The Inside Line Podcast - Vital MTB

A lot of people who mountain bike also snowboard, and vice versa. Two tools with different jobs but a shared goal—provide an experience that evokes excitement and creativity. With so much time spent with a bike or board between our two feet, we were curious if these vessels of stoke had more in common than meets the eye. At the end of the day, they strive to solve many of the same problems, balancing comfort with performance, specificity with versatility, and durability with weight and price. Not to mention balancing consumer demands and industry trends to create products that riders actually want.  To discuss this topic, we tagged in Ryan Burney, engineer and long-time downhill racer; Evan Finses, design engineer at Burton Snowboards; and Austin Smith, Director of Innovations and Marketing at Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Tag along as Vital Tech Editor Jason Schroeder finds out how the engineering behind snowboards and mountain bikes is a lot closer than one might think.

If there is one thing we can almost guarantee, it's that Leogang will provide some incredibly tight racing. This year was exceptionally snug. Dry conditions and a similar track layout as years before meant little time was spent sorting out line choices or using the brakes. The recipe was simple: rally the main line with confidence and tuck-to-win on the motorway. And what transpired was some of the most competitive racing we've ever seen and a lot of talk about the safety, speeds, and simplicity of tracks. Tag along as we discuss the validity of these concerns, along with how Dak's first race back went, the back-to-back Canadian double victories, 510s athlete summit, Y2K freeride fashion, and more.  0:13 - What is 510's athlete summit all about?  3:50 - How Dak as an athlete benefits from the summit 8:42 - Balancing expectations and deliverables with sponsors 10:25 - Dak follows Danny Hart in Schladming 11:51 - When are the 510 Desert Storm boots coming back?? 13:11 - Freeride fashion = Y2K 14:32 - Dak just learned about Apple Pay 16:05 - Dak's weekend in Leogang 20:14 - Hardest part of the track in Leogang? 22:11 - Critiquing the motorway  23:56 - Where are the jumps?? 24:48 - The need for new sections of track 26:22 - Are tracks too fast/too straight? Or is competition just high? 45:13 -  Wall ride gossip   48:08 - Do you race with your phone in your pocket? 49:50 - Jackson was racing on an e-bike 53:19 - Why aren't TMD mounted at the front axle 54:55 - Are enduro bikes more useless than downhill bikes?  57:56 - Ellie Hulsebosch's TMD falling off in finals 58:17 - Best World Cup racer to never have won a World Cup? 59:17 - Maxxis Make or Brake Section  1:03:54 - Dak doesn't ride used tires 1:07:12 - Junior Women's Race Recap 1:10:34 - Junior Men's Race Recap 1:16:05 - Elite Women's Race Recap 1:24:21 - Elite Men's Race Recap 1:26:05 - NOTICE: there is less practice this year with Q1 / Q2 schedule 1:32:53 - Ronan Dunne's race craft is maturing 1:41:16 - Burgtec Labour of Love Award 1:42:55 - Is Dak ready for VDS?

The second round of the 2025 World Cup from Loudenvielle, France, produced some of the fastest racing we've seen in recent memory and was (somehow) filled with more funny drama than the first round in Poland. But it turns out a dry, straight track makes for iconic Hail Mary race runs, and the UCI/Warner Bros/Discovery not knowing how to enforce their own rules makes for good podcasting banter. We had fun this week chatting about the ongoing #polegate disputes, Dak's panic after watching racing from the sideline and rushed last-minute prep before Leogang, the Henry Keifer situation, the Stan Nisbet situation, Ronan showing why we ride with tires on our rims, track safety and the need for more turns, and most importantly, the tightness of riding pants.  We have been treated to some iconic racing thus far this season, and Leogang this weekend will surely be exciting. Now let's just hope our co-host-extrodinare can make it past Q2!  0:13 - The Dak Update 3:10 - Dak's panic from watching people ride in Loudenvielle 6:05 - UCI trying to copy our post-race show 9:05 - More insight into Dak's prep before Leogang 14:13 - Has the field gotten faster this year? 16:30 - #polegate again 17:50 - Henry Keifer's start hut pit stop 19:39 - Stan Nisbet stopped from racing 24:15 - Ronan doesn't need tires. Or does he?? 27:45 - Track talk and how much they straightened it 29:52 - Why is everyone's gear so tight right now 33:50 - Complaining about the broadcast again 36:00 - XC did 5 people podiums 36:28 - Complaining about rider payout again  37:03 - How many people even watch the racing these days? 41:08 - Brembo brakes 49:17 - Maxxis Make or Brake Section 52:36 - Jackson and Gracey sending it at the bottom 55:40 - Jackson's bike setup is wild 59:13 - Junior Women's Race Recap 1:03:15 - Junior Men's Race Recap 1:09:43 - Elite Women's Race Recap 1:13:43 - Elite Men's Race Recap 1:22:00 - radial tire gossip  1:24:37 - Dak's tire choice for Loudenvielle 1:27:07 - Gwinny is back  1:30:52 - Burgtec Labour of Love 1:33:10 - Reece Wilson saying tracks are too straight, fast, not technical enough 1:35:49 - Jackson's average speed in his race run 1:41:12 - Thoughts on Leogang track 1:43:34 - Who's gonna be fast in Leogang

In this episode, the crew covers all the hot tea from the first World Cup in Poland, but most importantly, gets an update on Dak's highly anticipated return to racing.  We hope you enjoy the show, and we will see everyone next week for a post-Loudenvielle podcast!  0:00 - Intro / Crew Updates 5:32 - Dak Injury Update 13:37 - Dak's return to racing?? 16:30 - Post-injury fears getting back to racing? 19:13 - Transparency while recovering 22:14 - Bike setup post-injury  25:34 - Is there too much coverage per race weekend?  30:27 - #polegate #bringbacktape  36:05 - Ryan Gilcrest going around the start wand at Crankworx  40:29 - Course marking inconsistencies  42:40 - Q1 and Q2 thoughts and strategy  47:27 - Pit boards in qualifying 50:16 - 3 person podiums: yay or nay? 53:54 - Rotor guards: so hot right now 55:23 - Fenders vs. mudguards  58:07 - Lit Kit & Worst Kit in Poland 1:01:41 - Maxxis Make or Brake Section 1:04:01 - Riders looking tired mid-run  1:04:42 - Tire choice for the weekend 1:05:45 - Is Poland too one-lined? 1:11:31 - Goggle setup thoughts for the mud 1:20:08 - Junior Women's Race Recap  1:21:15 - Junior Men's Race Recap 1:24:40 - Tanner's hot take on Junior racing 1:29:40 - Elite Women's Race Recap 1:32:12 - Jason's first ride impressions of the new Orbea Rallon DH bike 1:37:23 - Elite Men's Race Recap 1:43:53 - Thoughts on the vibe around Poland/this World Cup season  1:52:46 - Who has the most podiums now that we only do top 3 1:53:25 - Burgtec Labour of Love Award

Ahead of the Tennessee National taking place this week, we sat down with Sea 'Griz' McClendon to run through some USDH names to watch on the national circuit this year. Of course, we had to get the Griz update and hear how he ended up spittin' heat on the mic at Downhill Southeast races and in the booth with the Gravity Coop doing post-race shows. We also touched on all the Americans racing World Cups this year, which World Cup racers are coming over to race this weekend at Windrock, and a bunch of other nonsense mostly related to downhill racing. Enjoy! If you want to race downhill, check out these regional series! NW Cup [https://nwcup.com/] (Washington, Idaho, Montana) Southwest Downhill [https://www.southwestdh.com/] (SoCal)  Southridge USA [https://www.southridgeusa.com/] (SoCal) Downhill Rockies [https://www.trailparty.com/2024-downhillrockies] (Colorado, New Mexico) Eastern States Cup [https://www.easternstatescup.com/dh-series/] (Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania) Downhill Southeast [https://downhillsoutheast.com/] (North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia) Monster Energy Pro Downhill [https://prodownhillseries.com/] (North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia)