Episodes
Hear ye, hear ye, let's talk even more about mountain bikes.
Published 11/14/24
Published 11/07/24
When Greg Minnaar left the Santa Cruz Syndicate, it was about as big of a news story as you get in mountain bike racing. A rider who went against the very best of each generation, it was at one time impossible to think of him racing for anyone other than the Californian brand. One season later, to say he's landed on his feet would be an understatement. His 2024 racing season didn't unfold as he would have hoped, but he rounds out the year with a World Cup podium, fresh motivation, and a...
Published 11/07/24
This week, we tune in with the tech team for some Show and Tells and answer your questions. We'd love to answer some of your questions. Pleave us a message here.
Published 10/24/24
This week, Dario reports his findings from a Redbull Rampage that managed to deliver more score controversy than ever, Matt talks about his heavy WTB test tires (and Henry begs to try them), plus Kaz explains why mechanical T-Type is not only possible but viable.
Published 10/17/24
Thank you to so many of you for getting in your questions. We never imagined we'd have so many, and please keep them coming because we are looking forward to working them in to future episodes. This episode, Henry and Brian tackle some more before we take a week off the pod to recharge our batteries. Leave us your question for future episodes here.
Published 10/03/24
Kaz plans his holiday to Bishops Itchington, Kaz and Henry disagree about fork offset and Sarah tries to discern who is more likely to try and buy upgrades, XC or DH riders. Please leave your own question here.
Published 09/26/24
In this Q&A, we answer a lot of your questions about breaking your bike and how to make your bike look as bad as Dario's. To get your question answered, tag an editor in your comment or leave us a voice message at speakpipe.com/pinkbike.
Published 09/19/24
In this Q&A we answer a lot of your questions about everything from fueling your rides, what makes the difference at the highest level, and why Matt Beer will always be faster than us (and probably you too). To get your question answered, tag an editor in your comment or leave us a voice message at speakpipe.com/pinkbike.
Published 09/12/24
We answer your questions and talk about winning pedals, useless graphs and suspension gearboxes (again). To get your question answered, tag an editor in your comment or leave us a voice message at speakpipe.com/pinkbike.
Published 09/04/24
We answer your questions and comments about wheel size, geometry and seatposts. To feature, tag an editor in your comment or leave us a voice message here.
Published 08/28/24
In another Q&A Podcast, Dario, Kaz and Henry have gleaned the comments from the last week's tech articles to answer your questions.
Published 08/21/24
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with World Cup racer turned skunkworks rider Bryn Atkinson alongside Shimano's MTB product manager Nick Murdick to chat about drivetrain development, rider feedback, gearboxes, and a lot more. Although they didn't spill the launch dates for new XTR and Saint, they did give us some great insight on why products like Saint sometimes take a (ridiculously) long time to bring to market.
Published 08/14/24
We get asked some great questions in the comments on both articles and videos, so Dario, Kaz and Henry thought it was about time we answered some! To get your question answered, tag an editor in your comment or leave us a voice message here.
Published 08/07/24
Matt and Henry have been busy. Very busy. In the opening weeks of the bike park, they crammed in just about as many runs as they could handle on these bikes to compare, contrast and understand what makes a great downhill bike in 2024. Here, they talk about their feelings and rank the bikes from bottom to top, explaining their reasoning as they go. If you have a question about bike tech, news or racing, please leave us a voice note here, and we'll try to answer it in the coming weeks.
Published 07/31/24
Brian Park and Sarah sat down with Federico Sbrissa, Pinarello's Chief Marketing Officer and Federico Meneghetti, the R&D Engineer on the mountain bike project just after Tom Pidcock took the win at the Nove Mesto World Cup at the end of May. We talked about why Pinarello decided to make a mountain bike after a decade without one, how their prototype mountain bike came to win a World Cup race just four months after the project was started, and what's next for Pinarello in the mountain...
Published 07/24/24
There was a time when every new bike seemed to be in a spiral of one-upping each other. Saying it came down to who could make the biggest bike would be oversimplifying the conversation, but at the same time, reaches swelled and swelled before coming back down in recent years. Why? We also discuss idlers, fads, and why the mixed-wheeled bike might just be our favourite setup yet.
Published 07/17/24
Orbea has over 180 years of manufacturing heritage, starting as a gun and ammunition manufacturer in the Basque Country of Northern Spain way back in 1840. When the business of gun making waned, the company pivoted and began using the tubing machines and raw materials they'd acquired to manufacture bicycles. In the 1930s, Orbea made the switch to bicycle manufacturing entirely, and by the time the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, they were producing 50,000 bikes per year. It wasn't always...
Published 06/26/24
Last month Dario and Brian traveled down to Auburn, California to tour Specialized’s new facility and record a podcast. We were the first media through the door of their new Auburn Innovation Centre, and got to peek behind the curtain of the Ride Dynamics team—arguably the most influential product development team in our industry. The office itself was still under construction. In contrast to Specialized’s Morgan Hill headquarters, this new office in Auburn feels much more practical, with...
Published 06/20/24
Both forks will prove to be very popular, not least because one of them could likely feature on your next enduro bike. Which do we prefer most, and why?
Published 06/13/24
The tenth-anniversary edition of Red Bull Hardline Wales took place over the weekend, and so Mike Kazimer, Dario DiGiulio, Christina Chappetta join Sarah Moore to chat about the progression, the insane runs, things we noticed from the sidelines, and whether we think we could ride the 2024 course if it was all we focused on for the next five years.
Published 06/05/24
Bang-for-buck bikes, ever-improving geometry and some terrible naming conventions, it's never been a better time to get an entry-level mountain bike. And that's not even factoring some of the post-pandemic deals that are on offer. Kaz, Sarah and Dario fill you in with all the details from their test.
Published 05/29/24
We catch up with the tech team to talk all about what they're reviewing, what we're seeing at races and what they would love to ride.
Published 05/15/24
Martin Maes is something of a contradiction. On one hand he's an articulate man with a stoical outlook, and on the other he quite simply doesn't do things quietly. Whether it's coming onto the scene as one of the first true-enduro youngsters before eventually delivering on his potential after many years of trying with GT, or getting mired in a doping scandal and beating downhill racers at their own game, there is so much about his career that is exceptional.
Published 05/08/24
Sarah chatted with Christopher Blevins right after he got back from his whirlwind of a trip to Brazil where he won the first Olympic cross-country race of the season. The 26-year-old American former Short Track World Champion last won a World Cup XCO back in 2021 in Snowshoe, but he came out with all cylinders firing in Brazil with the goal of qualifying for the Paris Olympics and getting as many points for the United States to secure two spots for the men's team. From getting stung by the...
Published 05/01/24