Bikes & Big Ideas

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 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
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
TOPICS & TIMES:
First career win at Lenzerheide
Qualifying first & the resulting pressure
Knowing when to push vs. aiming for smooth and safe
Qualifying format & changes to World Cup DH
Upcoming Juniors & growing North American momentum
USA Cycling & developing DH racers
Joining Frameworks & the benefits of a factory team
Goals for the rest of 2026
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
The Blister Vault
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast

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

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: info@blisterreview.com
RELATED LINKS:
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
Order our 26/27 Winter Buyer’s Guide
Enter Our Free Weekly Gear Giveaways
For the Full Episode: 2025 Red Bull Rampage Winner, Hayden Zablotny (Ep.307)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Podcast
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
Bikes & Big Ideas
GEAR:30

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

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 info@blisterreview.com to weigh in.
RELATED LINKS:
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways
BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered
Mike’s The Grimy Handshake Substack
Manitou on the New Mezzer & Mezzer LT (Ep.328)
TOPICS & TIMES:
Simon’s Trip Across the Pond (1:17)
World Cup MTB Racing Recap (3:28)
Mike & Simon’s Take on the Tour de France (21:02)
Canadian Open DH Recap (32:00)
Trek’s Voluntary eMTB Speed Limit (35:48)
Are Bike Shoes Too Stiff? (44:06)
Einstein’s Saddle (48:51)
New Products (55:43)
Mike’s Pump Off (1:07:17)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
The Blister Vault
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast

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

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 industry and mountain bike design along the way.

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: info@blisterreview.com
RELATED LINKS:
Momentous: livemomentous.com use code: Blister
OneSkin: oneskin.co/BLISTER
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
TOPICS & TIMES:
Ibis Ripley AF (1:18)
Specialized Epic 9 (11:57)
Revel Ranger V3 (18:06)
Yeti LT (24:16)
Orbea Rallon (36:16)
Devinci Spartan (47:13)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 infrastructure.

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: info@blisterreview.com
RELATED LINKS:
Momentous: livemomentous.com use code: Blister
OneSkin: oneskin.co/BLISTER
Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
TOPICS & TIMES:
Who Are PeopleForBikes and What They Do (0:38)
Why & How City Ratings Got Started (2:20)
How Many Cities are Included (3:41)
City Ratings Methodology (4:10)
Best Cities (11:12)
Pushback? (13:03)
How to get involved to help your city become more bike-friendly (18:04)
Biggest Challenges (21:43)
International Cities (24:35)
Ebike considerations? (26:36)
Next year’s ratings (28:28)
What advice can you offer a city to help improve its score? (29:27)
Other PFB Initiatives (30:25)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.