Podcast · Sport

Bikes & Big Ideas

by BLISTER · English · Sport

Bikes & Big Ideas is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to bringing you the most interesting conversations, news, and developments in the bike world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 49 minNew

2026 Red Bull Rampage Recap w/ Cam McCaul

We caught up with Cam McCaul to run down the 2026 Red Bull Rampage that left fans in awe at the women’s event and frustrated after the cancellation of the men’s competition. Cam shares his on-location perspective of the insane amount of work done by the build teams, the Robin Goomes vs. Hannah Bergemann showdown, as well as his thoughts on the men’s cancellation and whether it should have been postponed. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

6 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 27 min
Reviewing The News w/ Cam McCaul (September 2026)
The first-ever Whistler DH World Cup did not disappoint, including crazy weather, wild racing action, some heroic performances, and tons of crashes — Cam and Simon couldn’t wait to talk about it. Cam had a gnarly crash himself and shares that story along with his behind-the-scenes preview of this week’s Red Bull Rampage. Of course, we sprinkle in some industry news and introduce a couple of recurring segments as well. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at…
3 Oct 2026 · 8 min
Casey Brown on Getting Women into Rampage
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Bull Rampage, and the third year of Rampage including a women’s category. The fight to make that happen was a long one, and for this selection from The Vault, we’re revisiting a conversation we had with Casey Brown on Bikes & Big Ideas back in 2023 about the importance of having a women’s competition, the year before it finally came to be. Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer…
E346 · 29 Sep 2026 · 44 min
Maxxis on the Minion DHX & New DH Casing
Maxxis has a new member of the Minion family, the Minion DHX, and a new DH casing to go with it. We’re joined by Sean Day, who led the development of both, to go deep on their designs, the thinking behind them, and how they fit into Maxxis’ expansive lineup. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES:…
22 Sep 2026 · 44 min
Making Innovative Bikepacking Gear & Rebuilding After Hurricane Helene with Rockgeist’ s Greg Hardy
Greg Hardy started sewing his own bikepacking bags while getting his PhD in materials science, which led him to put his career on hold, move to Asheville, NC, and found Rockgeist — which became one of the top bag makers in the bikepacking world. But things came crashing down when Hurricane Helene left their workshop under six feet of water. Greg joins us today to tell that story and how they rebuilt Rockgeist afterward. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at…
22 Sep 2026 · 24 min
Special Race Edition, Soldier Hollow XC World Cup: 32’’ Wheels Galore & Rising Star Bjorn Riley
Was the Soldier Hollow World Cup XC race the first true test for 32” wheels? Blister Reviewer Xan Marshland had boots on the ground at the race, and joined Simon for a recap of the racing action, thoughts on the big wheels, course design, and Bjorn Riley’s crazy popularity. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Momentous: livemomentous.com code: Blister Factor: http://factormeals.com/BLISTERBIKES50OFF Blister Mountain…
E344 · 15 Sep 2026 · 45 min
Simons.Lab on Dampers, Tuning, & the New Zeta
Simon Reiberg’s journey into fork damper design began with him modifying a RockShox Yari to feature a shimmed rebound circuit, and after stints at Trickstuff and Intend, he just launched Simons.Lab and the Zeta aftermarket fork damper. So we sat down with Simon to talk about his take on damper design and what sets the Zeta apart; how he learned about damper design in the first place; what the biggest challenges were in bringing the Zeta to market; and a whole lot more. And we’ve got a Zeta on the way for review, so stay tuned for a rundown on its design and performance, coming very soon on…
E343 · 8 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
Yeti on the LT & MT, Six-Bar Suspension, & More
Yeti has a long history of unconventional suspension layouts, and they’ve just given their lineup a big shakeup with the new LT & MT, both of which use the Sixfinity six-bar layout from Yeti’s eMTBs rather than the Switch Infinity design from their last several generations of MTBs. So, we sat down with Yeti Engineer Peter Zawistowski to get the story of developing the Sixfinity layout; what they were able to achieve with it that wasn’t possible with four-bar designs; the differences in suspension kinematic requirements for different sorts of bikes; the LT’s radically overhauled geometry; and…
E342 · 2 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 23 min
Reviewing the News w/ Cam McCaul & Simon Stewart
Today is a big day, as we welcome Freeride legend Cam McCaul as the new co-host of Reviewing the News. Cam and Simon Stewart go way back, and Simon has been a fan of what he’s been doing on and off the bike for as long as they’ve known each other. Cam brings a great new perspective to the show with his experience announcing Red Bull Rampage and DH racing, his freeride career, not to mention having ridden with so many of the top names in our sport. And, we have a hell of a month to cover in Cam’s debut, with plenty of racing and industry news to go over, and Cam shares what it's like to try…
E341 · 27 Aug 2026 · 48 min
Enduro World Cup Racing is Dead. Long Live Enduro?
Shortly after the final Enduro World Cup race of the 2026 season, Warner Brothers Discovery and the UCI made the surprise announcement that the series will not continue for 2027. Despite the uncertain future that leaves for top-tier professional Enduro racing, the announcement was met with a surprising amount of excitement from athletes, and a real sense of optimism that something better can rise from the ashes of the short-lived EDR series. So we brought professional racer Eric Olsen back on the show to discuss all of it. The full press release from the UCI can be read here. Note: We Want…
27 Aug 2026 · 13 min
Vali Höll on the Implosion of the YT Mob
For this selection from The Vault, we’re sharing a Bikes & Big Ideas conversation where Vali Höll opens up about everything that went on behind the scenes during the mid-season implosion of the YT Mob race team, and how she managed to win her third consecutive World Cup overall title and fourth consecutive World Championship amid the chaos. RELATED LINKS: livemomentous.com – use code: Blister OneSkin: oneskin.co/BLISTER Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Order our 26/27 Winter Buyer’s Guide Enter Our Free Weekly Gear Giveaways For the Full Episode: Vali Höll on Her 2025 Season & the Dissolution…
E340 · 18 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 9 min
The Current State of XC Bikes
With XC bikes gaining popularity, there is a sea of similar-looking offerings from a bunch of brands — with a wider range of performance attributes than first meets the eye. So today, Blister reviewers Xan Marshland and Simon Stewart dig into the broader XC bike category and weigh in on why they think there’s commonality in XC bike design; their thoughts on XC geometry; and whether having baked-in Trail bike versatility is a must-have. Plus things to consider when buying one, and their predictions on where the category is heading. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the…
E339 · 11 Aug 2026 · 48 min
Anna Newkirk on Her First Career Win
North American DH racers are collectively having their best season in a long time, and Anna Newkirk is a big part of that success, notching her first career win — the first by an American woman in 23 years — and currently sitting fourth in the overall standings. So we brought Anna back on the show to talk about her phenomenal weekend at Lenderheide, where she qualified first and repeated the result in finals; her injury-interrupted 2025 season and returning to form; managing the pressure of racing, and how to ride at the limit; and a whole lot more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let…
11 Aug 2026 · 7 min
The Poacher
Today on The Vault, we’re sharing one of Simon’s favorite moments from a Bikes & Big Ideas conversation where Hayden Zablotny talks about poaching the Proving Grounds event on his way to getting invited to — and then winning — Red Bull Rampage. Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. Email us at: [email protected] RELATED LINKS: Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Order our 26/27 Winter Buyer’s…
E338 · 6 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (August 2026)
Mike and Simon break down the bike racing in July, including the World Cup MTB racing in La Thuile and Andorra, the Tour de France, and the Canadian Open DH at Crankworx Whistler. They talk about Trek’s decision to limit all their eMTBs to 20 mph, and debate whether we’ve had bike shoe design all wrong, plus a whole lot more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide Get Our Free…
E337 · 30 Jul 2026 · 56 min
Reviewer Reports: Yeti LT, Specialized Epic 9, Orbea Rallon, & More
A lot of recently updated bikes have felt like relatively subtle refinements of their predecessors, but there are also a bunch of brands still taking big swings. The new Yeti LT, Orbea Rallon, and Devinci Spartan are all very, very different from the bikes they replaced, and we’ve been testing all of them. So David Golay sat down with Xan Marshland to offer up some thoughts on this new crop of long-travel bruisers, discuss some of the shorter-travel rigs they’ve been testing — across a vast range of price points — and get into some bigger picture discussions about the direction of the bike…
E336 · 23 Jul 2026 · 33 min
Building Safer Bike Infrastructure: PeopleForBikes on their 2026 City Ratings
PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings are more than just a list of which cities have the best bike paths; they are a comprehensive look at how a city manages bike infrastructure, and have become a tool cities use to identify areas needing improvement, and a valuable resource for for individuals interested in advocating for change in their own communities. City Ratings is a massive undertaking, so we sat down with PeopleForBikes’ Martina Haggerty and Grace Stonecipher to get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into producing them and how they’re reshaping the ways some cities approach bike…
E335 · 16 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 9 min
Cam McCaul on The Future of Rampage, His New Revel Partnership, Side Hits & More
After 22 years, Cam McCaul and Trek parted ways, leading to a new partnership with Revel Bikes, so Simon caught up with his old friend Cam to get the inside story on how his new Partnership with Revel came to be. And it’s not all bike and sponsor talk. Fans of Red Bull Rampage have been listening to Cam’s commentary for years, and today he also talks about how hard it was being on the mic when Adolf Silva got injured, what he thinks about the future of Rampage, and much more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on…
E334 · 9 Jul 2026 · 59 min
All Things Wheels with James Stokoe of Hunt Bike Wheels
Hunt Bike Wheels has been building durable, affordable wheels since 2015, so Simon caught up with their Brand Manager, James Stokoe, to talk about about their early days based in a garage, their first gravel wheels, moving into the MTB market, rider-focused engineering, why wheels make the most sense when upgrading a new bike, some highly entertaining stories from James, and more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at [email protected] to weigh in. RELATED LINKS:…
E333 · 2 Jul 2026 · 56 min
Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (July, 2026)
In the midst of some of the most dangerous fire conditions ever seen in the American West, Mike and Simon discuss wildfire prevention and what the different levels of fire restrictions mean. From the bike industry, there's the shocking news from Cannonale to shutter their factory racing program next year, SRAM’s plan to build a massive factory in Portugal, and Mike gives a heartfelt tribute to the late Charlie Cunningham. The World Cup DH and XC stop in Lenzerheide delivered exciting racing, giving Mike and Simon plenty to get fired up about, and with the La Thuile World Cup right around the…
E332 · 25 Jun 2026 · 50 min
Chris Blandford on Resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, Founding Firsthand Framebuilding, & More
It’s never been easy to make it as an independent framebuilder, and it’s only getting harder. Chris Blandford knows the struggle well, and might well be doing more than anyone else currently to support small US builders, from founding Firsthand Framebuilding to resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, and more. He’s here to tell us all about it. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: [email protected] RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER Digital Access Pass…
E331 · 18 Jun 2026 · 49 min
Dillon Osleger on ‘Trail Work,’ Historic Maps, the Erosion of Public Land Access, & More
We tend to think of maps as objective representations of the physical world around us, but they're subject to the biases, goals, and editorial choices of the folks making them — just like any other piece of writing, film, or method of communication. Dillon Osleger's excellent new book, Trail Work, lays out how the erasure of trails from historic maps erodes our collective access to public lands; how and why those maps have evolved over the decades; the biggest challenges facing public land advocates, especially in the American West; and a whole lot of other topics that are vitally important…
E330 · 11 Jun 2026 · 58 min
Ashley King of Significant Other Bikes on Full-Suspension Frame Development, Production vs. Custom Frames, & More
Like most small framebuilders, Ashley King launched Significant Other making custom rigid frames, but she turned that model on its head by launching the Ded Reckin full-suspension XC/Trail bike, and taking it to serial production. And if that’s not enough, she’s already built prototypes of two more full-suspension models, too. So we brought Ashley back on the show to tell the whole story, from deciding to build the original Ded Reckin show bike to offering it as a production model, material selection and opting for a mix of steel and titanium, developing the Doom Scroll Prophecy prototypes,…
E329 · 4 Jun 2026 · 55 min
Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (June 2026)
Mike had to make a trip back to Mexico to help his 97-year-old Mom move, and amidst spider bites, broken windows, explosive dog diarrhea, and the usual technical issues (he needs his own full-time tech support department), he miraculously joined Simon to go over a very busy month — from racing to the courtroom, they have a lot to get through. Paragon Machine Works' reopening is the best news, and looks poised to keep frame builders stocked with crucial parts. Niner Bikes has been “paused”, whatever that means. Kona has a new boss (Mike is skeptical). The Loudenvielle DH World Cup was a…
E328 · 28 May 2026 · 58 min
Manitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT
The long-travel single-crown fork landscape has shifted a ton since Manitou unveiled the original Mezzer in 2019, and the new second-generation version has seen a lot of changes to better match modern bikes — including splitting the lineup into the standard Mezzer and the beefier Mezzer LT. Both get a host of intriguing performance-oriented changes, too, so we brought Manitou Product Manager Phil Ott back on the show to discuss them, and tell the development story of the new forks. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover…
E327 · 21 May 2026 · 1 hr
Spot’s Ryan Palmer on their New Lightweight Trail Bike
Spot’s Ryan Palmer and Simon Stewart have been talking about bikes for years, so when Spot dropped their new Diggity 125 Trail bike, Simon quickly wound him up for a chat. Ryan shares details about their design decisions, why Spot’s Living Link suspension layout gives them more kinematic control throughout the travel, their interesting take on size-specific chainstay length, the lightweight Trail bike trend, and a whole lot more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at:…
E326 · 14 May 2026 · 56 min
Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald on His Unbound Return & Racing for Charity
Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald is coming out of retirement at age 55 to raise money for the Life Time Foundation by racing the Unbound Gravel 200, a race he won over a decade ago. Tune in to find out why he’s starting dead last, what’s changed in his training approach, his bike setup, and why he’s passionate about kids’ charities, plus some bonus gravel tips & tricks for one of the most challenging gravel races in the world, by one of the best to ever do it. Don’t miss this one. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover…
E325 · 7 May 2026 · 1 hr 19 min
Reviewing the News w/ Mike Ferrentino & Simon Stewart (May, 2026)
Mike and Simon unpack the first DH and XC World Cup of the season, and there’s a whole lot to talk about, including course drama, fast Frenchies, DH hardtails, belt drives, tons of flats, just as many crashes, and Vali Holl and Asa Vermette's insane winning runs, not to mention the XC race mudfest the day after. Plus, we sprinkle in a bit of industry news, and Mike lays out his plan to make poison oak pepper spray. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at…
E324 · 30 Apr 2026 · 54 min
Hannah Otto on the ‘Hardest Climb in the World’
Hannah Otto has been reeling off an impressive streak of mountain biking FKTs over the past few years, and now she’s added a road bike one to the list: the 14,000’ climb up Mauna Kea, Hawai’i. So we brought Hannah back on the show to tell the story behind the effort, discuss the differences in FKT culture across disciplines, and a whole lot more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: [email protected] RELATED LINKS: Hannah on the Whole Enchilada FKT (Ep.143) Hannah on the…
E323 · 23 Apr 2026 · 53 min
Reviewer Reports: Sea Otter Recap, eMTB Power Wars, & More
We’re back and (mostly) recovered from Sea Otter, so David and Simon sat down to discuss the highlights and main trends from the show. And we’re busy as ever testing bikes, so we give some updates on a bunch of them, from the Pivot Mach 4 SL to the Devinci Spartan, the Specialized Levo R to the Pivot Shuttle AMP’d, and more. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you’d like us to cover on Bikes & Big Ideas. You can email us at: [email protected] RELATED LINKS: Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Hans Rey…

About Bikes & Big Ideas

Bikes & Big Ideas is a English sport podcast from BLISTER. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: BLISTER
Language: English
Category: Sport
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 55 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1461144682

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