Regardless of whether it's the 951 deal with Costco, or a greater reliance on carbon manufacturing outside of the US, the brand is going back to its roots and putting the frame-first. As such, their new distribution model takes the same name, and looks to give riders greater freedom with how their bike rides, and their dealer network more agency and freedom when selling an Intense. Brian Park and Henry Quinney sat down with Jeff Steber, Mike Carr and John Hall to talk through the changes.

Dario, Daz, and Denry show us their current favorite parts of biking and discuss whether a bike can ever be too adjustable.

They had a lot to say, and we got a few tidbits out of them, so the pod runs a bit long. Alternatively, you can read the article + photos here. This was recorded before we'd figured out how to press the big red button to do video podcasts, but we'll be back soon with our regularly scheduled podcast.

03:07 The Evolution of E-Bikes & the Development of the Turbo Levo

14:58 The Shift in Perception of eMTBs

30:52 Brand Equity & the Levo's Original Name

33:51 The Swiss Office

44:02 Future Developments in eMTBs

50:20 Understanding E-Bike Performance Metrics

56:51 The Impact of Market Timing

01:00:00 Engineering for Performance, Legislation, & Consumer Safety

01:12:04 Charging Technology and Battery Longevity

01:15:59 Data-Driven Design and Testing

01:24:02 Field Testing and Component Tracking

00:08:50 Value Product of the Year

00:14:31 Value Mountain Bike of the Year

00:25:16 E-MTB of the Year

00:45:13 Innovation of the Year

01:05:42 Suspension Product of the Year

01:22:01 Product of the Year

01:32:41 Mountain Bike of the Year

Have we got to the stage where it isn't about only setting up your suspension well, but rather setting up your bike to get the most out of your suspension?

Brian and I caught up with him to talk about old bikes, blank chequebooks and the lucky number 13.

We'd love to answer some of your questions. Pleave us a message here.

This episode, Henry and Brian tackle some more before we take a week off the pod to recharge our batteries.

Leave us your question for future episodes here.

Although they didn't spill the launch dates for new XTR and Saint, they did give us some great insight on why products like Saint sometimes take a (ridiculously) long time to bring to market.

If you have a question about bike tech, news or racing, please leave us a voice note here, and we'll try to answer it in the coming weeks.

We also discuss idlers, fads, and why the mixed-wheeled bike might just be our favourite setup yet.

It wasn't always easy going however, and in 1969 the company found itself on the edge of bankruptcy, which would have caused 1,500 workers to lose their jobs. To prevent this, the employees purchased the company from the founders and set it up as a cooperative, which allowed the company to stay in business. A few years later, the company moved their headquarters to Mallabia, where they are still located. To this day, they are still a cooperative, which means that the employees own the company and have a very real say in how it is run.

The office itself was still under construction. In contrast to Specialized’s Morgan Hill headquarters, this new office in Auburn feels much more practical, with less glamour. A place where things get done with a minimum of distraction.

We recorded this podcast with The MTB product team of Sam and Brad Benedict, as well as the Ride Dynamics R&D manager Chance. They had a lot to say, and we got a couple of secrets out of them, so it runs almost two hours long. Visit the full Pinkbike article for in-depth photos and more context to the discussion.

From getting stung by the most poisonous caterpillar in the world, to recovering on downhills, dealing with cramps, life on Specialized Factory Racing, to what he thought of the cross-country race courses in Brazil, this was a really interesting conversation. We also got into why he switched to mountain biking from BMX, his creative pursuits outside of cycling, and being a mountain biker right now in the US.

She spent the next several years going through intense processing, a move to Canada, some serious mental low points, a growing interest in tennis, and much more before she found herself on the basketball court to improve her speed as a wheelchair tennis player. Wheelchair basketball stuck. Tara clearly knows how to train hard, and that continues to take her far. She's now preparing for her second Paralympics, this one in Paris, and plans to then step away from high-level competition - retiring the right way this time.

Brian and I sat down with Tara in Vancouver, where she lives, to talk about that whole process. While we imagined this episode would end up the same length as most of our podcast episodes, we just kept finding more conversation. Tara is clearly smart, capable, an incredible athlete, and seriously strong as a person, and we were glad for every minute she spent with us.

Our free flowing conversation ranges from his early days as a racer and how Pinkbike founder Karl Burkat mentored him on the business aspects of the bike industry, to diversity in the bike industry and the opening of Grow Cycling Foundation's Inglewood Pump Track in Los Angeles County in California.

In short, the bikes will be from Crestline, but don't go thinking this is a standard sponsorship deal. It seems to run far deeper, with Aaron taking part ownership in the brand that was founded a mere couple of years ago. Although not their first outing at World Cups, the RS 205 VHP frame was raced under Sam Blenkinsop last year, this does feel like a big step up for a brand that is still so relatively young.

Aaron made time for us during a very busy team camp. While it might sometimes seem to be all glitz and glamour in mountain biking, I love the fact that we're still raw enough to sometimes be about propping up a laptop in short-term accommodation as you pack in as much preparation and planning as you can, and answering questions honestly that fans of the sport will likely want to know about. I'm thankful that even as mountain biking becomes more pro the level of access athletes and team owners are prepared to grant media is so great, and it personally only makes me love mountain biking and World Cup racing even more.

Editor's Note - Our audio file corrupted, so for the first part of the interview we're using backup audio. If you wish to skip this part go to 40 minutes. Thank you for your understanding.

See the bikes here.

A nasty crash sidelined her for her first Elite World Championships in 2020, but she came back swinging in 2021 as a part of the newly formed RockShox Trek Race Team, winning the overall title in what was her first full year racing in the Elite category. In her three years with the team, she's racked up eight World Cup wins, two overall titles, and two World Championship titles. Now, in what feels like a homecoming, the 22-year-old Austrian has signed with The YT Mob. You can read the official YT Mob press release here.

We talk about why Höll signed with the German brand really early in the 2023 season, what she's most looking forward to with the new team, learning to deal with disappointment, what it was like to finally race against Rachel Atherton last season, and more. The podcast is above if you'd like to listen to our conversation. Alternatively, a transcript is below.

While the past several months have been anything but restful, you don't win 23 World Cups without being a hard worker and Minnaar has signed a three-year contract with Norco Bicycles and has been able to pull together a team at the eleventh hour that sounds more than promising. Minnaar will be racing alongside Gracey Hemstreet and Lucas Cruz this season, but his main focus will be setting up the processes and people to turn Norco Factory Racing into a future-proofed, race-winning team and continue to direct the team beyond his eventual retirement.

Sarah sat down with Minnaar yesterday to talk about the team he's formed for 2024, riding Norco's prototype bike, and what his goals are for the coming years. The podcast is above if you'd like to listen to our conversation. Alternatively, a transcript is below.

Three riders, Stacy Kohut, Alex Cairns, and Cole Bernier, came down to our Squamish HQ to talk us through where the sport is, as well as where it's going. In this far-ranging chat, we talk about the tech, the trails, and whether the industry is truly set up to embrace this burgeoning sector of the sport.

John has been Aaron Gwin's mechanic for a decade and has seen it all from the very top. He shares some stories about supporting one of modern downhill's defining athletes. Jim Bland just finished his second season working for the slightly smaller Union team. While not a factory outfit, the Santa Cruz-supported team that's backed by Steel City Media has a track record of punching above its weight, as well as guiding youngsters onto the next stage of their careers.

Note - During the first exchange you might hear some background noise (a small fan that we used on a hot day). The rest of the interview doesn't feature this sound.

During the next month, we'll be going to podcasts every Monday and Thursday, and we hope you enjoy this cadence.

Alicia Leggett and I sat down with Vaea Verbeeck, one of the original Formation riders and a future Rampage hopeful, to hear her thoughts about the situation.

We talk to Dan about the best of all time, doping, and why racing midweek might not be what the sport needs.

Some of the footage in this film will change the sport forever, and we're so excited for the mountain bike world to see it. Brian Park and special guest host Jason Lucas sat down with director Derek Westerlund and one of the film's main subjects Brett Tippie to talk about why and how the film was made—as well as some behind the scenes stories of the film's biggest, heaviest moments.

We talk BMX backgrounds, concussion, life as a pro, and wildly misquote philosophers that may or may not even exist.

We thought we'd bring that to a long-form interview format with some Pinkbike staff and contributors. I'll try and squeeze them in over the summer as and when time allows. Is there anyone you're desperate to hear from? Let me know in the comments section.

Henry Quinney and Brian Park sit down with Pivot's Head of Engineering and Design Kevin Tisue, and Pivot Factory Racing's Bernard Kerr to talk about the new bike, DH racing, and more.