The Pinkbike Podcast

What's going on with the overall? And who needs what to win it? Remy and Henry dive in.

Downhill bikes typically have 200 mm of travel, and enduro bikes around 160, but cross-country bikes could have anything between 65 and 120. Progressive and conservative bikes compete against one another at the highest level, and some of these bikes even seem like things you'd ride for fun. But where is the category going? And what do we think of the current crop?

In this week's podcast, Dario, Kaz, and Matt join Henry to go over our worst and silliest complaints, as well as some of the things that never fail to put a smile on our face.

Red Bull Rampage is the largest, most important freeride mountain bike event in the world. Rampage historically hasn't included a women's field, and Red Bull has been promoting the development of women's freeride through a non-competition event called Formation that's held on the same terrain. This year Formation was cancelled, leading some to speculate that Rampage might include a women's field. When the rider list came out last week, we were disappointed to see neither a women's field nor a public plan to integrate women into the event. Alicia Leggett and I sat down with Vaea Verbeeck, one of the original Formation riders and a future Rampage hopeful, to hear her thoughts about the situation.

In this weeks podcast, Henry, Dario, Kaz and Matt talk about what they wish would come back, and what they hope goes for ever. There are lukewarm takes, some strange tangents and some ideas that are just flatly antiquated and wrong.

Matt Beer joined Pinkbike in 2021 and has made himself a something of a niche in the interveening time - testing downhill bikes, as well as contributing towards the editorial departments efforts in everything from Field Tests to gear reviews. Prior to Pinkbike, however, Matt won two national downhill championships and Henry was eager to learn more.

It's not every day you get to speak to a World Champion, it's also not every podcast when the guest is willing to give you a huge amount of honesty as they look over some of their own, and mountain biking's, greatest achievements. Miranda Miller and Henry Quinney talk about where World Cup racing is going, what enduro should look like, plus which of the fast French riders she'd have on her dream World Cup team.

In this far-reaching conversation, we talk about everything from extreme injury, modern freeride, and social media, as well as the consequences of crashing such as fear or healing mental wounds. We even touch on why the modern enduro bike might just be the bike freeride has been waiting for.

This week I am joined by Matt Beer and Dario DiGuilio to work out which is the greatest air shock of them all. Matt and Dario spent a great deal of time testing these shocks in Whistler to find out the nuances, and niggles of high-performance, high-pressure air shocks. To celebrate Shock Week, this podcast is available both in the regular audio, which is sandwiched by the news intro, and a full length vodcast.

Alicia has been with Pinkbike for several years and, at Crankworx Whistler, we had the opportunity to sit down and get to know her a little better in a candid and informal conversation. Some of the elements in this conversation are unfiltered, open, and at times quite frank, which we hope isn't too out of place for regular Pinkbike Podcast listeners. At the very worst, you'll at least know us a little better for it.

Eliot Jackson is a man that wears many hats in the bike industry. Whether it's racing, running the grow foundation or commentating on downhill - he certainly keeps himself busy. We caught up with him in Whistler during Crankworx.

It seems like only yesterday we were duct-taping bananas to our frame, the EWS wasn't a UCI event and Martin Maes and Richie Rude were hot new talents on the scene. One man who's been there for most of it is Ireland's Dan Wolfe, not only as a racer but also running his own and team's setups. We talk to Dan about the best of all time, doping, and why racing midweek might not be what the sport needs.

A partnership between Freeride Entertainment, Outside Studios, and Pinkbike, Nothing's For Free is a full length film that takes a deep dive into the evolution of freeride mountain biking—and the enormous sacrifices that have been made in the name of the sport's progression. From fringe sport to global phenomenon, the film chronicles a three-decade journey with the pioneers, visionaries, and industry masterminds that pushed the sport to where it is today. Some of the footage in this film will change the sport forever, and we're so excited for the mountain bike world to see it. Brian Park and special guest host Jason Lucas sat down with director Derek Westerlund and one of the film's main subjects Brett Tippie to talk about why and how the film was made—as well as some behind the scenes stories of the film's biggest, heaviest moments.

In our Getting to Know series we're taking time to sit down with Pinkbike contributors and staff and getting to know them better. If you're familiar with our website, you've probably spent a great deal of time looking at Taj's drawings. In this podcast, I take the opportunity to sit down with him while he's in Whistler and learn a little more about his life in cycling. We talk BMX backgrounds, concussion, life as a pro, and wildly misquote philosophers that may or may not even exist.

You may have seen our "Getting to Know" series of interviews, where we talk with the great and good of racing and mountain biking to understand to them better or maybe just familiarise ourselves with their career. We thought we'd bring that to a long-form interview format with some Pinkbike staff and contributors. I'll try and squeeze them in over the summer as and when time allows. Is there anyone you're desperate to hear from? Let me know in the comments section.

Sometimes, we just like hanging out. Our friend Chris Mandell, who works for SRAM, was up in Whistler at the same time as us and I thought it would be fun to have him on, ask him some questions he probably isn't meant to answer and have a sprawling conversation alongside with Dario and Kaz.

Henry, Kaz and Dario talk about what would be in their favourite trail. What it needs to have, what they love, and what they'd gladly live without. Do they want tech? Jumps? Or just some nice turns in the woods?

Ex-Pinkbike presenter Tom Bradshaw has been doing a lot of traveling since he left Canada. However, on a quick trip back to BC we got a chance to chat with him and find out what he's been up to, why he loves hardtails and if he's ever going to come back to Canada for good.

After months of speculation, Pivot's prototype downhill bike broke cover in Lenzerheide last week. Bernard Kerr has been testing several versions of this bike through the off season—due in part to the aluminum-lugged carbon construction methods that Pivot says reduces the time required to make a rideable prototype. It also makes it easier to adjust the frame design, or as was the case here, evaluate two different suspension systems over 100+ of laps of testing. Henry Quinney and Brian Park sit down with Pivot's Head of Engineering and Design Kevin Tisue, and Pivot Factory Racing's Bernard Kerr to talk about the new bike, DH racing, and more.

Taj breaks lots of bikes and parts, in ways that you may not be familiar with. We discuss what bike parts are allowed to break, and what is unforgivable. We also send out a challenge to any product managers listening and ask them if they're confident enough in their bike to send it for a true test under Taj.

If you've seen some of YouTube's biggest hits, you've probably seen some of Boombox's work. Whether it's PBA, Fast Life or Red Bull Racetapes, the production company has had a huge hand in lots of larger serialized projects. Romain Dompnier's has had a hand in many of these projects. We got a chance to sit down with him in Squamish and talk about Red Bull, racing, and maybe a large amount of Formula One.

Henry, Kaz, and Dario talk about fashion trends in mountain biking - the good, bad, and mostly ugly.

The internet is full of articles, videos and even podcasts telling you how to get better, but today we're asking the other question, why are we bad in the first place? What areas are we weakest at, and why do we think that is.

Enjoy a wide ranging conversation with Alicia Leggett, Mike Kazimer, Dario DiGiulio, and Henry Quinney. The topics of this week's podcast include everything from paragliding lessons, downhill bikes, bike testing, and Henry's fear that AI will take our jobs and end the world as we know it.

Does a generous warranty just drive the cost of your bike up? What does "limited lifetime" actually mean? Levy's back at curling camp while Henry and Brian discuss some of the factors behind the warranties that different brands provide.

A coma, a priest, a miraculous recovery, and looking forward.

We also get into what it takes to deliver a brand new drivetrain, embargos, why they're using KMC chains, and a whole bunch more.

We also get into what makes the Horst Link layout so versatile, and the pros and cons of gearboxes.

More compatibility and longer lasting? Not something you hear every day.

Prices, compatibility, supply chains, standards, riding videos, and more.

Ocon's quest for 3 hours of penalties and we try to figure out how the heck Alonso is still so fast at 72 years of age.

The first race of the 2023 F1 season is here and so are Henry and Levy with their terrible opinions. We also get into Checo suing Pinkbike, and Levy shares his story about that one time he touched Jenson Button.

We also get into their US origins, how they handled Covid, e-bike sales versus mountain bike sales, marketing advice, and of course we asked about headset cable routing.

YouTube explained by a retired YouTuber.

Chris also gets into leaving Titus and that the time he wanted to buy an In-N-Out Burger, e-bikes sales versus mountain bike sales, and running a bike company during the pandemic.

We also get into the most impressive riding he's seen at Rampage, owning property with jumps, and declassified rocket testing.

We also talk about why some of their bikes look similar, the evolution of VPP suspension, and when we might see a new V10.

Aside from the price tags, is there anything you miss about bikes from ten or twenty years ago?

Looking into our crystal ball to see the future of enduro racing and the new bikes we might see in 2023.

Rob also talks about Specialized, how PON Holdings came into the picture, and if he's sold more Skateboards than Tony Hawk.

If you had to come up with a riding resolution for the coming year, what would it be?

Two editors share their horrible skiing stories.

You need to send and be able to send an email.

Kolb and Hatton also talk about the dangers of over-training, the differences between Fox and Öhlins, and how World Cup racers test tires.

How'd we shoot this Field Test, why were the bikes so heavy and so damn expensive, and was it fair to test them in the bike park?

When it comes to how you ride, what you ride, and where you ride, what are your priorities?

Why are we using it if it's more complicated, more challenging to work on, and probably less reliable?

Minimizing terrain to maximize learning, riding with intention, and how you can't choose to be motivated or confident but you can rely on competent behaviors.

What's more uncomfortable: pulling five Gs in a braking zone or your ass after a five-hour ride?

Talking with two 3D-printing experts about the pros and cons of additive manufacturing and the mistakes to avoid.