenchies, DH hardtails, belt drives, tons of flats, just as many crashes, and Vali Holl and Asa Vermette's insane winning runs, not to mention the XC race…
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Hannah Otto on the ‘Hardest Climb in the World’
Hannah Otto has been reeling off an impressive streak of mountain biking FKTs over the past few years, and now she’s added a road bike one to the list: the 14,000’ climb up Mauna Kea, Hawai’i. So we brought Hannah back on the show to tell the story behind the effort, discuss the differences in…
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Reviewer Reports: Sea Otter Recap, eMTB Power Wars, & More
We’re back and (mostly) recovered from Sea Otter, so David and Simon sat down to discuss the highlights and main trends from the show. And we’re busy as ever testing bikes, so we give some updates on a bunch of them, from the Pivot Mach 4 SL to the Devinci Spartan, the Specialized Levo R to the...
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Vessel Bike Project’s Ultra-Customizable High-Pivot Frames
There aren’t a lot of options for truly custom full-suspension frames out there, and the few that do exist tend to be very expensive. But Vessel Bike Project is offering US-made high-pivot steel frames with truly custom geometry and kinematics (and a massive amount of adjustability) for a...
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Pivot Founder Chris Cocalis on Their New Insanely Powerful Shuttle AMP’d, XC Race Bike Design, 32” Wheels, & More
Pivot just launched their new Avinox M2S powered Shuttle AMP’d, so today Pivot founder Chris Cocalis talks us through the development process, the decision to spec the controversial high-powered Avinox drive system, early prototypes, and the challenges of implementing a motor with that much…
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (April, 2026)
The frame building community lost an integral parts supplier with the closing of Paragon Machine Works, so today, Mike and Simon talk about what happened and what's next for frame builders. The first race of the Monster Pro Downhill series had some surprises, leading them to throw out some...
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Hans Rey on the eBike Power War & Why it Could Cost us Trail Access
Hans Rey joins Simon to discuss the letter he wrote to the bike industry about crazy-high eBike power numbers and the total disregard for the existing Class 1 eBike power limits we’re seeing currently. Hans is worried, and rightfully so, that the eBike power war is out of control, and what it…
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Daniel Yang on 32’’ Wheels, the Evolution of Wheel Sizes, & More
Are 32’’ wheels going to take over the MTB world, or become a flash in the pan like plus-sized tires did a decade ago? How did the bike industry take sudden interest in a unicycle wheel size — and are 32’’ wheeled-bikes even truly new? And, maybe most importantly, how do the big wheels actually...
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (March, 2026)
Today, Mike and Simon discuss what's happening, and not happening, with the investigations into the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and Kristi Noem’s complete lack of accountability. On the bike news side, there’s an ongoing power war taking place among eBike drive system...
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Kavenz on Developing the Bonded VHP X Frame
The current Kavenz VHP bikes come with a sticker that says “Made from aluminum: we give a shit,” a nod to the recyclability and (purportedly) lower environmental impact of aluminum compared to carbon fiber. But Kavenz is also openly developing the next-generation VHP platform — and it’s using...
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Danny MacAskill on the Trick That Haunted Him, Creative Jogging, Nipple Height, & More
How many times have you attempted a trick or a move in a row before finally getting it? It’s probably a lot fewer than 400. Today, Danny MacAskill breaks down the trick that taught him how to persevere and overcome the impossible. Danny’s Inspired Bicycles video was a sensation. Everyone was...
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Reviewer Reports: New eMTBs From Pivot, Norco, Orbea, & More
David Golay shares why he hasn’t jived with any of the eMTBs he’s ridden so far, and if the new light-assist bikes from Orbea and Norco he’s been spending time on might have a chance of changing his mind. Simon, on the other hand, is a big fan of eMTBs, regardless of whether they have a…
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (January, 2026)
Today, Mike and Simon discuss the invasion of Minneapolis, the killing of fellow cyclist Alex Pretti by ICE, and how the cycling community united in solidarity worldwide. They also talk about some bike industry news, like Revel Bikes relocating, and more fires to put out for Rad Power Bikes....
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Neko Mulally on the 2026 Frameworks Roster, Bikes, & More
Frameworks has just added Aaron Gwin — the most successful American DH racer of the modern era — to an already-stacked lineup of Asa Vermette and Anna Newkirk, launched updated versions of their Enduro and DH bikes, and more. So we brought Neko Mulally back on the show to tell us about all of it,...
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Best Bikes of the Century, Part 3
We’re wrapping up our Best Bikes of the Century series, so today, Blister reviewers Zack Henderson, Xan Marshland, David Golay, and Simon Stewart reveal their top three selections. We also share picks and insights from a number of bike industry luminaries and legends, along with some listener...
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Manitou & Reynolds on 32’’ Wheels
Will 32’’ wheels have staying power, or will they be another flash in the pan like plus-sized tires? Either way, they’re coming, and we sat down with Manitou Product Manager, Phil Ott, and Reynolds Director of Wheel Development, Todd Tanner, to discuss what it takes to design parts for 32’’…
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Reviewer Reports: Chain Dampers, Gearboxes, High-Pivots & More
We’ve got a lot of interesting drivetrain-related testing going on right now, from our just-published roundup of chain damping devices to multiple gearbox bikes, the Supre Drive-equipped Lal Katana, and more. David and Zack sat down to discuss what they’re learning, debate the pros and cons of...
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Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (December, 2025)
Today, Mike joins us from Loretto, Mexico, and on his way down there, he stopped in Los Algodones to get his rotten teeth fixed in what's become known as Molar City. Mike recounts his experience with Mexico’s booming low-cost dental industry and how, at one point, he thought he might be in a...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Bikes & Big Ideas have?
Bikes & Big Ideas currently has 331 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Bikes & Big Ideas about?
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.
How often does Bikes & Big Ideas release new episodes?
Bikes & Big Ideas publishes regularly with 331 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Bikes & Big Ideas?
You can listen to Bikes & Big Ideas on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Bikes & Big Ideas?
Bikes & Big Ideas is created and hosted by BLISTER.
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