Bikes & Big Ideas

It’s never been easy to make it as an independent framebuilder, and it’s only getting harder. Chris Blandford knows the struggle well, and might well be doing more than anyone else currently to support small US builders, from founding Firsthand Framebuilding to resurrecting Paragon Machine Works, and more. He’s here to tell us all about it.
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:
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
BLISTER Digital Access Pass
TOPICS & TIMES:
Introducing Chris (2:40)
The Portland, OR framebuilding scene (6:26)
Chris’ introduction to framebuilding (10:22)
Founding Firsthand & the Firsthand vision (13:20)
Framebuilding classes (18:25)
Acquiring Paragon Machine Works (31:18)
What’s next? (44:59)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We tend to think of maps as objective representations of the physical world around us, but they're subject to the biases, goals, and editorial choices of the folks making them — just like any other piece of writing, film, or method of communication. Dillon Osleger's excellent new book, Trail Work, lays out how the erasure of trails from historic maps erodes our collective access to public lands; how and why those maps have evolved over the decades; the biggest challenges facing public land advocates, especially in the American West; and a whole lot of other topics that are vitally important to anyone who likes spending time outside. He joins us to discuss all of it.
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:
Trail Work
Dillon Osleger on Historic Trails, Changing Climates, & Evolving Communities (Ep.133)
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
BLISTER Digital Access Pass
TOPICS & TIMES:
Trail Work (2:14)
Inspiration & goals for the book (6:52)
The evolution of MTB trail access (9:09)
Mixed-use trails & managing user interactions (13:10)
The deliberate disappearance of trails (16:47)
The trail degradation feedback loop (21:31)
Maps as a language (29:06)
The erasure of place names & their history (35:37)
Stewardship & how we can do better (40:08)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like most small framebuilders, Ashley King launched Significant Other making custom rigid frames, but she turned that model on its head by launching the Ded Reckin full-suspension XC/Trail bike, and taking it to serial production. And if that’s not enough, she’s already built prototypes of two more full-suspension models, too. So we brought Ashley back on the show to tell the whole story, from deciding to build the original Ded Reckin show bike to offering it as a production model, material selection and opting for a mix of steel and titanium, developing the Doom Scroll Prophecy prototypes, and a whole lot more.

And for a lot more on Ashley’s background, the founding of Significant Other, and her path into frame building, check out Ep.253 of Bikes & Big Ideas.
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:
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered
TOPICS & TIMES:
Moving from custom rigid frames to production full-suspension bikes (3:00)
The Ded Reckin show bike (10:37)
Design brief & details (17:30)
Looking like a Significant Other (21:43)
Production readiness & refining the details (25:05)
3D printed parts & mixing construction techniques (31:27)
The preorder model (35:41)
The Doom Scroll Prophecy (38:27)
Naming the bikes (52:19)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike had to make a trip back to Mexico to help his 97-year-old Mom move, and amidst spider bites, broken windows, explosive dog diarrhea, and the usual technical issues (he needs his own full-time tech support department), he miraculously joined Simon to go over a very busy month — from racing to the courtroom, they have a lot to get through.

Paragon Machine Works' reopening is the best news, and looks poised to keep frame builders stocked with crucial parts. Niner Bikes has been “paused”, whatever that means. Kona has a new boss (Mike is skeptical). The Loudenvielle DH World Cup was a crash-fest, but Luca Shaw emerged from the carnage on the top step, and Vali Holl continued her dominance on the notoriously tricky track. SRAM’s legal win against the UCI sets a precedent, and tons 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:
Mike’s Dumpster Fire
Loudenville World Cup Highlights
Luca Shaw Finally Gets a Win
Vali Holl Dominates
Nova Mesto XC World Cup Insights
Tom Pidcock Owns the Nova Mesto Course
Giro D’Italia Recap & Durango’s Sepp Kuss’ Stage Win
SRAM’s Precedent-Setting Legal Victory
Leadership Changes at Kona
Industry News: Company Closures and Reopenings
New Products: Manitou’s New Mezzer
Upcoming RockShox Flight Attendant Video Teaser
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast

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

The long-travel single-crown fork landscape has shifted a ton since Manitou unveiled the original Mezzer in 2019, and the new second-generation version has seen a lot of changes to better match modern bikes — including splitting the lineup into the standard Mezzer and the beefier Mezzer LT. Both get a host of intriguing performance-oriented changes, too, so we brought Manitou Product Manager Phil Ott back on the show to discuss them, and tell the development story of the new forks.
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:
Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide
BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered
TOPICS & TIMES:
Goals for the Updated Mezzer (2:29)
Versions & Splitting the Lineup (4:39)
Chassis Stiffness & Friction (8:50)
Dropouts & Alignment (21:41)
Spring Design (28:14)
Damper (35:42)
Adding High-Speed Rebound Adjuster (42:20)
Compression Damping (47:35)
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
Blister Cinematic
CRAFTED
GEAR:30
Blister Podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.