Reviewer Reports: Tons of Bikes, Chain Damper Shootout, & Much More

In April of 2024, Kona Bikes set up their tent at Sea Otter, then promptly tore it back down when Kent Outdoors, who owned Kona at the time, pulled the rug right out from under them and declared that Kona was no longer in business. A year later, we sit down with Kona founder Jacob Heilbron about why he and other Kona founder Dan Gerhard sold Kona to Kent Outdoors; what happened at Sea Otter; how things have been going since buying Kona back; rebuilding the brand image; what their future plans look like; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredKona BikesTOPICS & TIMES:A Quick Kona HistoryThe Decision to Sell KonaKent Buys KonaFrom Record Sales to No SalesKent Blows it with Direct-to-Consumer StrategyKent Blows it Again with BOGO SaleThe Kona Sea Otter Debacle Jake and Dan buy Kona BackWhat Motivated Dan and Jake to Buy it BackKona’s FutureTariffs’ Affect on KonaWhat Jake is RidingNew Bikes on the WayCHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s no doubt that Spring is a busy time in the bike world, with lots of news, early-season racing, new products being launched, and the consistently shaky state of the bike industry, giving Mike and Simon no shortage of things to talk about. It seems like every month there’s a sad story of hard times for a bike brand, and April’s bummer news is Revel Bikes closing its doors. Thankfully, bike racing gives the lads something positive to chat about since the season is off to a fantastic start for mountain bike World Cup XC racing, not to mention we’re witnessing true road racing greatness as Tadej Pogačar rips through the Spring Classics in a way not seen since the likes of Eddie Merkcx, Fausto Coppi, and Sean Kelly. All of this and more in the April edition of Reviewing the News.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Revel Bikes Closes Its Doors (3:00)Specialized’s Turbo Levo’s High Speed Limit (19:32)What’s Happening with GT (33:28)OuterBike Down to One Event (34:48)Tariff Updates (37:38)Canyon Reduces US Workforce (38:59)RIP Arni Nashbar (44:30)First Two UCI World Cup XC Races of the Year (48:00)Road Racing Spring Classics (54:56)Mike’s Starling Murmur (1:02:56)Santa Cruz Bullit (1:11:57)New Bosch Race Motor (1:14:06)What We’re Reading and Watching (1:21:57)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a fine line to walk in developing a new product, especially as a new brand without an existing track record. Make something plain and in line with existing options, and you risk getting lost in the noise; go too weird and unconventional, and it can be hard to find willing early adopters.Outlier MTB took a chance with their wild-looking Void and Pendulum pedals, but they’re not just different for the sake of being different — there’s sound thinking behind the designs. So we sat down with Outlier founder Cam Belisle-O’Donnell to chat about where the concept came from in the first place; what their prototyping and development process looked like; the initial public reception & coming to market with something that looks so novel; some other projects they have in the works; and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Founding Outlier & the pedals’ notable features (4:36)“The Lefty of MTB pedals” (12:42)The first prototypes & early testing (19:50)Pendulum vs. Void & the tradeoffs (24:24)Manufacturing challenges & running a small company (44:54)Future Outlier products? (50:17)Ramping up production (52:33)Lab testing (56:25)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High-pivot bikes are generally thought of as super planted, smashy, gravity-oriented bikes, but that isn’t inherently true, as some shorter-travel high-pivot Trail bikes have demonstrated in recent years. But isolating the main reason for going high-pivot — a more rearward axle path than can realistically be achieved with a more conventional suspension layout — from all the other variables that go into designing a bike is hard to do in practice.Cascade Components wanted to learn more about what a more rearward axle path does while changing as few other variables as possible, and their new high-pivot conversion kit for the Specialized Stumpjumper is the result. They’re also offering a limited run of 20 of the kits, so we sat down with founder and engineer, Jimmy Davis, to hear all about the project, including why Cascade chose to take it on; why they used the Stumpjumper as the basis for it; what they learned; and more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:The Stumpjumper 15 High-Pivot Conversion Kit (1:53)Why make a high-pivot conversion? And how? (3:01)What goes into the kit? (7:12)Ride characteristics vs. the stock bike (15:48)Chassis stability & the Genie shock (18:49)Leverage curves & suspension tuning (25:29)Relating different kinematic variables (30:06)Why use the Stumpjumper as the basis for the kit? (33:48)Versatility & tradeoffs of the conversion (37:30)Pricing (40:22)Who’s it for? (40:54)Generating anti-squat from the axle path vs. chain growth (44:49)Data acquisition & lessons learned (46:18)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lal Bikes’ Supre Drive offers some compelling upsides over a conventional derailleur drivetrain, but it also needs a frame built around the system. Lal began by partnering with Nicolai on the Nucleon 16, but now they are ready to launch their first bike under the Lal Bikes brand. So we sat down with Cedric Eveleigh, the founder of Lal and inventor of the Supre Drive, to hear all about the new Katana, get the story of its design and development, chat about material selection and ride feel, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredLal KatanaCedric Eveleigh of LAL Bikes on Reinventing the Derailleur (Ep.94)Lal Bikes on Making the Supre Drive a Reality (Ep.179)TOPICS & TIMES:The Supre Drive (2:32)Nicolai Nucleon 16 (3:57)The Katana’s development (8:56)Initial concepts for the Katana (18:11)Ride feel of steel frames (19:00)Performance goals for the Katana (24:48)Handling & geometry (26:54)Suspension kinematics (31:23)The Supre Drive and parts compatibility (38:37)Pricing & availability (55:05)Final details (58:33)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is here, and things are busy in the bike world, giving Dylan and Simon lots to talk about in our March edition of Reviewing the News. They kick things off with a fun conversation about which pro athletes shred on both bikes and skis, which leads them into a recap of the very well-attended Red Bull Tennesee National DH race and who’s going into the season with good speed. This time of year typically means lots of new products to get excited about, and the lads go over some of their favorites. Plus, they get into the head-scratching news about Rocky Mountain deciding to sell their bikes in REI, other industry news, and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Athletes Who Shred on Both Bikes and Skis (4:40)Red Bull Tennessee National DH Race (8:28)Red Bull Cerro Abajo (17:03)Rocky Mountain Bikes in REI (22:17)Yamaha Buys Brose (25:31)Tariffs on Steel Affect Chain Prices (28:17)Specialized lost a Ton of Money Last Year (32:33)Flatbike Pop-off Pedals (36:39)SRAM’s New Cable Actuated Drivetrains (40:57)The Future of Brake Fluid? (46:41)The Year of Lightweight Full-Power eMTBs (48:07)What We’re Reading and Watching (56:04)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mountain bike gearboxes have had a small but vocal set of proponents for over a decade but have yet to see widespread adoption. That might be changing, at least in World Cup DH, and Atherton Racing is one of several teams debuting, or at least testing, a gearbox bike for this season.So we sat down with Rob Gow, the Head of Design at Atherton Bikes, to talk about the new A.200.G and what spurred its development in the first place; what it took to adapt the A.200.M to accept a gearbox; what Atherton’s design process looks like in general; the pros and cons of gearboxes — both for DH racing and more broadly — and a whole lot more.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Introducing Rob (3:00)The A.200.G concept & why go gearbox? (6:17)The development timeline & process (13:58)Comparing the A.200.M and A.200.G (28:45)Gearing & setting up a gearbox vs. a conventional drivetrain (36:51)The future of gearboxes (42:47)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding period-correct tires has become next to impossible or prohibitively expensive when restoring vintage mountain bikes. Bike industry veteran and vintage bike enthusiast, Wakeman Massie, recognized this void and founded House of Looptail to fill it. Wakeman has painstakingly recreated some of the most iconic tires in mountain bike and BMX history.In today’s Bikes and Big Ideas conversation, Wakeman talks about some of the other well-known products he designed before getting into vintage tires, like the Travel Agent, Tooth Fairy, 1x1 Blowerdrive, Surly Singleator, and the legendary Surly 1x1 frame. Wakeman and Simon discuss the challenges of recreating tires when the drawings and molds no longer exist, why the new tires are better than the old ones, why vintage mountain bikes deserve to be ridden and not thrown in the landfill, and a whole lot more. RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipThis Week’s Gear GiveawayHouse of LooptailTOPICS & TIMES:Starting out in Bike Shops (2:31)Industrial Design Degree and Working for QBP (4:11)Earning Trust with the Travel Agent (8:52)Designing the Surly 1x1 (11:18)Starting House of Looptail (23:53)The Snake Belly Tire (30:53)Working with Panaracer (34:40)The New Tires are Better (37:56)The Ritchey Megabite Z-Max (45:04)How to Remake a Tire with No Drawings or Molds (48:53)What's Next (52:24)What Wakeman is Riding (55:33)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Golay and Zack Henderson sat down to chat about a ton of the new gear we’re currently testing, including bikes across the travel spectrum, some suspension products, and a bunch more. Plus we dive into the merits of active chain devices and talk about our early impressions of the Rimpact Chain Damper and how it stacks up against an Ochain.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ Get Yourself CoveredTOPICS & TIMES:Pivot Trailcat LT (1:44)Transition Sentinel (7:31)Santa Cruz Bronson (15:23)Ochain vs Rimpact Chain Damper (23:46)Ibis Oso 1.1 (28:46)RockShox Zeb Charger 3.1 (37:09)RockShox Vivid Coil (44:18)Outlier Void & Pendulum Pedals (56:27)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDGEAR:30Blister PodcastOff The Couch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another month has gone by, giving Mike and Simon plenty to talk about in the latest edition of Reviewing the News. In the last episode, they were super excited about the upcoming Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania, and today they get into the results, the insane speeds throughout the course, Asa Vermette’s rise to elite-level racing, and Jackson Goldstone’s redemption. It wouldn’t be a Reviewing the News episode without some bike industry news, so the lads discuss the recently imposed tariffs, the return of Nukeproof, and what’s happening with Rocky Mountain, plus a fun conversation about some new cycling startups. All of this and more in our February edition of Reviewing the News.RELATED LINKS:BLISTER+ MembershipBLISTER+ Real World TestimonialsBlister LabsThis Week’s Gear GiveawayBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideTOPICS & TIMES:Mike’s Looking Fit (1:29)Hardline Tasmania (4:27)Gates 100k purse predictions for ‘25 (12:31)Atherton Racing vs Aon Racing (20:00)Nukeproof Rising From the Ashes (25:45)Tariffs Again (34:01)Rocky Mountain Bikes Update (40:45)Arkansas Cycling Startup Accelerator (42:42)What We’re Reading and Watching (1:02:16)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTSBlister CinematicOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister PodcastCRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.