The Pinkbike Podcast

This year's Rampage left us with more questions than usual.

10,252 meters (33,635 ft) of climbing in under 24 hours is bonkers.

Coming at you almost-live from the Utah desert.

We're back from a couple weeks in Bentonville, so it's time to dig into the virtual mail bag and catch up on some reader questions.

Kaz, Dario, Stephane, and Matt chat about the latest MTB news, and why it pays for bike mechanics to be nice to customers.

Kaz, Matt, and Stephane talk about some of their embarrassing racing-related moments and answer more reader questions.

We got Levy off the gravel bike for a special episode where we look back at the products and bikes that didn't live up to the hype.

Kaz, Dario, and Matt talk about the World Champ DH and marathon races, plus dig into the recent Kona Hei Hei review and more reader questions.

Kaz, Dario, and Stephane chat about pedals, homemade bikes, and a whole bunch more.

Recorded live at Crankworx Whistler, we sat down with two of our favorite freeriders to chat about digging, sending, mental challenges, and more.

Chatting with the engineer and product manager behind the latest version of the venerable Trek Fuel.

Dario checks in with Chris Blevins to find out the secrets behind his World Cup XC winning ways, plus we dig into reader questions, talk about riding new trails, and more.

A wide-ranging conversation with Seth about riding the Grim Donut, product reviews, YouTube techniques, AI, and even headset cable routing.

Kaz, Dario, and Stephane open up the virtual mailbag and try their best to solve those burning questions.

Kaz, Dario, and Matt chat about the latest happenings in the mountain bike world.

Kaz, Dario, and Stephane chat about the recent World Cup racing, trail tools, hatchbacks, and short travel bikes.

Dario interviews Robin Gemperle, who rode from Canada to Mexico in under 12 days. We also chat about Eurobike highlights, Dario's vintage Kona Stab, and dig into some reader questions.

Kaz, Stephane, and Dario chat about World Cup racing, Fox's new upside-down Podium fork, and more.

Stephane chats with Hans Rey, while Kaz, Dario, and Matt talk about the latest MTB trends.

We sat down with Clint Spiegel, the founder and owner of Industry Nine, and Dustin Adams, the founder of We Are One Composites, to find out more about the recent acquisition of WAO by I9, and what the future holds for both companies.

Chatting about the fresh XTR groupset, Yeti's expensive e-bike, World Cup DH and enduro racing, & more.

Kaz, Matt, and Dario talk about the beauty of bike park laps, the new Crankworx Full Tilt event, and dig into more reader questions.

Kaz and Dario go over the highs and lows of an exciting weekend of World Cup racing, and a whole lot more.

Kaz, Dario, and Stephane chat about the first round of the Enduro World Cup, and dive into more listener questions.

Episode #286: A New DH Bike, The Future of Enduro, & Reader Questions

Mike Kazimer, Stephane Pelletier, and Matt Beer come to you with the latest MTB news and observations.

Kaz, Dario, and Matt come to you with the latest MTB news and observations.

Mike, Dario, and Stephane go over the highs and lows of Sea Otter, then dive into some fresh reader questions.

It's time for some tariff talk. For this episode we brought in special guests Seve Frothingham (Bicycle Retailer) and Tom Place (Outbound Lighting) to help make sense of it all.

The team talks through this week's news and tech.

The team talks through this week's news and tech.

Henry, Kaz and Dario come to you with the latest MTB news and observations.

Intense is one of the oldest, boldest and storied frame brands in mountain biking. That said, it certainly hasn't been plain sailing for the Californian company. While their ever-present race teams have enjoyed success at world cups, with their race-focused approach providing clarity and intention, the brand's aims have been a bit harder to discern. Regardless of whether it's the 951 deal with Costco, or a greater reliance on carbon manufacturing outside of the US, the brand is going back to its roots and putting the frame-first. As such, their new distribution model takes the same name, and looks to give riders greater freedom with how their bike rides, and their dealer network more agency and freedom when selling an Intense. Brian Park and Henry Quinney sat down with Jeff Steber, Mike Carr and John Hall to talk through the changes.

How light is too light? And what does "instant engagement" really mean anyway?

Dario, Kaz, and Henry gear up for another content tsunami.

We round up this week's news and answer your questions.

Henry and Matt recount the blind tire test, plus normal Dario talks us through one drool-worthy bespoke bike.

This week's podcast brings you Jessie-May, Dario, and Henry to talk through their Show-and-Tells and answer some of your questions.

Kaz, Daz, and Haz run through the Haro Greer review, talk yet more etiquette (as if it ever ends), and give their lukewarm takes on the industry, freeride bikes, and most importantly, the health and growth of Toblerone the shih tzu.

We used to fight over a degree, and now some bikes can offer a degree in either direction with a headset, 10mm on the chainstay, progression adjustment, and smaller geometry tweaks—all from the stock platform. But does this help or hinder the consumer's riding experience? Dario, Daz, and Denry show us their current favorite parts of biking and discuss whether a bike can ever be too adjustable.

Is oversharing a thing in mountain biking? Kaz, Dario, Henry and Matt talk about the ethics and considerations behind pirate trails. Plus, we cover EXT latest DH fork, a steering damper and the Slash+ before answer questions, giving terrible relationship advice and talk about whether the E13 Sidekick hub is a worthy investment.

Last year we visited Specialized’s eMTB facility in Cham, Switzerland to ride some bikes and poke around their ebike innovation centre. We sat down with Jan Talavasek, Marco Sonderegger, and Joe Buckley, three of the key people behind eMTB development at Specialized, to talk about past, present, and future. We also got a special appearance from the venerable Marketing Todd, who swears Specialized is done making new bikes and that we should stop asking sneaky questions about future models. They had a lot to say, and we got a few tidbits out of them, so the pod runs a bit long. Alternatively, you can read the article + photos here. This was recorded before we'd figured out how to press the big red button to do video podcasts, but we'll be back soon with our regularly scheduled podcast. 03:07 The Evolution of E-Bikes & the Development of the Turbo Levo 14:58 The Shift in Perception of eMTBs 30:52 Brand Equity & the Levo's Original Name 33:51 The Swiss Office 44:02 Future Developments in eMTBs 50:20 Understanding E-Bike Performance Metrics 56:51 The Impact of Market Timing 01:00:00 Engineering for Performance, Legislation, & Consumer Safety 01:12:04 Charging Technology and Battery Longevity 01:15:59 Data-Driven Design and Testing 01:24:02 Field Testing and Component Tracking

In a special end-of-year podcast, Henry is joined by Kaz, Matt, and Dario to talk through the winners of each category, as well as explain the rationale behind the choices. 00:08:50 Value Product of the Year 00:14:31 Value Mountain Bike of the Year 00:25:16 E-MTB of the Year 00:45:13 Innovation of the Year 01:05:42 Suspension Product of the Year 01:22:01 Product of the Year 01:32:41 Mountain Bike of the Year

After a whirlwind 2024 Season, we had the opportunity to sit down with Jordi Cortes of Fox Factory and Neko Mulally of Frameworks Racing to debrief on the latest tech, the incremental changes that riders are now making to maximize setup, and ask whether aftermarket performance devices are really worth it. Have we got to the stage where it isn't about only setting up your suspension well, but rather setting up your bike to get the most out of your suspension?

Kaz, Dario, Sarah, and Henry bring you this week's Show & Tells, review reflections, and listener questions.

In our first Vodcast, we blast through Kaz's Trek Top Fuel review, Henry showcases his latest snorkeling kit, and Dario talks us through his mighty 41lb enduro bike.

With eight different bikes and several pieces of supporting content, this Field Test has certainly been a big one. Now, it's time for its final piece - the Roundtable discussion, where we answer the ultimate question - how likely are we to recommend these bikes? And what would our order of preference be?

Our usual mix of bike and tech reflections. Does the perfect bike ever really exist?

Hear ye, hear ye, let's talk even more about mountain bikes.