The Inside Line Podcast – Vital MTB

GoFundme to support Seton Tuning DH Team

Phil Seton, manager of Pole Factory Racing, shares the story of keeping his team alive after Pole Bikes went into administration a week before Fort William. All team budget was pulled and they were left with a decision to race or pack it up. Phil decided to use his personal money to get Onni Rainio and Dan Slack to Fort William and Poland. Onni had a personal best at Fort William and Dan Slack had his best-ever finish making finals and breaking the beam with a 28th in Poland. With the help of a GoFundMe, they're successfully attending Leogang this week and are halfway to earning enough money to race Les Gets. Jack Rice gets the scoop from Phil as race life rolls on!

What a start to the 2024 World Cup downhill season we've had! Fort William properly kicked things off with a gnarly track and insane racing, followed by a new venue in Poland that produced one of the best tracks and tightest races we've seen in years. Now, after a brief two-week pause, racing resumes this weekend in Leogang, Austria. A classic track that always delivers dramatic racing, there are exciting stories shaping up in each category that will be fun to watch play out over the weekend. 

Join Vital's own Jason Schroeder, ex-World Cup mechanic John Hall, and podcast co-host and contributing editor Tanner Stephens as they discuss who will contend for the win this weekend in each category, what makes the historic Leogang track so tricky, and highlight some potential dark horses who could mix things up come race day. 

0:00 - Intro
2:04 - Southwest Downhill Series this weekend 
8:43 - Leogang venue & track analysis 
13:33 - Is Leogang a bike park track? 
17:48 - Why Leogang is so difficult in the wet
20:17 - Breaking down the motorway section
22:05 - John discusses Aaron Gwin's chainless win at Leogang in 2015  
33:11 - A fan trying to sell John Aaron's broken chain for $3,000  
38:25 - Weather report
39:03 - Injured reserve list for this weekend 
44:33 - Fantasy strategy
49:10 - Junior Women race predictions
57:28 - Junior Men race predictions
1:04:15 - Elite Women predictions
1:18:30 - Elite Men predictions

Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy 
More mountain bike news and reviews - https://www.vitalmtb.com

After a rocky (literally) start to the 2024 season in Fort William, a fresh track with a good mix of features and fluctuating speeds greeted racers for the second round in Poland. Speculation surrounding speed suits and electronic lockouts was replaced by the buzz of line choice and rut formation. In the end, it was a battle for thousandths of a second, and who could predict and adapt to the ever-evolving conditions best after some race day rain. The cream is definitely beginning to rise to the top in each category, but holy cow, there are a lot of names fighting for the podium!

Our guy Stack-Attack set the pace most of the weekend, but a slippery flat corner put an end to his winning hopes. We break down Dak's headspace during and after the weekend, where the race was won or lost, thoughts on electronic shifting in downhill, the return of shorts in downhill, and chit-chat about how racing unfolded in each category. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis Tires -  https://www.maxxis.com/us/
Industry Nine - https://industrynine.com/
Burgtec -  https://burgtec-usa.com/

Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy  
More mountain bike news and reviews - https://www.vitalmtb.com

With positions separated by just hundredths of seconds, the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill near Bielsko-Biala, Poland, was a fan and racer favorite even with it being a first-time venue. Listen to the podium finishers and more as they discuss how it all went down.

Interviews
0:00 - Ronan Dunne
2:10 - John Lawlor
3:47 - Dakotah Norton
7:02 - Marine Cabirou
8:35 - Asa Vermette
9:25 - Neko Mulally
10:35 - Heather Wilson
11:51 - Loic Bruni
14:04 - Camille Balanche
15:37 - Nina Hoffmann
18:16 - Loris Vergier
19:37 - Jess Blewitt
20:19 - Amaury Pierron
21:57 - Luca Shaw

Welcome to another pre-World Cup discussion as part of Vital MTB Downhill Fantasy! The first race of the season in Fort William, Scotland, kicked things off with a bang! Now, just two weeks later, the excitement continues as we head to a completely new venue for the second round of the UCI World Cup downhill series. Without past results to make predictions, this weekend will offer a clean slate for racing. Who will be able to figure out the new track in a limited time and be the fastest on race day? Will more experienced riders still have an advantage? Or will up-and-coming racers be able to adapt and rise to the occasion? 

Join Vital's own Jason Schroeder, ex-World Cup mechanic John Hall, and podcast co-host and contributing editor Tanner Stephens as they discuss who's looking fast after Fort William, what to expect from the new track, and who to keep on your radar in Bielsko-Biala, Poland.

• 0:00 Intro & How to Play Fantasy
• 2:00 - John gives insight into how racers and teams approach a new track
• 5:49 - Bielsko-Biala track details and discussion
• 11:00 - Will electronic suspension systems be a thing again this weekend?
• 14:54 - Loic Bruni's setup speculation
• 22:32 - Will experience be an advantage this weekend?
• 24:42 - How teams find the best lines during practice
• 30:28 - Injury updates
• 34:50 - Fantasy notes and insights from Fort Bill
• 44:33 - Junior Women predictions
• 46:48 - Junior Men predictions
• 52:02 - Elite Women predictions
• 57:03 -  Elite Men predictions

For all the details on how to play Vital's Downhill Fantasy, including what prizes are up for grabs EACH round - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy

The World Cup season has arrived, and with that, we are back with our regularly scheduled post-race banter! Fort William went off with a bang, providing one of the most thrilling and engaging season openers we've seen. Numerous team changes were finally put on display against the clock; the track was dry, fast, and ridiculously rough, and the level of racing in all four categories was tighter and more intense than ever. With plenty of topics to hit, like speed suits, electronic suspension lockouts, and Dakotah's mega-rise bars, it was awesome to have the crew back together to chat about elite downhill racing. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis Tires -  https://www.maxxis.com/us/
Industry Nine - https://industrynine.com/
Burgtec -  https://burgtec-usa.com/

Play Vital Downhill Fantasy - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy  
More mountain bike news and reviews - https://www.vitalmtb.com

Hear what racers have to say after the first World Cup Downhill mountain bike race of 2024 in Fort William, Scotland.

0:00 - Asa Vermette, Junior Men's Winner
0:55 - Heather Wilson, Junior Women's Winner
3:00 - Dakotah Norton
7:52 - Nina Hoffmann
10:47 - Tahnee Seagrave
13:23 - Kale Cushman
15:14 - Greg Williamson
17:59 - Myriam Nicole
20:25 - Cory Rimmer

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

Jorge Gomes is a man dedicated to mountain bike racing. He is team manager for Transition Factory Racing, and the man behind Pro Builds mobile bike shop and Pro Builds Racing team, too. He tells us the story of how he became hooked on MTB which includes riding a dirt jump hardtail at Mountain Creek, how he became a bike assembler for Walmarts in his region and how he took his passion straight to the top by helping his rider, Valentia Roa Sanchez, earn the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup overall title in the Junior Women's class.

As the first round of 2024 approaches, enjoy the stories of overcoming adversity and learn what it takes to become a World Cup mountain bike race team manager.

0:00 - Intro and His first mountain bike
9:23 - Getting into DH Racing and Teams
17:09 - From Machine Operator to Bike Shop Employee
19:18 - The Reality of Assembling Bikes for Walmart
25:52 - Pro Builds Racing Grows
28:42 - Introduction to Valentina Roa Sanchez
33:26 - Meeting Valentina In-Person for the First Time
49:07 - Investing in Junior Women's Racing
55:54 - Transition Factory Racing's First Year
1:08:37 - 2023 Race Season Highs and Lows
1:16:02 - Loudenvielle Junior Race Cancellation
1:30:05 - Valentina Roa Sanchez Winning the World Cup Overall
1:43:00 - The Future of Non-Elite Teams at World Cups

Win Prizes from RockShox, SRAM, Troy Lee Designs, FSA & Maxxis! https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy

Ellie Hulsebosch of The Union is a first-year Junior on the World Cup Downhill circuit. She's been stacking up wins this off-season and is ready to slay Fort William this weekend.

#MTB #DH #bike

This year, we are bringing you pre-World Cup discussions as part of Vital MTB Downhill Fantasy. Each round we will break down which racers you should keep an eye on going into the weekend, who's gone fast in years past, and try to give you some extra insight to help make the best Fantasy picks. 

In this episode, join Vital's own Jason Schroeder, ex-World Cup mechanic John Hall, and podcast co-host and contributing editor Tanner Stephens as they discuss off-season team changes, pre-season races, and who to watch at round one in Fort William, Scotland. 

For all the details on how to play Vital's Downhill Fantasy, including what prizes are up for grabs EACH round - https://www.vitalmtb.com/fantasy

:26 - How to Play Vital Fantasy
12:00 - Off-Season Team Changes 
31:43 - Off-Season Racing Results
40:01 - Who’s Injured and Out of Round #1
51:44 - Fort William Track Analysis
56:10 - Junior Women Insights and  Predictions
1:00:53 - Junior Men Insights and Predictions
1:09:02 - Elite Women Insights and Predictions
1:14:47 - Elite Men Insights and Predictions

WIN A ROCKSHOX BOXXER - Vital MTB Downhill Fantasy

Watch this interview - Ronan Dunne's 2022 season was going so poorly that his parents secretly signed him up for the army. Thankfully for us and Ronan, his results improved, he continued to race World Cup Downhill and now he's a podium finisher.

On today's podcast, Tech Editor Jason Schroeder brings you a pulse check on the state of our beloved mountain bike industry. Last week, during the Sea Otter Classic, he chatted with some industry folks from Santa Cruz Bicycles, Maxxis Tires, Feedback Sports, Transition Bicycles, Industry Nine, Orbea, FSA Components, Trek Bicycles, Hunt Wheels, and Privateer Bikes. And asked one simple question: now that we are a few years past the COVID bike boom, what is the state of the industry? Are things good? Are they bad? And where do you see things going in the next 12-24 months? Here is what people had to say.  

:43 - Maxxis Tires 
5:57 - Santa Cruz Bicycles
8:21 - Trek Bicycles
9:52 - Hunt Wheels
17:00 Transition Bikes
21:27 - Feedback Sports
24:32 - FSA
26:52 - Industry Nine
32:11 - Orbea Bikes

More Sea Otter content: https://www.vitalmtb.com/tags/sea_otter_classic_event

More MTB news: https://www.vitalmtb.com/

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

1:28 - Checking in with Brandon Turman

5:15 - Crankbrothers SOS Tools

8:32 - B Zone loamers and Fort William predictions with George Browne

14:14 - Mondraker on moving to the U.S.

21:18 - Dillon Lemarr chats working at TLD and Fort William predictions

34:31 - Kiran MacKinnon from Santa Cruz Bicycles chats suspension tuning and bike development

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

:35 - Derek Teel of Dialed Health
 4:03 - Nik Nestoroff chats slalom finals prep and Maven brakes
 6:11 - 2024 news with Industry Nine
 8:43 - New forks from SR Suntour
 14:43 - John Hall from Intense Cycles
 28:39 - Intense’s gearbox downhill bike
 40:33 - Transition Bikes
 49:06 - Checking in with Marco Osborne
 52:47 - Norco Sight and Optic link + 60-Year Anniversary
 55:54 - Dual Slalom Finals

Join Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

:53 - Tannus Inserts new Fusion 

3:08 - Ride Wrap

5:41 - DEITY Components - new grip and two new pedals (coming in June)

12:45 - Dakotah Norton - Slalom update

14:40 - Ari Bikes - custom slalom bike for Kyle Strait; updates on the new DH bike

17:45 - New Hunt Wheels coming this summer…

21:09 - Privateer Bikes now being sold in the US

23:48 - Interview with Braydon Bringhurst

More Sea Otter content:

Day 2 Photo Gallery #1 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-2

Day 2 You Tube Video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/sea-otter-classic-2024-crazy-and-cool-day-2-slalom-practice-raw

vitalmtb.com

Join Vital Tech Editor, Jason Schroeder, as he wanders the sea of vendor tents at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. From new products to athlete check-ins to Pro dual slalom practice, get a taste of what it's like to have boots on the ground at the event. 

Day 1 Photo Gallery #1 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1

Day 1 Photo Gallery #2 - https://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1-part-2/pit-bits-sea-otter-2024-day-1-part-2

Day 1 You Tube Video - https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/features/sea-otter-classic-2024-crazy-and-cool-day-1

To learn more and hear our thoughts on the new Grip X2 damper, check out our First Ride review.

After years of mostly positive reviews intertwined with some shortcomings, FOX has ditched its Grip2 and FIT4 dampers for model year 2025 forks. In their place are three new dampers that seek to offer a heightened level of discipline-focused performance and features.

Grip SL - XC, short track, marathon
Grip X - all mountain, trail
Grip X2 - all-mountain, enduro, gravity

We joined FOX for a few days at their HQ in Scotts Valley, California, to get the run down from their engineering and development team on the new damper line and the goals surrounding each product.

0:00 - Overview of Grip dampers with Bill Brown, Head of Engineering
14:35 - Grip X2 details and development goals with Sergio Avanto, Manager of Product Performance
SUPERCROSS TALK WITH SERGIO
27:19 - Who was most difficult to work with (hint: the world's fastest German SX racer)
Epic insight into James Stewart during his prime 
45:49 - Jett Lawrence vs. James Stewart
50:13 - Similarities between supercross suspension and mountain bike suspension  
55:48 - Remi Gauvin of the Rocky Mountain Gravity Team talks about the differences in performance and setup between Grip 2 and Grip X2

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

The first-ever Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series race took place at Ride Rock Creek in North Carolina this weekend. Clay Harper, founder of the series, has a vision to bring back national-level downhill mountain bike race events and round 1 has proven to be a strong start. Jack Rice was at the event and caught up with Clay and others to get their thoughts on the weekend. Our show concludes with the Pro Women's and Men's press conference audio which can also be watched on our site.

Contents
0:00 - Clay Harper, Race Director
9:39 - Sean Griz McClendon
13:26 - Callie Howrath
15:27 - Neko Mulally and Sean Leader
17:51 - Cory Rimmer
23:14 - John Hall
27:23 - Pro Women's Press Conference
37:51 - Pro Men's Press Conference

The Redcar Rocket, Danny Hart, handles the dreaded 17 without a flinch. Watch the video of this interview

• Watch Danny's Vital RAW
• Watch Danny's Bike Check video

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

The 2024 Tennessee National Downhill mountain bike race at Windrock Bike Park is in the books with Dakotah Norton and Frida Ronning taking Elite wins.  This was the first downhill event at Windrock since Aaron Gwin took over ownership of the park and racers and fans alike seemed stoked with the track and the way the event was run. Jack Rice checks in with racers and the people who make #USDH so great.

Asa Vermette was on pace to challenge the time of Dakotah but washed out in a corner injuring his hip and resulting in a DNF. In the Junior classes, Dane Jewett posted a time that would have been 2nd in Elite Men and Aletha Oostgard's time would have been 2nd in Elite Women.  Dig into the results, G-Out Project Photos and more on VitalMTB.com

Interviews
0:00 - Dakotah Norton
4:44 - Don Rogers
6:11 - Asa Vermette (pre-race run)
8:39 - Clay Harper
13:56 - Luca Shaw
15:51 - Angel Suarez
17:46 - Neko Mulally
21:31 - Ryan Griffith
22:42 - Frida's Mechanic, Josh Thwaite
24:42 - Jack Pederson
26:08 - Kale Cushman
28:21 - Lucas Dedora

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

The first major race of the 2024 #USDH season is here with the Tennessee National at Windrock Bike Park. Jack Rice hits the ground and meets up with racers, managers and the great people who make the event happen in this weekend's Inside Line.

0:00 - Aaron Gwin
5:41 - Luca Shaw
8:05 - Frida Ronning
10:38 - Sean Leader
14:52 - Alvaro Castillo
19:28 - Rachel Kelleher
26:51 - Seth Sherlock
29:28 - Rachel Pageau
33:34 - Jorge Gomes
35:44 - Joey Palmer
38:48 - Evan Warner
45:21 - Doug Sharp

Thanks to  Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA    for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast! 

With the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill season fast approaching, we talk with Aaron Gwin  about his move to Crestline Bikes,  how his 2023 injury is healing, why he has like 497 different jobs, including being the owner of  Windrock Bike Park , and how he thinks he'll handle racing this year.

Interview Topics
0:00 - Intro, Move to Crestline Bikes
3:05 - Did Aaron Spend Personal Money for the New Team?
4:27 - Why Did the News Take So Long?
5:57 - How'd He Keep the Team Rumor Secret?
9:10 - From Vee Tires to e.13 Tires - Is There Really a Difference?
11:42 - The Day He Realized He We Would Be Off Intense
16:17 - Did Aaron Try to Be a Part of Big Brand?
21:36 - Does the Frame's Suspension Platform Matter Any More?
24:55 - Gwin's Crestline DH Bike Weight
26:56 - Does He Still Run Firm Suspension?
32:32 - Dakotah Norton
35:51 - Are There Enough Crestline Frames for the 2024 Season?
41:39 - Windrock for World Cup DH Training and Making Trails Harder
45:32 - What Goes on at a Red Bull Athlete Camp?
53:39 - World Cup Snow DH, Cool or Lame?
54:18 - Aaron Gwin's 2023 Injury in Detail
1:07:02 - World Champs is Gwin's 2024 Goal and He Thinks He Can Win
1:09:35 - Does a Winning DH Run Have to Be Out of Control?
1:12:27 - Jackson Goldstone and How to Compete Against Him?
1:17:43 - Gwin Racing at the World Cups
1:20:17 - Why Aaron Gwin has Like 53 Different Jobs
1:26:55 - The Future of Windrock Bike Park - Host a World Cup? Get a Chairlift?
1:32:31 - Favorite Bike He's Ridden in the Past? YouTube Habits and Life Outside of California

Watch our video and see photos of the fork on Vital MTB and our YouTube channel.

Thank you Maxxis Tires, FOX Suspension and Jenson USA for making The Inside Line possible.

Vital first rode a prototype PUSH Nine.One inverted mountain bike fork a year ago in February of 2023. The same day, we recorded an interview with PUSH owner, Darren Murphy, getting all the details about the fork before its release. At the time, the scheduled release for the Nine.One was only a couple months away and PUSH eventually showed the fork at the Sea Otter Classic. A couple months turned into 4, then 7 then 8. Fast-forward 12 months later, and the fork is now available to the public.

Discussion Topics

• 0:00 - Intro (2024)
• 1:00 - (Feb 2023 Start) Why Make a Fork at All?
• 4:23 - Why Make an Inverted Fork?
• 8:43 - PUSH Nine.One Fork Specs & Features
• 10:21 - The "Grab the Bars Torsional Stiffness Twist Test" is Dumb
• 15:54 - Modular, Updatable Axle Lugs for Wheel Size, Offset and Brake Mounts, Travel Adjust
• 20:23 - Simple Fork Servicing Through Bleed Ports, Long-term Product Use
• 25:47 - Why is it a $2,600 Mountain Bike Fork? Weight, Fabrication Details
• 31:44 - Comparing Other Inverted Fork Designs, Why Not Carbon?
• 34:22 - Spring, Damper and Internals
• 38:20 - The Parking Lot Test
• 41:45 - Jason's Ride Experience on the PUSH Fork
• 44:57 - Purposefully Not as Torsionally Stiff as a Regular Fork
• 47:14 - Availability
• 48:47 - What About Stanchion Scratches / Guards?
• 51:47 - WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG? (2024)
• 1:00:44 - Did Anything About the Fork Change During the Year?
• 1:02:30 - Fork Specs (Again : )
• 1:05:14 - Four Years in the Making
• 1:06:58 - FIXED BUSHINGS and Why
• 1:09:51 - Would Darren Do It All Over Again?
• 1:11:53 - The Twist Test is Still Pointless
• 1:16:00 - What MTB Standard Would Darren Change?

At $2,600 USD, the coil-sprung Nine.One is made in the USA at the PUSH factory in Colorado. It features 140-170mm of user-adjustable travel in 10mm increments and uses modular axle lugs that can run 27.5 or 29-inch wheels with built-in brake mounts for 180mm or 200mm rotors. The damping technology is that of the PUSH Elevensix shock and oil can be changed and serviced through bleed ports at the top of the fork.

While most riders can't comprehend spending that much money on a fork, Darren and PUSH set out to make a highly refined piece of suspension that can last and be updated for years to come. We dive into why PUSH would make a fork, their philosophy on what makes good suspension, misconceptions of upside-down fork design, what took so long to finish production, and why someone may want such an expensive MTB fork.

Thank you Maxxis Tires, FOX Suspension and Jenson USA for making The Inside Line possible.

Watch this interview on YouTube

Joe Bowman of The Union and Steel City Media gets on the mic to discuss sponsor and rider changes for the team in 2024. 2023 was an extremely successful year for the not-for-profit program with Chris Hauser grabbing a Junior World Cup DH win and team riders graduating to bigger factory teams. As a development team, The Union's goal is to help young and up-and-coming riders get experience at the World Cup level with hopes of building their future in the sport.

Follow @join.the.union on Instagram

The #frecklegate conspiracy comes to fruition as Dakotah Norton officially joins the newly formed Mondraker Factory Racing Team. After two years of upward trajectory under Intense Factory Racing, Dak hopes to continue edging closer to that elusive first World Cup win while helping develop Mondraker's new DH bike alongside Ryan Pinkerton and Ronan Dunne.

Dak is a staple of our B Practice Podcast, so we had to hop on last week to discuss how the switch to Mondraker came about, what he was looking for in a new team, and how he feels heading into the season. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

Interview Contents

0:00 - Intro, Crew Catch Up
6:29 - Norton Compound Update
10:48 - Dak Joins Mondraker Factory Racing!
11:30 - Why He Left Intense Factory Racing
14:53 - How Riding For Mondraker Came Together 
16:49 - What Was Dak Looking For in a New Team
18:43 - Getting Paid Fairly
23:48 - Difficulty Finding a Ride as a Top 10 Racer
31:28 - Aaron Gwin's Impact on Dak's Program 
36:33 - Things Learned from DH Racing
39:39 - The Draw of Riding for Mondraker 
42:45 - New Team, New Bike to Develop 
45:17 - Intense M1 vs. Prototype Mondraker 
49:46 - Offseason Plans to Prep for WC #1
53:02 - Having Ryan Pinkerton and Ronan Dunne as Teammates   
57:46 - Thoughts on Frame Stiffness vs. Compliance 
59:55 - How Much Stack We Rockin' on the Mondy?!
1:04:42 - Team Sponsors
1:08:25 - New Mechanic
1:14:20 - Would Dak Wear A Onesie?
1:16:08 - Will Dak Race in Shorts Next Year?
1:20:27 - Team Rumors Talk
1:25:42 - Dak Doing Hardline??

Thank you Maxxis Tires, FOX Suspension and Jenson USA for making The Inside Line possible.

Watch this interview and see riding clips on YouTube

In a sea of slashed budgets, folding teams and riders struggling to find a way to race downhill mountain bikes in 2024, Neko Mulally has expanded his Frameworks team with the addition of Spanish rider, Angel Suarez for 2024. In this Inside Line MTB podcast, we ask Neko how he was able to expand his team, increase budget and roll into the season with two podium contenders - Angel in Elites and first-year Junior, Asa Vermette. Neko candidly talks budget, bike development, the future of Frameworks and what the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup may look like.

Interview Contents

• 0:00 - Intro, Angel Suarez on Frameworks
• 5:45 - UNNO to Frameworks, Already a FOX Rider
• 9:39 - Sponsor Changes, Wheels and Tires
• 13:09 - Neko, Asa and Angel are the Same Height - Intentional?
• 18:20 - Increased Team Size, Not Budget Cuts. How?
• 21:24 - Frameworks with a GEARBOX?!
• 24:38 - Why Aren't Other Brands as Transparent as Frameworks?
• 28:15 - Outside Industry Sponsors?
• 29:34 - What is Frameworks Budget?
• 34:15 - Aaron Gwin and Frameworks?
• 35:39 - What's Frameworks' 5-Year Plan?
• 39:42 - Did Neko Start Frameworks to Extend His Racing Career?
• 43:45 - Success with Berm Peak Video on Frameworks
• 47:36 - Why Are Frames Raw and Not Painted?
• 49:09 - Biggest Single Surprise During Bike Development?
• 51:07 - Anti-Rise Experiences and Setup
• 54:52 - Any Insight into 2024 World Cup Race Format?

Downhill mountain bike racing legend, Greg Minnaar, announced that he joined Norco Bicycles after 16 years with the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Minnaar has more Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill victories than any other Elite male racer. While 2023 was supposed to be his farewell season after two-and-a-half decades of racing, a flat tire at World Championships in Fort William left Greg with a poor result and a hunger to end his competitive career on a high note. When Santa Cruz decided to let Greg go, he found a new home at Norco. In this interview we talk with Greg about that change, the possible challenges of working with a new bike and team, as well as his expectations for the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup DH race season.

Video Contents
0:00 - Intro /  Is He on FOX or RockShox?
3:31 - Any Other Sponsor Changes?
4:21 - Why Didn't He Retire in 2023?
7:55 - Did He Try to Stay with Santa Cruz Syndicate?
10:50 - Norco's Race Engineering Program
13:09 - How Will He Adapt to the Norco Prototype DH Bike?
16:17 - From VPP to High-Pivot to DH Bike
20:20 - Does Suspension Platform Really Matter?
22:30 - The Source - Norco Junior Development Team
25:29 - What If He Doesn't Get Results or Gets an Injury?
30:44 - 2024 Race Goals
32:48 - Insight into 2024 World Cup DH Format
36:06 - Would He Wear the Fox One-piece Suit like Christian Craig?
36:58 - What Will He Miss Most about The Syndicate?

Thanks to Maxxis Tires, FOX and Jenson USA  for supporting Vital MTB's The Inside Line podcast.

#MTB #mountainbike #downhill

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox
Welcome mountain bikers! We're stoked to take you for a ride along during a conversation we had at the end of October during Vital's budget mountain bike test in Reno, Nevada. It was a special time because every Vital editorial staffer was present with some of our favorite contributors too. The primary discussion revolves around the bikes we were testing and how great it is to be a mountain biker with so many quality bikes and components. Whether beginner or experienced, it's really hard to go wrong with a mountain bike purchase these days. Eventually, we twist and turn our way onto the topic of Red Bull Rampage, which was fresh in our minds at the time, and ultimately to our favorite subject, World Cup Downhill racing.

Get to know the Vital staff a bit better, give a nod to budget-friendly mountain bikes and enjoy the show!

Watch Vital's $2,500 Mountain Bike Comparison

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox
Join us as we get to know Dan Critchlow, one of the founders of Burgtec. Burgtec is a mountain bike component manufacturer that started with some friends wanting stronger flat pedals in the early 2000s. As time went on and riders craved their product, they expanded their efforts and have turned Burgtec into a successful, premium MTB component brand with pedals, bars, stems and more.

Dan discusses his journey into mountain biking, racing downhill at the World Cup level, the formation and development of Burgtec, and even how he coached Josh Bryceland during the year Ratboy won the World Cup overall.

Enjoy the show!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to tell you the story of how Dakotah, Tanner, and I met through downhill racing. Chatting about racing and bikes hardly gets old, but we figured changing things up and providing some context on how the heck we all ended up together spitting nonsense into your headphones could be entertaining. It's not the craziest story, but it sure was a fun period in our lives, traveling the world and attempting to race bikes at the highest level. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

As a mountain bike fan, November is pretty boring. Everyone is patiently waiting for the new year to roll around to announce new team and sponsorship deals, and until then, not much happens. To help fill the void, we are back with another podcast to cover some really hard-pressing topics. 

Dakotah’s journey to home ownership in Tennessee has become public knowledge, but building the house is only part of the project. We open this episode discussing his plans to build a moto track, pit bike track, and pump track over the next month. All part of his master plan to have the ultimate training playground; we then talk about why he rides with shorter cranks, the effects of lever angle and bar roll, one-piece handlebars, why Dakotah doesn’t race on tires that are more than three runs old, and pick components or gear that we think riders overlook their importance. Enjoy!

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox

We're honored to have Jack Rice on The Inside Line. You probably know Jack as a mountain bike race photographer with his work from the World Cups and #USDH races featured on Vital. He was also the team photographer for Transition Factory Racing this season. However, just a few years ago, Jack had no significant photography experience and very little time on a mountain bike. So how did he become a successful photographer in our scene in such a short time? Through grit, determination, and a desire to never go back to what he calls his old life.

Today Jack shares his story which includes growing up in Brooklyn, experiencing friends lost in the 9/11 terror attacks, tackling severe drug and alcohol addiction, and the power of community and family. We also talk about what it was like breaking into the World Cup MTB photography community and dig into what the future looks like.

There are heavy topics covered in this episode, so please be advised if there are sensitive or younger ears listening.

Thank you, listeners, for making Vital MTB such an incredible community. Stories like Jack's make us proud to be a part of this incredible two-wheeled family.

0:00 - Intro
3:57 - How I Met Jack
10:59 - First Vital Assignment
14:23 - Life in Brooklyn, School Sports Success
20:29 - Experiencing the 9/11 Attacks at Age 13 in New York
27:41 - Moving on from 9/11
31:50 - Introduction to Alcohol, Drugs and Dealing
37:58 - Drug Addiction, Rehab and Jail
49:06 - Going to Prison
53:35 - Recovering from Addiction
1:04:01 - Mountain Bikes Come Into Jack's Life
1:08:04 - Becoming a Mountain Bike Photographer
1:18:29 - Media Squids and Photography Etiquette
1:26:40 - The Community Buys Jack a Camera
1:37:22 - Being Transition Factory Racing Team Photographer
1:44:10 - The New Guard of MTB Media
1:46:04 - Valentia Roa Sanchez, World Cup Champ
1:51:25 - 2024 Outlook
2:09:13 - Questions from the Homies
2:14:18 - Warhammer Miniature Painting

Follow Jack on Instagram - @jackiericecakes

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

The leaves are falling, debates surrounding Rampage results are smoldering, and speculation about who is riding for what team fills the forums; it must be the off-season! Between Tanner shooting feature films, Dakotah building furniture, and myself making editorial plans for 2024, we found some time to record a fresh podcast riffing about bikes and racing.

With the 2024 UCI Schedule just released, we discuss the cause and effects of a mostly European-based series and the complications of having a U.S.-based World Cup or National Series. We also chat about what trail bike I should get next (open to recommendations in the comments), touch on some team rumors, debate if bikes should be designed for the world's fastest racers or the average rider, Dakotah's contracts, and the importance of ex-racers being involved with brands and bike development. Enjoy!

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox

Today we speak with Christopher Arruda, Brand Manager at NOBL Wheels. They've been producing carbon rims and wheelsets for mountain bikes since 2012 and continue to refine and develop their lineup. We wanted to hear about their journey and learn why they think a rider might choose carbon rims over aluminum.

Recently released is NOBL's G2 carbon rim range. The new hoops are more impact-resistant and durable while remaining lightweight and we find out how they landed on this current design. Additionally,  one of NOBL's specialties is custom wheel builds, and we unpack the variety of configurations available, including wheels using space-aged BERD spokes. 

Enjoy the show!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

The 2023 season is over! What a season. Eight races, seven winners, five first-time winners, and 22 points-paying races (if you include qualifying, semi-finals, and finals). Rachel Atherton made her return to DH and won another World Cup; Vali Holl became the first female to win Worlds and the World Cup Overall since Rachel in 2018; Loic Bruni took his third World Cup overall title; Ryan Pinkerton won the Junior Mens overall for U.S.A; Valentina Roa Sanchez became the first South American to win a UCI World Cup overall; and our boy Dak added two more podiums to his name. Arguably one of the most exciting World Cup seasons to date, it also brought a lot of change with Warner Bros/Discovery taking over the broadcasting, the addition of semi-finals, fewer riders in finals, and a bit of unknown looking towards the future of downhill. 

In this episode, the crew reflects on the good and bad from the 2023 season, Dakotah breaks down his best World Cup season yet, we speculate on what is really underneath the Specialized diaper that they are trying to hide, the conclusion of Vital's Shorts Bounty, Takis banners in the rock garden, why MSA is still the sickest track on the circuit, overall standings, break out rides by Gaetan Vige and Ethan Craik, how the hell Jackson goes so fast, and finish thing off with plans for the podcast going into the offseason.

Thank you for listening all season long, and we will be back for some off-season podcasts, so stay tuned!

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox
We have another great Inside Line with passionate interviews from the ground at the last World Cup Mountain Bike Downhill of 2023 in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Jack Rice talks to Elite riders, mechanics and team managers and asks if they think downhill is in a better place now than it was a year ago after the change from Red Bull's involvement to Warner Bros/Discovery. Bernard Kerr, Loic Bruni, Abigail Hogie has a lot of insight, Jordi from FOX and more. There are timestamps of the individual interviews in the description below.

0:59 - Bernard Kerr
5:07 - Loic Bruni
16:14 - Abigail Hogie
25:03 - Jordi Cortes
31:59 - Colin Esquibel
38:43 - Aaron Gwin
44:10 - Wyn Masters
46:31 - Evan Warner
53:00 - Eddie Masters
57:21 - Jorge Gomes
1:03:10 - Nina Hoffmann
1:06:14 - Sian A'hern
1:09:02 - Danny Hart
1:13:07 - Mikayla Parton
1:14:35 - Chris Grice
1:18:46 - Jim Bland
1:21:07 - Austin Dooley
1:24:29 - Tyler Ervin
1:27:30 - Dave Richards


Everyone here at Vital would like to thank Jack, John Lawlor and Rick Schubert for their hard work during this World Cup season and we hope you're getting out on the trails. Enjoy the show!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

The World Cup circus arrived in the U.S. two weeks ago and has provided some legendary racing! Big checks have been signed, more first-time winners have won, and World Cup overall titles have been handed out. But most importantly, our boy Dakotah Norton, aka Kubota, aka Stack Attack Dak, has been racking up the dough with a win at the Open and 3rd in Snowshoe. There was a lot to talk about, so get comfortable because we found nearly three hours of downhill-related topics to ramble on about. 

We open this episode by answering a question asked by Vital member kylestelzer in the comments of our Les Gets podcast that goes into how Dakotah maximizes his strengths as a racer, what he thinks are his weaknesses, and how dirt bikes are one of the biggest tools he uses to get better at downhill racing. We then discussed what Dak has done with his prize money from the last two racers, the economic state of downhill, and the value of riders in 2023. Disclaimer: if you just want to hear us talk about the Snowshoe World Cup, skip an hour into the episode.  

We then discuss the results of Vital’s Shorts Bounty, why Snowshoe is such a difficult and unpredictable track, the rise and bright future of Ryan Pinkerton, what has led to seven winners in seven rounds (and five first-time winners), the dominance of Vali in 2023, and close things out with overall title battles going into the final round in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada. 

Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody next week for the final post-race show of 2023!

Thank you Jenson USA | Maxxis Tires  | FOX Shox

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning into Vital MTB's The Inside Line podcast. We're going mobile today with Jack Rice in the pits at the Snowshoe World Cup Downhill. It's funny, Jack and I basically jinxed each other when we were texting, as we both wanted to cover the privateers at Snowshoe. The same old Elite Pit Bits galleries get a little old after so many back-to-back races. I figured we'd do a privateer Pit Bits, but Jack did what he does best. Instead of focusing on bikes, he got in there and helped tell the stories of U.S. Downhill's working class. Elite riders, juniors and team managers open up about the challenges and rewards of chasing their dreams. The interviews conclude with everyone's favorite commentator, Mr. Rob Warner. Rob's interview at the end does have some F-bombs dropped, so be aware if there are sensitive ears in the room. Long live #USDH

• 0:00 - Intro
• 1:11 - Jack Pederson
• 3:27 - Austin San Souci
• 9:00 - Abigail Ronca
• 13:15 - Neko Mulally
• 18:13 - Anna Newkirk
• 23:16 - Doug Sharp, Gravity Academy
• 29:35 - Cory Rimmer, Gravity Academy
• 36:28 - Tyson Henrie, Outlaw United
• 43:58 - Chris Grice
• 46:48 - Decker Burnette
• 49:32 - Etan Bravard
• 51:40 - Mclure Bailey
• 53:50 - Titus Nicholson
• 56:01 - Rob Warner

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

​With no racing to talk about this week, we called #USDH racer Dylan Maples to chat about his epic 2023 season! Dylan might have only started racing downhill a few years ago, but the Team NorCal rider has quickly become one of the most exciting American racers on the World Cup Circuit. 

We discussed his quick progression within the sport, what it's like being a DH racer from Sacramento, how his approach to racing has evolved as his confidence has grown, the importance of having time at home after being on the road for two months, going from a privateer program to having full-factory support with his fill-in ride with Commencal Muc-Off, riders he looks up to, who he hates getting beat by, and goals going into the last two World Cups. 

We hope you enjoy our conversation, and thank you, Dylan, for taking the time to talk with us! 

It's hard to believe the first U.S. Open of MTB was held 20 years ago in 2023. The event has come a long way since then with a prize purse totaling $80,000 this year, all thanks to the hard work of Clayton Harper and his crew. Vital talks with Clayton and #USDH shredder, Neko Mulally, to discuss the event's history and what we can expect in 2023.

The 2023 U.S. Open of MTB takes place September 21-24 with Downhill, Enduro, Dual Slalom and Whip-off events at Killington Resort in Vermont. Amateur and open classes all use the same downhill track, making for a memorable experience for up-and-coming riders as they can compare their times to world-class pros.

Riders confirmed for 2023 include the Santa Cruz Syndicate, Dakotah Norton, Neko Mulally, Wyn Masters, Jill Kintner and more.

Vital is stoked to have the Gravity Cooperative filming a full race replay show that will air on Vital MTB. The Gravity Collective is the crew behind the awesome race replay shows from Downhill Southeast and the 2022 U.S. National Champs. We'll bring you a Vital RAW, POVs and race action from Jack Rice, too.

Hit up www.usopen.bike or follow them on Instagram @usopenmtb

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

In case you have any doubts, Les Gets, France, still produces the best World Cup downhill races. The intensity of the track, the passion of the French crowd, and the ability of French racers to rise to the occasion make Les Gets a picture-perfect stage for iconic racing. Last weekend was no exception, as a dry and loose track delivered a race with less drama, more first-time winners, and a riot-inducing double French victory. 

Join Dak as he brings you between the tape along with professional bench racers Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew chats about Dylan Maples filling in on Commencal Muc-Off, the toughness of Erice van Leuven, the challenge of racing a track like Les Gets that deteriorates so much, Vital's Shorts Bounty, the hardest part of Les Gets being the first two turns, Dean Lucas retiring, and the US Open happening in two weeks, and much more. 

Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody next week for some mid-season chit-chat!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

For the first time, the World Cup circus stopped in Loudenvielle, France, for round #5 of the 2023 World Cup season. The week kicked off with last-minute schedule changes due to the weather and only got weirder from there. Luckily, an insane track and constantly changing conditions delivered some of the most exciting racing of the year. And to top it off, our boy Dak Norton finished second—his best World Cup result to date! 

Join Dak as he brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and breaks down the excitement from the fresh Loudenvielle track with Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses the precedent set by the schedule change in Andorra, why junior racing shouldn’t have been canceled, Aaron Gwin crushing it as a commentator, why Loudenvielle was a good DH track and not easy to ride, the Nina vs. Vali battle, Kade Edwards and Thibaut Dapréla doing tuck-no-handers mid-run, the river in the middle of the track, and so much more. 

Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody next week after Les Gets! Enjoy!

Today the Junior World Cup Downhill race in Loudenvielle, France, was canceled. The race organizers claimed the track conditions were unsafe for competition due to overnight rain and the steep layout of the course.  Early in the morning, Junior riders struggled during practice, but as the day progressed, some riders were able to make safe top-to-bottom runs. Ultimately the race was canceled and qualifying results from the day before stood as final results.

Jack Rice speaks with riders and mechanics to get their opinion on the cancellation.   Marshy of Cube, Jorge Gomes of Transition Factory Racing, John Hall of IFR, Wyn Masters of GT Factory Racing, Tim Flooks, Ethan Craik and Dean Lucas share their insight.

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Burgtec | Industry Nine

After a seven-week break (interrupted by World Champs), the World Cup Downhill season resumed last weekend from Pal Arinsal, Andorra. The weekend was filled with ups and downs that saw some riders' seasons, unfortunately, cut short while others checked off career-first wins. The weather again played a huge factor all weekend and ultimately decided the Elite Men's race. The racing was as tight as ever, and the track was fast, straight, and loose!

Per usual, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and breaks down the excitement from Andorra with Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses what the hell is going on with semi-final points, the struggle of rain delays on race day, Troy Brosnan running a 200mm front and 220mm rear rotor, if Andorra's track makes for good racing or just good broadcasting, Loic Bruni's impressive run against the elements, and speculate on the new Loudenville track for this coming weekend.

Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody next week after Loudenvielle! Enjoy!

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA | FOX

Is it really possible to make carbon mountain bike frames, wheels and components cheaper in Canada than overseas? Dustin Adams, former World Cup downhill racer and owner of We Are One Composites says it is, and he is proving it. On this episode of The Inside Line podcast, we talk with Dustin, Nate Schumacher and Vlad Yordanov to hear about the journey of We Are One and how they're successfully making affordable and durable mountain bike parts in Kamloops, British Columbia. Dustin talks about the abrupt end to his seemingly successful downhill career as he was dropped by the Giant factory team, dealing with that life change, depression, multiple car accidents, and how he returned to find mountain biking.

Thank you listeners for making The Inside Line what it is today! Enjoy the show.

Show contents
0:00 - Why is Dustin Adams Fasting?
4:05 - Getting into MTB in Kamloops
7:25 - Move to Giant Factory Team and U.S. Racing
13:10 - Surprise End to His DH Career
20:35 - Finding Therapy for Depression
24:50 - The Beginnings of We Are One
32:42 - The First We Are One Rims are Built
44:30 - Making We Are One Bike Frames
53:17 - DH Bike Prototype for Testing Parts
1:01:25 - OEM Future?
1:11:27 - We Are One Name and Future

Watch the photos slideshow of this podcast on YouTube

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Industry Nine | Burgtec

World Champs, baby! This year, the chase for the elusive rainbow jersey went down on the legendary Fort Bill track, creating the perfect storm for some historical racing. Charlie Hatton (finally) took his first elite-level victory (becoming the 4th first-time winner in four races this season); Henri Kiefer secured his first Junior Men's victory after multiple podium finishes this year; Vali Höll became back-to-back World Champion in dominating fashion; and the Junior Women's field saw an all-New Zealand podium. What a year of racing we've all been treated to! And we can't wait to see how the back half of the World Cup season unfolds. 

As always, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and is joined by semi-professional bench racers Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses when World Champs should take place each year, the short-comings of this year's broadcasting, confusing qualifying start orders, custom worlds bikes and kits, the Bentonville logo on the USA jerseys, where Charlie Hatton won the race, Dak taking a break in his race run, speculation on why Fort William isn't on the 2024 schedule, and finish with a recap of who finished where on race day. Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody after World Cup #4 from Andorra in a month! Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Industry Nine | Burgtec

After the first stint of World Cup racing this year, we were overdue for a little #USDH coverage! Last weekend, the 2023 Gravity National Championships took place from Ride Rock Creek, North Carolina. Another bike park built by Neko Mulally and crew, the first time Nat Champs venue delivered quality tracks for downhill, slalom, and enduro racing. 

As always, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape to break down his weekend, the track, and the current state of #USDH. Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder feed the questions, and the crew covers the rise and dominance of Asa Vermette, Rock Creek’s World Cup-caliber DH track, the cost of racing USNats, first-time National Champions, why you should book a trip to Morzine, and why Dak was an hour late to record this episode. Enjoy!

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA | FOX 

Brian Cahal sits down with Dan and Steve from Vorsprung Suspension to discuss the trajectory of their business as they've grown from mountain bike suspension servicing and upgrades to creating their new MTB shock.

0:00 - From suspension service to making upgrade parts
10:46 - Making The Vorsprung MTB shock
17:04:- Vorsprung Suspension Problem Solving
24:53 - Future of MTB Suspension / Electronic Suspension
29:53 - What Would You Changet to Make MTB Better?
35:28 - When Will the Vorsprung Shock Be Available?

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Industry Nine | Burgtec

Holy cow, what a weekend of racing from Val di Sole! Arguably the gnarliest track on the circuit, this year provided spectacular racing thanks to some methodical course adjustments and bucketloads of new dirt. Racers were treated to periodic rain that really mixed things up as the track was ever-evolving, and bikes and bodies were put to the test, surviving the infamous Black Snake track. 

As always, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and breaks down the excitement from Val di Sole with Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses if VDS should be the blueprint for a World Cup DH track, what it’s like being chased by livestream drones, Jackson Goldstone’s textbook technique and bike setup, Ronan Dunne ingesting six Red Bulls on race day, weights strapped to down tubes, Dakotah playing in the tape during Semi-Finals, and the speed Junior racers in 2023. Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody after World Champs in a month! Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!
Maxxis | Industry Nine | Burgtec

​The B Practice Podcast is back! After some unfortunate technical difficulties last week that saw our post-Lenzerheide show evaporate from existence, the powers that be allowed our post-Leogang show to happen. Only two rounds into the UCI Downhill World Cup season, and we’ve been treated to tons of epic racing. We don’t know if there has ever been a season with as close of racing and so many potential winners. 

As always, Dakotah Norton brings you between the tape with his trackside insights and breaks down the excitement from Lenzerheide and Leogang with Tanner Stephens and Jason Schroeder. In this episode, the crew discusses initial impressions of the new race format, thoughts on the new broadcasting, the impressive crop of talent spread across each category, first-time category winners, Rachel Atherton’s legend status, and Loic Bruni’s futuristic gear. Thank you so much for listening, and we will see everybody after Val di Sole in a few weeks! Enjoy!

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA | FOX 

Love him or hate him, Taylor Sage, or TSage as many call him, has been a breath of fresh air in the mountain bike scene for nearly 20 years. He's raced XC and downhill, he was a main builder at the infamous Hidden Valley trails, he's filmed for multiple New World Disorder movies, dug at Rampage for Kyle Strait and Cam Zink, helped keep MTB real with the 2Six Stallions, films and builds with Brandon Semenuk and so much more. Oh, and he's not on Instagram.

Enjoy the show with a living legend who's all grown up now...sort of. 

#MTB #podcast #mountainbike 

Show Contents
0:00 - Strava, Lopes and Racing XC
5:43 - MTB history
9:18 - Meeting Kyle Strait
14:40 - Building Trails and MTB vs BMX
27:54: - Mike Hucker Clark
30:36 - Zink, Strait, 2Six Stallions, Filming for NWD
39:51 - Robbie Bourdon's Broken Neck
47:23 - Film, Digital and Battling The Collective with NWD
50:47 - 2Six Stallions vs The Bicycle Rockers
52:53 - Sage is Unmarketable and Being Blind in One Eye
1:04:36 - TSage and Cam McCaul Saw a UFO
1:12:50 - Losing His Index Finger
1:28:15 - No Social Media
1:41:29 - Camera Gear, Semenuk, Editing Process
1:48:42 - The Future and Reflecting on the past

The B Practice Podcast is back after a small hiatus! Since our last recording a few months back, the crew has been busier than ever. Austin moved from Colorado to California to start a new role with Specialized, Dakotah has been in the thick of developing the latest Intense DH bike while continuing to build his house, Tanner’s been busy jump-starting his career as a producer, and I’ve just been doing what I can to keep pumping out cool content for the site. 

With the 2023 World Cup downhill season less than a month out, the good news is that we will soon be back to our normally scheduled post-race podcasting. This offseason has been longer and more action-packed than usual, and a lot of pre-season racing has ensued. We sat down to discuss how the current crop of elite racers are looking after these warm-up events, who will be contending for the win at Lenzerheide, find out how Dak is feeling heading into summer, highlight some fast up-and-coming #USDH racers, and speculate on what type of course tape will be used at the first round. 

As always, a huge shoutout to Maxxis, Industry Nine, and Burgtec for supporting the B Practice Podcast! Enjoy this episode, and we will see everyone the week after Lenzerheide for our post-race show. 

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible!

• ​MAXXIS TIRES
• INDUSTRY NINE
• BURGTEC

Welcome mountain bikers, I’m excited to have Ben Plenge on the show today. He’s a rider, racer, but he’s also the founder and coach at The Strength Factory in the UK. We discuss how Ben found mountain biking and being a fitness coach as well as specific philosophies and techniques to become a stronger, fitter rider.

Episode Topics

0:00 - Intro
 2:34 - Getting into MTB and Joining the Army
 9:21 - Becoming a Fitness Coach and Founding the Strength Factory
 15:36 - Fitness for MTBers over 40 years old
 21:32 - Mental Health, Training and Empathy
 27:01 - Do You Need Weights or Tech Gadgets to Train Well?
 34:13 - Importance of Posture for MTB
 39:33 - Different Body Types and Training Based on Forward Riding Foot
 44:37 - Nasal Breathing for MTB
 50:26 - Being Successful with a Fitness Plan - Realistic Time Management
 59:28 - Benefits of Low-Intensity Aerobic Training
 1:10:48 - Does an E-Bike Make You Weak?
 1:14:36 - Racers Ben Admires
 1:16:56 - MTB Strength Programs

Strength Factory Promotions for Vital MTBers

• Use the code VITALMTB for 20% off the Complete MTB Programme
• Use the code VITALDH for 20% off the Complete DH Programme
• Use the code VITAL40 for 20% off the Over 40s MTB Programme

All discount codes expire on 31st May.

Instagram: @strengthfactory_coach
YouTube: @thestrengthfactory.

These great companies make The Inside Line possible
MAXXIS TIRES - JENSON USA - FOX

Breathing Information

• The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown
• Breath by James Nestor
• Follow @_brianmackenzie or his website: Shift Adapt

Luca Cometti is a professional mountain biker and filmmaker from Southern California. He moved from BMX to MTB at an early age, hitting local races and making videos of his friends. As the years progressed, he turned that passion into becoming a Dual Slalom specialist, landing a ride on a factory team to race World Cup downhills, competing in Crankworx festivals all over the globe and creating film projects with some of mountain biking's most talented riders. Enjoy the show with one of the nicest riders in the game.

The Inside Line is supported by these great sponsors
Jenson USA
Maxxis Tires
FOX Racing Shox

See Luca on YouTube - @luca_cometti 
Follow Luca on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/luca_cometti

Show Contents
0:00 - The Coffee Setup
8:12 - Bonus for Beating Strait & Slalom Bike Setup
21:11 - Finding Bikes and Grom Video-making in San Diego
30:36 - DH Racing Progression & BetterRide Camps
36:46 - Pursing a DH Racing Career
43:43 - From Factory Racer to Privateer
52:56 - Pursing Crankworx Instead of World Cup
57:07 - Marketing as a Rider and Filmmaking
1:06:19 - Importance of Social Media Influence
1:11:04 - Quality of Content
1:22:44 - Brands Measuring Athletes with Promo Codes
1:27:37 - Video Project with Greg Minnaar
1:31:22 - Filming Kyle Strait's Back-breaking Rampage Crash
1:38:05 - Crankworx Hustle and Bernard Kerr's Success
1:44:21 - SURON Riders Wrecking Trails?
1:54:13 - Racing Big Mountain Enduro in 2023
2:00:30 - Why Isn't Dual Slalom a UCI Event?

#MTB #mountainbike #bike

U.S. downhill mountain bike racer, Charlie Harrison, joins us on The Inside Line to discuss his race career, injury and why he's decided to retire. Charlie has seen success with multiple World Cup DH podium results over the years. We talk about how he went from motocross racing to finding downhill MTB, career highlights, riding for Intense Factory Racing and Trek Factory Racing. As injury plagued the end of his time on the track, Charlie decided it was time to hang up the number plate and set his sights on a career in firefighting. He continues to ride regularly and does bike test work for Santa Cruz on occasion. #MTB #mountainbike #usdh 

Video contents
0:00 - Using PVC Pipe as Fake Roots on a DH Track
3:03 - What is SoCal Speed Team
6:37 - From Moto to MTB
13:06 - Will We Ever See Skatepark Chuck Again?
16:05 - DH Race Progression / Fontana
24:54 - World Cup Visions
28:14 - First World Cup DH Success
36:45 - Getting Comfortable at World Cups
39:06 - Riding for Intense Factory
46:08 - Breaking into Top 10 at the World Cup
49:57 - Moving to Trek Factory Racing
56:00 - Reece Wilson Story
1:00:45 - Plagued with Injuries
1:13:59 - Retiring from DH Racing
1:20:56 - DH Training Program
1:24:23 - Outside Hobbies and Overlanding
1:28:32 - Helping with Santa Cruz
1:32:52 - Embarrassing Crash

Watch the episode - https://youtu.be/WYbuPIpYCkI

Rich Houseman forged a successful career as an American mountain bike racer in the late nineties and early 2000s. Taking wins in downhill, dual slalom, 4x and dual, Rich has seen all the different trends and changes that mountain bike racing has taken over the last two-and-a-half decades. As his race career wound down, he found himself at a company called Sponsorhouse, which managed athlete and brand sponsor partnerships. Sponsorhouse changed its name to Hookit and Rich has remained an integral part of the business for 19 years. He continues to oversee athlete and sponsor relations and discusses how Hookit uses data-driven information to help companies and riders succeed in their marketing efforts.

Thanks  to JENSON USA  and MAXXIS TIRES  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast.

Watch this podcast on YouTube

Discussion Topics
0:00 - Introduction and Fontana
7:10 - BMX to Basketball to Downhill
16:50 - World Champs DH in Cairns
19:57 - First Sponsors, Racing for Tomac
24:54 - Slalom, Dual & 4X
30:59 - Bike Setup Back in the Day
34:28 - Why Did 4X Die?
35:56 - Proudest Racing Moment
38:08 - Making a Living Racing MTB
42:48 - Discovering Aaron Gwin
54:05 - Sponsorhouse to Hookit
1:00:17 - From MTB Racer to Desk Job
1:06:26 - Social Media's Impact on MTB Sponsorship
1:19:53 - What Makes a Successful Social Media Pt?
1:32:52 - Difficulties Female Athletes Face on Social Media
1:35:27 - Athletes Succeeding on Social Media
1:40:14 - Leticia Bufoni using Hookit
1:47:32 - Lew Buchanan Riding for OnlyFans
1:51:22 - Wyn Masters' Sponsor Value
1:56:11 - Dad Life

#MTB #Mountainbike #bike

It's a downhill bike. It's an enduro bike. It's a gearbox bike. It's a regular derailleur-based drivetrain bike. Learn all the details about Trinity's diverse and unique mountain bike with Mic Williams. Mic runs Williams Racing Products and is 1/3rd of the Trinity crew. 

Interview Contents
0:00 - Trinity and WRP Background
2:39 - Gearbox-Adaptable Trinity Design
7:15 - Steel and Aluminum Frame Build
9:30 - Modular Frame Flex and Compliance Tuning 
4:54 - Importance of Swingarm Flex
17:33 - Geometry - Matching Rear-center & Reach?
19:24 - Suspension Kinematics
23:44 - Modular Drivetrain Design
25:47 - WRP Gearbox Explained

Aaron Gwin's mechanic and potential 2023 Fontana 30-39 Expert champ, John Hall, joins Team Robot, Jason Schroeder, Jonny Simonetti and gordo on The Inside Line Ride Along. We spend three hours discussing everything from the unwritten rules of World Cup downhill warm-up spots, spoke tension myths, creating mountain bikes for consumers vs. pro racers, the new Intense M279 HP6 prototype,  Gwin's chainless victory in Leogang and plenty more.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

Interview contents
0:00 - Intro / Semi-final World Cup DH format Impact on Mechanics
17:35 - How Many Tires Used at a World Cup DH?
21:15 - John Hall was Jason Schroeder's Mechanic
25:45 - Becoming Aaron Gwin's Mechanic
40:35 - Trying to Get 27.5 DH tires and wheels in 2013
47:57 - Spoke Tension Debates
53:25 - Prototypes and Different Rider Setups
1:00:54 - Recipe for Winning
1:15:47 - Will John Hall Be the 2023 Fontana Ex 30-39 Champ?
1:27:50 - Thoughts on e-Enduro Racing?
1:38:38 - Developing Bikes for Every Rider
1:59:13 - Bike Reviews Based on Incorrect Setup
2:11:14 - You Can't Scrub
2:14:36 - Don't Make Bets with Mitch Ropelato or Aaron Gwin
2:19:36 - John Tomac Stories
2:24:29 - Developing the Prototype Intense M279 HP6
2:43:18 - Suspension Platforms
2:54:45 - The Broken Chain Leogang Win Story
3:12:53 - SoCal Speed Team

In December last year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced fairly monumental changes to the format of UCI World Cup downhill racing. The introduction of a third points-paying race per round that will result in less elite riders in finals quickly stirred up a commotion. On today's episode, the crew sits down to discuss the details of these changes and the possible implications they will have when the season kicks off in June. Enjoy!

These awesome brands make The B Practice Podcast possible:
Maxxis
Burgtec
Industry Nine 

0:00 Dakotah Norton's initial reaction as a World Cup racer
4:51 Breakdown and discussion of new semi-final and finals format
9:45 Impact of the new format on US DH racers
11:38 Why did Warner Bros. Discovery implement these changes?
16:27 Broadcasting top 30 vs. top 60 
17:30 Points breakdown per round  
19:07 How will more points per round affect racing? 
26:55 The dynamic of doing three race runs in a weekend
33:52 How to watch World Cups in 2023
36:05 Third-party media changes 
39:55 New protected rider rules  
50:09 The stresses of being a top 10 racer OR top 30-40 racer in semi-finals
52:10 Rumors of track standardization
53:40 Why not a B Final or last-chance qualifier?  
55:05 How season-long storylines could change with less racers in finals 
1:00:02 Will wildcard racers still be a thing?
1:00:14 Updates to replacement rider rules 
1:02:04 2023 Schedule breakdown 
1:08:04 Are all these changes just TV broadcasters taking over our sport?

Bob Weber set out on a crusade to make the safest motorcycle and mountain bike helmets available and today they're celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Vital spent a morning with Bob and Derek from 6D riding bikes and then sitting down to discuss their journey. Their patented ODS helmet technology is explained along with Bob's philosophy about preventing concussions and minimizing injury from cycling and biking-related crashes.

Jason and Shawn rode in the 6D ATB-2T helmet earlier that morning and were surprised by its comfort and stability on the trail. The protection offered by the helmet, paired with the comfort and fit has them considering running it full-time.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

Team Robot, aka Charlie Sponsel, drops in for the first Inside Line Ride Along, where mountain bikers sit down with no real agenda to discuss life and bikes.

It's a new year, and we have some exciting changes for the podcast! First, we are finally filming the show. Unfortunately, this means Dakotah can't cook dinner while we record and Austin will have to get out of bed. But we couldn't be more stoked to continue evolving the podcast and offering everyone entertaining and insightful conversations focused on downhill racing. If everything goes to plan, the plan is to pump out a weekly podcast. Wish us luck.

And second, we've managed to score some fantastic sponsors for the podcast this year. Somehow four friends bantering and bench racing has turned into a mildly successful passion project, so shoutout to everyone who's listened in the past and helped get the podcast to this point, and a big shoutout to Maxxis, Burgtec and Industry Nine for coming on board to support the podcast. We will do our best to keep these sponsorships from going straight to our heads and changing who we are. 

Professional downhill mountain bike racer, Chris Grice, checks in from a training camp in France. He's recently moved from Specialized Gravity to Generation Specialized for 2023. We talk about that move, how he's training, what he thinks about the changes to the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Series, meeting Aaron Gwin for the first time and his insane crash at Windrock while filming for Vital RAW.

These great partners support The Inside Line
www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code INSIDELINE and receive 10% off qualifying items.
MAXXIS TIRES - they've been with The Inside Line since day one and make the best-performing mountain bike tires for all styles and riding conditions.

We sit down with all the members of the Santa Cruz Syndicate downhill mountain bike race team, Laurie Greenland, Nina Hoffman, Jackson Goldstone, Greg Minnaar, Steve Peat and Lee Huskinson, Laurie's mechanic. We talk about everything from impressive race performances to making sure that little adjuster knob on an airplane tray table is perpendicular to the ground.

Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Jackson Goldstone and Greg Minnaar of the Santa Cruz Syndicate join us on The Inside Line mountain bike podcast. We met up with them at the Fox MTB headquarters as they were deciding on their new race kits for 2023 and debuting the new Union shoe. Jackson discusses his insane huck off a bridge at the Andorra World Cup. Greg talks about breaking his neck in Val di Sole, Italy, 20+ years of racing downhill, going from a super long V10 to reeling the length back in, the 45,000-Euro Showa forks on his Honda G-Cross downhill bike and more.

Next week, we'll continue the episode with all the members of the Santa Cruz Syndicate - Laurie Greenland, Nina Hoffman, Jackson, Greg and even Steve Peat! 

Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Welcome mountain bikers! Shawn Spomer and Jason Schroeder sit down with Nik Nestoroff who just announced that he's riding for Fezzari Bicycles. We discuss racing enduro full-time after a strong downhill career, competing in Fontana DH races at age 9, the Palmer Project, Intense Factory Racing and KHS Factory Racing. Great stories about buying a $400 Honda Civic in Scotland to tour Europe with Trevor Boldi come to light, and hacking the system as an 18-year-old to rent a van in the USA to go race make this one a great listen.

Follow Nik and Kailey on YouTube -  @niknestoroff
Follow Nik on Instagram
Vital MTB thanks
Jenson USA
- use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

Maxxis Tires

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Show Contents
0:00 - Nik's Bootleg Canyon Crash
2:43 - Switch from DH to Enduro
4:37 - New Bike Sponsor - Fezzari
7:08 - Volcom MTB Riding Gear
8:20 - Enduro Compared to DH Racing
13:38 - Training for Enduro
16:22 - How Nik Got into MTB
19:50 - Nik's First Bike
20:50 - Racing Fontana DH at 9 Years Old
23:18 - Palmer Project and Intense Factory Racing
26:33 - KHS Factory Racing
28:49 - Shaun Palmer Stories
35:02 - Favorite / Least-Favorite DH Tracks
39:28 - World Champs Bikes and Race Results
41:22 - Enduro Trophy de Nations USA
53:04 - Buying a $400 Civic in Scotland
1:01:29 - Under 21 Rental Car Hack
1:01:40 - 2023 Race and Ride Goals

In this episode of the B Practice MTB Podcast, we rope in one of our favorite #USDH racers, Dante Silva. We've known Dante since he started popping up at popular shuttle zones in SoCal years before he could drive. Now a fun-spirited, high-energy 19-year-old, Dante has harnessed the natural talent he oozed at 12 to become one of the fastest U.S. downhill racers of the modern era.   

After racing as a supported privateer during his Junior years and first Elite season in 2021, Dante made the jump to the Canyon Collective Pirelli Team for 2022. Never one to waste a hard-earned opportunity, his 2022 season was filled with consistent results and a few moments of glory, highlighted by two top-20 finishes at the North American World Cup rounds. With racing behind him for the year, we chatted with Dante about off-season activities, helping develop Pirelli tires, having Fabien Barel as a line coach, crashing at the U.S. Open, being bored and dying his hair, pants vs. shorts, and so, so much more. We enjoyed this entertaining and at times hilarious conversation, and hopefully, you do too! 

#MTB #USDH #mountainbike #bikes

Welcome back to another episode of Vital's B Practice Podcast! In this episode, we chatted with professional downhill racer Frida Rønning. Originally from Norway, Frida became part of the #USDH scene after moving stateside for college and now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she is working towards her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. On top of pursuing her education, she has chased World Cup racing for the past several years, and 2022 marked Frida's first season on a properly supported team - the UNION. 

We had a great time chatting with Frida and discovering how she balances school, racing, and continuing to live in the U.S., how she got into downhill racing, and what it was like transitioning from privateer support to racing for a legitimate World Cup team. We then broke down the crash that ended Frida's season and left her with a lengthy concussion recovery. Concussions are, unfortunately, a part of mountain biking, but the information surrounding rehab and healing is limited. We gained a ton of helpful insight from Frida's experience and recovery, and hopefully, anyone dealing with post-concussion symptoms finds this episode useful.

Thank you, Frida, for taking the time to chat with us, and we can't wait to cheer you on next season! 

After supporting our Inside Line podcast series for years, Maxxis has stepped up to also sponsor the B Practice Podcast moving forward. That's right; enough of you enjoy listening to us ramble about bikes and racing that we are starting to move up in the podcast world. Hopefully, now we can get Dakotah a hotspot for his potato phone and invest in some real mics. No promises. 

Maxxis has built its name through racing at the highest levels of the sport, claiming countless race wins, World Cup overall titles, and World Championships along the way. Visit your local shop or favorite online retailer to get the same tread patterns and compounds used by the fastest racers in the world. 

If World Cups are the pinnacle of downhill mountain biking, Red Bull Rampage is the absolute pinnacle of big mountain freeriding. After ten days of digging and testing, 16 riders lined up last Friday to carve their names into Rampage history. This year was filled with plenty of historical moments, the usual scoring controversy, and some added drama with wind complications and the live broadcast quality.

We sat down to discuss all the madness from the event, and pulled in our good friend Jon Simek, who attended the two-week event as a digger for Kyle Strait (get well soon, Kyle!). We chat with Jon about how riders approach building lines, the science of stacking dirt in the desert, riders running out of time to finish builds, and Kyle's crash and recovery. We then get into Rampage scoring and the need for more transparency, Dylan Stark's crank arm grind, wind and weather delays, ESPN+ coverage, tricks versus big lines, and much more. Enjoy!   

After supporting our Inside Line podcast series for years, Maxxis has stepped up to sponsor the B Practice Podcast moving forward. That's right; enough of you enjoy listening to us ramble about bikes and racing that we are starting to move up in the podcast world. Hopefully, now we can get Dakotah a hotspot for his potato phone and invest in some real mics. No promises. 

Maxxis has built its name through racing at the highest levels of the sport, claiming countless race wins, World Cup overall titles, and World Championships along the way. Visit your local shop or favorite online retailer to get the same tread patterns and compounds used by the fastest racers in the world. 

Braydon Bringhurst joins us live today on The Inside Line MTB podcast to discuss his new movie, 8600FT. The movie documents Braydon's achievement of attempting to climb the entire Whole Enchilada Trail in Moab, Utah, without walking any section, including the world-famous Snotch. 8600FT has premiered in select cities and will be launched live online on November 2. See www.8600ftfilm.com for details

Photos by @ToryPowers

View the live video on YouTube here

The Inside Line podcast is proudly supported by

• www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.
• Maxxis tires - hit up www.maxxis.com to search their line-up of mountain bike tires to see which best suit your riding style and terrain.
• Santa Cruz Bicycles -  Santa Cruz offers free, lifetime pivot bearing replacement on all frames, and through their PayDirt Fund, they're giving $1 million over three years to trail projects and initiatives. www.santacruzbicycles.com

Watch this podcast with pictures and clips on Vital MTB or our YouTube channel.

Jordi Cortes, Race Team Manager for FOX, Marzocchi, Race Face and Easton joins us on The Inside Line Live podcast today. You probably know Jordi best from his appearances in FOX's Dialed series about World Cup Downhill racing.

The Inside Line podcast is proudly supported by
- www.jensonusa.com - use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

- Maxxis tires - hit up www.maxxis.com to search their line-up of mountain bike tires to see which best suit your riding style and terrain.

- Santa Cruz Bicycles - Santa Cruz offers free, lifetime pivot bearing replacement on all frames, and through their PayDirt Fund, they're giving $1 million over three years to trail projects and initiatives. www.santacruzbicycles.com

Follow Vital MTB
www.instagram.com/vitalmtb
www.facebook.com/vitalmtb

Take a trip back to 2018 in this archive episode of The Inside Line. All heart, all passion and all in. Eric Davies, founder of Deity components, has turned a life-long dream into a thriving independent mountain bike parts brand. From a unique childhood in Central America to stumbling across mountain biking in college, Eric worked his way from bike shop employee to industry insider. Eventually, he grew tired of helping others build something he didn't believe in and started Deity in late 2003 with his wife Sadie. The rest is patient, deliberate history and I hope you enjoy learning about that history in this week's podcast.

Jenson USA has everything you need for your mountain bike! It's a great time of year to save big and if you use coupon code inside line all one word at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

If you're lackin' the traction or wanna ride like Jackson (Goldstone), Maxxis tires will give you the grip. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions.

On the fastest, roughest World Cup DH track of the year, Santa Cruz bicycles took a 1st place and two 2nd places under Jackson Goldstone, Nina Hoffman and Laurie Greenland. The V10 is stomping DH and their Megatower and Hightower are new this year with internal frame storage. Don't forget, that any Santa Cruz bike comes free, lifetime bearing replacement, too! Santacruzbicycles.com is where to find a local dealer.

The World Cup downhill season might have wrapped up last month, but there is always plenty of racing-related topics to podcast about! We have talked about wanting to interview people on the B Practice Podcast all season, and those hopes have come to fruition with our first guests: Dillon Lemarr and Austin Dooley. Dillon is the Team Manager of the Commencal North America Team, and Austin rides for Dillon's team and should need little introduction after his successful 2022 World Cup campaign. It was awesome to hear both of them reflect on the season from a manager and team rider perspective and touch on the struggles of elite racing, areas for improvement, and goals for 2023. But before we dove into the Austin and Dillon show, we did cover Dakotah's $15,000 win at the US Open, his ongoing home renovation and plans to visit SoCal, Proving Grounds, Dylan Stark at Rampage, and our 2022 Downhill Test Sessions. 

Thank you so much, Dillon and Austin, for taking the time to chat, and we hope everyone enjoys listening!

The 2022 UCI Downhill World Cup season has come to a close, and racing concluded on debatably the gnarliest track of the year in Val di Sole, Italy. Overall titles were crowned, bikes were pushed to the limit, and our co-host, Dakotah Norton, finished the year with a career-best 3rd place. It was a bitter-sweet ending to the season with Dak ending on a high note, Camille Balanche pushing through injury to wrap up her first Elite title, and Red Bull signing off on their last broadcast.    

This week, the B Practice crew breaks down all the craziness from the weekend, discussing Dak’s podium weekend, World Cup bonuses, UCI podium payouts, Rob Warner’s final race as the voice of World Cup downhill, Amaury Pierron’s dominating season, and ability to ride the edge, rumors of an A and B final next year at World Cups, plans for the podcast this offseason, plus lots of random banter. Enjoy!

Can this season get any more exciting!?! World Champs from Les Gets, France, was one for the record books, with Loic Bruni taking his 5th World title and France sweeping the Elite Men's podium. There were plenty of other highlights from the weekend, including Valentina Holl taking her first World title, upsets in the Junior field, custom bikes and gear, and one of the largest crowds we've ever seen.

This week the B Practice crew breaks down all the craziness from the weekend, discussing the mental approach to a one-off race like Worlds, favorite custom bikes, Greg Minnaar's Jamaican bobsled team kit, Loris Vergier's grip choice, why the French have been historically so successful at Worlds, and most importantly, what is up with riders cuffing their pant legs. All that, plus some insights into the gnarly Val di Sole track being raced this weekend for the final World Cup of 2022.

Two weeks ago, we attempted to record our usual post-race podcast after the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont Sainte Anne, but unfortunately we had issues with the recording upload. Oh, the joys of conducting a podcast with multiple people in various countries across the globe. As World Championships approaches, we decided to wait and record a pre-Worlds show, covering highlights from MSA and touching on the World Cup overall standings heading into the final round from Val di Sole, Italy.

We also chat about concussion protocol, Crankworx Whistler, the dangers of World Cup spectating, who is the sickest downhill racer currently, the updated Les Gets track, and speculate on the anarchy that could follow if a French racer wins on Saturday. Enjoy! 

Welcome mountain bikers, let's jump back 5 years to a previously aired Inside Line featuring Eliot Jackson. This was the very first Inside Line ever and Eliot was kind enough to be the guinea pig for us. Needless to say it's been an awesome ride for the Inside Line and we're stoked for more. Eliot mentioned on his Instagram account that the Mont-Sainte-Anne Red Bull webcast with Rob Warner a week or so ago was his last World Cup commentary. We'll definitely miss his knowledge and enthusiasm on the broadcasts and are excited to see what his future holds. He's the founder Grow Cycling, doing great things there and always has something up his sleeve. 

Jenson USA has a Labor Sale going on right now. Bikes are on discount, parts, riding gear, you name it. It's a great time of year to save big and if you use coupon code inside line all one word at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

If you're lackin' the traction or wanna ride like Jackson (Goldstone), Maxxis tires will give you the grip. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions.

On the fastest, roughest World Cup DH track of the year, Santa Cruz bicycles took a 1st place and two 2nd places under Jackson Goldstone, Nina Hoffman and Laurie Greenland. The V10 is stomping DH and their Megatower and Hightower are new this year with internal frame storage. Don't forget, that any Santa Cruz bike comes free lifetime bearing replacement, too! Santacruzbicycles.com is where to find a local dealer.

Enjoy the show!

Back in the USA, baby! Last weekend, the World Cup circus headed across the pond for the first time this season to Snowshoe, West Virginia. After years of relatively dry racing, the east coast provided, welcoming riders with plenty of rain and slippery conditions. Not many made it down without having a near-death moment (or two), and it might have been the toughest track raced in years.  

This week, the crew discusses Dakotah’s now infamous race run inside line, how the Snowshoe track humbled the world’s best racers, the tripod corner that ended a few race runs, the rise of Ronan Dunne, who is responsible for track maintenance and safety during a race weekend, result breakdowns for each class, and then they close things out with some pre-Mont-Sainte-Anne chatter. Enjoy!

The mud at the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Snowshoe provided the drama, but the racers, fans and atmosphere were the highlight of the weekend. Trill Will got his hands on interviews from Bernard Kerr, Camille Balanche and Eliot Jackson, Ronan Dunne, Gracey Hemstreet, Superfan Alex Ohlman, Laurie Greenland, Matt Sterling, Preston Cline (Race Director for the Snowshoe World Cup) and Wyn Masters.

After two years, the World Cup circus returned to the heart of the Pyrenees Mountains for an exciting weekend of dry, hot, fast, and tight racing. With a brand new track on a completely different side of the mountain, gone were the steep, technical sections we are used to seeing in Andorra, and instead, the track was made up of blistering fast off-cambers and high-speed turns with no shortage of loose shale and dust. Times were tight, and the margin for error was even smaller.

This week, we discuss if World Cup downhill should assign permanent race numbers, if selling more downhill bikes is the answer to the longevity of the sport, the multiple death-defying sections on this year’s track, Loic Bruni's softer-than-average suspension setup, Jackson Goldstone having the fastest time of the day, plus our usual deep dive into results and overall standings. Enjoy!

In this episode of The Inside Line podcast, Jason Schroeder sits down to interview his good friend and past landlord, Austin Smith, better known as Cheddar Child. Originally from Southern California and now residing in Boise, Idaho, Austin is first and foremost a ripping snowboarder. Introduced to mountain biking during his college years, his love for two wheels and digging trails have become his newfound passion. 

As the current Director of Innovations and Marketing at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, he has played a huge role in growing Bogus’ new bike park, which has moved the needle forward for mountain bike trails in the greater Boise area. He’s a staple in the community who is constantly organizing dig days and trying to improve the experience of every rider who visits the park. He also has some of the sickest backyard dirt jumps you’ll likely never see and a love for music festivals and drum and bass. Austin is truly a one-of-a-kind individual whose intensity for life and motivated personality leaves an impact on everyone who crosses his path.

Have a listen as Austin discusses growing up being a snowboarder in Southern California, jumping beach cruisers at Sheep Hills, what a degree in Ski Business & Resort Management involves, the costs of operating a bike park, what it means to be a nonprofit mountain recreation area, and what it’s like being queer in action sports. Enjoy!

Thank you to
- jensonusa.com - Use coupon code “insideline” (all one word) at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.
- maxxis.com
- santacruzbicycles.com 

Cover photograph by John Webster - @johnjwebster

Show Notes

• The inspiration for the name 'Cheddar Child'
• 2014/15 Snowboard Edit
• Air Awareness
• Building ‘Crackland’ Backyard Dirt Jumps
• Crankland 3.0 Session
• VitalMTB All Trails POV The Basin Gravity Park
• ‘Wish You Were Here’ Austin Smith 
• Bogus Basin Community Trail Build Day
• Pose TV Series
• Ballroom Culture 
• We're All Mental Community 
• 'Freedom From The Known' by Jidda Krishnamurti
• Mr Happy - DNB Song 
• Critical Crack Critters Anonymous Spotify Playlist

Dakota Norton qualified 2nd in Lenzerheide, was up at the splits and had an unfortunate slideout during his race run at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill. Jason Schroeder and Tanner Stephens, former World Cup downhill racers, talk with Dak about his race weekend and then the three of them dive into the performances of top finishers in all categories.

Will Washam, also known as Trill Will, is on the Inside Line podcast today. If you've raced a Downhill Southeast, watched one of their race replays or attended a recent National Champs gravity event, you have heard him making the calls as commentator. We talk about his journey into mountain biking, finding his way into announcing duties over the years and more.

Thanks to jensonusa.com for supporting The Inside Line. They have their Independence Day sale going on right now with big savings on bikes, components and riding gear. Summer is here, so make sure you and your bike are ready for shredding. Use coupon code InsideLine, all one word, at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires are stacking wins this year with Richie Rude winning the latest EWS, Jesse Melamed winning the week before, Vali Holl taking a Crankworx DH win in Innsbruck and Matt Walker winning the Leogang World Cup downhill. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions and maybe you'll be on the podium at your next race, too.

Santa Cruz bicycles just launched the new Hightower 29er trail bike with 145mm of rear travel, internal frame storage and 5 size options. Hit our site to see our first ride review with our tech editor Jason Schroeder ripping the trail in Oakridge, Oregon, or hit up www.santacruzbicycles.com to learn more about this do-it-all trail smasher! Don't forget, they offer free, lifetime bearing replacement on their full-squish frames, too!

We're going to take a trip back in time to 2018 with a previously aired Inside Line featuring Rob Warner. If you didn't know, after this 2022 season, Red Bull will no longer produce the Live webcasts of World Cup Downhill and Cross Country as the UCI sold those rights to the Discovery channel through 2030. Upon hearing the news, I asked Rob if he would still be involved as race commentator, hopeful for a "yes" answer because he has been such an integral part of what makes those shows so exciting to watch. This was his reply, "after this year, it's highly unlikely I'll be commentating on any UCI MTB World Cups for the foreseeable future." and he left it at that. With that answer, I thought it was a great time to revisit our interview from 4 years ago to showcase just how much passion he has for what he does.

Thanks to jensonusa.com for supporting The Inside Line. They have their Independence Day sale going on right now with big savings on bikes, components and riding gear. Summer is here, so make sure you and your bike are ready for shredding. Use coupon code InsideLine, all one word, at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires are stacking wins this year with Richie Rude winning the latest EWS, Jesse Melamed winning the week before, Vali Holl taking a Crankworx DH win in Innsbruck and Matt Walker winning the Leogang World Cup downhill. Hit up maxxis.com to find the mountain bike tire that best suits your riding style and conditions and maybe you'll be on the podium at your next race, too.

Santa Cruz bicycles just launched the new Hightower 29er trail bike with 145mm of rear travel, internal frame storage and 5 size options. Hit our site to see our first ride review with our tech editor Jason Schroeder ripping the trail in Oakridge, Oregon, or hit up www.santacruzbicycles.com to learn more about this do-it-all trail smasher! Don't forget, they offer free, lifetime bearing replacement on their full-squish frames, too!

Engage time travel....now.

Dakotah Norton, Jason Schroeder, Austin Hackett-Klaube and Tanner Stephens discuss all things UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Leogang, Austria. #MTB #downhill #DH

Vital's B Practice podcast continues with a discussion about the last mountain bike World Cup Downhill in Fort William, Scotland. Jason Schroeder and Tanner Stephens get on the line with #USDH shredder, Dakotah Norton, to hear about his race experience and break down the other results of the weekend. The Leogang World Cup DH is next in line June 10 and 11.

Riding bikes and hanging out with friends as a kid has translated into riding bikes and hanging out with friends as an adult. Jeremiah work found fun and success racing BMX and building and riding trails in Texas. Eventually, he found his way into mountain biking through 4x racing, working his way up into the pro ranks of the Mountain States Cup and pushing on some heavy World Cuppers at a few select events. When his race career subsided, he shifted his focus with a desire to build the mountain bike community at home and in his region. He and his crew created the fun Trail Party race series that is going off. They recently announced the Downhill Rockies series which will bring #USDH racing back to the Rocky Mountain region this year with a race at Angel Fire and Purgatory and possibly 5 races in 2023. Listen to some great stories and get stoked to go rip some laps with friends.

www.trailparty.com

www.downhillrockies.com

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for listening to Vital MTB's Inside Line podcast. Our guest today is Noah Sears of MRP, but you may know him in the Vital forums and comments as NoahColorado. Today we discuss Noah's skills in the comment box, how he got into bikes, his eBay-bike-parts-sales career, blogging, working for Over the Edge Sports, how he found his way to MRP, ebikes, gravel bikes and more.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Ryan Condrashoff, a #USDH shredder, joins Griz on The Inside Line to discuss getting into mountain bikes, becoming a top U.S.-level rider, racing World Cups, dealing with injury and coming to grips with the reality that a professional race career is not in his future.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Vital's B Practice Podcast kicks off with a post-race show discussing the Lourdes World Cup Downhill. Dakotah Norton, 11th place finisher in Lourdes, joins former #USDH World Cuppers, Jason Schroeder, Austin Hackett-Klaube and Tanner Stephens to discuss the first round in France. They ask Dak about his transition from YT to Intense, riding a brand new bike at the race, track difficulties, race results across all categories, why all the kits seem to look the same, Dak's color palette to stoke out his grandmother who's been diagnosed with cancer, and Fort William coming up. Oh, they apologize for leaving Luca out of the discussion. He's so good, it wasn't a shocker, HA!

See all of Vital's Lourdes World Cup Downhill coverage

Mountain biker, Kyle Warner, joins us on The Inside Line for his second appearance. Kyle recently got back on the bike after being sidelined with an adverse reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine. It's a very personal discussion about loss, depression, recovery and hope.

Kyle is involved with ReAct19, a research-focused, grassroots organization made up of patients, scientists and physicians.

You can watch Kyle and April's mountain bike videos on their channel - www.youtube.com/c/KyleAprilRideMtb

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop-shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is here, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Even after a fruitful World Cup- and National-level downhill race career over a decade ago, Kieran Bennett is still one of the fastest DH riders in New Zealand. The Kiwi pinner joins us on The Inside Line today to discuss how his mountain bike race campaign took shape, its highs, its lows, and where he's at today living in Nelson, NZ.

cover photo by Sven Martin

The Inside Line is supported by jensonusa.com, your one-stop shop for all things mountain biking. Use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Thank you to Maxxis tires for making The Inside Line go 'round and keeping Kieran on the gas. Maxxis.com is the place to find the perfect mountain bike tire for your riding style and terrain.

Lastly, thank you Santa Cruz Bicycles for supporting The Inside Line. Kieran rides Santa Cruz Bicycles, and we get into his experience with the V10cc MX.

Welcome mountain bikers. You’re listening to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast and our guest today is industry legend, Mike Redding. Mike helped get the fastest and most exciting riders into Troy Lee gear back in the day, working with the likes of Steve Peat and Sam Hill just to name a few. He moved on to Fox, bringing that energy to their MTB marketing through big video projects and campaigns with Ratboy, Voreis, the McCauls and others. He’s currently consulting for Alpinestars, so we’re excited to see where he takes things there.  Sean ‘Griz’ McClendon walks with Mike through his story, battles with kidney failure and so much more. Mike, thank you, Griz, thank you, listeners, thank you! Enjoy the show!

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA, your one-stop shop for mountain bikes, products and riding gear. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items at jensonusa.com.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes and The Inside Line go. Spring is right around the corner, so make sure your bike has new rubber for primed riding conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to see which tire fits your riding conditions and style best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles is giving $1m over three years to trail projects and advocacy groups through their PayDirt fund. If you have a project worth supporting or if you want to see which projects have been helped, hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to get all the info you need.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning into Vital MTB's Inside Line podcast. Today's guest, Danny Macaskill, hardly needs an introduction as one of the world's most famous mountain bikers, so we'll get straight into it. Danny, thank you so much for your time, it was an honor. And listeners, thank you for being a part of The Inside Line journey for over 5 years now! Enjoy the show.

The Inside Line is supported by jensonusa.com, your one-stop shop for all things mountain biking. Use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Thank you to Maxxis tires for making The Inside Line go 'round, too. Maxxis.com is the place to find the perfect mountain bike tire for your riding style and terrain.

Lastly, thank you Santa Cruz Bicycles for supporting the inside line. Danny rides Santa Cruz bicycles, and we get into his fascination with ebikes and the new Heckler that just dropped.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning into The Inside Line. I apologize for the haggard voice on this intro as I'm battling some sickness. Speaking of sickness, today's episode with Theo Dilworth of Allout Productions is a cracker! Sean Griz McClendon, plays host as they discuss the good times of filming and riding bikes! Theo's video catalog runs deep and his influence on keeping our sport fun and fresh is unparalleled.

Please be aware that this show is not bleeped and there is adult language and subjects in this episode. Griz, Theo and all you Vital MTB listeners, thanks so much! Enjoy the show!

A big shoutout goes to Jenson USA, supporter of The Inside Line. Use coupon code insideline (all one word) and get 10% off qualifying items at JensonUSA.com

Maxxis tires make this show and our bikes roll. Who's a fan of the Minion DHR II? Vital staffers are. Hit up Maxxis.com to browse their lineup of mountain bike tires for any riding style and condition.

Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free, lifetime bearing replacement on their full-suspension bikes. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com to check out everything from the 5010 (my personal favorite) to the V10.

Welcome mountain bikers! Can you believe we started on this journey with The Inside Line podcast five years ago?! When we think about how fun mountain biking is and how incredible the people in our sport are, it’s no surprise that the time flew by. Everyone at Vital would like to thank you, the listener, for joining us on this ride. Rides with friends are always more fun and without you sharing the stoke with us, there’d be no reason to tell the stories from our community. Thank you!

We have a great show today with Joe Bowman of Steel City Media. Not just a man behind a video camera or social media channel, he’s pretty hand on a bike and is the reason The Union World Cup downhill team exists to help give young riders a shot at the big time. He is also the filmer behind the first Vital RAW with Adam Brayton at Schladming back in 2013!

Jenson USA has been with us for five years, supporting The Inside Line and you can support them by shopping for your bikes, parts and riding gear at JensonUSA.com. Inside Line listeners can receive 10% off qualifying items at checkout too, with coupon code InsideLine (all one word. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires has kept us on this audio trail for half a decade, too, thanks to their support. Whether they’re winning World Cup races or helping punters like me feel like Greg Minnaar on the trail, Maxxis has the mountain bike tires for any riding style or condition. Hit up maxxis.com

And while Santa Cruz is the frame sponsor of The Union team discussed in the show today, they’re also giving $1m to trail projects and initiatives through their PayDirt fund. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project may be helped with their program. More trails, more smiles.

Again, thank you, listeners, we hope your new year is going well and we look forward to 5 more years of The Inside Line. Enjoy the show!

Handmade alloy downhill bikes, designed by Neko Mulally and fabricated by the infamous Frank the Welder will be hitting the World Cup DH circuit in 2022.

Welcome mountain bikers! It’s the last Inside Line episode of 2021, and we couldn’t be more excited to share a fun and enlightening conversation with Don Hampton of DH productions. Don is responsible for the Chain Reaction video series in the early 2000s and shedding light on the East Coast mountain biking scene through race action and freeride footage with riders like Aaron Chase, Kyle Ebbett, Jeff Lenosky and so many more. Don’s impact on our sport is  massive, and we're stoked to help share a bit of his story today. We hope the holidays have treated you well, and here’s to a new year. Enjoy the show!

With a new year coming in hot, make sure your ride is dialed. JensonUSA.com has plenty of bikes, components and riding gear to help you stay rolling in 2022. Use coupon code insideline at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis has the meats…you know, like mountain bike tires? Now is a great time to freshen up your ride with some tires that are optimized for those winter conditions. Hit up maxxis.com to search for the tread pattern and construction best suited for your riding style and terrain.

Just because it may be snowy or rainy doesn’t mean trail building projects are on hold. For some areas, it’s prime digging season and for others, it’s a time to plan and prepare for hitting the dirt in the spring. Santa Cruz bicycles is making sure trail advocacy projects and groups are equipped thanks to their PayDirt fund. They’re donating over $1m to projects over three years. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project could benefit.

Welcome mountain bikers. I’m really excited about today’s Inside Line podcast. Our guest started Rob Warner’s twitter account, helped logistically get the first Freecaster World Cup Downhill live streams off the ground, was the man behind Match Videozine, may be the biggest trials fan ever and was an athlete manager at Red Bull for years. This is just the tip of the iceberg when describing Aaron Lutze history in our sport. I hope you get a kick out of the stories and history with Aaron Lutze today, and maybe you’ll learn something new too. Enjoy the show!

See Aaron Lutze / Super Rider on Youtube

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA where you can get great deals on mountain bikes, riding gear and components. hit up jensonusa.com, do some shopping and use coupon code insideline all one word at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires make our bikes rolls and they help make The Inside Line roll, too. Check out maxxis.com to see their entire line of mountain bike tires for any and all conditions.

A big thanks goes out to Santa Cruz Bicycles for their support too. not only do they support our show, but they support trail-building programs and projects all over the globe through their Paydirt fund initiative. For more information on how your project could be supported, visit santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt. 

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning into The Inside Line podcast. Today I’m stoked to have Dustin Zeis on the show. Dustin is the reason the Boise Bike Park keeps its flow and runs so well throughout riding season. As Head of Maintenance, he's a Boise city employee blending his passion for riding bikes with building trails. In this episode, we discuss how he turned his love of getting two wheels off the ground into a full-time job.

If you have a public bike park or trails system in your area, make sure you thank the people that make it run. It’s such a great time to be a mountain biker with so many places to ride. Enjoy the show!

The Inside Line is proud to have jensonusa.com as a sponsor of the show. They have some fantastic holiday sales going on right now, so scoop up some gifts for you and your loved ones. Use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Even though winter is coming in, Maxxis tires still keep us gripping and ripping on the trails, no matter what the conditions. I’m back to a Minion DHR II front and Aggressor rear combo on my Santa Cruz 5010, and they’ve been nothing but fast and predictable.

Speaking of Santa Cruz, they offer free lifetime bearing replacements on all their full-suspension frames, and they’ve pledged 1 million dollars over 3 years to trail projects and groups through their Paydirt Fund. 

Welcome mountain bikers. Today on the Inside Line, we have long-time friend and ripper, Evan Turpen on the show. Evan comes from Aptos, California, and grew up with the Post Office crew, racing and digging and shredding. Now, he’s set his sights on creating his own mountain bike brand, Contra, with a steel, American-made full suspension frame launching sometime next spring. We go deep into what it took to develop this bike, and a lot of this interview covers specific details of the bike itself, so if you want to see what we’re talking about, make sure you visit VitalMTB.com check it out.

The Inside Line is proudly presented by Maxxis Tires. Evan uses Maxxis tires on his personal bikes, currently running an Assegai front and Aggressor rear, both in Double Down casing. Hit up maxxis.com to see the full lineup.

JensonUSA.com supports the Inside Line and they’re celebrating their 26th year in business with an anniversary sale. Hit ‘em up, shop for bikes, parts and riding gear, and use coupon code “insideline” all one word at checkout to receive 10% off qualifying items.

Finally, Santa Cruz bicycles has pledged $1,000,000 over 3 years to trail projects and advocacy groups all over the world. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to apply for a grant and to see which projects have already been approved!

Thanks so much, Evan! Let’s do some bike nerding!

Last month, Vital MTB had the opportunity to head to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to meet with the crew from RockShox and get a first-hand look at their all-new automatic suspension system, Flight Attendant. We sat down with RockShox Brand Manager, Jon Cancellier and Rockshox Software Engineer, Joe Schoolcraft, to discuss what it took to develop Flight Attendant. We talked about why RockShox originally set out to create an automatic suspension system, how the mechanics of each Flight Attendant component functions, what factors were considered when developing the Flight Attendant algorithm, and we finally touched on where RockShox sees this new technology going in the future.  

Our time in Colorado was filled with some awesome riding and provided the perfect opportunity to gain insight into what RockShox's goals were when developing Flight Attendant. We also experienced the trails and terrain that the system was tested on. Ultimately, we left with a great initial impression of how Flight Attendant can transform the pedaling efficiency of our mountain bikes. 

Welcome Mountain Bikers, thanks for tuning into Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. Our guest today is Tyler McCaul. We catch up with him at home in Southern Utah as he prepares for Red Bull Rampage coming up soon. TMAC shares details of his near career-ending injury, the challenging recovery process and how it’s changed his outlook on the capabilities of the human body. We talk all things freeride, his chops as a contest commentator and dabble in some old good times, too. Tyler, thank you for being our guest today.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA.com. Use coupon code insideline (all one word) at check out and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires hook us up on the trail and for the show. Speed, grip and durability are what make Maxxis mountain bike tires the best.

Santa Cruz Bicycles has pledged $1,000,000 to trail-building projects and advocacy groups over three years. Their Paydirt Fund is helping get new trails built all over. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your trail project can apply.

Enjoy the show!

Photo provided by Red Bull Content Pool

Raw audio interviews from the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Thank you to SRAM for their support of our race coverage.

Interviews in order
Emilie Siegenthaler on Retiring
Myriam Nicole, Elite Women's Winner
Izabela Yankova, Junior Women's Winner
Loris Vergier, Elite Men's Winner
PA - Loris Vergier's mechanic
Jackson Goldstone, Junior Men's Winner
Tahnee Seagrave, Elite Women's 2nd place
Loic Bruni, Elite Men's 2nd place
Vali Holl, Elite Women's 3rd place
Thibaut Daprela, Elite Men's 3rd place
Amaury Pierron, Elite Men's 4th place
Eddie Masters
Kade Edwards

Enjoy the photos from Sven Martin, @maddogboris and Dan Hearn on Vital MTB.
A big thank you to RockShox for supporting Vital MTB's World Champs coverage. 

Order of the interviews are as follows
Jackson Goldstone
Myriam Nicole
Benoit Coulanges
Jordan Williams
Camille Balanche
Troy Brosnan
Loris Vergier
Vali Holl
Amaury Pierron
Loic Bruni
Cecile Ravanel on behalf of Antoine Vidal
Thibaut Daprela
Cam Cole and Wyn Masters,
Ben Cathro
Tahnee Seagrave
Arthur, the engineer from Commencal
Greg Minnaar (the same post-race interview you listened to in his standalone podcast)

Welcome mountain bikers. The Inside Line podcast is supported by Maxxis Tires and Santa Cruz bikes. Coincidentally, Greg Minnaar, your 2021 Elite Men's Downhill World Champion is supported by them too, so if there ever was a sponsor tie-in for a podcast, this is it! Before we go further though, you can shop for all kinds of products Greg runs at JensonUSA.com too. If you use coupon code, InsideLine at checkout, you'll receive 10% off qualifying items.

Sven Martin, long-time friend of Greg and Vital media guru at large captured a fantastic weekend of World Champs activity. He and Greg discussed all his past world champs wins prior to the race, with candor and transparency, and then they were able to get together after Greg won again this year to discuss how it all came together. The class act that Minnaar is, he deflects to his support crew as the reason he won, and Sven manages to get their insight too with Lyle, Greg's mechanic, Laura, his physical trainer, Jordi from FOX and the legend himself, Rob Roskopp. There's even a bonus clip with Arthur, an engineer at Commencal, discussing the V10 as Greg listens on.

Thank you Sven, congratulations Greg! Enjoy the show and make sure you hit VitalMTB.com for all the action from a mind-blowing weekend at World Champs.

Join Jason Schroeder,  Tanner Stephens and the Rooted MTB Crew to talk about everything related to the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and #USDH racers.

Jenson USA makes the Inside Line go. You can shop for all kinds of mountain bikes and products at JensonUSA.com, and if you use coupon code insideline at checkout, you can save 10% off qualifying items. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires help us keep the microphones plugged in and let me just say that the other day I was on a bike with a front tire that wasn’t an Assegai and it was primo, loose, dusty Assegai conditions. Needless to say, I wish I had the Assegai on that day. Maxxis.com will let you figure out which mountain bike tire works best for you and your conditions.

Interestingly enough, Greg Minnaar designed the Assegai and he also shreds Santa Cruz Bicycles. The GOAT knows what’s up and even if he wasn’t the goat, if he was a regular rider like you or me, he’d still get free lifetime bearing replacements on any Santa Cruz bike that he owned. to find your local Santa Cruz dealer, hit up santacruzbicycles.com

History in the making thanks to Sven Martin and @maddogboris.  Audio interviews from our slideshow on VitalMTB.com

USA Cycling's World Championships team selection debacle, Tanner Stephens and plenty of #USDH comedy and questions with Jason Schroeder and the crew at Rooted MTB. 

Enjoy the audio interviews with the racers from the 2021 Maribor World Cup Downhill. Sven Martin and @maddogboris get the inside scoops.

See the slideshow with incredible photos on VitalMTB.com

Sven Martin and Boris Beyer talk to World Cup Downhill racers at the 2021 Maribor World Cup Downhill race. Hit www.vitalmtb.com to see the slideshow full of great photos that go with these interviews.

 Welcome mountain bikers,

Today on Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast are two of my favorite humans - Cam McCaul and Taylor Sage. Cam’s been on the show before, TSage hasn’t, and I’m not even kidding about their Cats Don’t Need Dollars video getting me so hyped, I wanted to talk to them about it on the show.

Jenson USA makes the Inside Line go. You can shop for all kinds of mountain bikes and products at JensonUSA.com, and if you use coupon code insideline at checkout, you can save 10% off qualifying items. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires help us keep the microphones plugged in and let me just say that the other day I was on a bike with a front tire that wasn’t an Assegai and it was primo, loose, dusty Assegai conditions. Needless to say, I wish I had the Assegai on that day. Maxxis.com will let you figure out which mountain bike tire works best for you and your conditions.

Interestingly enough, Greg Minnaar designed the Assegai and he also shreds Santa Cruz Bicycles. The GOAT knows what’s up and even if he wasn’t the goat, if he was a regular rider like you or me, he’d still get free lifetime bearing replacements on any Santa Cruz bike that he owned. to find your local Santa Cruz dealer, hit up santacruzbicycles.com

I hope you have fun with the episode as some old folks try do decipher the meaning of a TikTok and the nuances YouTube Algorithm. I’ve re-bumped Cam and TSage’s Cat’s Don’t Need Dollars video to the top of the Vital homepage, so if you haven’t watched it, go do it, make sure you tune in to Cam McCaul’s YouTube channel for great content that isn’t about manual trainers or body position on the bike, and enjoy the show!

Jason Schroeder and Rooted MTB are back with another episode of #USDH Unfiltered. They discuss the 2021 U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships that just took place at Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, Colorado. Three national champions call into the show, Kailey Skelton, Chris Grice and Dakotah Norton and Nik Nestoroff and Austin Dooley jump in too!

Welcome mountain bikers, I'm honored to be joined by three fantastic guests on this episode of The Inside Line. We will discuss mountain biking and head injuries. None of us are scientific or medical experts on the subject, but during the last World Cup DH race webcast from Les Gets, Jeff Brines and I were texting and discussing Thibaut Daprela’s incredible race-winning run with the sidebar of his recent knockout crash at French National Champs a week prior. I said let’s do an Inside Line about the subject and here we are.

Discuss your experiences and information about head injuries in our forum here

Jeff, has been a Vital MTB bike and product tester, he's long-time DH and enduro racer, he’s one of the few people to have owned a handmade carbon BCD bike from Alex Morgan, and, he may be one of Vital’s most prolific site commenters based on number of characters typed over the last decade. I’d have to imagine it’s a close call between him and Primoz.

Matt is co-owner of Momentum Trail Concepts, long-time friend and bike racer, he has the rainbow stripes of a Masters World Champion, and he’s legitimately the reason Vital MTB exists (listen to his Inside Line from a few years ago to find out why).

Craig "Stikman" Glaspell is the main MTB marketing man over at Troy Lee Designs, known for their D-series helmets and riding gear. He has years of experience as a World Cup DH mechanic and industry vet and was an influential mountain bike website entrepreneur in the very early 2000s.

Jeff and Matt are both on the show because they have plenty of experience racing and dealing with bike-related head injuries. They’ll tell their stories. Stik comes at us with industry experience in the helmet and protection category, as well as being in the position of a person who pays his sponsored athletes to ride their bikes and risk injury as a result.

We’re not trying to single out Thibaut as an example. His performance is what got us talking. Andrew Neethling and Ed Masters discussed Thibaut's crash a bit on Moving the Needle last week, which was awesome, and it seems, at least from our perspective, that there’s a growing concern for safety among our community.

Thank You Supporters of The Inside Line

Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast is brought to you by Jenson USA. If you need a mountain bike helmet or protective gear, jensonusa.com has you covered. Use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items, too!

Slide your summer around with Maxxis tires and think about throwing on a Minion SS out back on your trail bike with a Minion DHR II up front. You’ll be rolling fast and surfin’ those corners, hootin’ and hollering along the way. Hit up maxxis.com for all your mountain bike tire needs or to find a local dealer

Thank you to Santa Cruz Bicycles for their support of the show. They offer free, lifetime bearing replacement on all of their bikes, and they’re giving away $1,000,000 over three years to trail building projects and initiatives through their Paydirt fund. There's nothing better than more trails!

Welcome to Vital MTB's USDH unfiltered. We kicked it off with a Les Gets World Cup Downhill pre-game show with host and Vital MTB Tech Editor, Jason Schroeder, and the crew at Rooted MTB. They get ahold of Dakotah Norton over in Europe for his perspective on how the racing has gone and how it will go this weekend. They talk gossip, race predictions, the woes of being a b-practice punter, and plenty more as another epic weekend of World Cup downhill racing kicks off in France. Despite internet struggles and technical difficulties, they charged on and made this happen, and we're excited for more to come throughout the year!

Please note there is some adult language and this was recorded before Thibaut Daprela and Amaury Pierron went down hard at French Nationals. We wish both of those riders strong recoveries and make sure you hit VitalMTB.com for all the race action this weekend!

 

We're honored to have Aaron Gwin back on The Inside Line podcast. He was on the show a few years back and with the World Cup Downhill in Les Gets on the horizon, we figured it was time to reconnect. In this episode we discuss his struggles at the first World Cup DH race in Les Gets, the challenges of being a podium-level racer now and if his training has changed over the years. Bike development with Intense is a topic of conversation as is being present on social media. Does he remain a bike racer only or does he share thoughts and questions about social and political ideas on Instagram? Enjoy the show as one of the fastest bike racers on the planet opens up.

Cover photo by Dan Hearn

Thank you to jensonusa.com for supporting the Inside Line for over 4 years now. Shop for mountain bikes, components and riding gear and use coupon code insideline (all one word) at checkout so can save you 10% off on qualifying items.

Summertime is the right time to try something different on your bike and Maxxis tires will let you slide around with a semi-slick or go big and grippy with a DoubleDown or DH casing. hit up maxxis.com for all tire sizes and constructions.

Finally, Santa Cruz and their Paydirt program are putting in $1m toward trail projects and over three years. They’ve already empowered some advocacy groups and are ready for more. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project can be supported.

Amy Morrison is a born competitor. After a youth spent water skiing and being a Division 1 pole vaulter for Clemson, she found mountain biking. The perfect storm of timing, talent, and work ethic had Amy join the pro enduro ranks in a few short seasons. She has a pile of race wins to her name, including National Champ and most recently, winner of the TDS Enduro.

More than a racer, Amy is a teacher, a coach, and an advocate for a healthy lifestyle that includes riding bikes. She's hooking the youth on bikes and coaching newer riders. Beyond winning races, she has a focus on the mountain bike community as a whole.

As much love as Amy has for the sport, mountain biking is better off with her in it. Hang tight as Amy sits down with Brad Howell to discuss her journey through racing and what the future may hold.

Thank you to jensonusa.com for supporting the Inside Line for over 4 years now. Shop for mountain bikes, components and riding gear and use coupon code insideline (all one word) at checkout so can save you 10% off on qualifying items.

Springtime is a fun time to try something different on your bike and Maxxis tires will let you slide around with a semi-slick or go big and grippy with a DoubleDown or DH casing. hit up maxxis.com for all tire sizes and constructions.

Finally, Santa Cruz and their Paydirt program are putting in $1m toward trail projects and over three years. They’ve already empowered some advocacy groups and are ready for more. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project can be supported.

Mountain bike legend and last #USDH racer to win a Downhill World Championship, Myles Rockwell, joins us on The Inside Line today. Austin Hackett-Klaube joins Myles to discuss everything from mobbing bikes around the streets of San Francisco as a kid to becoming one the fastest mountain bike racers on the planet. We're honored to have him on the show!

Thanks to Yeti Cycles for the throwback thumbnail photo

A big thanks goes out to Jenson USA, supporter of The Inside Line for the last four years! Keep your bike running strong with parts from Jenson. If you use coupon code “insideline” all one word at checkout on jensonusa.com, you’ll receive 10% off qualifying items. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires just launched the updated Shorty tire. You can check out our review on VitalMTB.com with Squamish shredder, Joel Harwood, who gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars. A specialty tire for wet conditions, the Shorty is available now on maxxis.com

 Santa Cruz Bicycles, through their Paydirt initiative is donating $1 million to trail projects over 3 years. You can see current funding recipients or submit your project to the program at santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt

Austin, Harrison, Wiley and Kasen from Rooted MTB keep the discussion going about the state of downhill mountain bike racing in the USA. They reflect on their experience at the first National level race at Windrock a few weeks ago and call Dakotah Norton to see what it means to be one of the country's fastest racers on the World Cup circuit. Finally they connect with Matt Thompson and Steve Wentz of Momentum Trail Concepts to gain insight of what it took to put on DH races a decade ago and what it may take now.

Listen to Rooted's first Inside Line podcast

Follow Rooted MTB on Instagram @rootedmtb

Thank you to jensonusa.com for supporting the Inside Line for over 4 years now. Shop for mountain bikes, components and riding gear and use coupon code insideline (all one word) at checkout so can save you 10% off on qualifying items.

Springtime is a fun time to try something different on your bike and Maxxis tires will let you slide around with a semi-slick or go big and grippy with a DoubleDown or DH casing. hit up maxxis.com for all tire sizes and constructions.

Finally, Santa Cruz and their Paydirt program are putting in $1m toward trail projects and over three years. They’ve already empowered some advocacy groups and are ready for more. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project can be supported.

We're honored to have Sam Hill, one of mountain biking's most successful and exciting gravity racers, on The Inside Line today. Brett Pengelley spends a few hours with Sam at his home in Western Australia to discuss everything from his race career to family life to bike setup to flat-pedal-dominance and what his future looks like. There is even a lightning round at the end with questions from riders like Troy Brosnan, Brook Macdonald, Loic Bruni and more. Don't miss his answer to the very last question, which is probably the best thing we've heard all year!

Thank you Sam, Brett and all of you listeners out there!

Thank you to jensonusa.com for supporting the Inside Line for over 4 years now. Shop for mountain bikes, components and riding gear and use coupon code insideline (all one word) at checkout so can save you 10% off on qualifying items.

Springtime is a fun time to try something different on your bike and Maxxis tires will let you slide around with a semi-slick or go big and grippy with a DoubleDown or DH casing. hit up maxxis.com for all tire sizes and constructions.

Finally, Santa Cruz and their Paydirt program are putting in $1m toward trail projects and over three years. They’ve already empowered some advocacy groups and are ready for more. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project can be supported.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for listening to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line Podcast. We have a double-dipper of a treat today. We wax nostalgic and catch up with Henry O’Donnell, one of the original Santa Cruz Syndicate racers. He grew up in Downieville and found mountain bike success with help from Greg Williams, the main man behind the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, who’s also on the show. We touch on Henry’s race career, why he just seemed to vanish from racing, and then get into some history of the Stewardship and what they’re doing in the Sierra Nevadas with some massive trail-building projects that connect various mountain towns in the region.

Henry, Greg, thank you for your time and listeners, as always, thank you for taking the time to hear us talk about mountain biking! Hope you’re staying safe and getting some quality ride time in!

Thank you to jensonusa.com for supporting the Inside Line for over 4 years now. Shop for mountain bikes, components and riding gear and use coupon code insideline (all one word) at checkout so can save you 10% off on qualifying items.

Spring time is a fun time to try something different on your bike and Maxxis tires will let you slide around with a semi-slick or go big and grippy with a DoubleDown or DH casing. hit up maxxis.com for all tire sizes and constructions.

Finally, Santa Cruz and their Paydirt program are putting in $1m toward trail projects and over three years. They’ve already empowered some advocacy groups and are ready for more. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see how your project can be supported.

Welcome mountain bikers, thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. I’m honored to have Darren Murphy of PUSH Industries on the show today to keep the conversation rolling about mountain bikes, products, Covid and the economy.

A big thanks goes out to jensonusa.com who’s supported our show for the last 4 years. Use coupon code INSIDELINE at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

• SHOP PUSH Industries at JENSON USA
• SHOP Maxxis Tires at JENSON USA

Maxxis tires keep our show and the fastest mountain bikes rolling and Santa Cruz bicycles, who offer free lifetime bearing replacement and have a handful of models that can run a PUSH elevensix shock help us keep the lights on, too.

Inside Line Podcast with Darren Murphy from 2019

1. MTB Suspension Q&A with PUSH Industries
2. Darren Murphy of PUSH Industries

Show questions
Darren thanks for being on the show!

As you know, we talked with Joe Graney at Santa Cruz to discuss the bike supply issues, but I’m glad to have you on for a couple reasons. You’re a component supplier for some OE spec, you make custom shocks individuals, but you make everything in the USA. That seemed to be a theme of a fair number of comments on Joe’s interview that said “just make stuff in the USA, that’ll solve everything” - so what better person to speak with than you. Thanks for being on!

There may be a lot of people out there who don’t know what PUSH is. Give us a quick rundown of what you do.

I love asking you this because it’s probably impossible to answer, but what bike is getting the Elevensix request most these days?

How much business is tuning vs. new products these days at PUSH?

Let’s get into PUSH products and supply and demand. Are you sitting on inventory, has there been no real change or is it a struggle to keep up with demand?

Is high demand a good problem?

What’s out of your control that’s impacting manufacturing or delivery times?

What about material prices or labor prices?

Are you dependent on any international suppliers? You make everything here, but is international freight an issue at all for you?

How realistic is a “made in the USA” mountain bike product for existing brands out there?

PUSH Elevensix shocks are offered as options on a handful of new bikes. How is the OE game going right now?

How do you plan future business with uncertainty in the market?

Are you seeing a change in what customers want this year compared to a year or two ago?

If I’m a PUSH customer, what’s my lead time?

Do you have any insight into how the bigger suspension brands are being impacted?

Gaze into your crystal ball: How long do you think the market is going to be like this? Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel and if so, what does it look like?

Despite big demand now, do you have concerns about dark clouds on the economic horizon?

Welcome Mountain Bikers! Thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. I’m your host, Shawn Spomer. Today we have a treat! Charlie Sponsel, sometimes known as Team Robot is on the show. Charlie was a professional mountain bike racer, has a hilarious and informative presence on the internet, and is a down-to-earth, straight shooter when it comes to both bikes and, more importantly, life in general. We run the gamut of topics on today’s show, and I even had to call him back up to get his stance on chainstay length because we missed it the first time around. If you didn’t know, Charlie has a monthly advice column on Vital MTB, so if you have a question, hit him up by writing [email protected] on the old email.

A big thanks goes out to Jenson USA, supporter of The Inside Line for the last four years! Keep your bike running strong with parts from Jenson. If you use coupon code “insideline” all one word at checkout on jensonusa.com, you’ll receive 10% off qualifying items. Thank you Jenson!

Maxxis Tires just launched the updated Shorty tire. You can check out our review on VitalMTB.com with Squamish shredder, Joel Harwood, who gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars. A specialty tire for wet conditions, the Shorty is available now on maxxis.com

In our episode today, I speak with Charlie about trail advocacy and stewardship. Well, Santa Cruz Bicycles, through their Paydirt initiative is donating $1 million to trail projects over 3 years. You can see current funding recipients or submit your project to the program at santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt

Charlie, thank you. Listeners, we definitely thank you and I hope you enjoy the show.

Welcome Mountain Bikers! Did you know that Santa Cruz had shipping delays this year because they couldn’t get cardboard for their bike boxes? That is the kind of world we’re living in right now, and on today’s show, we talk with CEO of Santa Cruz, Joe Graney, about the current state of the bike industry and bike availability.

This episode is also available as a video on VitalMTB.com and our YouTube channel, showing our Zoom call and some behind-the-scenes footage of bike assembly, covid shield construction and more scenes from the Santa Cruz headquarters.

If you’re looking for bikes or components, JensonUSA.com should be at the top of your list. They’ve supported the Inside Line since day 1 and continue to offer 10% off qualifying items at checkout when you use coupon code, insideline, all one word. Thank you Jenson!

A fresh pair of Maxxis Tires may be the best way to update the personality of your bike. There’s nothing like new tires to keep you gripping and ripping and Maxxis make some of the best in the game. 

And finally, we touch on this a bit in the show, despite the hard times of the pandemic, Santa Cruz’s Paydirt initiative is donating $1m over three years to trail projects around the world. Discover the recent grant recipients and see how your project may get help. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt

Sven Martin, renowned mountain bike photographer, answers some of your questions in the second installment of #AskSvenAnything. Whether he’s giving a photography tutorial or describing how getting certain photographs was "probably-legal", his answers are inspiring and document the history of our great sport. Take your time, enjoy the audio responses and get lost in the tiny sampling of photos he chose for this month's feature.

See the photos that accompany Sven's answers on Vital MTB 

A big thanks to Santa Cruz Bicycles for getting behind this fun feature and thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of questions. Stay tuned to @VitalMTB on Instagram for round 3 in early March.

Follow Sven on Instagram - @svenmartinphoto

Welcome mountain bikers, happy 2021! What happens when the kids ask you for the mic so they can record their own Inside Line? Well, today happens and it warms my cold, black heart to no end. The #USDH gravity-loving crew from Rooted MTB take over the show to discuss their experiences as American downhill racers. Their honest, fun, self-deprecating look at what it takes to chase World Cup downhill dreams is a first-hand account of where our sport is today. It’s time for the old-timers to step back a bit and let the up-and-comers have their say. A word of caution for sensitive ears, there is some adult language in today’s show. And, if you’re wondering? Heck yes, I listened to the entire thing and loved every disjointed-laugh-filled minute of it. Enjoy the show #USDH!

The Inside Line is supported by Jenson USA where you can shop for all of your mountain bike and MTB-related gear. Use coupon code “insideline” all one word, at checkout on jensonusa.com and you’ll receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires make our bikes go ‘round and we’re honored to have them as an Inside Line supporter for the last 4 years! The most fun and easy way to alter a bike’s character or performance on the trail is with a set of new tires. Hit up maxxis.com to find the tire that’s best for you!

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see the grant recipients, to apply for a grant or learn more about this awesome trail-funding initiative.

Welcome Mountain Bikers. This is Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast, I’m gordo, and I hope you had a good holiday season. With 2021 just a moment away, I’m stoked to be sitting with a local bike shop owner for our show today. Ryan Cowling is the owner of Kore North Bike Shop in Meridian, Idaho. If I ever had a dream shop setup, it would be this…mountain bikes and skateboards!

We discuss his history with bicycles, discovering mountain biking while he lived in Japan, the ups and downs of running a local bike shop, being robbed and recovering stolen bikes with help from good friend Prison Mike, his love of Red Bull Rampage and so much more.

THANK YOU LISTENERS FOR SUPPORTING THE INSIDE LINE FOR FOUR YEARS!

Thank you to our sponsors
Jenson USA - use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires - our mountain bike tire of choice

Santa Cruz Bicycles and the Paydirt Fund - they're giving away $1 million over three years to trail projects and community building programs.

Welcome Mountain Bikers, we’re stoked to start a new monthly feature with our best photo friend and trackside heckler, Sven Martin. A week ago, using Instagram, we challenged you to #AskSvenAnything. Sven has chosen a good handful of questions out of the many that came in and dives deep into the answers. Whether he’s giving a masterclass in his photographic process or trolling Rachel Atherton to race enduro, the insight and experience in his answers are priceless.

If you’re listening in on our podcast channel, make sure you visit VitalMTB.com because Sven personally chose photos that correspond to some of the answers here…some classic photos that many of you may have never seen before.

Listen to Sven Martin's The Inside Line podcast

A big thanks to Santa Cruz Bicycles for getting behind this fun feature and thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of questions. Stay tuned to @VitalMTB on Instagram for round 2 in early January.

Follow Sven on Instagram - @svenmartinphoto

Welcome mountain bikers! We're lucky as a four-leaf clover to have John Lawlor on the show! John is a long-time mountain bike rider and racer-turned videographer and filmmaker. He’s been responsible for Vital RAW videos from World Cup downhill races the last few years and is a staple on the race scene. We talk team rumors, VHS tapes, his career as a former Elite-level bike racer, and the future of mountain bike filming.

We hope you're getting on the trails and staying safe out there!

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Maxxis Tires

A big shout out goes to Maxxis tires. Make sure your bike has the right shoes for springtime shredding! Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Thank you - Jenson USA

Jenson USA
Use code INSIDELINE and get 10% off select items

At jensonusa.com, you can save big with their MTB Gift Guide. Jerseys, shorts, outwear, helmets and even shoes are available at big discounts right now. Get dialed at Jenson USA!

Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. Today we're joined by MTB Marketing Manager for Maxxis Tires, Aaron Chamberlain. Maxxis has been behind The Inside Line since day one, almost four years now, and it's all thanks to Aaron. We're honored to have such a top-shelf brand getting behind something we believe in here at Vital.

Aaron discusses his love for bikes and finding his way into the bike industry after being an art school dropout. We discuss all things Maxxis, including choosing which tire models and constructions make the cut and having to deal with the name Assegai for Greg Minnaar's tire. How are mountain bike tires made? Why do some tires cost $90? We hit on those topics and there is even some censored team rumor gossip. Enjoy the show!

The Inside Line is proudly sponsored by Jenson USA, your online shopping source for bikes, riding gear, apparel, and components. Holiday deals are in full swing and if you use coupon code InsideLine (all one word) at checkout, you can receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires will keep you and your bike connected to the trail with their wide variety of tread patterns, rubber compounds, and tire constructions. I’m still enjoying an Assegai front tire with Minion Semi-Slick out back on my daily driver 5010. The Assegai decides the line with the Minion SS keeping things playful as it slides along for the ride. Maxxis.com has all your MTB tire needs.

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see the grant recipients, to apply for a grant or learn more about this awesome trail-funding initiative.

Welcome mountain bikers! We're proud to have a trail-building, bike-shredding guest on The Inside Line podcast today. Steve Wentz of Momentum Trail Concepts joins us in Boise, Idaho, in between excavator sessions, as he carves out a new trail here in town. The trail is part of a SWIMBA project that has been in the works for some time, and it offers up some new, exciting riding in our region.

Steve is a former US Junior National DH team member, a former World Cup DH racer, he’s a professional trail builder, a mad consumer of M&M’s, and a long-time Vital MTB test rider. In 2004, Steve freeloaded a ride in spomer's 2001 Chevy Malibu from the Calgary World Cup to Denver with Clay Porter riding shotgun. Steve Wentz is a unique human being who can't snap or whistle and was even a door-to-door window salesman. Thank you listeners for your support, I hope you’re getting some good ride time in, give your local trail builder a big, fat socially-distanced hug, and enjoy the episode!!!

The Inside Line is proudly sponsored by Jenson USA, your online shopping source for bikes, riding gear, apparel, and components. jensonusa.com has a Fall Riding essentials shopping page to keep you outfitted and on the trails as the temperatures drop. Use coupon code InsideLine (all one word) at checkout to receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires will keep you and your bike connected to the trail with their wide variety of tread patterns, rubber compounds, and tire constructions. I’m still enjoying an Assegai front tire with Minion Semi-Slick out back on my daily driver 5010. The Assegai decides the line with the Minion SS keeping things playful as it slides along for the ride. Maxxis.com has all your MTB tire needs.

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt to see the grant recipients, to apply for a grant or learn more about this awesome trail-funding initiative.

Vital MTB website
@VitalMTB on Instagram

Welcome Mountain Bikers! Thanks for tuning in to this special race-edition of The Inside Line mountain bike podcast. Today we feature racer interviews from the final World Cup Downhill of 2020. Race winners and others discuss the challenging double-header weekend. Loic Bruni, Greg Minnaar, Marine Cabirou, Matt Walker are just a few on the mic with @maddogboris and Dan Hearn, who covered the race for Vital MTB.

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe.

With all these new trails, you’re going to make sure you have the right gear for the ride. Hit up jensonusa.com/sale so save big on bikes, riding gear and components. whatever you need, Jenson has it through their online store and, you can even save 10% off qualifying items by using coupon code InsideLine (all one word) at check out.

Maxxis is a long-time supporter of the Inside Line. We love their tires and we’ve noticed more bikes are being spec’d with their MaxxGRIP rubber tires. Are you a MaxxGRIP type of rider or a MaxxTERRA, maybe one of each? What about you MaxxSPEED riders? They’re the goods for some serious hauling. Whatever compound you choose, Maxxis will keep you blasting the trails this autumn. Dig into more on maxxis.com to learn more about their tire constructions and compounds.

Picture this: You move from Florida to the West Coast, only to hear the siren song of mountain biking. In a matter of years, it takes over your life. You move to a small, mountain bike-centric town and the house you move to is strategically located a short pedal from the local trail network. You make your passion your job, you write about riding, and dedicate your livelihood to sharing the lives of mountain biking's biggest names. Along the way, you ride nearly every day. Rain gear is for riding in the rain and bike lights are for riding at night. Your worldview is through the lens of bikes and your view of bikes is about the people on them.

There is an element of that story in each of us but the complete picture is that of Lacy Kemp. Part of Kona Bicycles' marketing team, Lacy has a rich history among the heroes of our sport. She's a writer, a rider, an advocate, and has an idea or two about some things.

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe.

With all these new trails, you’re going to make sure you have the right gear for the ride. Hit up jensonusa.com/sale so save big on bikes, riding gear and components. whatever you need, Jenson has it through their online store and, you can even save 10% off qualifying items by using coupon code InsideLine (all one word) at check out.

Maxxis is a long-time supporter of the Inside Line. We love their tires and we’ve noticed more bikes are being spec’d with their MaxxGRIP rubber tires. Are you a MaxxGRIP type of rider or a MaxxTERRA, maybe one of each? What about you MaxxSPEED riders? They’re the goods for some serious hauling. Whatever compound you choose, Maxxis will keep you blasting the trails this autumn. Dig into more on maxxis.com to learn more about their tire constructions and compounds.

In this Tech Talk episode, Vital MTB's Brandon Turman calls up Giant Bicycles Category Manager, JC Schellenbach, and retired Professional mountain bike rider, Adam Craig, to discuss one of Giant's most exciting new bikes – the just-introduced Trance X Advanced Pro 29. Featuring 135mm rear travel, 150mm up front, progressive geometry, and a clever flip chip, this one is ready for anything. The three cover everything from Live Valve shock tuning to frame stiffness decisions and who it was designed for.

Visit Vital MTB to learn more

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line.

I’ve been missing the face-to-face interviews that have become less frequent due to the Covid restrictions. It’s hard to believe that almost two years ago, we ran this two-part interview with mountain bike legend, Kirt Voreis and Cam McCaul as co-host. I wanted to run it again because, 1. you can never get too much Voreis and, B. you can never get too much Voreis. I’ve crushed the two parts into one for this replay, so sit back, listen again or listen for the first time and #allhailvoreis

How rad is this? Our friends at Santa Cruz announced that their PayDirt initiative has named 16 organizations as the first funding recipients in the company's three-year, $1 million pledge aimed at trail building and mountain bike development across the globe.

With all these new trails, you’re going to make sure you have the right gear for the ride. Hit up jensonusa.com/sale so save big on bikes, riding gear and components. whatever you need, Jenson has it through their online store and, you can even save 10% off qualifying items by using coupon code InsideLine (all one word) at check out.

Maxxis is a long-time supporter of the Inside Line. We love their tires and we’ve noticed more bikes are being spec’d with their MaxxGRIP rubber tires. Are you a MaxxGRIP type of rider or a MaxxTERRA, maybe one of each? What about you MaxxSPEED riders? They’re the goods for some serious hauling. Whatever compound you choose, Maxxis will keep you blasting the trails this autumn. Dig into more on maxxis.com to learn more about their tire constructions and compounds.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. We have a great show today with guest, Chris Mandell of SRAM. He has a long history in the mountain biking industry. We get into all kinds of suspension discussion thanks to his experience at RockShox, and we learn about his penchant for big, suffering rides.

We hope you're getting on the trails and staying safe out there!

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Maxxis Tires

A big shout out goes to Maxxis tires. Make sure your bike has the right shoes for springtime shredding! Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Thank you - Jenson USA

Jenson USA
Use code INSIDELINE and get 10% off select items

At jensonusa.com, you can save big with their summer MTB apparel sale. Jerseys, shorts, outwear, helmets and even shoes are available at big discounts right now as summer comes to a close. Get dialed at Jenson USA!

Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

Welcome mountain bikers, this is a pre-game E-Bike Test Sessions edition of The Inside Line podcast. I’m Shawn Spomer and I’m stoked to be social distancing, in-person, with Vital’s very own Brandon *huck-n-slap-it-to-flat* Turman, Brad, *B3z-Bullet-Head* Howell, and our secret weapon tester, Sean *Griz* McClendon, who, when he’s not slinging the bling at Deity, likes to pretend he’s Kovarik doing two-wheel drifts at 90mph on Trail 4 here in Boise.

 E-bikes aren’t that fun without electricity and The Inside Line isn’t that fun without the support of our gracious sponsors

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA. Jenson USA has great deals on great mountain bikes and bike-related products both online and in-store and, coincidentally, two of the bikes in our test are available at Jenson. The Norco Sight VLT is available for online purchase or in-store purchase, and the Santa Cruz Heckler can be purchased in-store only through Jenson. Shop in person at their Corona California retail location, hours are limited right now and masks are required, but the doors are open. You can also access online purchases for curbside pick-up only at their Riverside, California location. As always, use coupon code insideline at check out on jensonusa.com to receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires makes The Inside Line and predictable traction on the trail possible. The Santa Cruz Heckler and Norco Sight VLT in our test both have Maxxis Minion DHR II tires front and rear. I think it’s safe to say that no one in the test is bummed with that tire spec. Hit up maxxis.com for more info.

Finally, one last Santa Cruz plug because they make sure The Inside Line is possible - You get free, lifetime pivot bearing replacement on any Santa Cruz full-suspension bike, including, the Heckler we’ve been hucking this week. santacruzbicycles.com/dealers will get you to a local Santa Cruz shop near you.

Considering the polarizing nature of this e-Edition of The Inside Line, please send all hate mail or love mail to [email protected] - We accept recorded, audio excerpts, memes or good, old-fashioned, opinionated written notes.

Alright, I’m gonna light the match, throw it into the leaf pile, sit back and watch it burn!! 

Welcome mountain bikers. This is the inside line podcast. I’m gordo and I’m honored to have co-host, Sean "Griz" McClendon, with me as we grill the one, the only, Kyle Strait. There’s no box to put Kyle in. He’s been a successful World Cup DH mountain bike racer, he's a king of style at the dirt jumps, he owns the Dual Slalom track, is a two-time Red Bull Rampage winner and one of the most influential bike riders in our sport. Kyle is candid and open about the ups and downs of his mountain biking career. Did you know he did a half-marathon while dribbling a soccer ball? It's all in there.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Maxxis Tires

A big shout out goes to Maxxis tires. Make sure your bike has the right shoes for springtime shredding! Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Thank you - Jenson USA

Jenson USA
Use code INSIDELINE and get 10% off select items

At jensonusa.com, a long-time supporter of The Inside Line, you can get 20% off a single qualifying item when you use code SAVE20 at check out. Riding season is right around the corner, so get dialed at Jenson USA!

Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

In this Tech Talk episode, Vital MTB's Brandon Turman calls up RockShox Product Manager, Jon Cancellier, to discuss one of the biggest, burliest forks in years – the just introduced RockShox ZEB. Featuring 38mm stanchions and travel lengths up to 190mm, you know this one is ready for business. The two cover everything from stiffness considerations to Pro rider feedback, where it shines on the trail, and who it was designed for.

Visit Vital MTB to learn more about the new RockShox Zeb fork

Clear down to the smallest details, Ibis bikes are known for their incredibly clean design. Roxy Lo has played a major role in making those bikes look and function in a phenomenal way. Her experience and role merge analytical and creative worlds. She's a bad-ass industrial designer with experience in a wide variety of fields and isn't afraid to bust out the sketchbook or virtual reality headset.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Maxxis Tires

A big shout out goes to Maxxis tires. Make sure your bike has the right shoes for springtime shredding! Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Thank you - Jenson USA

Jenson USA
Use code INSIDELINE and get 10% off select items

At jensonusa.com, a long-time supporter of The Inside Line, you can get 20% off a single qualifying item when you use code SAVE20 at check out. Riding season is right around the corner, so get dialed at Jenson USA!

Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

Ryan Cleek has been one of mountain biking's storytellers for over 20 years. He's played many roles in the industry as a photographer, writer, videographer and product tester for media outlets and bike brands alike. Along the way, he has made two feature-length films about mountain bikers and their journey in our sport. We had a chance to sit down and get the story of the storyteller, and it's pretty good, if we say so ourselves.

Learn More About Ryan Cleek and His Projects

https://www.ryancleek.com/

Instagram: @cleekndestroy 

Cam Zink - Reach for the Sky Documentary http://www.camzinkreachforthesky.com/ also now on Amazon Prime for free, here.

My mountain bike art site features images I've shot and made them into unique pop-art style designs through Illustrator and Photoshop. After each image, Ryan deletes the history of the layers, so it would be impossible to reproduce one of these designs from scratch. They are truly one-of-a-kind pieces. https://www.etsy.com/shop/BikeBlotter

Thank you listeners for your support. The Inside Line is supported by great mountain bike brands!

Thank you - Maxxis Tires
Thank you - Jenson USA
Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

The Big Mountain Enduro is the premier enduro mountain bike race series in North America. Brandon Ontiveros, founder of the BME, took his love for bikes, adventure and racing to make it his full-time job. When pro rider friends told him about European-based enduro mountain bike racing in the early 2000s, Brandon saw the writing on the wall, embraced the format, and began the successful and fun, Oregon Enduro Series and eventually the BME.

Kyle Warner, a Big Mountain Enduro racer, interviews Brandon about the different facets of what enduro racing is, or could be, they discuss the challenges and logistics of hosting a race, and they look into the future of the Big Mountain Enduro. In 2020, there will even be an e-MTB class at select venues.

COVID 19 has obviously impacted the 2020 race season, but BME events are currently scheduled to resume at the end of August in Big Sky, Montana.

BME 2020 Revised Racing Schedule
Big Sky, MT: August 22nd-23rd
Winter Park, CO: September 12th-13th
Angel Fire, NM – BME Finals: October 10th-11th

www.bigmountainenduro.com

cover photo by Eddie Clark

Welcome Mountain Bikers, we're trying something a little unique today with our guest Patrik Zuest of FSA. He builds a brand new wheel from start to finish during our interview. He filmed the process and we have the video on Vital MTB and our YouTube channel, so you can watch and listen at the same time if you'd like. Patrik is a long-time mountain bike rider and mechanic. Starting as a frothing grom in bike shops, he eventually worked is way up to the pro mechanic ranks. He was Aaron Gwin's mechanic with Yeti when Gwin first burst onto the scene at the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup in 2008. Since then Patrik has kept the love of bikes running is currently a jack-of-all-trades at FSA, running everything from tech support and QC to photography and video. We hope you're hanging in there and being safe as things open up, and we hope you enjoy the show with our little experiment. There are a couple of audio inconsistencies, but the stories and the tech insight are worth the full listen. Thank you, listeners, thank you, Patrik...YEW!

Summer is on the way, and JensonUSA.com has you covered for your riding gear needs. They're having a summer clearance sale on apparel to keep you cool and protected. Jerseys shorts, men's, women's - plenty of gear to choose from. As always, with Jenson USA.com, if you use coupon code insideline at checkout, you can receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires has the new XC Wide Trail tire spec for their Aspen and Rekon Race tires. The 29 x 2.4-inch tires are recommended for 30mm internal width rims, but are acceptable on 25mm internal or larger widths. The dual-compound, EXO casing tires come in at 720g for the Aspen and 760g for the Rekon Race. They’ll drop this summer, so keep an eye out at maxxis.com.

Now is a great time to get your bike into your local bike shop for some maintenance. Hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you. And last but not least, Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. 

We hope you're hanging in there and being safe as things open up, and we hope you enjoy the show with our little experiment. There are a couple of audio inconsistencies, but the stories and the tech insight are worth the full listen. Thank you listeners, thanks patrik...YEW!

Welcome mountain bikers! We are stoked to present an interview with Andrew Neethling. He's a man known for his style and fluidity on a bike with a consistent and decorated downhill race career. Since retiring from the race scene, Andrew remains involved in mountain biking as a rider for Scott Sports and a commentator for Crankworx live webcasts. He's also started his own MTB podcast called Moving the Needle, so be sure to give it a listen!

*Needles* and I go on for nearly two hours, and I wish we could have gone on for two hours longer! His knowledge and experience within our sport is second-to-none and the interview was a pleasure for me.

The Inside Line is brought to you by Jenson USA. If you or your mountain bike needs to be freshened up for the trails as lockdowns start to lift, JensonUSA.com has the best products at the best prices. use coupon code insideline at checkout, and receive 10% off qualifying items, too. Thanks Jenson!

If you go to VitalMTB.com and search our product guide for Maxxis, you’ll see that Maxxis tires have a bucketload of 5-out-of-5-star reviews from Vital viewers. Gravity, enduro, trail or XC, Maxxis tires will keep you gripping the trails this riding season. Hit up maxxis.com

And last but not least, Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

Thank you, Andrew, and a big thanks to Sven and Anka Martin. Andrew and I talk about their impact on our lives a bit, but I just want to reinforce how instrumental they’ve been for myself, for Andrew, and for a countless number of mountain bikers over the years. We miss you two. Thanks for all you do and have done for our community. Thank you listeners out there! We appreciate your support of the show. Enjoy!

Welcome mountain bikers! In this special Tech Talk episode of The Inside Line podcast, we dive deep into the world of carbon composites used in mountain biking. Vital MTB's Brandon Turman is joined remotely by Nic McCrae, the R&D Manager and Senior Composites Engineer at Santa Cruz Bicycles.

Nic's insightful words will help you learn the basics of how a carbon frame gets made, dispel some myths, and shine a light on some of the projects that happen in the Santa Cruz Carbon Lab.

Among other work, Nic played a large role in the creation of Reserve Carbon wheels and a custom full-carbon trials bike for Danny MacAskill.

If you need a new helmet as the season ramps up, go to JensonUSA.com. They have a big helmet sale going right now with savings up to 67% on protection for your dome. As always, with Jenson USA, if you use coupon code insideline at checkout, you can receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires has introduced XC Wide Trail tire spec for their Aspen and Rekon Race tires. The 29 x 2.4-inch tires are recommended for 30mm internal width rims, but are acceptable on 25mm internal or larger widths. The dual-compound, EXO casing tires come in at 720g for the Aspen and 760g for the Rekon Race. They’ll drop this summer, so keep an eye out at maxxis.com.

And last but not least, Santa Cruz Bicycles offers free pivot bearing replacement for life on any of their full-suspension frames. If your riding has slowed down with a bit of lockdown, now’s a great time to get your local shop for some bike maintenance. hit up santacruzbicycles.com/dealers to find a great shop near you.

We are pleased as punch to sit down with a man who's own personal history is so interwoven with the history of our sport. Howie Zink has a deep and rich relationship with mountain biking. Beyond being the older brother to freeride icon, Cameron Zink, Howie has his own stories of globe-trotting exploits, brushes with greatness and heartbreak. Listen in as Howie walks us through his journey from riding his dad's mountain bikes to heading the US division of Pyga Mountain Bikes. Along the way, he recalls a junior Sam Hill, how he was beaten by Wade Simmons at Crankworx and defeated Brandon Semenuk in a video contest. Howie is a proud father, a businessman and a mountain biker and we hope you appreciate his story as much as we did.

Thank you - Jenson USA

Use code INSIDELINE and get 10% off select items

Hit up the Revive Your Ride sale at jensonusa.com, a long-time supporter of The Inside Line. Riding season is right around the corner, so get dialed!

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

A big shout out goes to Maxxis tires. The Minion DHF has 14 5-star reviews by Vital MTB members in our product guide. Make sure your bike has the right shoes for springtime shredding! Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Thank you - Santa Cruz Bicycles

Santa Cruz Bicycles is encouraging you to support local businesses and bike shops as much as possible in these challenging times. I went to santacruzbicycles.com/dealers, typed in my zip code and up popped Joyride Cycles in Boise with a solid fleet of Santa Cruz demo bikes. Do it safely and according to local government stay-at-home orders, but if you can, support the local shops that support your mountain bike scene. The more people we get on bikes now, the more we’ll have on bikes in the future.

The current Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion and World Cup DH overall winner, Loic Bruni, continues his Outspoken interview series in 2020. Despite the disruption to the racing schedule due to Coronavirus, Loic gets the last World Cup DH race winner, Danny Hart, on the line. Danny won the World Cup Downhill race at Snowshoe, West Virginia, last season and has a string of other strong performances throughout his career like a 2016 World Championships victory, as well as the unforgettable winning run at the 2011 World Champs in Champery.

Two of the greatest mountain bike racers on the planet bring a unique perspective to their discussion as they talk about racing, bike setup, success, family and what it takes to win.

Thanks to Fox MTB for supporting the series

Welcome mountain bikers. thanks for tuning in to Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. We pushed back our episode a day, so it didn’t land on April 1st. Our guest today is Dan Hallada, co-founder of Cushcore. Kyle Warner sat down with him at the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival before all the Corona chaos, and the discussion is inspiring and enlightening. It’s really crazy to think about how quickly tire inserts have taken our MTB world by storm and without a doubt, Cushcore is at the front of that movement.

Jenson USA has a Speed into Spring sale going on now through April 19th with some big savings on Specialized products and gear. And, as always, use coupon code insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis tires has supported The Inside Line since day 1, and they make the best tires for your mountain bike schralping needs. If your bike needs some spice, there’s nothing better than a new pair of Maxxis tires to bring it back to life.

And finally, before getting into the show, don’t forget about the importance of getting some fresh air during this difficult time. Do it safely, do it wisely and think about how important our trails have become. The Paydirt Fund has pledged to give away $1,000,000 over the next three years to support trail building projects and initiatives. If your community has a trail project that could use some help, apply to The Paydirt Fund to see if it qualifies.

We all hope you’re hanging in there in these tough times and want give a big thanks to Kyle Warner for another insightful show.

Vital's Brandon Turman checks in with Guerrilla Gravity to discuss how the Coronavirus is impacting their US-made mountain bike production. This conversation was recorded on March 18, 2020.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Thank you - Jenson USA

Thank you - The Paydirt Fund

Welcome mountain bikers! As our guest today just said in an email, "I'm stoked to bring something positive to people's day." Nate Hills, the man behind #followcamfriday is way more than just a POV celebrity. He has a long riding and racing history that blossomed into an "ambassador" career. Nate and Kyle Warner got together at the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival to discuss how Nate arrived at his current position, hitting on Colorado MTB race history, trail stewardship, developing his YouTube channel, and what it means to be an approachable person on the scene. Nate defines himself as a mountain biker, not a just a YouTuber. For the bike nerds, we get some insight into his bike build and setup, too.

Thank you, Jenson USA for being a supporter of The Inside line since the beginning. Nate rides Yeti mountain bikes and you can get Yeti at Jensonusa.com. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and get 10% off qualifying items.

You can see Nate on YouTube channel running Maxxis Tires on his bikes and we're proud to have Maxxis as a sponsor of The Inside Line. Hit up maxxis.com to discover their line of mountain bike tires.

Nate couldn't have #followcamfriday if we didn't have mountain bike trails. The Paydirt Fund is committed to increasing access to trails by supporting the work of people who make it happen. They're putting up $1 million over the next three years towards trail projects, local organizations, events and programs that strengthening opportunities for people to get out on the trails.

Has MTB design peaked? Can we really get better mountain bikes that what we have now? This week The Inside Listeners give their feedback on whether mountain bike design is as good as it gets.

For our next topic, we want to know your best mountain bike-related tips, tricks, techniques and hacks for maintenance, for riding, for trailside repair or safety and security. It’s a broad topic, but we know you all have some secret tricks or tools or techniques that could make everyone’s lives a little easier. Sky's the limit on what you can share

Share your best MTB-related hacks
Email your audio (preferred) or written responses to [email protected] by March 22nd and we'll air them on our March 26th show.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Thank you - Jenson USA

Thank you - The Paydirt Fund

What started out as an addiction to racing downhill mountain bikes turned into a career of building and designing competitive bikes and suspension platforms. Chris Canfield, who just happens to be a current Masters World Champion DH racer, created the CBF suspension platform found on Revel Bikes and Canfield Bikes. He and Kyle Warner go into some epic history about Canfield Brothers bikes and the early Big Fat Fatty Fat downhill bike, the hustling involved with running a bike brand, his racing career and his take on mountain bike suspension design. It's an informative and exciting show this week!

This week's Inside Line Listener Response question: Is Mountain Bike Design as Good as it gets? Can bikes get any better?
Email your audio or written responses to [email protected] by March 8th and we'll air them on our March 11th show.

Learn more about Chris Canfield and Suspension Formulas

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Thank you - Jenson USA

Thank you - The Paydirt Fund

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning in to The Inside Line podcast. If you’ve been listening, you know that I've taken a stab at getting direct feedback from you, the listener, and I’m really stoked with how it’s taken off. As a result, I’ve decided to split up the alternating weeks with our normal guest interviews while adding shows dedicated to listener interaction. Instead of taking away from our guest interviews with listener response questions at the beginning their shows, let’s just do two separate styles of The Inside Line. Today, we’re going hear the responses after I asked “are mountain bikes too expensive?” It seems to be a pretty relevant and hot topic these days and there was no shortage of quality replies from you out there, so thank you.

Before we get into the responses, the next question in our listener response series will be “Is mountain bike design as good as it gets?"

Have we topped out with quality, geometry, suspension, materials etc? I had a Santa Cruz Nomad in 2009. I said to myself, out loud at the time, “I’ll never need another mountain bike again. this is perfect.” I looked at a photo of this bike a few weeks ago and chuckled. The bike had 26” wheels (nothing wrong with that), triple chainring, no dropper post, and obviously geometry that's quite a bit different to today's bikes. But, at the time, I was convinced I never needed anything on my bike to change. I feel that way about the bikes in my garage right now, too. Keep in mind, I’m never one to think that the bike itself is responsible for the joy found on a ride. Any bike can be a fun bike, and if I didn’t work with in the mountain bike industry, I’d probably still be having fun on my 1995 Gary Fisher Tassajara because I’m such a cheapskate.

So, besides adding motors (if you want to discuss that can of worms, please do), Is mountain bike design as good as it gets? What will mountain bikes look like 10 years from now?

Please record your answers using your phone’s voice memo function, and I’ll play it on the next show. If you’d rather type a response, I’ll read those, too.

Send your responses to [email protected] by Sunday March 8th, and the answers will go live on our March 11th show. If you send in an audio response, you may be a lucky recipient of a limited-edition Inside Line t-shirt.

As mentioned in the last show, we had a bunch of bikes launch in the last few weeks that went well past the $10,000 range. Some were e-bikes, but so many comments on a bike launch announcement, in communities like YouTube or Instagram especially, express anger or disbelief at bike prices. Vital conducted a $2,000 mountain bike comparison a few months ago that we labeled “Budget Mountain Bike Review,” and many comments were “What?! 2,000 is budget?!” Clearly, there are plenty of opinions on the matter, so I’m honored to play the thoughts and insights from you listeners who addressed this question.

Thank you to all who responded and enjoy the show!

Thank you - Maxxis Tires
A big thanks goes out to Maxxis Tires as they continue to support The Inside Line.

Thank you - Jenson USA
JensonUSA.com, supporter of The Inside Line since day one, has a special warehouse sale going on now. Hit that link to save big on bikes, parts and riding gear.

Thank you - Paydirt Fund
The Paydirt Fund is giving away $1,000,000 to trail projects over the next 3 years.

Welcome mountain bikers! Thanks for tuning into The Inside Line podcast. Today we wrap up a candid interview with influential photographer, Ian Hylands. In part one we discussed his history and his impact on our sport, and today we get into his battle with Lyme disease and how that impacted his life. We dig into how he transitioned from a film photographer primarily shooting for print magazines to digital and internet-based work, his time as staff photographer at Niner Bikes, how he ended up at Deity components and a brief nod to the epic human we know as John Kerr, the photographer at Mountain Bike Action. We conclude with some photo tech with Ph.D-level insight into flash photography. It’s been an honor to have Ian on the show and I know you’ll enjoy the episode.

At jensonusa.com, a long-time supporter of The Inside Line, you can get 20% off a single qualifying item when you use code SAVE20 at check out. Riding season is right around the corner, so get dialed at Jenson USA!

Speaking of riding season, make sure your bike has the proper shoes for springtime shredding with Maxxis Tires. Maxxis has supported The Inside Line since day one and they continue to make our bikes grips, rip and roll.

Have I mentioned riding season? springtime yet? If your area has a trail project that could use some help, The Paydirt fund is donating a million dollars over 3 years to make sure our riding community grows by supporting initiatives that get people on the trails. Apply for a grant at the Paydirt fund to make your case known, we can all do our part.

We’ll keep this week’s Listener response question nice and tight. What do you think about the prices of mountain bikes and ebikes these days? In just the last week, we had a few different new bike come out that blew past the $10,000 range. We also have some incredibly-performing budget bikes out there now. What do you think?

Use your phone’s voice memo feature to record your response and email that recording to [email protected]. You can also send me a written response to the same address. I’ll feature the responses in the next Listener Response show this coming week. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this and, as always, all of us here at Vital appreciate your feedback and support of The Inside Line. Let’s do it! Thank you Hylands, now, where’s that spring time weather at!

Welcome Mountain Bikers, this is The Inside Listener Response podcast. Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and the Paydirt Fund help make The Inside Line possible.

Last week at the beginning of the Ian Hylands interview, I threw out a question about social media and mountain biking and wanted to know what you think about it. In hindsight, it’s not much of a surprise that the responses were pretty thin. Two of you sent audio commentary and there was a write-in response which I’ll read. This listener response concept is new for me and is a learning process. it makes sense that, if you’re not in the business of media or content creation or being a paid athlete, that talking about social media might not be that interesting, but we’ll carry on.

Thanks to Brian, Dylan and Jarrod for their responses this week.

In addition to those, this week we have some of the best freeriders share their thoughts on this topic and more, too.

Every winter, freeriders from the great white north make their way down to Reno, Nevada to visit Cam Zink, blast 100 foot jumps and soak up some mid-winter sun. Graham Agassiz and Tom van Steenbergen were in town, and Vital staffer, Brad Howell, had some candid conversations with the trio. What transpires is an organic conversation between three heavy hitters over pizza and beers.

We kick off with the listener responses and then the discussion with Zink, Aggy and Tom about overcoming injury, pushing themselves and each other, as well as the impacts that today’s instant media has on the sport freeride mountain biking.

Part 2 of Ian Hyland’s interview will air on Friday, February 14th, it’s a big few days for MTB this week, so for now, enjoy a conversation with Cam Zink, Aggy and TVS thanks to Brad Howell.

Email me your thoughts or comments on the show - [email protected]

Welcome mountain bikers. Thanks for tuning in to The Inside Line and thanks for your patience this week. We had some technical difficulties with the recording of Ian Hylands that you’ll hear today, but I’m stoked to report the interview was recovered after some painstakingly repetitive work, and the stories and history await through this special talk with one of our sport’s most influential and inspiring photographers.

Ian and I talked for almost 3 hours and I’ve broken it up into 2 parts. Today we’ll learn about his journey into mountain biking and photography, his incredible depth in the mountain bike scene with one of the first north shore photos to ever run in BIKE mag in the early 90s…his journeys as Darren Berrecloth launched his career in the mountain bike world, road trips with Voreis, Lenosky and chase and so much more and so much impact on what mountain biking is today, whether directly or indirectly through his imagery. we don’t even touch on half of what he’s done for our sport, but it’s an honor to have this one on the record. thank you Ian. Thank you the listeners, enjoy the show.

I just want to thank you all again for your responses to our question about flow trails and trail design in the last episode. The passion and diversity of opinions about how we ride make our sport great. thank you. On the topic of trails, have you heard of The PayDirt Fund? They’re pledging a million bucks over the next three years towards trail projects, local organizations, events...anything geared towards creating and strengthening opportunities for people to get out on the trails.

The Inside Line Listener Response Questions

Since our guest this week is a world-class photographer who’s made a living creating mountain bike pictures for magazines, riders and brands over the years, I figured we’d open the social media can worms for discussion this week. As Ian and I talked, we both recalled individual images that defined moments in our lives, images that crusty older mountain bikers like me would all probably remember because there were only a few places to look at mountain bike photos back then. Now I don’t remember photos or videos I saw last week because of the flood of content out there. And Vital is to blame for that flood, no doubt. My goal here is not to just shit on social media like a “back in my day” complaint. I think there are incredible benefits and positives to the accessibility of info we all have through our phones and places like Instagram. I want to know what benefits you get out of social media. What are you losing because of it? Do you make buying choices for or against something because of what you see on social media? Let’s open it up, let me hear your thoughts, pros and cons of social media, specifically related to mountain biking.

Ideally, I’d LOVE to get an audio message about this from you, so it can play on our Listener Response episodes of The Inside Line. Use your phone's voice recorder and email your audio file to [email protected]. You can send me a written response to that email too, and I may read it on the show. As a carrot, you should know that if you send an audio file, you could be in the running for something special. I'll run the episode with your responses sometime next week and we’ll continue with part 2 of Ian’s interview on February 12th.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires

Thank you - Jenson USA

Welcome mountain bikers. A question was asked at the beginning of last week’s The Inside Line episode with Shimano’s Joe Lawwill. I wanted to try something new this year, to engage more with you, the listener, and I’m blown away by your responses. So much so, that I’m taking your feedback to create supplemental episodes with your opinions on the topic brought up.

So, I began wondering why so many new mountain bike trails seem to be flow trails instead of natural trails. I wondered how this may impact the future of our sport. Are we making MTB too easy in general or do the benefits of getting new riders out on the bike safely outweigh any potential boredom long-time riders might experience on a flow trail.

You all showed up with some great, diverse responses. There were even a few brave souls who recorded their thoughts and a bunch wrote in to weigh in on the topic, which is awesome. In this episode, I read the write-in responses and play the audio replies.

If you have any questions or comments about the show, email your audio thoughts or a written message to [email protected]. You can also comment on VitalMTB.com, too. To get me audio, just use the voice memo function on your phone or computer, and fire it over to my email address.

I figure we do this with every episode and see where it takes us. Thanks to everyone who responded and stay tuned for the next Inside Line on January 29th.

If you're not involved with your local trail advocacy group, get involved, so you can make a difference in your region. And thank you to trail builders around the world. Without you, we'd have nothing to ride, bermed, natural or otherwise.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires
A big thanks goes out to Maxxis Tires as they continue to support The Inside Line.

Thank you - Jenson USA
JensonUSA.com, supporter of The Inside Line since day one, has a special warehouse sale going on now. Hit that link to save big on bikes, parts and riding gear.

Email [email protected] to share your thoughts on this week's topic of conversation or if you have questions and comments about The Inside Line podcast.

Shimano MTB Marketing Specialist, Joe Lawwill was one of the first people to ride a full-suspension mountain bike. His father, the legendary motorcycle racer, Mert Lawwill, made the bike some 30 years ago. From a budding motocross career that organically grew into a life in the cycling industry, Joe has been immersed in our sport for decades after being turned on to the speed of mountain biking while riding the infamous Repack trail with a young Myles Rockwell. Joe's pedigree of helping develop and test some of the most influential bikes of our sport's history has led him to a position at Shimano where he manages mountain bike racers and athletes in an effort to develop world-class product. Kyle Warner conducts this enlightening interview, filled with great stories about the past, as well as diving into where Joe sees mountain biking's future headed.

Thank you - Maxxis Tires
A big thanks goes out to Maxxis Tires as they continue to support The Inside Line. The Vital test crew just finished a short-travel 29er Test Sessions in the Phoenix area last week and each of the 5 bikes was outfitted with a 2.5 Assegai EXO+ tire up front and a 2.3 Aggressor tire with DoubleDown casing out back. No flats, no tears, no problems throughout the entire testing period despite the sharpest rocks, plenty of hucks to flat and cacti galore. The Test Sessions video will be out in late February.

Thank you - Jenson USA
New Year, New Gear, JensonUSA.com, supporter of The Inside Line since day one, has a special promotion going on. Use Code NEWYEAR at checkout and get 15% off one full-priced item. You can also find the latest Shimano products at Jenson USA. There are sale items and the new 12-speed XTR, XT and SLX drivetrain components to get your mitts on.

Email [email protected] to share your thoughts on this week's topic of conversation or if you have questions and comments about The Inside Line podcast.

This week on The Inside Line, Kyle Warner hosts the show with two-wheeling destroyer, Barry Nobles. Stories of Barry growing up in Alabama and getting into bikes, finding BMX racing and turning that racing into a career are covered. Eventually, Barry adds mountain biking to his competitive focus, all while trying to make the Olympics for BMX. From Crankworx podiums to double backflips and gnarly crashes in the X-Games, Barry has found his path, learning from successes and failures throughout the years. He trusts his instincts and isn't slowing down one bit, still pushing competition in both BMX and MTB. Vital gives big thanks to Kyle for a great interview, it's an awesome show! Enjoy.

The Inside Line is an exclusive mountain bike podcast produced by Vital MTB with support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

We're honored to have this interview with legendary BMX racer and cycling fanatic, Mike "Hollywood" Miranda. Kyle Warner sat down with Mike in Bentonville, Arkansas, a few months ago for a fun, a candid discussion detailing some of Mike's comedic and character-building childhood moments, his involvement with the cult classic movie, RAD, as well as getting more kids stoked on bikes as he works with Hyper Bikes, which are sold through Walmart. Thank you Kyle for the interview, and thank you Mike for a lifetime of inspiration!

Santa Cruz Bicycles commits to giving away $1 million to projects that increase access to trails

This is our commitment to increasing access to quality trails. We’re pledging to give $1 million over the next three years to trail development projects, local and national advocacy organizations, events, and programs geared toward creating and strengthening access to trails.

Santa Cruz wants to support activities that benefit riders and their local communities. And, we want to inspire others to do the same.

Click photo to change size and caption

PayDirt is about supporting grassroots organizations to do the silent work of advocacy to build or maintain the trails we all enjoy. Any group who has an idea or running project that increases access or improves the experience of mountain biking can apply to the PayDirt fund. Starting today.

Apply today - www.santacruzbicycles.com/paydirt

Starting November 19th we’re opening up the application process for local organizations and projects to apply for funding.

Any project that increases access for mountain bikes will be considered; whether that’s building trails, supporting local trail and MTB organizations with their advocacy efforts, trail builders or providing opportunities to get more riders on bikes more often.

Long-time supporters of good causes

SCB has long supported people and groups that provide greater trail access. We've partnered with groups like Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship since their inception on the quest to create sustainable recreation-based communities in California’s Lost Sierras region through trail stewardship, job creation and world-class events. We started by supplying Greg Williams with bikes for his rental/shuttle business back in 1994 and we’ve supported the Downieville Classic since the beginning. We’ve been supplying SBTS with bikes for their annual $5 Per Foot campaign, which to this day has raised over $400,000 thanks to riders everywhere. We continue to offer our financial support to SBTS each year and want to continue that relationship long into the future because they’ve got a lot of big plans for that area...

Locally, in Santa Cruz, we are big supporters of Mountain Bikers Of Santa Cruz (MBoSC). Despite the origin stories from Marin County, mountain bike trail access in California does not come easy. Despite being the home to a lot of mountain bike companies and a lot of mountain bikers the number of legal and non-threatened trails isn’t that great. Of the 220 miles of official trail in the county, less than 40 are open to mountain bikes. MBoSC works to support, preserve, and expand trail access and responsible mountain biking in Santa Cruz County. Every employee of Santa Cruz Bicycles is a member of MBoSC, we attempt to encourage as many of our staff to go out and dig alongside MBoSC, we’ve partnered on several fundraising programs in the past and we’re increasing our commitment to them for the future through event partnership of the Surf City Cyclocross series (the USA’s longest-running CX race series) and the Old Cabin Classic in Wilder Ranch State Park. Both events are held a stone’s throw away from our bike factory in Santa Cruz.

The San Vicente Redwoods trails project is something that’s been brewing for a while. When a large area of wild space on the coast just north of town became potentially accessible by the public Santa Cruz Bicycles led a local industry syndicate to fundraise for the property’s recreational trail plan. This collaboration meant we were able to raise the funds necessary to get through the project planning stage (which was executed by MBoSC and SBTS), and we want to see it happen so we threw in an additional $500,000 in the campaign to raise the $7m the project will cost (it’s not just trails, but also infrastructure, maintenance and wildlife&

As a kid, Carlos Matutes found freedom on a bicycle thanks to a local BMX track in his Texas town. Since then, he has continued to immerse himself in all forms of cycling, from BMX, to mountain biking, to road racing and endurance events. At one point, he even rode a rigid, fixed-gear mountain bike on the trails.

Experience as a mechanic and working for a cycling parts distribution business has helped Carlos see all sides of our sport. He eventually found himself in Boise, Idaho, seeking life in the mountain west. His passion for bikes and making a difference in his community led him to the position of Executive Director of SWIMBA, Southwestern Idaho Mountain Bike Association. Carlos discusses what it means to be involved in your local trail advocacy group. It's not just about dig days or new trails, it's about a focused community and enrollment numbers that show local, regional and national governments that the mountain biking community is a force. He wants mountain biking to be accessible to people of all economic levels, not just those who can afford expensive bikes and long trips to faraway trails.

If you're not a member of your local MTB group, get involved. We want this episode to inspire you.

Become a SWIMBA member for only $25 per year

The Inside Line is an exclusive mountain bike podcast produced by Vital MTB with support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

We’re going to try something a little different this week and discuss the recent Red Bull Rampage event from three different perspectives. Rampage is the pinnacle of freeride mountain biking. Its imagery is iconic, the moves and consequences are only accomplished under its event conditions and never-been-done bike riding takes place every time it happens. Kyle Jameson was one of the event judges, Sean "Griz" McClendon made the 12-hour drive to Virgin, Utah, to be a spectator at the venue, and I was an online viewer of the event. Since Rampage is a judged, subjective event, opinions about lines, tricks and scores are all over the internet, so bringing the three different Rampage experiences together made for some interesting conversation.

Thanks for listening and enjoying The Inside Line.

The Inside Line is an exclusive mountain bike podcast produced by Vital MTB with support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

It's with sad hearts that we mourn the loss of Jordie Lunn. Jordie lost his life during a mountain biking accident a few days ago, stunning friends, family and the MTB community. The Inside Line focuses on his giving heart and his adventurous nature through stories told by fellow riders and friends. Rest in peace, Jordie. We miss you. #longlivejordie

Days before the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, current DH champ, Loic Bruni spends some time with Enduro World Series racer, Martin Maes. Though Martin focuses on enduro racing, he is in Mont-Sainte-Anne to compete in the downhill event at Worlds. Last year, the young Belgian mountain bike racer won the La Bresse World Cup downhill even though he was competing in a full EWS season. Loic and Martin discuss World Championships, returning to racing at the Northstar EWS after a suspension due to the recent doping incident Martin went through, and what it means to be a world-class MTB competitor.

You can also watch the interview on our YouTube channel

Thanks to Fox MTB for supporting the Outspoken series.

After a few days shooting photos and getting to know his family in Buena Vista, Colorado, Brandon Turman had the chance to sit down with none other than Mick Hannah, also known as "Sik Mik." With a mountain bike career that spans nearly two decades and well over two hundred results, you've no doubt seen this man lighting up the races. While some of today's younger riders may know Mick as the guy that throws a perfect suicide every race, there's a whole heap of history to talk about. 

We cover everything from his formative years in Australia, growing up racing BMX, and his first DH races to how mountain biking has evolved, what the future holds, burnout, racing with a sibling, and integrating his family and the sport he loves so much. Mick is a truly genuine individual with a strong work ethic and dedication that keeps him firing on all cylinders. 

Your three-time consecutive (4-time total) UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Champion and 2019 World Cup Downhill series winner, Loic Bruni, sits down with his race team manager, Laurent Delorme and the manager of Canyon Factory Racing, Gabe Fox. Laurent and Gabe have been involved with winning World Cup downhill teams for years and they share their insight about what it takes to earn the rainbow stripes and race wins. Gabe Fox has been instrumental in scouting talent like the late, great, Stevie Smith and continues to build race-winning programs. At Vital, we are honored that Loic committed to this incredible interview series this year in the midst of defending his racing accomplishments. His interview skills and personable demeanor have made Outspoken a must-watch and must-listen for any mountain bike race fan. Thank you to Aaron Bartlett of Creative Concept for producing the programs and Fox MTB for their support behind the project.

Welcome mountain bikers! We're proud to bring you an Inside Line episode with a wonder grom of #USDH, Chris Grice. The 16-year-old from North Carolina is amped to ride and race mountain bikes, driving across the country multiple times a year to get it done at the national level. We caught up with him on August 1, a week after he won his second U.S. National Championships DH race in the 15-16 Junior Cat 1 category. The race was in Winter Park, Colorado, and he was road-tripping through Idaho on his way to Crankworx with his dad and JD Swanguen.

Chris isn't the only superstar of the up-and-coming downhill MTB race scene. The junior classes at local mountain bike races are growing like wildfire, often being the largest classes at events. We're glad to share some of the stoke around the future of our sport!

Thanks for listening and enjoying The Inside Line

The Inside Line is an exclusive mountain bike podcast produced by Vital MTB with support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

#USDH

Was this the greatest downhill mountain bike race ever? Steve Peat thinks so, and he's seen almost every one of them! The final race of the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill season concluded in Snowshoe, West Virginia, with Danny Hart taking the race win and Loic Bruni narrowly edging out Amaury Pierron for the World Cup overall Championship of 2019. Loic would need a third place finish to keep the overall if Amaury won the race. Amaury was leading the race with an early run that seemed unbeatable. Loic dropped in and ended up in 3rd place with only Danny Hart remaining. If Danny landed in 2nd, Amaury would win the overall. If Danny won the race, Loic would win the overall. Danny's split times were so close the entire way down his run, that until he crossed the line, no one was sure what the outcome would be. Danny eventually beat Amaury by just .656 seconds, winning the race and leaving Loic with the title.

Tracey Hannah earned the women's overall championships victory, but not after Marine Cabirou took the race win, forcing Tracey to be mistake-free within a tight threshold. If Marine won the race, Tracey would have to finish 7th or better. Tracey ended up finishing 5th with just a few seconds to spare and earned the overall victory.

Rider Interviews and Times Table of Contents
1:26 - Steve Peat
5:13 - Loic Bruni
11:38 - Amaury Pierron
20:45 - Eddie Masters
22:18 - Laurent Delorme, Loic's Team Manager
23:47 - Tracey Hannah
29:56 - Danny Hart
34:09 - Marine Cabirou
35:48 - Charlie Harrison
42:12 - Dakotah Norton
43:09 - Bruce Klein
45:11 - Thibaut Daprela
47:01 - Myriam Nicole
48:21 - Troy Brosnan
51:54 - Chris Kilmurry
55:12 - Veronika Widmann
56:10 - Greg Minnaar
1:00:00 - Loris Vergier
1:03:37 - Luke Meier-Smith
1:04:53 - Greg Williamson
1:06:28 - Thomas Estaque
1:07:21 - Dean Lucas (Nicest guy in Downhilling?)
1:10:56 - Finn Iles
1:16:08 - Kye A'hern

It often seems those young, natural talents, who have so much promise and future, end up struggling with the biggest hurdles. Finding success in something easily at a young age can cripple the growth and maturity of an individual, leaving them wondering what happened when opportunities finally close and success can't override questionable personal choices. JD Swanguen tasted success in mountain biking at a young age. The San Diego native was around the right people thanks to his father, John, who is one of the unsung pioneers of freestyle BMX. When JD found an interest in mountain biking, that interest was fostered through family support and eventually sponsorship. His style was honed through dirt jumping and skatepark riding and his downhill racing results were rising. Without ever seriously training, and in the face of some hard partying, JD managed to earn a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Fort William, 2007. As his career blossomed, his decisions as young man still in his teens, would end up sidelining that career before he ever reached his true racing potential. Before his career came to end, however, JD was experimenting with some of the first 29er downhill bikes made by Jeff Steber at Intense back in 2010, and JD always remained one of the most stylish riders on the track. By 2012, JD just wasn't at the races anymore. He found his way into Lindsey Wilson College, met a girl and had a daughter and continues to live on the East Coast. We're honored to have caught up with JD to put some myths to rest and to hear his story, full of hard lessons learned. 

The current Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion, Loic Bruni, is interviewing the rider of his choice at each World Cup DH round in 2019 for his Outspoken series on Vital MTB. This episode features the Greatest Of All Time, Greg Minnaar. Following a horrific start to the season in Maribor, where Greg failed to qualify for race day (a career first), he sits down with Loic to discuss all aspects of mountain bike racing. Career longevity, bike tech like 29ers in downhill, being on the Santa Cruz Syndicate with Steve Peat, Nathan Rennie and Josh Bryceland, the boredom of training and even the art of crying are touched on. When the person conducting the interview knows the elite-level stresses and struggles as well as the subject, incredible insight is the result.

This may be the most insightful look into what it means to be a modern downhill mountain bike racer. Troy Brosnan, tied for 2nd place in the 2019 UCI World Cup DH overall, sits down with Loic Bruni, the current leader in the downhill race series. Troy is known for his consistency at the races, regularly placing 2nd or 3rd. He's won two World Cup downhills in his career, but Loic questions Troy if it's time to push harder for the win. The two discuss race technique, the mountain bike community, being teammates with Sam Hill, Aaron Gwin and Fabien Barel, junior racing and bike setup (with Troy racing a 29-inch front wheel for the first time in Val di Sole this weekend). The interview concludes with the two discussing pro racing contract negotiation and the secrecy behind it all. Truly a fascinating and candid interview with two of the fastest mountain bikers on the planet in the latest Outspoken interview.

We are honored at Vital to be a part of this incredible interview series with Loic this year. Aaron "Mono" Bartlett put it all together and made it happen, and we're blown away. The questions Loic asks, the experiences only he and these riders have gone through make it so special. Thank you Loic, Mono, Fox Racing for getting behind it and the interview guests. -gordo

Loic Bruni, the current World Cup DH overall leader and reigning downhill World Champion, interviews Brendan Fairclough at the Lenzerheide race. He and Brendan discuss what it means to be a pro downhill racer, competing in Red Bull Rampage and the future of the sport. Brendan recently missed qualifying at the Lenzerheide World Cup, but still agreed to sit down with Loic for the discussion. Yeah Brendan!

We're excited to have Logan Binggeli on The Inside Line this week. Logan is a former U.S. National Downhill mountain bike champion and Red Bull Rampage podium finisher. Growing up in Utah with a motocross background, he found his way to mountain bikes and downhill racing, rising to the top national ranks. Living in Saint George, Utah, near the site of the Red Bull Rampage, he found his way into the event, comfortable on the local terrain. Logan finished in 3rd place at the 2012 Rampage event ahead of some of the sport's biggest freeriders. He broke his femur at Rampage in 2013 when he got off line flipping a massive drop. He discusses injury, recovery, success, failure, rider support and his dedication to KHS, the bike brand that he's been with for years.

The Inside Line is an exclusive mountain bike podcast produced by Vital MTB with support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

#USDH

Darren Murphy of PUSH Industries answers all of our mountain bike suspension-related questions in part 2 of his Inside Line podcast interview. Myths, mysteries, set-up tricks and tips are all discussed in this fun, informative episode. Some answers may surprise you, some may leave you wondering. Regardless of opinions and preferences, there's no doubt that the modern mountain bike is one incredible machine.

Hit the Vital MTB forums for interactive discussions and debates about mountain bike tech

Listen to Part 1 of Darren's Inside Line interview

Visit www.pushindustries.com to learn more about PUSH

The Inside Line is an exclusive podcast produced by Vital MTB, thanks to support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

Darren Murphy, of PUSH Industries joins us on the The Inside Line podcast to discuss his journey from being the only mountain biker in a small, northern-Maine town to being the owner of a successful mountain bike suspension tuning and product brand. Known for their Elevensix coil shock and high-performance aftermarket fork upgrades, PUSH, which manufacturers their products in the U.S., has made steady, organic growth in the MTB scene since it was founded in the early 2000's. Our conversations touches on being at the right place at the right time, embracing opportunities and taking the risks necessary to achieve his goals. Enjoy the episode and stay tuned for Part 2 next week, when we ask Darren a wide range of suspension-specific questions.

Visit www.pushindustries.com to learn more about PUSH

The Inside Line is an exclusive podcast produced by Vital MTB, thanks to support from Maxxis Tires, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel.

On the eve of this Independence Day in America, we're stoked to bring you a discussion about downhill racing in the USA. A random crew of downhill racers and event hosts gathered at the NW Cup / Pro GRT in Tamarack, Idaho a couple weeks ago to talk big bikes.  Thanks to Casey Northern and Scott Tucker of the NW Cup for helping make it happen and for all the work they do with their series, We get to hear their story in the episode along with racer view points on how things are these days.

We'd also like to give credit to #USDH leaders who weren't in attendance, like clay harper who handles the U.S. open and other rad DH events, George Ulmer and his crew at the Eastern States Cup, Donnie Jackson of Southridge USA, Downhill Mike and his Bootleg races among others, and all the downhill race organizers keeping our sport fun and accessible. Thank you!

The Inside Line is brought to you to Maxxis Tires. We saw plenty of Assegais, Minions and High Rollers drifting through turns and smashing the rocks at Tamarack.

Jenson USA - if you're racing or riding hard this summer, you're going through parts and gear, so use coupon code Insideline at checkout and receive 10% off qualifying items

The Gravity Cartel - your source for Spank components like wheels, pedals, bars and stems as well as iXS protection and apparel.

If you haven't watched yet, hit up vitalmtb.com for the Snowshoe, West Virginia World Cup downhill track preview with Neko Mulally and Dakotah Norton...it's a doozy! And stay tuned to Vital MTB this weekend for Andorra World Cup DH coverage as well...the steeps are here!

Last but not least, a big thanks and audio hug to all you Inside Line listeners. We hope you're getting out on the trails and having a blast on your bike this summer. Without you, what's the point?

In this episode of The Inside Line podcast Brandon Turman is pleased to bring you a conversation with one of the most controversial, outspoken, and perhaps most misunderstood riders mountain biking has ever seen.

He's an MTB Hall of Famer responsible for pushing the boundaries of what could be done on a bike. You likely grew up watching him in the movies, he's one of the only people to ever put a Super Monster fork to good use, and you'll all remember when he hit the infamous Jah drop.

He's a lifelong badass, and he's here to catch up, talk some history, reminisce, and make some BIG announcements regarding what he's been dreaming up for the last several years.

It's BENDER, ladies and gents!

Follow Josh on Instagram - @iceboxacres

Follow Vital MTB on Instagram - @vitalmtb

The Inside Line is supported by:

• Maxxis Tires
• Jenson USA - use coupon code insideline and get 10% off qualifying items
• The Gravity Cartel - your resource for Spank USA and iXS USA

Vital MTB's Brandon Turman is joined by none other than Paul Basagoitia for the next episode of Vital MTB's Inside Line podcast.

It took just a few short years for Paul "Bas" to become a freeride mountain bike icon. His entrance into the sport was explosive as he went from unheard of to a household name in the time it took to tail whip the finish drop at Crankworx in 2004. In that moment and over the next handful of years Paul would go on to essentially flip the script on slopestyle, opening riders eyes to a new world of possibilities.

In 2015, Paul suffered a devastating spinal cord injury while competing at Red Bull Rampage, and over the past 3.5 years he has forged ahead on a truly remarkable, inspirational path to recovery.

That brings us to today. Paul and Brandon were posted up in Telluride, Colorado – home of the Mountainfilm Festival and decades of mountain bike history – where his new film, "Any One of Us" premiered.

Brandon is honored to call Paul a friend, and was excited and a bit overwhelmed to be having this conversation. It's been a long time coming.

Colin Bailey is a former downhill racer, inventor of the Maxxis Minion DHF tire, mountain bike race mechanic for Giant Factory Off-Road, a craftsman and an artist. So many things describe Colin, but his straight-shooting style speaks for itself. I'm honored to have had the chance to sit down with him to discuss his history in mountain biking, his career as a racer and his bigger life story that eventually landed him back in our race scene as a mechanic. Enjoy the show with a true innovator within our community. A guest appearance from Kirt Voreis adds even more fun flavor to the episode.

If you've enjoyed a Maxxis Minion DHF, consider sharing your stoke by donating to the gofundme campaign I started for Colin Bailey without him knowing.

Thanks to Maxxis, Jenson USA and The Gravity Cartel or supporting The Inside Line podcast.

Welcome mountain bikers.

Sometimes things don’t always go as planned. I was lucky to spend an hour and a half with Chris Conroy and Steve Hoogendorn at the sea otter classic to knock out an Inside Line. if those names aren’t familiar to you, they’re the owners of Yeti Cycles.

We posted up at a Sea Otter campsite on a gorgeous, sunny day to record the episode. Away from the crowds and chaos of the venue, without any shade, we battled sweaty armpits, were interrupted by various aircraft and walked away with a little sunburn. Despite the struggles, we had a great conversation about the Yeti brand, past, present and future.

Well, it turns out that technology and blazing California sunshine don’t always get along. About 45 minutes in to our interview, the electronics started acting up, and by 55-minutes in, the laptop said, “this is too hot, i’m done,” and cut off the last 20 minutes of our conversation. Gutted.

Fast forward a few weeks and an aircraft that may have been background noise and a cause of frustration in the original interview, had transported me to Golden, Colorado, and the home of Yeti Cycles.

Conroy and Hoog graciously stepped up for Inside Line 2.0. While there, I was able to talk with Sarah Rawley about women in mountain biking, as well as Damien Smith, who is responsible for some of the iconic racer selections on the Yeti team over the years.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line. Jenson is a Yeti Cycles dealer and a great place to shop online for all things cycling-related. Use coupon code InsideLine at checkout and get 10% off qualifying items.

Maxxis Tires also graciously supports this podcast, and they make the tires that you’ll find on Yeti’s line of mountain bikes. Hit up maxxis.com and make sure you have some fresh rubber this riding season.

Last but not least, thank you listeners. Without your stoke, what’s the point? Enjoy the show. -gordo

An interview two years in the making finally happens in Reno, Nevada. Cam Zink is a pioneer in the sport of freeride mountain biking, and while it's easy to assume he's had a road of success paved with big money and big offers, I find out that was hardly the case. Cam has used his grit, hard work and experience on mountain bikes to push the limits of what is possible. His 360's and flips off the the biggest drops and over the biggest gaps have cemented him in the history books, becoming both a Red Bull Rampage winner and Crankworx Joyride winner. In the midst of these riding accomplishments, Cam has become an entrepreneur, starting Sensus Grips and, for a time, being the U.S. distributor for YT Industries. We talk history, challenges, fears, success and failures on all facets of life. Enjoy the episode!

Scott Hart, fanatic mountain biker, fierce competitor and one to always follow his instincts, shares how he went from humble Indiana roots to becoming one of the premier editorial voices of American mountain biking. While many of you may not know who Scott is, he and Ralf Hauser created decline Magazine in the early 2000's. I had the privilege of working as a staffer at decline with Scott, Ralf and Mark Jordan after freelancing for them. decline has since come and gone, but the impact that magazine had on our community, specifically the gravity side of our family, is still evident today and that's largely because of Scott's voice and vision. His upbringing and experience as a struggling professional downhill and slalom racer, including highlights like competing in the first Red Bull Rampage, gave Scott the foundation and desire to make mountain biking look as appealing and rad to the masses as it really is. In addition to his racing history, we discuss the beginnings of Flow Magazine which eventually turned into decline under their newly-found publishing house. The ups, downs and ultimate end of Hart's run with decline is explored in addition to the founding and demise of the U.S. downhill initiative, Team America. We end up discussing his role at RockShox for a few years after leaving decline and where he thinks the future of mountain bike media is headed.

This is a re-issue of both parts 1 and 2 combined from July 2018. Scott asked that it be removed due to personal reasons, but we're stoked to have his permission to re-launch the interview.  I hope this episode will inspire you to work hard, enjoy riding bikes and persevere in the face of risk. -gordo

Welcome mountain bikers! We're stoked to bring you an interview with one of America's most promising, up-and-coming downhill racers, Dakotah Norton. Lee Trumpore caught up with him at the Windrock Pro GRT to learn Dak's story, his struggles and how he's on an upward trajectory toward World Cup DH success in 2020. From a checkers-or-wreckers mentality that grew into a patient, calculated outlook, we can't wait to see how Dakotah goes this season.

Welcome mountain bikers. It is with great pleasure that we feature Miranda Miller on this week's Inside Line podcast. Miranda was the 2017 Downhill World Champ and has decided in 2019 to make the switch to focusing on the Enduro World Series. She has also moved from Specialized Gravity to Kona. Racing details and sponsorship aside, more than a few individuals will tell you that Miranda is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth people in our sport, and that authenticity shines through as she talks with Lee Trumpore at Windrock this past week. She finds joy in the little things and values her relationships as much as any riding achievements. Miranda, thank your for taking time for this interview and Vital listeners, enjoy the show!

It's hard to imagine that Braydon Bringhurst has only been riding a mountain bike since 2016. While he has serious childhood and teenaged BMX race roots with long-time friend Mitch Ropelato, Braydon and mountain biking are new to each other. This 30-year-old father of two has been making Instagram waves with big gaps, creative jump combos and climbs that are equally mind-blowing. He's taken a passion for and has combined it with mountain biking to establish himself as a social media sender. One of the most surprising parts of his story is that he hasn't had to stray too far from home to get the job done. Enjoy the show with the humble shredder, @bikerbrayd.

Bellows Falls, Vermont is not a particularly notable place. It was once another typical mill town on the Connecticut River, with businesses harnessing the raging water to turn their machines of industry. Now, it is the site of a hydro-electrical dam and a rundown rail yard, with a quaint downtown always humming with local commerce. An unassuming town, it actually has a lot going on within the time-worn warehouses on the fringe of town, most notably a derelict-looking facade with hiding a gem. The only hint that there is something going on behind the door is the faint glow of fluorescent ceiling lights through the adjacent bay door window. Inside what was once a thriving printing business now resides Frank Wadelton’s newest workspace. Better known as FTW, Frank is an industry legend – he’s in the MTB Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport. I met Frank in 2005 when he asked if I’d like to ride for the company he was a part of at the time, Sinister Bikes. I rode for them during my days as a Junior in DH. Since then, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. But one constant is that Frank has more stories than most, and I learn something new every time we hang out. In this sit-down, we start with some origin stories and then blast through the past, jumping around a bit and land somewhere in the present. A “colorful life” as he put it, Frank is one rad dude! - Zach Faulkner

In this episode we're joined by not one, but three special guests from Guerrilla Gravity – a relatively small, Colorado-based mountain bike brand that isn't content with the status quo.Like the "Guerrilla" name implies, these guys have always made their bikes *for* the people. They're also always up to something a little different, and their latest endeavor has yielded quite the creation.

We're talking a fully customizable, modular bike manufactured from a next-generation carbon material that's making waves in the composites world. In addition to the new material, the frame is made in an almost entirely new way, it's filled with meaningful adjustments to customize the geometry and suspension, and - as we witnessed firsthand during our time together - it's all done in the USA by a truly passionate, motivated crew of riders.

To top it all off, you can relatively quickly convert the bike into four distinct models with varying travel and wheel sizes that will have you covered in every type of terrain.

Visit http://bit.ly/rideggcarbon for photos of what we're discussing, as well as Vital's first impressions of the new bikes on trail.

We dig that these guys are breaking new ground and rethinking things in the bike world, and we hope you enjoy learning the Inside Line on Guerrilla Gravity.

Would you ever want to be a Red Bull Rampage judge? We wouldn't, but thankfully there are experienced freeride shredders like Kyle Jameson to get the job done. The stylish freerider and trail builder talks about his career, learning the trade from Randy Spangler, adventures as a young teen in Whistler, teaching mountain biking at Andrew Shandro's Summer Gravity Camps, judging Rampage, being involved with FEST Series, riding sand dunes in Africa and more.

Kyle was in Boise, Idaho working on the Boise Bike Park, which began construction about a month ago and we're glad this episode worked out!

Nathan Rennie, Australian downhill racing legend, joins us on The Inside Line podcast this week. Rennie was the 2003 World Cup Downhill overall champ and made his mark on racing as a steely-eyed competitor with a penchant for post-race antics and sometimes trouble. Damian Breach sits down with the big brawler of the early 2000's to discuss what he's been up to for the last 10 years. Topics include career highlights with teams like Qranc, Yeti, Iron Horse and the Santa Cruz Syndicate, lessons learned, bike technology of days gone by and how he transitioned to being, as he puts it, Dad Guy. Always honest, always a competitor, we hope you enjoy this episode with a true game changer of our sport.

Support Colin as you get a chance to win some great mountain bike prizes at his GoFundMe page -
https://www.gofundme.com/one-more-time-for-colin

This week, I'm honored to be able share some time I spent with Colin Meagher, mountain bike family member, and one of our sport's finest photographers. In this emotional episode, we discuss his career and history, but get into his battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This debilitating disease is, as he puts it, melting him. Colin is slowly losing muscle control in his arms, shoulders and mouth, and that control will never return. Learn about how Colin has inspired mountain bikers and photographers throughout the world with his images and kindness, learn about the impact ALS has on his life and please take the time to support him. #onemoretimeforcolin

Colin, we love you and we know you'll continue to impact more people, despite your illness. -Shawn

From Colin's fundraising campaign
Colin Meagher needs your help. If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve probably been touched by Colin’s work. Colin’s photos have graced the pages of mountain bike magazines and websites around the world for more than two decades now.

Colin Meagher is a rider’s rider. A mentor to a hell of a lot of other photographers. And just an incredibly good guy. Now, Colin also has ALS—a disease that is robbing Colin of his life, his livelihood and, if we don’t pitch in to help with his rapidly-growing medical expenses, his family’s finances.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There is no cure. Instead, there are mounting medical bills. Colin and his family need help in offsetting those costs. 

A group of us, Colin’s friends and supporters from the bike and outdoor industry, have created a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/one-more-time-for-colin). Our goal is to raise funds to help with medical costs and many of the other things this disease makes necessary, from home care to necessary devices not available through other means.

We will also donate a percentage of all contributions to http://www.alsa.org, to help find a cure.

We’re asking you to rally for Colin and help out with a donation.

For every $10 you donate, you get one entry into the raffle. See below for the list of prize packs.

How it works:  For every $10 donated between 12–17–18 and 11:59pm (PST) of 01–04–19, you’ll get one entry into the raffle. $100 = 10 entries (math, bro) The winners will be selected at random. Some prize packs are only available to ship to North America. Winners outside of North America will receive the next available prize pack (or pieces of it). All applicable taxes will be the winner’s responsibilities.

DONATE HERE! https://www.gofundme.com/one-more-time-for-colin

For more information, contact Dave Taylor at [email protected]

We continue our interview with legendary mountain biker, Kirt Voreis. Transitioning from Yeti Factory Racing to the Specialized Mountain Dew team with Shaun Palmer, Kirt discusses racing in the glory days of downhill with its ups, downs and hijinx. When the team disbanded, it was off to Haro where Kirt continued racing, but founded the AllRide Tour as a way to take his love of street riding and dirt jumping to the next level. During this time, he filmed his ground-breaking MTB video part in the Matt Collins movie, Evolution, influencing the next generation of slopestylers and freeriders. The discussion continues as Kirt gets on to the Santa Cruz Syndicate, finally retiring from racing. A surprise departure from the Syndicate leads him to Specialized again to continue the AllRide Tour and eventually off to Niner where he currently crushes it as an Instagram inspiration.

Follow Kirt on Instagram - @kirtvoreis_allride

During a visit to Bend, Oregon, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kirt Voreis, legendary human, legendary mountain biker, to discuss his life and his career. Honored to have Cam McCaul sitting shotgun during the interview, we listened as Kirt shared stories of a challenging childhood surrounded by drug use, gangs and a difficult home life. Despite these obstacles, the arrival of a dedicated step-father, as well as, a passion for skateboarding, motorcycles and bicycles helped Kirt find a life of fulfillment as he made a life-long career out of racing and riding mountain bikes.

Kirt's influence on our sport since the late 90's is one that can not be denied. In the midst of a successful racing career, he laid the groundwork for modern freeriding and pure fun on two wheels. He continues the tradition today by producing some of the most entertaining and inspiring bike-riding clips on Instagram.

Enjoy part 1 of Kirt's interview as we discuss childhood, hard times, getting on the Yeti Factory team and the influence some loving, giving people had on his life. Part 2 will launch on Wednesday, December 5.

Follow Kirt on Instagram at @kirtvoreis_allride

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It's an honor to have finally connected with this week's guest on The Inside Line. Cam McCaul is a household mountain biking name. I've had the privilege of watching his career blossom from a stoked grom to world-class freerider, and now, on-air personality as commentator for mountain biking's biggest broadcast events like Red Bull Joyride and Rampage.

I owe a lot to Cam and his family for helping me get a career off the ground some 15 years ago. They always made themselves available to shoot photos or videos when I was cutting my teeth, and I'll be forever grateful. I met with Cam at his home in Bend, Oregon, a week or so after the 2018 Red Bull Rampage event. He was in a sling, a few weeks out of shoulder surgery, ready to talk. We discuss this year's Rampage, its format, the judging, the digging and then we go into some history and highlights of his career. Discussing the future is how things conclude.

There are so many things I wanted to talk about and I think a part two will be in order someday. We didn't even touch on his vulnerable and hair-raising part in the new MTB movie, Reverence, which was just released. Any time with Cam McCaul is a good time and I hope you enjoy the episode.

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This week we sit down with Judd Devall, owner of Alpine Bike Parks. Judd has been a long-time mountain bike rider and racer, who turned his love of bikes into a career building world-class trails and bike parks. We discuss how Judd built his career, the hurdles of working on city and county projects, how to get a public bike park in your area, IMBA's impact on trail building, as well as the future and where trail building is heading. He concludes with the story of his 9-year-old sending the massive jumps on Crabapple Hits in Whistler!

Alpine Bike Parks has worked on projects like the Stevie Smith Bike Park, Valmont Bike Park and Ruby Hill Bike park just to name a few. Visit www.alpinebikeparks.com to see a complete list of projects.

Damian Breach sits down with mountain bike racing phenom, Jared Graves, at his home in Toowoomba, Australia. A week earlier, Jared had surgery on his brain to remove a tumor that was very recently discovered. A season of mystery with troubles focusing and concentrating came to a head after the Enduro World Series in Whistler, British Columbia, where Jared suffered a handful of seizures; something he had never experienced earlier in his life. Scans revealed the brain tumor and measures were quickly taken to remove it. The surgery was successful, his prognosis is very positive and chemotherapy and radiation are the next steps in dealing with this life-changing news.

Enjoy a candid, in-depth interview with one cycling's greatest competitors. Jared, everyone here at Vital is pulling for you and we appreciate your trust with this interview. #strengthforjared

You can support Jared and cancer research at his official GoFundme page.

https://www.gofundme.com/strength-for-jared

In this episode we chat with Kevin Menard, co-owner of Transition Bikes. We talk about working at a recumbent factory when he was younger, the moment he and his partner Kyle decided to go for it over a ping pong match some 18 years ago, quitting the corporate life, the brand's by riders / for riders culture, their thoroughly entertaining videos, the incredible riding community of Bellingham, Washington, memories throughout the years, product development, zigging when others zag, and much more. Enjoy the show! -Brandon Turman Keep up with Kevin's latest adventures and projects on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/transitionkevin @transitionkevin and visit http://www.transitionbikes.com to check out the full line of party-worthy rides.