The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 41 - Racing Rumours and Team Changes

 He is definitely an assclown.

 @mikelevy: Word. I assume he's also the same assclown that downvoted my comment. Keep up the good work Team PB, the podcasts are brilliant.

 @mikelevy: No mikelevy is a Squamish dork you mixed that up with assclown... well maybe both haha! Oh wait your not talking about mikelevy?

 @mikelevy:

It's this the best venue to formally request to change my user name to "assclown"?

 @skimtb1: We already use it internally for you, but I'll look into a more formal change haha

 @RelapsedMandalorian:

Too bad for you that based on the upvotes, the assclowns appear to have one up on the dorks...


Punter.

 @mikelevy:

The only problem for you would be that my ass would just continue to clown the PB editorial team both in the comments section, and on the trails...

 @skimtb1: Ha, are we going to have to go for a mountain bike ride one day and find out? I ride mountain bikes, though, not just drive them up hills to coast back down... you might have a tough time keeping up

 @mikelevy:

I only own a DH bike but have good extension on my seat post, so as long as you're willing to climb a DH rig with a low range cassette too? You're wading into shark infested waters.

 @skimtb1: The precise reason I used to own a bunch of Orange downhill bikes over the years.

 @mikelevy @mikekazimer Is it fair to assume the "worst worst" comment (where you banned the user) was racist in nature? If so, I'm kind of disappointed that you tip-toed around that, just calling it "shitty". We know that the overwhelming whiteness of MTB creates some pretty ugly prejudice, and I think in order to make progress we're going to have to address that prejudice directly and call it what it is: racism. I'm another white guy so certainly there are other folks with more relevant perspectives out there, but this just bugged me too much not to say anything.

Tangentially related: It would be really great to bring Eliot on the pod for an episode sometime!

 @mikelevy:

We built a new DH track in Nelson called 'assclown'. You can the PB dork squad should come check it out!

But I'll believe it when I see it!

 Hell yes, love the overview and editors take on the recent articles and really helps me get some perspective on where everyone’s moving on the racing scene!

 We sent RC a new mic and we'll have him back on soon!

 That's a good one. I'm a huge fan of racing, at both the grassroots and global level. Even non-competitive riders can appreciate watching the world's best rocketing down a gnarly DH track, or battling it out on an XC circuit.

In the US, I think NICA has been a great way to get more kids on bikes, and at that age (all ages, really) racing is a great outlet for healthy competition. The same goes for the growth of enduro racing - for riders of all abilities it's nice to be able to have a goal to work towards, whether that's the top step of the elite podium, or just making it to the finish line.

Sure, not everyone wants to race, and there's no problem at all with that, but I do think that racing is an important part of the sport.

 @CMAT17 - I don't follow racing as closely as Kazimer and some of the other staff; there can only be so much bikes in my life, so I won't often sit down to watch racing unless it's something special. That said, I'm overly competitive with everything and there are a lot of other people like that out there, so I can see why that marketing makes so much sense.

The question is: Do you respond to a racer winning on X bike or someone having fun in a video on X bike?

 @mikelevy: I'm a newbie to the sport, so how I experience with mountain biking is roughly the same as my experience with skiing in that I think racing is cool, exciting, and vicariously stressful, but I don't see myself wanting a XC super light or the next enduro monster truck, much like how I don't see myself buying some skinny-stiff chopsticks from the other big S. I don't consider myself much of a free-rider either. Maybe the most ideal marketing campaign would be some 30 year old dude/person kinda just shrugging and saying, "Bike goes up and down."

I will concede that I succumbed to race marketing super hard when I bought my first road bike out of college. It's a good bike, and I love riding it, but I wouldn't say that something much cheaper wouldn't have done the exact same job either. Maybe that colors my thinking.

 @mikelevy: personally there have been brands (cube for instance) that I kinda thought were a little lame or just did not excite me. But after seeing them on top of the podium I completely reevaluated my take on them. I think that showing the consumers that your bike can win races, especially for the smaller brands that need to prove theyre a viable option, is a great way to stir interest in your company

 @bike-lair: Hell yeah, racing = marketing and it works.

 I love watching racing. There's a "story" to it, we get some pre race bike checks, some course previews, the actual race, the team videos after... and the viewer can watch as much or as little as they want.
Hacking together a 10 minute video of some skids in the woods doesnt hold my interest; and even when something geniunely good comes out - like a Semenuk video - I'll find out about it on here or youtube, watch it, watch it again, and then thats it. Maybe YT will recomend it to me again in a few months, and I'll watch it again.

 Stoked you're into them!

 Valve caps and stems, I hope.

But for real, I some things (frames, suspension, controls) to last 10+ years of hard riding with regular service, while other things I expect to replace regularly (tires, cleats, grips, brake pads) without being grumpy about it.

 Good call, can't believe I missed that one.

 Ahhh fack, that's one we should have gotten! Nice @DB76

 I remember! I think I had grabbed the wrong shoes or was maybe wearing my dollar-store sandals? haha

My old Specialized's S-Works shoes have been going strong for years and years; love 'em. I've also had good luck with Bontrager's Rally shoe, although I'd like the sole to be a bit stiffer. That said, I wear race-y shoes way more often than the Rallys.

We've got a whole video series on where to save and where to spend coming out real soon

 Three months ain't long enough - bummer.

 @mikelevy: no it’s a bit of a piss take

 Kazimers climbing shoe comparison is a relevant one: there are resoling shops Everywhere!
Why the ... aren't there flatpedalshoe-resoling-soles out there?
I know Adidas have discontinued selling 5.10 resoling soles for climbing shoes (and I hold that against them!) but there are good alternatives like Vibram still out there.
In this day of environment protection the industri should embrace longevity of their products.

 Bulldog is another who has left a top team to sign with them again. MS Mondraker to GT and then back to MS Mondraker

 Excellent question. I can see this being the case, and I might think this way if I lived in the US. One crash could be life-changing, and not because of injuries but costs. Insane.

 @mikelevy: I think this is a pretty common misconception of the US healthcare system. While there are no doubt countless examples of people who go broke paying medical bills, the ACA, passed over a decade ago, eliminated lifetime maximum coverage and insurance plans all have modest (relatively speaking) annual out-of-pocket maximums. Sure they can be pretty steep, but quite literally 100% of people who have insurance (which was basically required by law as you paid a tax penalty up until a few years ago if you didn't seek insurance) are not subject to the extreme costs that we so often hear about. We have nearly 9x as many people as Canada right, so for every sad Canadian story, there are roughly 9 equivalently terrible things in the States. I don't mean to come across as anti-universal healthcare as I'm anything but, and I certainly am not defending the price of healthcare in the US (though there are as many reasons to justify the cost as to vilify). I just get a little triggered by a universally held belief (by many Americans as well) that they will go into eternal poverty every time they see a doctor. In many ways, this general reluctance to seek medical attention has contributed to generally poor heath in the US despite having arguably many of the best doctors, hospitals, medicine, and medical equipment to have ever existed.

 Definitely never thinking twice. I will only buy a DH bike if it fits two bottles inside the front triangle and the tire doesn't rub my extra-large seatbag haha

 Graves went back to Yeti?

 @vhdh666: He did and I can't believe we didn't remember ugh

 @mikelevy: I guess we didn't remember because of the pandemic: we didn't see him racing in Yeti gear

 I wish!

 @mikelevy: great podcasts, btw on the social media topic I follow greg minaar on Instagram and he’s on it most days

 Does napping count?

 I try to stretch for 30-60 mins each day and have some bodyweight circuit stuff I do for maybe 4-6 months of the year, depending on what's going on. I dog walk for hours every day, too, and when I'm riding a ton, I always make sure to sleep as much as I can. That's it.

 @mikelevy: Sorry, did you say you do that bodyweight circuit stuff once every 4-6 months over the year? I must have read that wrong!! ????

 @cmolina: No, I do it for 4-6 months during the year. I don't do that stuff during summer or when I'm riding a bunch.

 We might have the worst pronunciation on the internet, sorry.

 @mikelevy: stankshun, commensell, and fabian bearel.

 @brianpark: we need a dictionary according to levy

 Doh... just noted someone else said the same. Sorry for the repeat... somewhat appropriate for the topic.

 Good call!

 Another one we missed @Nmullen55

 Too much seriousness in your comment but there's not much in what we say. There are always a few ass clowns in every group and I wouldn't want it any other way. Just like there's always a Mr. Serious in the group.

 @mikelevy: guess I was being a bit too serious. For the record, love the podcast and the site

 I think so!

 Brook Mc - Mondraker, GT, Mondy IiRC. Philthy Phil - Propain

 We'll try to mix things up a bit more