Vital MTB

Spomer and Schroeder were on the ground at the inaugural Whistler World Cup, and the post-race stoke was too high not to talk about it. So we got Lars Sternberg on the line, and had a good ol bench race banter session. The Whistler crowd was legendary, the track was quintessential Whistler, the weather was typical for a race weekend, and Americans topped two podiums. The only thing that could have made it better was if Lachie Stevens-Mcnab wasn’t DQ’d for dodging a pole. Enjoy the chat!

Specialized’s new Demo 11 downhill bike is a certified rocket ship. You don’t need us to tell you that. Jordan Williams, Loic Bruni, and Finn Iles have proven the platform's abilities over the past three years of development and this year two World Cup DH wins have been nabbed aboard the production version. The problem may be that it's complex, heavy and priced much higher than other DH bikes. Specialized gave us the chance to ride the bike, and we took the opportunity to get all of yo...

Join us on an unscripted, unaffiliated podcast journey where we discuss various hot takes from the Loudenvielle DH World Cup, risk vs. reward in DH racing, the Hot Laps event in Washington, how to hit berms better, why Enduro World Cups are dying a slow death and why that doesn’t actually matter for the sport of enduro, and a bunch of other MTB-related nonsense. Enjoy! Bikes' Unaffiliated forum conversation

This week, we had the pleasure of chatting with Ethan Eggert, the founder of Arid Cycles, to discuss how he’s managed to create his own mountain bike in only a few years without any financial help or a traditional background in bike development. It’s a really cool story that shows how no idea is too big with some ingenuity and persistence. What has transpired is the Spade model, a very intriguing enduro bike that’s highly modular, progressive, and features some first-of-its-kind design elemen...

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...

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...

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 Cu...

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 - Int...

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 11:2...