The Brake Magazine Podcast

Wooo! Dakar is back. The antidote to grey winter days is here. For the next three weeks I'm gonna spend a lot of time with my laptop open on the tracking page whilst I work, refreshing like crazy and crossing my fingers for our main man Si Hewitt!In the podcast we talk about all the ket talking points about the 2022 edition of the Dakar, and cover some of Ray's questions on the previous post about the T7 project. Over the next few weeks we'll be doing a fiar bit of Dakar related chat on the Discord server so if you're keen to ask question or send us stuff see please don't hesitate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Designing, developing and improving motorbike kit must be a thankless task. The kit I want vs what is possible often seems a million miles apart and the process of trying to get to where we as end users want our kit to be, must be tricky.This weeks guest is Rod Macintyre, a Senior Apparel Product Designer at REV'IT. Over the last few years we've seen some increasingly progressive designs and ideas coming from the Dutch brand, from award winning protection to the wild but incredibly functional Expedition H20 boot. I've been fortunate enough to use some of those products and fall in love with their approach.It's also sparked a conversation with REV'IT that led to this podcast, where we talk about how and why REV'IT approach product design, where the ideas come from and how they tackle the endless challenges from material science to sizing for a global market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right back at the beginning of season one of the podcast, before Covid and all the other jazz, I did a podcast about the choices motorcycle brands make and why they make them, with my  friend Chris Northover. It was fascinating and allowed us to tackle some really tricky questions, the type of questions we've all sat around wondering.This podcast is a direct follow on from that, tackling the hurdles and challenges of producing a motorcycle from scratch. Our guest is Uli Ast, a member of the Product Design team at BMW Motorrad. In this episode we cover the who, what and why of the production process from developing the idea to arriving at an end product. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm a self-confessed suspension obsessive. I recognised my issue a few years back and have since learnt to ride around the problem but I'm a fettler at heart. I like understanding it and I like making my bike handle as best as it can.However, when it comes diving inside suspension, I'm no more clued up that the next person. Like most complex skills with layers to understand, suspension takes years of dedication and skill to develop an understanding of. The dozens of variables are overwhelming.Chris Hockey is one of those expert level suspension tuners. He's rare. With skill on the tools and skill on the bike, Chris has created a unique position where he can feel what the bike is doing and understand how that translates into the suspension. Over the years I've ridden dozens of his bikes and it has consistently impressed me that he he take something so mediocre and make it work so damn well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The internet is full of wisdom. As a Youtube channel, I get literally thousands of comments a month asking for advice, feedback and telling me I'm wrong. Those topics vary massively but throughout some themes rise to to the top.In this episode we break down the regularly asked points, such as "What about bar risers?" and "That GS is a pig". It makes for interesting conversation and was mildly cathartic. This series is something I'd love to add in as a more regular feature so if you've got any questions and suggestions I'd love to hear them! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dakar. It's easily one of the most closed off sporting events on the planet. By nature it's hard to get inside and the organisers, ASO keep everything close to their chest. To kick off the second season of the podcast we're going inside the Dakar with Chris Evans, one of the few British staff members on the race.His grasp of the French language and genial nature have allowed Chris rare access to the race over the last 25 years. I asked him literally everything I've wanted to know about the goings on of the Dakar, every question that was left over from '21 edition of the racer and more.For more Chris Evans and to go riding with him visit - https://sport-adv.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to getting into dirt bike riding, whether you're fresh to riding or transitioning from Street & Adventure stye riding there is a ton to learn. Dirt bikes are fickle, flighty race derived machines that need some series learning to understand. For this episode we linked up with Hard Enduro legend Chris Birch to break down the lessons he feels are most important for you dirt bike journey.To learn from Chris visit - www.saynotoslow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There isn't much at this point that Simon Pavey doesn't know about Rallies. He's ridden a ton and started exactly where you are now; with no idea. We're currently blessed with more Rally events than has ever been, especially on main land Europe. They're some of the best value, most enjoyable rides your can do in a week long holiday and in this episode we pick Simon's brains about every single step of the process to get across the finish line.It's an awesome, fascinating episode of the podcast and hopefully leaves you with a bundle of great info. If you'd like to know more about Simon and his legendary training school, Off Road Skills head to the website below.https://www.offroadskills.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Wilthuis is highly experience and comfortable traveller. A full time tour guide, Chris has a comfort and fluidity when travelling that helps him drop into foreign cultures and environments with a liquid ease. We sat down to ask him how and why he helps clients and himself to break down the barriers and get the most from traveling the world. ---I sincerely apologise for the poor audio quality of this episode. We're not really sure what happened. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There aren't many people who know more about teaching off-road motorcycling. Simon Pavey is the owner of the Legendary Off Road Skills school in South Wales, the same school that trained Ewan and Charley for Long Way Round. He's finished 8 Dakar Rallies, ridden all across the world and has spent 30 years teaching other people to ride better. We took a dive into what he thinks the common mistakes are and what you can do to improve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lyndon Poskitt knows a lot about building bikes. Basil, his KTM 690 Rally converted to adventure bike is a thing of beauty. It's custom beyond belief, detailed and considered. After hundreds of thousands of km's testing, travelling and racing multiple rallies, Lyndon knows about bike building and more importantly, guiding others on what bikes to buy and how to make them fit for purpose. In this episode we look at what makes the right bike for you, what needs tweaking and what doesn't. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.