About this episode

Sergio Avanto discusses innovations in mountain biking and motocross, his experiences with top riders, and the complexities of factory racing.

Sergio Avanto, now at FOX MTB, talks about the innovations in MTB that could work in moto, his path in and out of the motocross industry, working with James Stewart, Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto, Ken Roczen and others, the politics in factory racing, his accomplishments, regrets and more. --- CHAPTERS --- 00:02 Show intro & sponsor rundown 01:18 Guest intro: Sergio Avanto 02:36 Sergio's return to mountain biking with FOX 04:28 MTB suspension customization, fork tech & OEM testing 14:52 Fork tech evolution & the e-bike suspension challenge 20:20 Specialized's Genie Shock & American vs European rider styles 24:05 Ad reads & FOX's Live Valve NEO system 31:58 USD forks, Answer Manitou & breaking into Factory Yamaha 38:20 Learning suspension from John R and Ross Maeda 44:27 James Stewart's photographic memory & Kawasaki whoop curve 52:24 Adapting bikes to riders (Barcia) & Kawasaki's data problems 59:46 James' L&M fork stiffness debate & Suzuki's frame edge 1:07:34 Ad reads & the pivot-point/AMP-link history 1:13:10 Honda's 2027 bike, leaving Yamaha & Keith McCarty 1:19:02 Kawasaki/RCH suspension politics: Barcia and Roczen 1:31:19 Roczen's…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Matthes

Guest: Sergio Avanto

Topics covered

• mountain biking
• motocross industry
• suspension technology
• factory racing politics
• rider customization
• bike innovations

Keywords

• Sergio Avanto
• mountain biking
• suspension customization
• motocross
• factory racing
• James Stewart
• Kawasaki
• FOX MTB

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FOX MTB, Specialized, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, RCH, Factory Yamaha

Products: AMP-link, Genie Shock, Live Valve NEO system, MotoShock, USD forks, L&M fork, aftermarket suspension

More episodes of The Steve Matthes Show on RacerX

• Leatt presents: LVK: More Than Moto "Playoff Preview" · September 9, 2026 · 59 min
• FXR One on One: Kyle Peters · September 8, 2026 · 59 min
• PulpMX Fantasy: Columbus SMX 2026 · September 7, 2026 · 49 min
• TLD/Race Tech The Blair Matthes Project "It's Over!" · September 3, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Renthal Reaction: Eli Tomac Hangs up the Boots · September 2, 2026 · 40 min
• Leatt presents: LVK: More Than Moto "End of Era" · August 31, 2026 · 55 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Steve Matthes Show on RacerX podcast page.