Singletracks Mountain Bike News

Dr. Matt Miller is the inventor and founder of Brake Ace, a sensor that collects data about your braking and an app that makes braking recommendations to help you ride smarter.  He’s also a former elite-level mountain bike racer and has coached riders at all levels of the sport. In this episode we ask: How did you make your way up to the elite level of mountain bike competition? Why did you decide to look at braking performance as a part of your PhD program? What does the Brake Ace sensor look like, and how does it work? How difficult is the hardware side in terms of development? What’s different about your approach to studying braking performance? How did you figure out which metrics to focus on? Let’s talk about some common braking questions.Does the front brake generally offer more stopping power than the rear? Is locking up a wheel and skidding bad in terms of speed and/or performance, or is it desirable in certain situations? Should mountain bikers brake before a turn? How soon? Should we b

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Sean Madsen is WTB’s Saddle Category Manager and is an expert in cycling biomechanics with more than 24 years of experience. Over his career he’s studied and taught bike fitting to thousands worldwide, and he’s helped create many innovative saddle concepts while working with top athletes. In this episode, we ask Sean common questions about bike saddles including: How are bike saddles constructed? What are some of the different materials that are used for padding? Are there advantages to using materials like gel? What is the purpose of titanium or carbon saddle rails? How does bike saddle sizing work? Are more expensive saddles more comfortable? What’s the idea behind saddle cutouts? Why do you think the Volt is one of WTB’s best selling saddles? Do men and women need different bike saddles? Are saddles generally designed under the assumption that riders will be wearing a chamois?

Emmy Andrews is the Executive Director of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance, also known as COTA. The group's mission is to "develop, protect, and enhance the Central Oregon mountain bike experience through trail stewardship, advocacy, collaboration, and education." Tell us a bit about COTA. What’s the organization’s mission and how large is your membership? When and why did COTA get its start? How long have you been with COTA, and how did you get involved? How is COTA organized? How many miles of singletrack does your group support? What are some of the most popular trails COTA helps support? Is there currently a good mix of trails in Bend for riders of all skill levels? Who are the land management agencies COTA works with? Do you see a lot of riders coming from out of town to ride in Bend, and some of the other areas COTA supports? What’s the best time of year to ride in Central Oregon? Tell us about the mountain bike community in Bend. Are there standing group rides, or businesses that are

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Last year Christopher Blevins became the first American man to win a World Cup race since 1994, taking first in the final XCO race of the season at Snowshoe, West Virginia. He’s also the 2021 short track world champion, and has notched numerous podium finishes at national and international mountain, cyclocross, and road races. This past weekend Blevins crashed during the short track race (XCC) at Les Gets but still managed a top-20 finish. In the cross country race on Sunday he was not feeling well due to injuries suffered in the XCC race and pulled out of the competition. In this interview we ask: How did the Durango DEVO community-based cycling program shape who you are as a rider? What is it about Durango that produces so many talented riders? Is it the elevation, or the terrain, or something else? How does being a playful rider translate on the race course? How did you get interested in

In this episode Chris, Jeff, and Matt talk about the 12 best mountain bike destinations in the United States that was recently shared on Singletracks. We'll go over the criteria we consider when choosing our favorite mountain bike destinations and go through the list and share more about the best spots to visit. Moab, Utah Sedona, Arizona Bentonville, Arkansas Grand Valley, Colorado (Fruita / Grand Junction / Palisade) Crested Butte, Colorado and the Gunnison Valley Park City, Utah Pisgah, North Carolina (Brevard / Asheville / Old Fort) Lake Tahoe Copper Harbor, Michigan Kingdom Trails, Vermont Durango, Colorado Bellingham, Washington Cover photo: Matt Miller ✏️ A written transcript of this conversation is available to Singletracks Pro supporters: singletracks.com/support --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/singletracks/support

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Pat White is a longtime product manager for Kona Bicycles and Doug Lafavor aka Dr. Dew has been designing bikes at Kona for decades. In this episode we ask: Which factors make a hardtail ‘hardcore’ or more aggressive compared to say an XC or entry-level hardtail? What are aggressive hardtails good for in terms of riding style or trails? What are the limits? How important is frame material when it comes to designing a hardtail? Is there one material that’s generally superior to the others? Are there higher costs involved in building hardtails from steel than aluminum? Where does the compliance in a hardtail frame come from? Do you look at component selection differently for a hardtail vs. a full suspension bike? If so, what are the key areas where the builds differ? Is there any lingering debate about wheel size when it comes to hardtails? Are sliding dropouts an important selling poi

Seth Gebel is a mountain biker and trail builder living in Missouri. His popular YouTube channel, Backyard Trail Builds, shows how he builds beautiful trail features like ramps, skinnies, and bridges using natural materials. In this episode we ask: Tell us how you got into mountain biking, and trail building. You’ve been building at Howler Bike Park this year. What were you working on there? How much of your time do you spend building on your own land versus paid projects for others? Where did you learn your carpentry skills? Is there a science to building features that are fun to ride, or is it guess-and-check? Have you had to progress your bike skills to keep up with your builds? You use a lot of natural wood as opposed to cut lumber, which seems to be pretty time consuming. Why make the effort? Is longevity a concern when building features out of wood? Are there things you can do to ensure features remain safe and durable for many seasons? Do you enjoy riding skinnies? What makes a good moun

Mike Giese is an industrial designer based in Salt Lake City who has designed products for bike brands like Revel, Trust, and most recently, Evil Bikes. Evil just announced their first electric mountain bike, and we’re curious to learn about some of the design challenges that were involved. In this episode we ask: How do industrial designers and engineers work together? Does one usually take the lead on starting a new bike project, or are you working in parallel from the beginning? Is it beneficial, or even possible, to simply take an existing mountain bike design and electrify it? Or is it better to start from scratch? Why? Evil is using a Shimano e-drive system in the new Epocalypse. Is choosing the drive system one of the first steps? Why choose Shimano for this bike? What are the challenges involved in designing a frame to accommodate a motor and battery? Are there any unique challenges with wiring, or is it pretty similar to internal cable and hose routing? How do build kit considerations differ f

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Dee Tidwell is a professional coach and the founder of Train to Ride which provides cycling-specific training programs and plans for mountain biking, road, gravel, and moto riding. He’s also a two time Big Mountain Enduro Master’s Champ and has worked with countless professional athletes including members of the Yeti/Fox Factory professional EWS race team. We ask Dee: What is the Performance Pyramid, and how does it work? Walk us through each level. Is it OK to skip some of the lower levels and jump right to the top? How electric mountain bike riding and racing this differ from more traditional mountain bike training? Do you find that people really hate cardio so much that they avoid training altogether? Is equipment cost an excuse people use for not working on getting stronger? Is soft tissue therapy something folks can work on at home with foam rollers and massage guns, or is this one are

Gary Moore is the executive director of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association, COMBA. The group is dedicated to the interests of the Front Range mountain biking community in and around Denver. In this episode we ask: What is the Colorado Mountain Bike Association's mission and how large is your membership? How many miles of singletrack does COMBA help support? When and why did COMBA get its start? How long have you been with COMBA, and how did you get involved? Did the recent boom in mountain bike participation translate into COMBA membership growth? What is the biggest misconception the community tends to have about their local advocacy groups? What are some of the most popular trails your group helps support? Are some Front Range trails particularly popular with MTB tourists? Are there many opportunities for new trail builds on the Front Range? Can trail growth keep up with demand from new residents, and new riders? How do you decide which trails projects to pursue? Is unauthorized trail b

This week we’re re-sharing one of our favorite podcast episodes, and we’ll be back next week with an all-new show. Dr. Adam Phaneuf is a Doctor of Chiropractic with a degree in Exercise Science based in Bellingham, WA. He’s also a bike fitter and has studied bicycle biomechanics. In this interview we ask Adam: Is it true that cycling is lower impact than other activities like jogging? Do you think mountain biking is higher impact than road cycling? What are some of the most common ride-related issues folks tend to have? Are certain muscles, or body parts, more prone to injury or pain for mountain bikers? Do oval chain rings work for reducing pain? Are there any biomechanical advantages to them that riders can benefit from? How can riders know if it’s their form that needs to be changed, or if it’s something about the bike fit that’s wrong? What is arm pump, and what causes it? Can vibration on the bike lead to any health or pain issues? Can things like suspension stems or seat posts be helpful

Craig Durkin is the founder of Wandrer.earth, an exploration game that encourages people to explore new places by bike and by foot. He and his wife Pearl are also good friends, and we’ve been riding together regularly for a few years now. In this episode we ask Craig: Are you still biking abandoned railroad tracks with this contraption? Why did you first get into mountain biking? What is Wandrer and how does it work? What are some of the interesting things you’ve see on your rides? Are there plans to create specific challenges for mountain biking, and MTB trails? Who would you say is the best MTB trials rider of all time? Learn more and sign up for a free account at Wandrer.earth. ✏️ A written transcript of this conversation is available to Singletracks Pro supporters: singletracks.com/support --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/singletracks/support

Aaron and Emily Kerson founded PNW Components in 2015. The customer-focused brand is known for offering quality components like dropper posts, handlebars, and now clothing at affordable prices. In this interview we ask: What kind of bike industry experience did you have before starting PNW? Did you observe any problems you wanted to solve, or were there efficiencies that were being overlooked? What was the first product PNW launched? Why did you choose that product or product line to start? Who does your product design and development? Is working with local bike shops and brick and mortar retailers becoming more important as the brand grows? What is your customer service philosophy? Is the customer always right? Why did you decide to offer a lifetime warranty for PNW products? What’s one thing buyers can do to keep their dropper post working smoothly? Are there unique advantages and/or challenges to working with your spouse? Is there any pressure to increase prices on the products you sell?

Otis Guy started racing mountain bikes at Repack in the late 1970s and competed at the first mountain bike World Championships in 1990. He’s also been a frame builder since the 1980s and currently works as a youth cycling coach in Northern California. In this interview we ask Otis: How did you get introduced to mountain bikes and mountain biking? What appealed to you about riding off road? How do the early trails on Mt. Tam compare to the purpose-built mountain bike trails being created today? Are you still building bike frames today? What do you think about the current trend toward slacker MTB head tube angles? What were the mountain bike race courses like in the 1990s? Did your pro team, racing full suspension bikes, have a big advantage over other teams at the time? Did you and Joe Breeze ever complete the tandem bike ride from San Francisco to New York? How did you learn mountain bike skills? Did you have a coach?What is the focus of your youth MTB camps? What do you hope kids will get out of

Aaron Abrams is Director of Product for Marin Bicycles and is currently based in Taiwan. The Marin bike brand has been around since 1986 and the company’s slogan says their bikes are “Made For Fun.” In this episode we talk about how mountain bikes are specced, and how product managers make decisions about which parts to include. When planning out the builds for a bike like the Marin Rift Zone 29 (three options, priced between $2,000 and $3,000), do you start with a set of say 3 price targets and choose the best parts that make those prices work? How important is overall bike weight when it comes to build specs? What is the purpose of speccing house-brand components like bars, saddles, and stems on bike builds? Is there a lot of cost savings by going this route? Why did Marin recently start selling branded aftermarket grips, bars, and stems? We rarely see full suspension builds that mix and match forks and shocks from different brands. Why is that? How do you know if consumers are going to like a pa

Matt De Young is the executive director of the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship, a non-profit that “builds and maintains great trails for everyone, and connects communities to nature through responsible outdoor recreation.” In this episode we ask: How is the SCMTS organized? How many miles of bike trails does SCMTS support? When and why did the SCMTS get its start? Why the name change from Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz to Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship? Are trail user conflicts a big issue in the Santa Cruz area? The SCMTS is one of the most vocal groups that’s promoting scientific studies showing the environmental impacts of mountain biking. How did the Mountain Biking Impact Review report come together? Tell us a bit about your professional trail building team. What types of projects do they work on, and how does that support the overall mission? What are some of the most popular trails your group helps support? Are any of the trails particularly popular with MTB tourists, or ar

Dale Boyd and Drew Hall are mountain bikers and trail builders living in Mobile, Alabama. They’re part of a group called Ride the Rebellion that posts videos and podcasts about their efforts to build and ride trails in a part of the US that isn’t traditionally known for mountain biking. In this episode we ask: What was the local mountain bike scene like when you first got into the sport? How did you come up with the name Ride the Rebellion for your group? How many folks are a part of the group? Is there an official membership process? What are some ways you’ve found to make flat terrain more fun to ride? How did you learn to build trails and trail features? How do you come up with names for trails and trail features? What is the status of the land where you build trails? How did you get permission to build and ride there? What is your agreement like with the landowner in terms of what you can, and can’t, do? Can anyone ride the trail whenever they like, or is

Wende Cragg has been a part of mountain biking since the beginning of the sport in California in the 1970s, racing and photographing the early Repack races down Mt. Tam. She was inducted into the mountain bike hall of fame in 1989 and curates the Rolling Dinosaur Archive which chronicles the birth of mountain biking. Tell us a bit about your introduction to mountain biking. Was it love at first ride? Which aspects of riding a bicycle off road were most appealing to you? How would you describe the feeling of those first rides? What was your motivation for taking photographs in the early days of mountain biking? What was it like connecting with riders in Crested Butte who were sorta discovering mountain biking in parallel with you and your friends in the Bay Area?How was their idea of mountain biking different from the one being developed in California? Were you surprised to see mountain bikers banned from riding on Mt. Tam in the early 80s? How did you react? Did you get frustrated with the early bi

Ben Turits runs a coaching business and sports therapy practice called The Endurance Collective. He’s a former professional mountain bike racer and current USA Cycling coach working with both pro and amateur athletes alike. In this episode we ask: How did your first enduro race go? What type of training did you do to prepare? What does VO2 max measure?How is it measured? Is using heart rate data to estimate VO2 max fairly accurate? Are there specific types of training that are effective in raising VO2 max? How important is VO2 max for predicting performance? What is lactate threshold?What does it measure? How is it measured? Is lactate threshold directly related to power? Are there other similar fitness metrics that riders can or should pay attention to? Is there a difference between mountain bikers and road bikers when it comes to the importance of certain metrics? Is it possible to get the same quality workout on the trail vs. on the trainer?Is gravel riding a good substitute for road rid

Anthony Duncan is the Director of Local Programs at IMBA and is based out of Johnson City, Tennessee. The IMBA Local program is designed to support grassroots mountain bike organizations through services, education and mentorship programs. In this episode we ask Anthony: How long have you been at IMBA? What were you doing before joining? The IMBA local program was launched at the end of 2017 which represented a huge change for the organization. What was happening back then that led to the formation of Local? There are two IMBA Local support service options: Chapter services and Affiliate services. What does Affiliate services include? What kinds of services does Chapter support add? Does IMBA directly help groups advocate at the local level, or do you provide education and resources so groups can advocate for themselves instead? What are some of the biggest challenges local trail groups are facing? Have you seen an uptick in new local groups forming since the pandemic began? It seems like latel