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 -...

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...

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...

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

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 -...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....