Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Tony Boone has been building mountain bike trails for more than 30 years, and literally helped write the book on the subject, contributing to IMBA’s Guides to Building Sweet Singletrack and Providing Great Riding. He established the first bike patrol in Colorado in 1989 and has been an active member of the Professional Trail Builders Association since 1995. Tony talks about the trail building and mountain bike scene in China, what it's like to work as a government land manager, and the projects he's most proud of. In this interview we also ask: What are some of the most common mistakes new trail builders make? How do concepts like sustainability and stewardship fit into recreational trail building? How do the early trails you built compare to the ones you’re involved in creating today? Can trail builders benefit from a more formal education? To connect with Tony, or to learn more about his work and the studies mentioned in this episode, choose from the following links. https://www.tonyboonetrails.com/ http://www.timberlinetrailcraft.com/ https://outdoorindustry.org/resource/2017-outdoor-recreation-economy-report/ https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/outdoor-recreation https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/about-us/newsroom/bicycling-provides-137-million-in-economic-benefits-to-northwest-arkansas --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Earl Serafica is the owner of Earl’s Bike shop, a Specialized dealer located on the west side of Atlanta near the Georgia Tech campus and close to downtown. I first met Earl on a mountain bike ride several years ago, and he’s remained a good friend and tireless promoter of the local cycling community here in Atlanta. Earl talks about how the pandemic and surprising bike boom has affected business, and his approach to connecting with new and old customers.  We also ask: What’s the most common repair you make? Which repairs are more challenging? How has Covid affected your inventory and your ability to get bikes and parts? Which bikes sold the fastest in 2020? Do you worry that delays, and lack of inventory is pushing some folks toward alternatives like wrenching at home, or buying complete bikes online? How are e-bike sales looking? Which types of electric bikes are people choosing, and what do the buyers look like? Connect with Earl and his shop at earlsbike.shop. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Rab Wardell is a mountain bike athlete and coach living in Glasgow, Scotland. He recently set the fastest known time on the West Highland Way, a 96 mile off-road route connecting Milngavie and Fort William. In this episode, we find out what makes a Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt different from other mountain bike races, and why Rab chose to challenge the FKT on the West Highland Way in Scotland. Rab outlines the steps he took to prepare his body and his gear for the attempt and shares some of the issues he faced during the ride. In addition to competing, Rab is also a cycling coach, and he shares his tips for building skills, confidence, and fitness that any rider can apply. For more info and to connect with Rab, visit rabwardell.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Simon Lawton is the founder of Fluidride, a world-class mountain bike instructional school that offers both online courses and in-person clinics around the world.  We first spoke with Simon on the podcast in the summer of 2019, and spent some time catching up and learning what mountain bike skills clinics and instruction look during Covid-19. With so many new mountain bikers joining the sport in 2020, Simon talks about the opportunity for not just skills training but also educating riders on trail use and etiquette. For those rejoining the sport, we ask if certain mountain bike skills can get rusty, and what it takes to break old habits. In this episode we also talk about the mountain bike scene in Baja, Mexico where Simon now spends his winter season. Connect with Simon and learn more at fluidride.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Fabio Wibmer is an Austrian trials rider and mountain biker with almost 6 million YouTube followers and is closing in on 1 billion views. He’s known for starring in videos like Wibmer’s Law, Fabiolous Escape 1 and 2, and most recently, Home Office. In addition to trials riding, Fabio is also a winning downhill and freeride mountain biker. In this episode, we ask Fabio how he got his start riding and talk about the athletes who have inspired him along the way. Fabio shares the source of his confidence on the bike, the projects he’s most proud of, and tells us what he would be doing if he weren’t a Red Bull sponsored athlete. We also ask if he considers himself a perfectionist, hear about his recovery from a recent broken foot, and learn his secret for pulling off a really good whip. You don’t want to miss this episode! Find Fabio on YouTube at youtube.com/user/fabwibmer and Instagram @wibmerfabio. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Mat Stanke is a trail builder and board member of the Clinch Valley Trail Alliance in Oak Ridge, Tennessee outside of Knoxville. He and his club recently opened a new skills park called the Dirt Lab through a grassroots effort involving local businesses and community members. We talk about the vision behind creating the Dirt Lab bike park and how it differs from the natural singletrack trails that were already available to riders in the area. Mat walks us through approvals, funding, and construction, offering insight into the process for others who might be considering the same for their local community. More than just a place for riders to progress their skills, the Dirt Lab offers builders an opportunity to hone their trail feature building skills for future projects as well. Tune in to hear about the mistakes the group made along the way as Mat speaks candidly about some of the challenges the project faced. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Ron Bergin is the Executive Director of the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association, also known as CAMBA, located in northern Wisconsin. The club is known for maintaining a well known network of mountain bike trails which host popular races and events including the Chequamegon Mountain Bike Festival and the Borah Epic. CAMBA recently worked with River Falls Research Center on a study linking trail visits to $7.8 million in economic impact within two surrounding counties. We learn how the CAMBA trail usage and economic impact study was conducted, and what the results mean for future trail building and maintenance. Are events big economic drivers, or are trails alone enough to make an impact? Is it tough to find enough local volunteers to maintain trails used primarily by tourists? Do groomed fat bike trails draw winter visitors? Ron answers all these questions and more. Read the full report here (https://cambatrails.org/about/economic-impact-studies/) and learn more about the group at cambatrails.org. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Ben Turits runs a coaching business and sports therapy practice called The Endurance Collective. He’s joined us a couple of times on the Singletracks podcast in the past, and we’re stoked to have him back to talk about strength and fitness training in the time of Covid. Pro and amateur cycling athletes alike have seen their 2020 race and training schedules disrupted, so we dig into the ways athletes are adapting. While our discussion is centered around the effects of the current pandemic, many of the takeaways are applicable to anyone who is facing fitness or training challenges due to unexpected events. We discuss mental tricks for staying focused, the effect of competition on performance, and the positive things some have learned amid forced downtime. The current pandemic is accelerating training technology adoption so we discuss which changes will stick around. Connect with Ben at theendurancecollective.com This podcast is sponsored by Gloworm Lites. Gloworm is a mountain bike light brand founded almost a decade ago by two mountain bikers in New Zealand, and today the company offers some of the most customizable, highest quality bike lights on the market. Gloworm’s complete line of lights start at 1200 lumens and range up to a blinding 3400 lumens, all at reasonable prices. Save 15% off all light systems on the Gloworm website with the coupon code SINGLETRACKS2020. Shop for lights at glowormlites.co.nz --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

In this week’s episode, Gerow, Jeff, and Matt sit down to discuss the latest mountain bike news, starting with a question that seems to come up every few years: is this the golden age of mountain biking? We’ll talk about interesting new products including a linkage upgrade and a shippable, cardboard pump track template, plus we take a look at the short 2020 professional mountain bike race season. There’s also much to talk about in the world of e-bikes, from trail access to the latest take on lightweight eMTBs from Orbea. Listen in as we answer the question: what’s been your best and worst ride lately? This podcast is sponsored by Gloworm Lites. Gloworm is a mountain bike light brand founded almost a decade ago by two mountain bikers in New Zealand, and today the company offers some of the most customizable, highest quality bike lights on the market. Gloworm’s complete line of lights start at 1200 lumens and range up to a blinding 3400 lumens, all at reasonable prices. Save 15% off all light systems on the Gloworm website with the coupon code SINGLETRACKS2020. Shop for lights at glowormlites.co.nz --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Chris Currie is a bike industry veteran with decades of experience in everything from retail and marketing to product design. His patented mountain bike suspension design, dubbed 3VO, is well regarded and is currently being used by Jamis Bikes in their full suspension bike line. Chris fills us in on what it takes to design and patent a brand new mountain bike suspension setup, and talks about what makes his approach unique. We also ask Chris to explain confusing but important terms like instant center and axle path. What’s the most annoying thing about mountain bikes at the moment? Listen in to find out how Chris answers. This podcast is sponsored by Gloworm Lites. Gloworm is a mountain bike light brand founded almost a decade ago by two mountain bikers in New Zealand, and today the company offers some of the most customizable, highest quality bike lights on the market. Gloworm’s complete line of lights start at 1200 lumens and range up to a blinding 3400 lumens, all at reasonable prices. Save 15% off all light systems on the Gloworm website with the coupon code SINGLETRACKS2020. Shop for lights at glowormlites.co.nz --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks