The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 155 - Andi Kolb & Charlie Hatton on the Right Headspace & Why Fun is Fast

20 Comments

IMeasureStuff (Dec 10, 2022 at 12:10)

I loved the conversation regarding the disappointment in coming second at a world cup. This is an area that's been studied in psychology regarding who is the happiest and most disappointed on a podium. In the Olympics where you have a 3 place gold , silver, bronze podium the obvious happiest person is the gold recipient (which is obvious). The most disappointed (and the disappointment can be profound) is the second place because all they can think about is how close they came to and failed at winning. This disappointment completely drowns out everything about their often incredible achievement of coming second. What's really interesting is the state of mind of the third placed bronze who are often elated. This elation comes from realising that they were one place away from not getting onto the podium at all.

icthus13 (Dec 9, 2022 at 8:15)

Question for a future podcast, brought to mind by the recent field tests.

How should those of us who live in flatter areas interpret bike reviews?

What I mean by this is that bike reviews on Pinkbike (and other sites) tend to break up reviews into sections on climbing and descending performance. The terrain at my local trails can be described charitably as "rolling," meaning there are no sustained climbs or descents. How should I read a bike review to determine which bike makes the most sense for my type of terrain?

FloridaHasMTBToo (Dec 9, 2022 at 8:40)

Downcountry solves everything.

icthus13 (Dec 9, 2022 at 9:01)

@FloridaHasMTBToo: Sure, but even reading downcountry bike reviews they’re broken up by climbing and descending performance.

two-plank FL (Dec 9, 2022 at 9:22)

you should mostly disregard them, and go to talk to riders or employees at your local shop who have ridden bikes with different geos, travel, weight, etc on that "rolling" terrain. Thats going to be the best insight you can get

plustiresaintdead (Dec 9, 2022 at 9:57)

They mention this every time a bike is more suited for flatter terrain. See the SB140 review form earlier this week.

j-t-g FL (Dec 9, 2022 at 11:02)

I dunno, as someone who has lived a substantial portion of my riding life in both flat and big mountain terrain, I don't think it's that hard to interpret a bike review and apply what they're saying to flat terrain... For example, they always mention how much they relied on a climb switch, and they often talk about low and high speed descending. If the bike sucks at lower speed stuff and relies on a climb switch, don't buy it for limited elevation changes where you're on and off the pedals.

Azarielowaty (Dec 10, 2022 at 1:35)

There must be a reason there is a letter M in MTB :-)

bok-CZ FL (Dec 10, 2022 at 4:57)

Well did you hear about bmx flatland?

icthus13 (Dec 13, 2022 at 11:22)

@j-t-g: This is good advice, thanks.

icthus13 (Dec 13, 2022 at 11:23)

@two-plank: Yep. That's how I've purchased my last few bikes. Plus talking to friends and a few demo days.

Hamburgi (Dec 9, 2022 at 8:27)

Why has this Podcast no autoplay?

Asking for a friend

socaldher (Dec 9, 2022 at 22:18)

@mikelevy this may be a podcast question, but with these brands putting time into custom tunes on rear shocks, if you were to buy a lower spec level, say the Santa Cruz Hightower base model, and you were then to upgrade the rear shock, could you get that specific tune? Is that tune possible to get somewhere? Or would you have to go to your local suspension service center and have them start from step one and build a specific tune to you?

IMeasureStuff (Dec 10, 2022 at 2:09)

I can speak for Rockshox. If you install their TrailHead app you can plug in the serial number of a shock and it will give you the specific tune used. Rockshox publish all their tunes in a document. You can find it by searching

Rockshox Rear Shock Piston Tuning Guide

With the shim kits (also sold by Rockshox) you can create the same tune in any of their other shocks.

alanbonk (Dec 9, 2022 at 9:35)

Stoked to hear Henry back on the pod!

sudochuckwalla FL (Dec 11, 2022 at 8:03)

Andi on teamnorcal confirmed

RideTahoe707 (Dec 13, 2022 at 17:30)

Can confirm, even holding our special spots close to the heart. Andi is a stand up guy, he's focused and poised for next year!

calarco68 (Dec 9, 2022 at 7:48)

nice

sifoqndrV4 (Nov 7, 2023 at 17:06)

COOL

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