Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Brad Copeland worked his way up the bike tuning chain, from shop mechanic to a full-time position at Specialized Bicycles, and eventually landed a spot wrenching for the brand’s domestic teams. His racing and career interests laid deep in the dirt side of cycling, and when asked to travel with the Specialized World Cup XC athletes to a few events, he excitedly accepted. Copeland developed lasting friendships with several riders, eventually becoming the primary traveling wrench for Kate Courtney, who would then go on to win both a rainbow jersey and a World Cup overall title.  When Courtney switched to the Scott-SRAM MTB Racing team she was able to bring Copeland with her, which doesn’t happen in XC as often as it does in downhill racing. The pair are working hard to prepare for what the 2020 season holds, and we recently chatted with Copeland to get the story from his side of the pits. This discussion wasn’t originally intended to be a podcast, but given Copeland’s passionate descriptions, we wanted to share the raw recording.    --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Larry Pizzi is the Chief Commercial Officer for Alta Cycling Group, the parent company of wll known bike brands including Diamondback, Raleigh, and Ghost. He is also a board member at People for Bikes, a non-profit organization dedicated to making bicycling “safer, easier to access and more fun.” In this episode, we get Larry’s take on gravel biking: Who are gravel bikers? How much are they spending on bikes? What does gravel advocacy look like? Will we see a gravel biking World Cup someday? Larry also talks about electric bikes and the challenges facing local bike shops today. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Ken Avery is the Vice President of product and marketing for Vittoria, the world’s leading producer of bicycle tires. As an industry insider for many years, Ken has a wealth of knowledge on everything from mountain bike product design to marketing. In this episode, we talk about how mountain bike tire design and technology evolved over the years, the tradeoff between tire weight and traction, and how preferences for lower tire pressures have influenced tire design. Ken goes over the basics of tire construction and talks about current demand for various widths and diameters. We also discuss tire inserts, sealant, and get the inside story about Ken’s involvement in the introduction of the original Maxxis Minion. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

It’s an understatement to say Covid-19 has changed the world as we know it. Mountain biking is no exception. In this episode, Matt, Gerow, and Jeff talk about what’s going on in Colorado, Italy, and Georgia, respectively. We discuss the latest on mountain bike racing, athletes, tourism, brands, and of course everyday trail riders. If you haven’t been paying attention to mountain bike news lately — and we don’t blame you if you’ve been preoccupied — this will serve as a good recap. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

In this podcast, Paul Howard discusses the top skill mountain bikers should work on, debunks myths about mountain bike skills, explains the relation between skills and fitness, and talks about the PMBIA's role in coaching. He also touches on the evolution of mountain bike instruction, ZEP Mountain Bike Camps' target audience, and the benefits of mastering fundamental skills in mountain biking.

Greg Williams is the founder of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, a non-profit group based in California that’s dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and enhancement of recreational trails. The group’s Connected Communities plan offers an innovative roadmap for bringing tourism through trails to former timber and mining towns. We talk about how the group formed, and how their trail work is impacting the local economy. Greg shares some of the strategies the group has used to bring various trail user groups together that are applicable in other communities facing similar challenges. We also discuss the ways mountain bikers can help the trail communities they visit and how groups like the STBS measure success. Learn more at sierratrails.org. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Chris Cocalis is the founder and president of Pivot Cycles based in Tempe, Arizona. Pivot is known for creating cutting-edge, high performance mountain bikes and also for sponsoring many talented athletes over the years while giving back to the community. In this episode we talk about the mountain bike design process and how bikes are manufactured. Chris fills us in on current trends in the bike world, the benefits of sponsoring and working with pro-level riders, e-commerce challenges, new technologies, and why Pivot doesn’t offer builds priced less than $5,000. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Maurice and his partner Elaine started Dirt Rag back in 1989. For decades the magazine documented the sport and for many carried with it the very soul of mountain biking. Maurice talks about how mountain bike gear and culture has evolved over the past three decades, and his recent decision to cease operations at the iconic publication. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

In 2012, Kate was the first American woman to win a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Junior title. Then in 2017, she won the Under 23 World Cup Overall title. In 2018, she won gold at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, and then the next year she took the overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup title. Recently, Kate was named to the 2020 Olympics team for cross country mountain biking. This episode is sponsored by Boeshield (boeshield.com), makers of Boeshield T-9, a lube designed to waterproof your bike chain, lubricate cables, and prevent rust with its unique and effective all-in-one formula. This month Boeshield is giving away a free prize pack to a lucky listener! Visit singletracks.com/Boeshield to enter — open to anyone the contiguous United States, no purchase necessary. Please visit Singletracks.com for the full transcript of this interview with Kate.  --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks

Chris Sugai is the co-founder and President of Niner Bikes, a brand which was an early adopter of the now ubiquitous mountain bike wheel size. Over the years Chris and Niner have worked with incredible athletes, produced countless innovations, and generously supported the International Mountain Bike Association. We get the inside scoop on how Niner got its start and talk about the current state of the mountain bike wheel size debate. Chris talks about building a culture and a brand, and what’s changed now that Niner is part of a larger parent company. We ask about gravel bikes and also what’s next for the bike industry. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks