The Roller Door

Get into the details of ebikes! Why ride one? Or not? Why did we make the product and design choices we've made in our ebike line? In this episode we sit down with Product Manager Mark Matson and Rider Support's own E-bike specialist, Chris Freeny (maybe he's helped you out!). Between these two experts, we deep dive into the world of E. The fastest growing category in MTB, whether you like it or not. Note: Recorded BEFORE the recent storms... it has since rained. Questions or comments? Email [email protected] Thanks for listening!

We're so excited to have our buddy Danny MacAskill on the pod to congratulate him on being inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame! He's one guy that your mom might know from Youtube- his reach goes far beyond our nerd circle of mountain bikers. Learn about his life back in Scotland, his trials bike that is made in house at Santa Cruz HQ, his love of ebikes, and a little about being one of the most talented trials rider in the world. He's also one of the most kind and unassuming pro's we know, and always down for a party. Questions or comments? Email [email protected] Thanks for listening!

We're getting deep under the Roller Door on this episode! In the depths of the Santa Cruz Bicycles Headquarters is the machine shop where Mike Woods and John Heyliger craft the first version of all of our bikes, and much more. Geoff Casey, head of Engineering and Marketing, sits down with Hannah to learn from these two master fabricator/machiners. Between the two of them, they have almost 40 years at Santa Cruz Bicycles. They have had there hands on almost every single Santa Cruz bike ever made, in addition to countless inventions that make the factory tick. This one's for the curious. Questions or comments? Email [email protected] Thanks for listening!

Vala AL?! That's right, the beloved Vala has now gone metal. The aluminum Vala launches today, and we're stoked on this one. Hannah and co host Sam Randazzo sit down with legendary operations manager, JT Barse (you may know him as the star of the Carbon Chameleon launch video... look it up) to talk about this new bike and how our in house production team plays a crucial part in developing our product. It's the Vala- stripped down and ready to ride. Learn about the stand out features of this new rig and hear other meandering stories along the way. Questions or comments? Email [email protected] Thanks for listening!

No matter your life trajectory, you can always choose a different path and you can always choose to use your voice to enact change. On this episode of the Roller Door, North American Brand Manager Katie Zaffke, joins Hannah to talk with long time friend of the brand, Aneela Mckenna. Aneela is a legend in the industry, not only for her vivacious laugh and mischevious glint in her eye (and her scottish whit to boot), but for creating spaces for people to find their voice and confidence both on and off the bike. From Scottish parliament to MTB guide, she has turned her love of bikes into a force for inclusion and belonging. Questions or comments? Email [email protected]/ Thanks for listening!

On this episode, Tobin Ortenblad puts on his co-host hat and joins Hannah in interviewing Keegan Swenson. Pre season, why Cape Epic is so hard, preparing for Unbound, and why Cyclocross should have a comeback. It's always a pleasure to sit down and talk with these two HTSQD athletes and get a look into the world of top tier gravel racing and beyond. If you have any nerdy gravel questions or questions in general, email [email protected]. We thank you for listening!

All new? Hasn't the Bullit been around forever? Yes, this OG model has gotten a major revision and is better than ever. Think Vala on steroids. We'll let Aaron and Jack explain the rest. On this episode of the Roller Door, Hannah sits down with Design Engineer Aaron Thielk and Ebike Product Manager Jack Russell, to introduce the all new Bullit. We may be biased, but this thing rips. Hope you enjoy. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's [email protected] Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Hannah sits down with the two Syndicate women, veteran Nina Hoffman and fresh junior Ellie Hulsebosch, to get an inside look at life on the road, balance, and all things racing. These two are new teammates and their mutual respect and connection is palpable and fun to witness. We hope you enjoy. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's [email protected] Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with HtSQD racer and People's Champ Tobin Ortenblad on training, cyclocross tactics, gravel fashion, and more. Tobin's always full of informational insight, strong opinions and good laughs. We always enjoy talking with Tobin, and we hope you do too. Remember to write in with questions, suggestions on topics, guests, or whatever-- it's [email protected] Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with legendary freerider Vero Sandler about her experience before, during, and after the Redbull Rampage. There's an awful lot to unpack here. We hope you enjoy, and remember– if you have questions for Vero or anyone at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to [email protected]/ Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with some of the group that brought the Vala, Santa Cruz's new full power e-bike, to market. You'll hear from Kiran MacKinnon, Jesse Carlin, Peter Mueller-Wille, and Mark Matson on choosing a new suspension platform, picking a drive system, and bringing the bike to life. If you're curious about the particulars of the Vala, like power statistics, geometry, and details, be sure to listen to our other episode, titled 'Introducing the Santa Cruz Vala, with Product Manager Jack Russell.' If you have questions for the team here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to [email protected]. We thank you for listening!

At long last, 2024 marks the first ever women's field in the iconic (and somewhat controversial) freeride competition, the Red Bull Rampage. In this episode of the podcast, Garen and Hannah chat with UK freerider Vero Sandler about her path to becoming one of the sport's foremost freeriders, what the Rampage means to her, bike setup, and more. The women are digging in the red, hard Utah desert now: be sure to watch live on RedBull TV: Thursday 10/10 at 6PM PST. Let's Go Vero!

What's a Vala? How's this new Bosch motor? Wait… a 4-bar bike from Santa Cruz? Is this the end of VPP? Who's Jack Russell, anyways? To hear the answers to these questions, along with many more, press play– there's a lot to know about Santa Cruz Bicycles' new model, the Vala. Questions? Gripes? Please email us at [email protected]. If you enjoy the podcast, you can help others to do the same by subscribing or giving us a 5-star rating. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Roller Door Podcast, Garen and Hannah talk through the updates to the Santa Cruz Hightower, along with several off-piste tangents. If you have questions about the new Hightower (or anything Santa Cruz) please email us at [email protected]. We thank you for listening!

If you're listening to this podcast you surely love riding bikes, but it's not all nose-bonks and power wheelies. In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah circle back with Matt Miller on findings from Matt's Paydirt-funded trip to the Netherlands. Matt loves riding bikes so much that he's built his life around building better cycling infrastructure, which is something all of us can be thankful for. If you have questions for Matt or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to [email protected]. We thank you for listening!

This week we launched the latest Bronson: our go-to aggressive trail bike. Listen as Garen and Hannah talk with Santa Cruz Director of Product Josh Kissner about how several small refinements and a few big ones have drastically improved the suspension and ride feel of one of our most popular models. If you have questions for Josh, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening; we hope you enjoy.

Annie Ford is a climate activist, marine biologist, surfer and mountain biker with a passion for doing hard things. She's got the world record for descending the most vertical on a bike. She rode her mountain bike- with a surfboard- from the north tip to the southern tip of New Zealand. Most recently, she rode her Santa Cruz Nomad from Ensenada, Mexico to Whistler, BC to raise funds towards ending the pursuit of new oil and gas along the Australian coast. In this episode of the Roller Door, we hear about Annie's drive, her cause, and the stories (good and bad) from her trip North. Inspiring stuff. Congratulations, Annie.

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen chats with Keegan Swenson, Tobin Ortenblad, and Sam Dale about their races, their bikes, and their experiences at the 2024 Downieville Classic. Is Downieville technical enough for an ex-world cup downhiller on a bigger bike to beat the fastest endurance riders on XC bikes? To find out, give a listen. Any questions? Please email: [email protected]. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy.

To chat with Sam Dale is to consort with a calm, wise man: steady in his words, rich in story, humble as they come, Sam is the kind of person you wish you had more time with. Luckily for us, he's now living in Santa Cruz. In this podcast, we click it down a couple notches and hear about Sam's beginnings, his years as a world cup racer, why he moved to Santa Cruz, and more. We hope you enjoy - and if you have any questions for Sam or anyone here at Santa Cruz, please email them to [email protected]. Thanks!

Eliot is one of a kind and so important to the cycling world' is what photographer Adrian Marcoux recently said of Eliot Jackson, and we couldn't think of a better way to sum him up. In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah hear how Eliot went from a humble and ambitious racer to becoming the community building, podcast hosting, non-profit founding visionary he's now known as. We feel lucky to know people like Eliot, and we hope you enjoy listening to this podcast. If you have questions for anyone at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

--- SPECIAL DROP --- In this special episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah sit with everybody's Wingman, Tobin Ortenblad, to hear about how this year's Unbound Gravel race unfolded for the HtSqd team. We throroughly enjoyed this open, informative talk, and we hope you do to. If you have questions for Tobin, Keegan, Alexis, or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah talk with Matt Miller of Santa Cruz-based non-profit Ecology Action. While the subject matter isn't our normal mountain bike specific techy nerdfest, it was one of the more satisfying talks we've had on the Roller Door to date. Matt's a cyclist in every form, and his (and Ecology Action's) mission to get people riding is nothing short of inspiring. Matt and his team recieved a Paydirt grant, which will send them to the Netherlands to learn how to improve bike infrastucture in Santa Cruz -- listen in for statistics on traffic reduction, infrastructure solutions, dirt commuting, and for an open, welcoming stance on getting people out of cars and onto bikes. We're feeling lucky – first Ben Hildred, and now Matt Miller: two inspiring chats with two enjoyable people who clearly love riding their bikes… just like the rest of us. We hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions for the team here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email them to [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Santa Cruz Bicycles Director of Product Josh Kissner regales Garen and Hannah with stories of yesteryear, like why we have build kits named D, R, and S. We also talk through some of the nuances of bicycle geometry, like how we measure and display seat tube angle, and why this matters to the rider. This is another rambling conversation, and I always learn something when chatting with Josh. We close this episode by cracking open the ol' mailbag for some information on shock stroke, Santa Cruz's new bossman, Ochain's and more. Quick note: it was great to see some of our listeners IRL out at the Sea Otter Classic. Thanks for saying hello. It's wonderful to hear that people are enjoying the Roller Door- and remember, our email is [email protected] drop a line if you have questions, ideas, whatever. And if you enjoy it, please subscribe. We hope you enjoy, GB

In today's episode of the podcast, Garen and Hannah dig a little deeper into the world of Santa Cruz ebike Product Manager Jack Russell-- and Jack's world is interesting in that though he's in charge of integrating electronics into the Santa Cruz ebike range, he's also interested in flying airplanes, driving fast cars, skiing in the French alps, and is (supposedly) an authority on where to find the best burrito's on the west coast. On that front-- we're covered here in Santa Cruz, but if you've got a must-eat burrito recommendation in your area (or a question about anything Santa Cruz Bicycles) please bring us in the loop by emailing [email protected]. We hope you enjoy this chat with Jack Russell

On this episode of the podcast, Hannah and Garen chat up Greg Williams, founder and executive director of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. The conversation wanders from the challenges around funding massive trail projects, getting buy-in from locals (and others), running legendary events, riding e-bikes, and more. Greg's passion for economic development in remote, underserved communities by way of building infastructure for outdoor recreation is remarkable. California is lucky to have Greg, and we're lucky to have him as a friend. We hope you enjoy this recording. If you have questions for Greg or the crew here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, please email us at [email protected]. Thanks!

In this episide of the Roller Door, Garen and Hannah chat with Santa Cruz lifer Scott Turner, EU Brand manager Loic Delteil, and a small frog who chimed in mid-recording. We're in Southern California trying to escape the Norcal rain, and as it's raining torentially, we've decided to talk about the bikes we brought until we can actually go ride them. Fu fact: the rain stopped, and we did go riding on the iconic and winderfully draining Condor Peak trail, as well as on some Simi Valley favorites. We hope you enjoy the podcast, and if you have questions on aything Santa Cruz, (especially Scott Turner, who's been here since the beginning), please send them to [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

In this first episode of The Roller Door's second season, Garen and Hannah talk with Santa Cruz Bicycles Head of Product and Design, Geoff Casey. Geoff's in charge of engineering, product development and the design/ graphical side of Santa Cruz. While he's got a background in designn and enginnering, he's also got a knack for process and helping teams collaborate. We talk about what keeps Geoff motivated, his early days of bike design, how he came to work at Santa Cruz, how the process of bike design has changed over the years, and more. If you have any questions for Geoff or anyone here at Santa Cruz, please send 'em over to [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Episode 1 of the Roller Door's second season is all about ebikes. Garen is joined by Santa Cruz e-bike Product Managers Mark Matson and Jack Russell for a chat about full power vs mid- power ebikes. We also chat about the real-world differences between Shimano's EP8 and EP801 drive units. Have questions? Please write in: [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Roller Door we open the mailbag with Santa Cruz Bicycles Director of Product Josh Kissner. We answer some reader questions and get into bike geometry, mixed wheels, how riding differs between in Santa Cruz and Squamish, and a lot more. Thank you for listening to this podcast, and a special thanks to those of you who've written in. Remember, that email is [email protected] drop a line if you have questions, ideas, whatever. And if you enjoy it, please subscribe. We hope you have a wonderul holiday, GB

The Goat moves on... Greg Minnaar holds more wins than any other athlete in the history of Men's elite downhill racing. He's been on the Santa Cruz Syndicate for 16 years, he's raced 7 genertations of the santa cruz V10, and he's put our bikes on the top step too many times to list here, and as you may have heard, his time on the team is coming to an end. On this episode of the podcast Garen and Greg talk about the early days of the syndicate, numerous competitors througout the years, how gregs stays young, and about some of greg's greatest moments with the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Remember, you can ask questions/ make comments by emailing [email protected]. If you like this podcast, please take a minute give us a rating, subscribe, or tell a pal. Our intro music is Morning High by La Luz, I'd recommend a listen.

/;[Today's episode of the podcast features Syndicate downhill racer Jackson Goldstone and his mechanic, Woody. We talk through Jackson's explosive '23 race season, how bike setup changes throughout the year, what it's like to be on the Santa Cruz Syndicate, and lots more. One thing I love about these podcasts is how much I learn from guests, and this episode, for me, delivered-- I could talk to these guys all day. Remember to write in with questions-- that email is [email protected]. Also, if you like the podcast, please subscribe-- there's some episodes coming soon that you won't want to miss. Enjoy!

⚡️ NERD ALERT ⚡️ This episode of the Roller Door is all about the Santa Cruz V10, from the perspective of the people who designed it -- that's Aaron Foley, Joseph Ge, and Kiran Mackinnon. This is an in depth look at the development of the new bike-- from riding many different configurations on three different prototypes, to taking feedback from Greg Minnaar himself, to tuning axle path, leverage rates, anti-squat and anti-rise independently to make the best DH bike we could, this is a granular glimpse into the making of a bike that taught this team a lot. Write in! [email protected]/ Have fun, enjoy!

On this episode of the podcast Garen and Santa Cruz CEO Joe Graney talk about perfect trails and the state of the bike business after the covid boom before answering some listener mail. Big thanks to those who've written in, and if you haven't, there's still time: [email protected] Thanks for listening, GB

On this episode of the podcast, Garen pitches questions from podcast listeners to chief knob-twiddler Kiran MacKinnon: particularly about Cascade Links, Progression and Leverage and how they change for different intended uses, ups and downs of designing with VPP, and more. Many thanks to those who've written in! Please keep the questions coming-- we love the mailbag. Send those to [email protected]. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy!

On this episode of the Roller Door, Garen chats with Juliana Bicycles marketeer, shutttle queen and all around badass Hannah Mirsepassi about Juliana Bicycles, her new V10 8, women's inclusion in the Red Bull Rampage and our sport in general. Remember to write in with questions: [email protected]. We've got a heap of questions in the box right now, and there are some good ones-- thanks to those of you whove written in; we'll be asnwering each and every one. We hope you enjoy hearing what Hannah's got to say. Cheers Garen

On this today's episode of the podcast, Santa Cruz Director of Marketing and lover of all things mountain bike Seb Kemp along with uber-grav-grav cyclist, recent e-bike covert and Santa Cruz graphic designer Gene Selkov chat with Garen about the Santa Cruz Skitch: what it is, why it exists, how we like to use it, real-world range expectations, and more. Spoiler alert, while the Skitch functions wonderfully in the e-gravel setting, we find that it's a highly addicting form of transportation, too, and this is mostly us talking about how much we love the bike (sorry). We also hear Gene's complaints about perpetual road construction, fellow e-bikers, and address some listener mail. As always, should you have any questions for us at Santa Cruz, let us know by emailing [email protected]. And finally, if you like the snippet of music in the intro, go give La Luz a listen. Thanks for listening, GB

In this episode of the podcast we chat with Santa Cruz htSQD athlete Tobin Ortenblad, and Santa Cruz director of product Josh Kissner about the recently revised Santa Cruz Stigmata: where it fits in the gravel world, suspension forks on gravel bikes, Tobin's experience at Unbound, and more. For you Santa Cruz owners, Josh and I even get into some Glovebox hacks. There's a lot in here that just doesn't make it into website copy, so if you're hungry for more information on the new bike, this is the place for it. We hope you enjoy. If you do, please help us placate the massive robot in the clouds by liking, and subscribing. And if you have questions for us here at Santa Cruz, email us at [email protected]. Thanks!

In this episode of the Roller Door, we chat with the Santa Cruz htSQD-- that's Alexis Skarda, Tobin Ortenblad, and Keegan Swenson-- about their experience at this year's Downievlle Classic. After a 2 year hiatus, the Downieville Classic returned for its 25th running, and as in past years, it didn't disappoint. The team explains pre-race meals, talks through their individual races, and goes deep into bike setup. It's an interesting look at how the fastest riders in the world take on a unique, demanding race like the Classic. We hope you enjoy. If you do, please help us placate the massive robot in the clouds by liking, and subscribing. And if you have questions for us here at Santa Cruz, email us at [email protected]. Thanks!

Today we're Out to Lunch with Kiran Mackinnon, on the subject of MX wheels. The nerd alert is blinking bright on this one-- we chat about the benefits, drawbacks, and nuances of mixed wheel bikes. We talk bike geometry, from how geo changes from MX to full 29er's, BB drop, to Butt Reach, Kinematics and more -- this is a wormhole for those looking to define the subtle differences from bike to bike. We hope you do enjoy! Remember to let us know via email if there are questions you have for the team here-- that email is [email protected]. Oh, and if you enjoyed this, make it official by liking or subscribing. Thanks for listening...

This week on the Podcast we've got composites guru and Santa Cruz Engineering Manager Nic McCrae, and Nic's full of stories. This dude knows carbon better than most, and today we talk about compliance, strength, design, the differences between C and CC carbon, what overseas factories are really like, and making custom parts for athletes like Greg Minnaar and Danny MacAskill. Level 8 Nerd Alert for this one. We hope you enjoy— and if you do, please like, and subscribe, or tell a pal. Ok, onward. Oh, remember -- our little snippet of music is La Luz.

Chris Naegele is a father, a rider, and a self proclaimed data dweeb. As head of Rider Support, and by wrangling the data points taken from thousands of rider inquries, his department has been able to inform what information should be featured on santacruzbicycles.com, the way we display it, and even influence the design of our bikes. On this episode of the podcast Garen and Chris define what's warranty and what's not, chat about the early days of GoPro, tough conversations with riders, common questions and about the way Chris rides. We even vist New Dad Corner, and get to soime listener mail. If you have questions for Chris or anyone here at Santa Cruz Bicycles, email us at [email protected] And check the Bike Archive Finally, if you like the podcast, tell a pal! Like, subscribe, etc. Cheers Garen

In this episode of the Podcast we've got Josh Kissner. As director of product, Josh has been involved with every bike Santa Cruz has made in the last decade or more. We talk about... well, bikes. Which ones are good for which kind of riding, how the product team goes about producing this stuff, Josh's personal bike preferences, and more. A couple of dorks chatting away. We hope you enjoy-- and if you do, please subscribe, and rate, or like, or whatever. It makes the robot happy. And if you have any questions for Josh or anyone here at Santa Cruz, write in: [email protected]

Hello and welcome to the Roller Door, a Santa Cruz Bicycles Podcast where we give you a behind the scenes look and what's going on here at the company, while giving ourselves the chance to sit down and chat with the company we keep. In this episode Garen's true identity (trials kook and absolute fanboy) breaks cover for a wide ranging chat with the one and only Danny MacAskill. I took this episode as an opportunity to grill Danny about a handful of moves that have baffled me over the years. We also talk trials in general, stuff Danny looks to achieve in his video projects, and how he keeps his head in the game when it sometimes takes a few hundred attempts to get one clip. We talk about Danny's latest video, Postcard from San Francisco, where injury, permitting, and mechanicals made for a particularly long and difficult production before Danny starts in on the ebikes... this guy is a fanatical ebiker, in fact, after the podcast, we burned another hour talking about tech climbing, 3- battery days, and ebike tech. Sorry for any poor audio you might hear-- we recorded this in late 2022 with some old equipment. Finally, if you wanna dork out in the particular moves I asked Danny about, there are links and time stamps in the shownotes below. Remember, get in touch with questions or anything in particular you'd like to know about what we do here at Santa Cruz. Email us at [email protected]. Inspired - 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o Wall 180 to bike racks: 3:14 Industrial Revolutions - 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbC5yVqOdI Steps: 1:51 Cascadia - 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0rbxB9Lqg Wall madness: 3:25 Postcard from San Francisco - 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIBldkWO9a4 upstairs 180 hop: 2:13 oh, and that ~15 seconds of music in the intro? That's 'Morning High' by La Luz Thanks for listening!