In-Depth, Independent Bike Reviews – Paul Aston

Join me for a catch up with Paul Aston. Last time we spoke to Paul, he’d mentioned that he was looking to buy a farm and set out on an ambitious project to turn it into a bike farm to use as a base to create truly independent bike tests for us all. Well earlier this year, Paul started to turn that dream into reality, so we sat down to catch up on the progress. We chat about the farm, the credit card debts and his experiences with the Canyon Sender and Commencal Supreme. Hear about Paul’s attempt to podium at the Master's World Champs, the mountain bike that doesn’t seem to be capable of much mountain biking and much much more. As always with Paul, there are some serious technical details that will get you thinking. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Paul Aston. Paul's website is astonmtb.com, his YouTube channel is here and you can follow him on Instagram @astonmtb. If you like what he's doing, then why not give him some support. Supporting Partners earSHOTS EarSHOTS Bluetooth headphones have you covered for staying motivated while you train.  Their patented Magnetic ear clip solves the problem of earphones falling out or constantly dislodging and moving in your ear, so you can train without distraction. When riders like Wyn Masters and Sam Blenkinsop are using them, you know they must be good. I have had a set of earSHOTS for nearly a year and I’ve been really impressed. I’ve tried them with a couple of different helmets, over a mixture of terrain including some pretty rough rocky stuff and they really do stay in place. So if you’re looking for a set of headphones so you can smash out some podcasts while you’re riding, or for some banging tunes to keep you motivated while training, earSHOTS have got you covered. You can find out more over at earshots.com. To be in with a chance to win your own pair, head to downtimepodcast.com/earshots and enter your details now. You’ve got until midnight on 4th January 2022 to enter. Canyon Canyon have just launched a full family of their 150mm big hitting Torque. It is now available in 27.5, 29 or Mullet setup, and you have a choice of an aluminium or carbon or frame. Canyon put themselves in the shoes of riders who are heading to Whistler or Queenstown for a season and need one bike to smash out bike park laps, ride gnarly off piste trails, but also enable them to pedal out into the backcountry without it feeling like a tank when the trail points uphill. And you can fit a bottle cage on it too!! As a Downtime listener, with the promo code ALL-FEATURES-UNLOCKED-21 you’ll get a free bike guard to Torque AL and CF orders. Head over to canyon.com now and check them out. Terms and Conditions: This voucher code is valid online between 6 December 2021, 00:01 CET and 10 January 2022, 23:59 CET. The code applies a free Bike Guard to all Torque CF and AL orders. It cannot be redeemed in conjunction with any other discount code and excludes Factory Outlet bikes and framesets. The code cannot be applied retroactively and is available only to products available at the time of purchase. Cannot be redeemed for cash and resale is prohibited. The code can only be used once per customer. Canyon reserve the right to terminate or change the terms of the promotion at any time. Podcast Stuff Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 1 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast, expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hold, and a timeless piece of mountain bike history. Just head over to downtimepodcast.com/ep and you’ll be able to save yourself £5 off of the cover price with an annual subscription for just £20 plus postage. Merch My 2021 Spring/Summer merch is here, including our first ever recycled t-shirts. If you want to support the podcast,