Vital MTB

Latest Episodes:

New RockShox ZEB Fork - MTB Tech Talk with Jon Cancellier Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

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

Roxy Lo, Ibis Cycles Industrial Designer - The Inside Line Podcast Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

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, MTB Storyteller - The Inside Line Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

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

What's Next for the Big Mountain Enduro? Brandon Ontiveros Interview Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

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

A Wheel Build and an Interview - Patrik Zuest of FSA - The Inside Line Podcast May 27, 2020

Show notes

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!

ANDREW NEETHLING - The Inside Line Podcast May 13, 2020

Show notes

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!

Santa Cruz Bicycles Engineer, Nic McCrae - The Inside Line Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

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.

HOWIE ZINK - The Inside Line Mountain Bike Podcast Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

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.

Loic Bruni Interviews Danny Hart - Outspoken Season 2, Ep 1. Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

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

Cushcore Co-founder, Dan Hallada - The Inside Line Podcast Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

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.

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