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.

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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)

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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.

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Trail Work

Dillon Osleger on Historic Trails, Changing Climates, & Evolving Communities (Ep.133)

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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)

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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

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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.

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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)

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Spot’s Ryan Palmer and Simon Stewart have been talking about bikes for years, so when Spot dropped their new Diggity 125 Trail bike, Simon quickly wound him up for a chat. Ryan shares details about their design decisions, why Spot’s Living Link suspension layout gives them more kinematic control throughout the travel, their interesting take on size-specific chainstay length, the lightweight Trail bike trend, and a whole lot more.

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Spot Bikes

Outerbike

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TOPICS & TIMES:

What’s With the Name Diggity? (2:40)

What Were the Design Goals? (8:13)

How Did You Land on 125 mm? (13:06)

How Important was Weight? (14:35)

Why it's More Than a Shorter Travel Mayhem 140 (23:17)

Geometry (29:43)

Spot’s Take on Size-Specific Chainstays (32:44)

Where Can You Ride One (50:47)

Spot’s 30 Day Return Guarantee (53:15)

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Gravel Hall of Famer Yuri Hauswald is coming out of retirement at age 55 to raise money for the Life Time Foundation by racing the Unbound Gravel 200, a race he won over a decade ago. Tune in to find out why he’s starting dead last, what’s changed in his training approach, his bike setup, and why he’s passionate about kids’ charities, plus some bonus gravel tips & tricks for one of the most challenging gravel races in the world, by one of the best to ever do it. Don’t miss this one.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Specialized’s Ride to Vegas (1:18)

Yuri’s Bike Racing History (3:13)

Winning the Unbound 200 in 2015 (5:35)

Why Come out of Retirement to Race it Again (9:23)

Why Emporia Kansas Changed Yuri’s Like (11:53)

Training & Fundraising (18:37)

Having a Coach and Fueling (26:43)

What the Hell is a Mud Stick (30:21)

Yuri’s Unbound Gravel 200 Tips & Tricks (33:16)

Bike Setup & Tire Choice (41:47)

How Can We Find You in the Race (46:52)

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Mike and Simon unpack the first DH and XC World Cup of the season, and there’s a whole lot to talk about, including course drama, fast Frenchies, DH hardtails, belt drives, tons of flats, just as many crashes, and Vali Holl and Asa Vermette's insane winning runs, not to mention the XC race mudfest the day after. Plus, we sprinkle in a bit of industry news, and Mike lays out his plan to make poison oak pepper spray.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Air Travel & Spirit Airlines (2:36)

Mike’s Poison Oak Spray (13:20)

The 1st World Cup DH of the Season (17:00)

Course Drama (30:56)

Asa Veremette has Arrived (31:37)

Women’s Elite (34:52)

Vali Holl’s Run (39:18)

The XC Race Mudder (43:18)

Mike’s Sea Otter Recap (50:21)

The Evolving eMTB Landscape (57:44)

Another Surron Parent Charged (1:08:15)

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