We’re currently testing a huge array of bikes, from the super-efficient Norco Revolver, to the long-travel, Bosch CX-equipped Yeti LTe, with a whole lot in between — including the Lal Katana, with its novel Supre Drive. David and Simon sat down to share our thoughts on all of those and more, and along the way, we got into some debates about wheel sizes, geometry preferences, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Yeti LTe (1:37)

Cannondale Moterra (15:39)

Norco Sight VLT (24:51)

Trek Fuel MX (34:40)

Lal Katana (49:51)

Norco Revolver (58:22)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gamux has never done things the conventional way and takes pride in that. But they aren’t being different for the sake of being different, either. Founder Pascal Tinner is back on the show to talk about what they’ve been up to, from their partnership with Reece Wilson’s AON Racing, to the ‘Trophy Truck’ prototype race bike, and a whole lot more.

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

AON Racing & Reece Wilson (1:45)

The Sego (14:44)

DH prototypes (22:38)

Body types & bike design (29:03)

The Trophy Truck (33:40)

Riders & building a team (36:32)

2026 & beyond (45:10)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For November’s Reviewing the News Episode, Mike clues us in on what's been going on in the Cyclocross season so far. Then we have a bunch of bike industry recalls to wade through — some of which are legitimately dangerous — which segways into Mike and Simon trying to understand why Rad Power Bikes is not issuing a recall for batteries that could burn down your house.

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 info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Mike’s Cyclocross Season Update (5:32)

Rad Power Bike’s Battery Problems (15:01)

Can Trek’s Coaster Brake Failures Make Better Cyclists? (24:52)

You Can Still Get Injured on a Peloton (32:56)

Lezyne Floor Pumps at Risk of Exploding (38:58)

Will the Bike Industry Ever Go Back to Normal? (42:44)

Mike’s Madrone Derailleur (46:30)

Charging eBikes Off-Grid (59:27)

Mike’s Heading to Mexico to Fix his Teeth (1:07:02)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part 2 of our series on the Best Bikes of the Century, Simon Stewart, David Golay, and Xan Marshland are back, plus Zack Henderson also joins them to dig into 16 more brands as they continue the hard work of trying to single out the best bikes from the last 25 years. Since they focused on many prominent brands from the early 2000s in Part 1, they take a closer look at newer brands, direct-to-consumer bike companies, plus a couple of OG ones, just to mix it up.

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 info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

RELATED LINKS:

Best Bikes of the Century Survey

Blister Craft Collective

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Pivot (0:59)

Canyon (7:03)

YT (12:59)

Forbidden (16:44)

Norco (22:02)

Mondraker (27:16)

Scott (33:06)

Salsa (38:38)

Orbea (43:33)

Commencal (47:04)

Transition (50:15)

Evil (56:56)

Devinci (59:55)

Revel (1:02:13)

Marin (1:05:31)

Surly (1:12:01)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

CRAFTED

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re kicking off a new series for Bikes and Big Ideas: we’re setting out to identify the best bikes of the 21st century from over 30 brands. We’ve done a similar series over on our Gear:30 podcast for skis, but that was easy compared to doing the same for bikes.

Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll be hearing about our choices. We’re also including a survey, as we want to hear from you. Additionally, we’ll be sending the same survey to some bike industry luminaries, too.

Once we've reviewed an array of brands, we’ll discuss how our selections align with your answers.

And for our grand finale of this series, we’re going to offer our choices for the Very Best Bikes of the Century. It may seem like an impossible task, but we’re hoping we can agree on a top 10, maybe even a top 3, and if the stars align, one single bike. Or, we may never speak to each other again, but we’re willing to take that risk.

Part 1 kicks off with Simon Stewart, David Golay, Dylan Wood, and Xan Marshland.

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 info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.

RELATED LINKS:

Best Bikes of the Century Survey

Blister Craft Collective

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Yeti (1:58)

Klein (8:20)

GT (11:11)

Turner (13:57)

Titus (18:40)

Intense (22:05)

Ibis (23:41)

Rocky Mountain (28:05)

Kona (31:40)

Giant (36:14)

Santa Cruz (40:08)

Cannondale (49:48)

Specialized (54:28)

Gary Fisher (1:05:25)

Trek (1:08:36)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The days are getting short and the weather is turning foul, but we’re still testing a ton of new bikes and gear. David Golay and Zack Henderson sat down to discuss a bunch of it, including the very burly Priority Vanth, the super lively Propain Hugene, a bunch of wet-weather apparel, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

SennzaFinne

Blister Craft Collective

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Wet weather gear (2:47)

Propain Hugene (18:00)

Priority Vanth (29:14)

FSA KFX i28 XC/Trail wheels (40:05)

MRP Lift V2 damper (46:31)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since its inception in 2001, Red Bull Rampage has demanded athletes walk a fine line between risk and reward, and the unfortunate injuries that go with that have been numerous. But with four riders heli-evac’d with serious injuries, this year’s Rampage was arguably the heaviest we’ve seen, and has left us with many questions about how, and if, the event should continue.

Shortly afterward, several of our reviewers weighed in with their thoughts in our “Debatable” series, which asked the question, “should Rampage be shut down?” Today, we continue that conversation with an open (and quite passionate) discussion on what we think needs to happen to make the event safer for the athletes, more transparent to the fans, and ideally better to watch, too.

RELATED LINKS:

Debatable: Should Rampage Be Shut Down

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Xan: The Venue (1:07)

Dylan: Let the Athletes Course Correct (11:04)

Simon: On-Site Medical Assessments (19:09)

Zack: Expand the Event (28:34)

David: Make it a Jam instead of a Comp (35:58)

Jonathan: Increase Transparency, Cover Athletes (46:27)

The Athlete's Decision (55:12)

Our Consensus: Changes for Next Year (1:01:29)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Priority Cycles may be a new brand to the full-suspension MTB world, but they’ve got a ton of experience building belt-drive, gearbox bikes — and now they’ve launched the Vanth, a remarkably affordable high-pivot Pinion gearbox-equipped Enduro bike. So, why did Priority decide to enter the full-suspension bike market now, how did they come up with the wild-looking Vanth design, and what makes the Vanth so much more affordable than most other full-suspension gearbox bikes? We dive into all that and much more with Eddie Meek of Priority and Mike Schwartz, who served as an engineering consultant on the project.

RELATED LINKS:

Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide

Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways

BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered

TOPICS & TIMES:

Introducing Eddie (3:20)

The Priority brand (4:38)

Introducing Mike (6:34)

Why a high-pivot Enduro bike? (11:20)

Other prototypes (16:01)

Marketing the Vanth as a brand not known for MTBs (20:55)

Belt vs. chain drive for a gearbox (27:53)

The Vanth (38:10)

Kinematic goals (45:00)

Frame materials (51:43)

Pricing & availability (56:45)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

Blister Cinematic

CRAFTED

GEAR:30

Blister Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.