Vital MTB

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Duncan Riffle, SRAM PR Coordinator and Former World Cup Downhiller Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

Welcome mountain bikers to Vital MTB's The Inside Line Podcast Back in early December of 2016, I met with Duncan Riffle. I've known Duncan for years and had shot photos with him when he was a pro downhill racer, competing on the World Cup circuit in the early and mid 2000's. Since then he's become a staple of SRAM's marketing department. What's funny is that I think of him as duncan riffle the american downhiller...the guy who won a Mt. Snow Vermont NORBA National in the rain. But he explained to me that most of his interaction today is with people who only know him as a SRAM guy. We go into his storied downhill career and how he successfully transitioned into an industry position - a transition that most ex-racers don't seem to make very well. if you've seen his Instagram posts, you know he has a TON of ink and he posts some heavy pieces of writing. We get into that a bit too. Duncan is a focused, driven personality of our sport and I hope you enjoy learning about his dedication to racing and riding bikes as much as I did.

DVO Suspension Founder, Bryson Martin Feb 21, 2017

Show notes

I had known of Bryson Martin for a long time. I knew he was a long-time mountain bike industry heavy-weight, involved in Marzocchi throughout the years, eventually creating DVO Suspension in 2012. It wasn't until December of 2016 that I first had the chance to sit down and get to know his story and background. Bryson is the reason Marzocchi considered entering the mountain bike market. He's the man behind the infamous Bomber suspension products of freeriding's glory days, including the Monster T and Shiver, and he's a well-educated and calculated business man who thinks about the big picture and future of our sport. More importantly, however, he doesn't hesitate to have plenty of fun with his dedicated crew at DVO while pushing the business forward. I hope you enjoy the interview with Bryson that took place this past December, as he and I, joined by Vital's Product Editor, Brandon Turman, talk about mountain biking's past, present and future. -spomer

STIKMAN - Troy Lee Designs Bicycle Category Manager Feb 06, 2017

Show notes

Welcome mountain bikers! It’s been a long two weeks. I’m glad you’re back for our third episode of Vital MTB’s The Inside Line podcast. My guest this week is Craig Glaspell, but most of you probably know him as Stikman. Stik has a LONG history in our sport as a mechanic, team manager, husband to Leigh Donovan, rumor and gossip mill instigator, marketing guru, but most importantly, he’s possibly mountain biking’s number one fan. When I was new to the sport, I remember hanging on every post of his MTB rumor blog stiksandstones.com, and then getting within a digital arm’s reach of his history through banter and battles on Ridemonkey back in the early 2000’s. His posts were always insightful, but man, he could really get under my skin and it’s safe to say I didn’t like him back then. My ignorance combined with his ability to troll me at the time is now a something I look back on fondly. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with Stik, but this interview we had back on December 14, really showed me how much he cares for our sport and how his straight-shooting candor is always a breath of fresh air. I hope you enjoy the history, the stories, insight and honesty with Stik as much as I did.

BRIAN LOPES, MTB Racing Legend Jan 24, 2017

Show notes

Hello mountain bikers! Welcome to episode 2 of Vital MTB's The Inside Line. We're overwhelmed by the reception and the kind words you all had for episode 1 with Eliot Jackson. We really appreciate the support and excitement for what we're doing. We are excited to bring you episode 2. I sat down with Brian Lopes last week and we had a great discussion about some of his history, the heyday of mountain biking, his move to Ellsworth bikes in 2017 and why it seems like some of you just love to hate him in the internet comments. We currently have four other interviews with MTB athletes and industry personalities that are waiting to be broadcast, but I felt like my talk with Brian needed to be bumped to the front of the queue due to some time-specific topics. Sit back, grab the popcorn and enjoy. I learned a lot about Brian that I didn't know before and I hope you do too. Every other Wednesday we will launch new episodes of The Inside Line. Please tune in while at work, on the trail or on the road. Share our podcast with your friends and be sure to rate us on iTunes!

Eliot Jackson, World Cup Downhill Racer Jan 07, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to Vital MTB's The Inside line, a podcast about the personalities in our great sport of mountain biking. We're excited to kick things off with an episode featuring American downhill racer, Eliot Jackson. On December 1st, we met up with Eliot in a quiet, distraction-free house near Santa Barbara, California. He was staying there to focus on training for the 2017 World Cup season. I learned that Eliot happens to be a podcast fan and to my surprise really loves road riding. We discuss growing up racing motocross at a near-professional level with the likes of Ryan Villopoto, how he dropped out of full-time school in 7th grade to pursue racing, the fact he considers himself a nerd who loves reading, problem solving and statistics, his transition from the Pivot Cycles World Cup DH team to Giant Factory Racing for 2017 and just what makes calculated crusher tick. We hope you enjoy getting to know Eliot through this interview as much as we did.

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