The Inside Line Podcast - Vital MTB

Dr. Jason Richardson joins the podcast to chat about his work as a sports psychologist in cycling and how the same tools that benefit professional athletes can benefit every rider, regardless of ability, on and off the bike. We loved this conversation and learned a lot ourselves. We hope you get something out of it, too! Summary Professional BMX rider and sports psychologist Dr. Jason Richardson shares insights on mental resilience, goal setting, and the psychology of winning. Discover practical strategies to overcome negative thoughts, embrace ownership of your performance, and unlock your full potential in sports and life. In this engaging interview, Jason Richardson shares insights on racing psychology, social media's impact on athletes, mental strategies for success, and the parallels between mountain biking and life. Discover practical tips for mental resilience, social media management, and achieving peak performance. Jason Richardson Instagram Bikes' Unaffiliated forum conversation

Virtual press conference recorded on April 21 to discuss the upcoming World Cup Downhill season with Loic Bruni, Jackson Goldstone, Luca Shaw, Vali Holl, Gracey Hemstreet and Tahnee Seagrave.

Schroeder, Spomer and Lars get back together to discuss big wheels and weird bikes taking over. 00:00 Reflections on Sea Otter 2026 09:59 The Future of Wheel Sizes 13:09 What's In and What's Out 34:52 Innovations in Mountain Bike Technology 42:09 Health Scares and Personal Stories 44:00 - Neko Mulally and his Sea Otter Winner 32" 59:15 Exploring the 32-Inch Wheel Debate 01:19:56 World Cup Predictions and Insights 01:23:09 Logistics of Racing in New Venues 01:25:03 Vital DH Fantasy Poll This episode features an in-depth discussion on the latest trends and innovations in mountain biking, including the impact of 32-inch wheels, the evolution of bike technology, and insights from Sea Otter. The hosts share their experiences, analyze new bike models, and explore the future of mountain biking industry trends. This episode dives into the latest in downhill mountain biking, exploring innovative bike setups, track strategies, and predictions for upcoming World Cup races. Guests share insights on gear choices, track conditions, and the evolving technology shaping the sport. Key Topics Impact of 32-inch wheels on mountain biking Innovations in bike technology and design Industry trends and event insights from Sea Otter Bike setup innovations including wheel size and suspension Track strategies and course modifications for competitive advantage Predictions and insights for upcoming World Cup races

Sponsel loses so you can win.

I's been a busy few months since the last podcast—Jason went to New Zealand and Italy, Tanner has been to nearly all 50 states working different shoots and projects, and Dakotah has bounced between Europe and Tennessee as he feverishly tests every setup under the sun. We covered a lot of this show, including Dak's crash at the Tennessee National, getting outside of the box with setup, Reece Wilson's crazy stem/bar combo, gym training vs. on-bike training, and goals at the first World Cup. But mostly, we caught up on life because we don't see each other enough these days, and the podcast is the perfect excuse to banter and hang out. We hope you enjoy!

Today we talk with Matt Thompson and Steve Wentz who just returned from Masters World Champs downhill in Chile. Matt took the rainbow stripes in the 50-55 Master C2 class and Steve landed a Top 10 in a stacked field of “younger” talent, most importantly beating Ben Deakin in the process. We dive into what Masters World Champs is, learn about their experiences with the event over the years and dig into the full story of this years’ race. As a bonus, they both came home in one piece.

RockShox Zeb fork is all-new for model year 2027. They’ve taken what they learned developing the latest Boxxer, and have applied many of the same technologies and tuning ideologies to their single-crown, gravity fork. Vital editor, Jason Schroeder, has spent the past few months testing the fork and runs you through everything that’s new, and how it’s performed so far. More info - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2027-rockshox-zeb-fork-tech-info-impressions-discussion 0:00 - Intro 0:25 - Chassis Updates 0:46 - New fenders 1:05 - New pressure relief valves 1:16 - Linear XL air spring details 1:42 - AirAnnex chamber 2:01 - new Adjustable Bottom Out (ABO) feature 2:51 - New stanchions detail 3:08 - ButterWagon Tech - divots in the stanchion 3:31 - Charger 3.2 damper updates 3:38 - Oil, seals, grease updates 4:20 - Zeb Product Line 5:06 - Setting up the new Zeb 5:25 - Damper settings 6:10 - Air pressure settings 6:56 - Linear XL air spring positives 7:49 - Linear XL air spring negatives 8:34 - ABO impressions 10:05 - Zeb's versatility 10:46 - Bottom Line on the new Zeb

Elite race day at the first event of the 2026 @prodownhillseries was a heater at Ride Rock Creek bike park in North Carolina as downhill mountain bikers put it all on the line for victory. Listen to the post-race interviews with Luca Cometti. Interviews 0:00 - Lucas Dedora 1:11 - Final Elite Men Finishes 2:07 - Luca Shaw, Elite Men's Winner 3:07 - Ryder Lawrence 3:43 - Aletha Ostgaard, Elite Women's Winner 5:37 - Eliot Jackson 7:05 - Kai Burleson 8:20 - Dante Silva 12:04 - Podium Shots 12:17 - Tilly Melton 13:11 - Ryan Pinkerton 14:06 - Mallen Bro 15:15 - Kailey Skelton 17:05 - Alden Pate 17:57 - Andrew Driscoll #USDH

Luca Cometti heads to round 1 of the 2026 Pro Downhill Series at Ride Rock Creek, North Carolina. Track walk took place today, and Luca grabbed the pros to find out how they'll approach the weekend following the Tennessee National. Interviews 0:00 - Intro 0:27 - Dillon Lemarr 2:14 - Gracey Hemstreet 3:06 - Bode Kuhn 4:10 - SR Suntour Holeshot 4:27 - Tayte Proulx Royds 5:24 - Ryan Pinkerton 6:11 - Austin Dooley 6:45 - Abby Ronca 8:35 - Drake Parker 9:14 - Asa Vermette 9:53 - Kai Burleson 11:22 - Tyson Henrie 13:42 - Kasper Woolley 15:03 - Tyler Ervin 16:02 - Cole Suetos 17:14 - Aiden Chapin 18:57 - Nik Nestoroff

Watch the interviews What a crazy day of #USDH action at the 2026 Tennessee National at Windrock Bike Park. Austin Dooley took the Pro Men's win by just .004 seconds over Cole Suetos. If they crossed the line at 20mph, that's just 1.4 inches! Aletha Ostgaard stomped on the women with a win by over 6 seconds. Gwin slid out, Ronan Dunne and Luca Shaw flatted, Dak was coughing up blood after a seeding crash. It was hectic! Luca Cometti gets the scoop from all the pros to see how their race days went. 0:00 - Austin Dooley 1:14 - Aaron Gwin 2:23 - Ronan Dunne 3:57 - Dakotah Norton 5:52 - Cole Suetos 7:29 - Eliot Jackson 8:57 - Aletha Ostgaard 10:42 - Taylor Ostgaard 11:52 - Rob Warner 13:59 - Lucas Dedora 14:59 - Mack Manietta 15:56 - Kailey Skelton 17:12 - Dylan Maples 18:35 - Podium shots 19:42 - Raina Logar 21:17 - Mikey Delesalle 22:37 - Dante Silva 25:03 - Ryan Pinkerton 26:44 - Luca Shaw

You can watch these interviews on YouTube The first major U.S. downhill mountain bike race of 2026 is underway at Windrock Bike Park. #USDH shredder, Luca Cometti, grills the pros during track walk to see what they're up to and how their feeling for this weekend's race. Riders like Ronan Dunne, Dakotah Norton, Aaron Gwin, Dante Silva, Kailey Skelton, Frida Ronning and more DH pros speak up.

You chimed in and the name of our podcast, Bikes: Unaffiliated will remain. In this episode, Jason Schroeder, Shawn Spomer and Lars Sternberg tackle an assortment of random bike and non-bike subjects like why was our tech forum picking on Dario from Pinkbike, why didn't Spomer answer Lopes' phone call, should we test a 32-inch-wheeled hardtail, what is Epicly Later'd, the DHR II sucks as a front tire, why don't Lars or Jason like radials and plenty more.

Would you rather be riding epic bike parks in Queenstown, downhill trails in Laguna or sitting in the ER because you can't pee? Jason Schroeder, Lars Sternberg and Shawn Spomer reflect on their last couple of weeks in this episode of Bikes Unaff....... The 9th Street Documentary on YouTube 0:00 - Intro 1:52 - Help Us Change the Podcast Name 3:34 - Jason's What's In What's Out, Max Alran Rips 6:35 - Jason Met Queenstown_NPC 12:30 - Lars' What's In What's Out, Ride New Places 20:23 - Spomer What's In What's Out, Olympics & 9th Street Doc 25:30 - Spomer Can't Pee and Misses Asa Destroying Telonics 41:54 - Jason Meets Sven 43:50 - Loic Bruni and His Tire Pressure 48:51 - Lars Got a Frameworks DH & Headsets Suck 1:00:53 - Does Santa Cruz Sell More V10s Than Any Other Pedal Bike in Their Lineup? 1:07:17 - Will Specialized Stop Making Alloy Full Suspension Bikes? 1:08:37 - Jason Wouldn't Let Loris Vergier Follow Him 1:10:21 - Crazy Commencal Team Brake Setups in NZ 1:20:37 - Packing a Bike To Travel & Frameworks' Nifty Boxing Technique 1:27:31 - Don't Travel with Jason 1:29:25 - Why 17 Questions?

One of downhilling's finest, Loic Bruni, ain't scared of the dreaded 17! You can watch this interview on Vital MTB Questions asked 0:00 - Who would win in a fight between you, Amaury Pierron and Jackson Goldstone? 0:50 - Do you ever go to World Cup after parties? If yes, tell us your favorite post-race story. If no, why don't you like to have fun? 1:54 - Does your mechanic Jack get enough credit for how much he helps with the bike and suspension setup? 3:02 - How many on-track line spotters do you have? (Spoiler, Nico Vouilloz will be one in 2026!) 4:14 - How many Elite men and women should there be in finals at a World Cup? 5:39 - Do the new crop of young racers terrify you or motivate you? 6:55 - What tire pressure do you run and do you run inserts? 7:23 - What has been your favorite part of being a dad? 7:55 - How much money in bonuses have you made from winning one World Champs? 8:27 - When you SuperBruni or PopeBruni signs, does that weird you out? 8:58 - What do you want to do when you're done racing? 10:04 - People always talk about how your suspension setup is different than most of your competitors. Do you think it's true? If so, how does it differ from the rest? 12:02 - If your new son wanted to pursue being a pro rollerblader, would you let him? 12:41 - What is one activity you would not let your son pursue? 13:11 - Have you ever told Red Bull "no" to one of their clickbait video project ideas? If so, what was it? 16:17 - Do you think social media can have a negative impact on race performance? 17:58 - Would you rather be telling Vital MTBers to like and subscribe instead of answering these dumb questions?

Downhill destroyer, Aaron Gwin, takes another stab at the dreaded 17 during a Frameworks test camp in Southern California. Hard to believe the first 17 Qs we did with Aaron was 15 years ago! Question asked 1. You wake up late and are in rush to get your day going. You stop by a Starbucks to get your caffeine fix. What drink are you ordering? 2. How do you pass time on long flights? Movies, reading, sleeping, catching up on emails?? 3. What was your best trick during your bmx days? 4. What was the most money you made at a single race from bonuses? (you can leave out the team, year, or brands if you’d like) 5. If you had it all to do over again, would you rather have been a professional supercross/outdoor rider than a professional mountain biker? 6. Who has the best style at World Cups these days? 7. Favorite and least favorite World Cup track? 8. How many riders come to Windrock and ask for free shuttles? 9. Best place to eat out if you’re at Windrock? 10. Of the titles you hold, rank these from least to most favorite: bike park owner, race promoter, professional mountain biker, airbnb host, sports commentator. 11. What do you miss most about living in SoCal? 12. What’s your game plan going into Red Bull Hardline? 13. You’re considered one of the greatest downhill racers of all time. Who do you consider to be the best downhill racer? 14. We know you’ve always been a bit of a gym rat. Give us a few of your favorite exercises that translate well to on the bike performance? 15. How many elite men and elite women should there be in finals at a World Cup? 16. We’ve always admired your ability to capitalize on the success you’ve had as a racer with the many financial endeavors you’ve taken on. Do you have any money/business advice for other athletes? 17. Wouldn’t you rather be building trails at Windrock than answering these stupid questions?

Can Neko handled the dreaded 17? Watch on YouTube, too.

We’ve been minimally interested in the 32-inch wheel topic. It was more fun to hypothesize what they’d ride like when it was a distant rumor. Now that Maxxis has 32-inch tires you can buy, and many brands are currently developing literal wagon wheel models, we don’t know how to feel. Luckily, we tagged in Maxxis Brand Manager, Aaron Chamberlain, to fill us in on the impetus of the 32-inch revolution and the main arguments around their implementation. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 05:39 The 32-Inch Wheel Debate 10:11 Mechanical vs. Wireless Drivetrains 17:01 The Push for 32-Inch Wheels 17:41 Technical Challenges in Tire Production 22:59 Market Response and Anticipation 26:06 Benefits and Applications of 32-Inch Wheels 33:51 Potential Pros and Cons of Larger Wheels 40:36 Looking Ahead: The Evolution of Bike Design 51:09 The 32-Inch Wheel Trend: Implications and Insights 53:51 Weight Considerations: Performance vs. Practicality 58:43 Community Insights: The Biking Culture and Preferences 01:01:46 Tire Talk: Preferences and Innovations

Happy New Year errybody! In this episode, we go through the components, places to ride, and habits Vital users listed as their favorites in 2025. We then touch on what we enjoyed in 2025 and what we are looking forward to in the year ahead. Shoutout to Vital user Ervan for starting the forum thread “2025: Things I loved this year” and giving us the idea for this week's podcast. Read the forum thread in discussion - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2... Chapters 00:00 New Year Reflections and Family Time 11:08 Retirement in Action Sports: A Bittersweet Transition 13:38 Women in Racing: Breaking Taboos 16:49 Health Reflections: The Impact of Illness 19:46 Excitement for Upcoming Events 24:03 Dak's New Journey with Dream Team 36:05 Community Engagement and User Feedback 53:25 Trends in Mountain Biking: E-bikes and Upgrades 01:13:50 Product Discussions and Industry Insights 01:26:23 Wheels and Brakes: Performance Insights 01:38:13 Starting a Business: Flowcraft and Community Engagement 01:47:32 Reflections on Racing and Industry Changes 01:52:30 Engaging the Community: The Podcast Forum

The news of Aaron Gwin making a new home on Frameworks TRP yesterday left a lot of unanswered questions. Thankfully the man himself was down for a candid chat to discuss his new future. Cover photo by Callie Horwath Topics 0:00 - Intro and What About Crestline? 9:34 - History with Neko 12:26 - How Can Frameworks Afford Gwin? 15:38 - Does Gwin Have to Race Now? 19:14 - Dealing with So Many Product Changes 32:31 - Does the Frameworks Accomodate Gwin's Riding Style? 43:00 - Being on a Team with Asa Vermette, Battling the Kids 49:50 - Game Plan for 2026 Races 53:55 - Gwin's Training Regimen 1:00:35 - Involvement with Lake Placid World Cup and TN National in 2026? 1:06:30 - Racing Hardline Tasmania 1:11:32 - Aaron Gwin 2011 vs. Aaron Gwin 2026?

0:00 - Aaron Gwin 8:16 - James McAllister 16:05 - Neko Mulally As the 2026 downhill mountain bike season dawns, Frameworks TRP Racing announces that #USDH superstar, Aaron Gwin will join the team. Aaron, multi-time World Cup-winning downhiller, ran his own team, Gwin Racing, aboard Crestline bikes in 2024 and 2025. The change to Frameworks means a focus on racing, rather than team management, as Gwin seeks to wrap up his competitive career giving it all he can. With a new team comes new equipment. Besides the Frameworks frame, Aaron returns to FOX suspension after Ohlins with Gwin Racing. He'll be on Burgtec bars, a departure from his long-time Renthal setup. Wheels change to ENVE from e.thirteen, and he'll be aboard Continental tires. Vital contributor, Jack Rice, catches up with Aaron, Neko and James McAllister, Aaron's mechanic during a testing session at Windrock Bike Park in December to discuss the changes and challenges.