The Inside Line Podcast - Vital MTB

You chimed in and the name of our podcast, Bikes: Unaffiliated will remain. In this episode, Jason Schroeder, Shawn Spomer and Lars Sternberg tackle an assortment of random bike and non-bike subjects like why was our tech forum picking on Dario from Pinkbike, why didn't Spomer answer Lopes' phone call, should we test a 32-inch-wheeled hardtail, what is Epicly Later'd, the DHR II sucks as a front tire, why don't ...

Would you rather be riding epic bike parks in Queenstown, downhill trails in Laguna or sitting in the ER because you can't pee? Jason Schroeder, Lars Sternberg and Shawn Spomer reflect on their last couple of weeks in this episode of Bikes Unaff.......

The 9th Street Documentary on YouTube

0:00 - Intro
1:52 - Help Us Change the Podcast Name
3:34 - Jason's What's In What's Out, Max Alran Rips
6:35 - Jas...

One of downhilling's finest, Loic Bruni, ain't scared of the dreaded 17!

You can watch this interview on Vital MTB

Questions asked
0:00 - Who would win in a fight between you, Amaury Pierron and Jackson Goldstone?
0:50 - Do you ever go to World Cup after parties? If yes, tell us your favorite post-race story. If no, why don't you like to have fun?
1:54 - Does your mechanic Jack get enough cre...

Downhill destroyer,  Aaron Gwin, takes another stab at the dreaded 17 during a Frameworks test camp in Southern California. Hard to believe the first 17 Qs we did with Aaron was 15 years ago!

Question asked
1. You wake up late and are in rush to get your day going. You stop by a Starbucks to get your caffeine fix. What drink are you ordering?

2. How do you pass time on long flights? Movies, reading, sleeping, catching up on email...

We’ve been minimally interested in the 32-inch wheel topic. It was more fun to hypothesize what they’d ride like when it was a distant rumor. Now that Maxxis has 32-inch tires you can buy, and many brands are currently developing literal wagon wheel models, we don’t know how to feel. Luckily, we tagged in Maxxis Brand Manager, Aaron Chamberlain, to fill us in on the impetus of the 32-inch revolution and the main arguments around th...

Happy New Year errybody! In this episode, we go through the components, places to ride, and habits Vital users listed as their favorites in 2025. We then touch on what we enjoyed in 2025 and what we are looking forward to in the year ahead.

Shoutout to Vital user Ervan for starting the forum thread “2025: Things I loved this year” and giving us the idea for this week's podcast.

Read the forum thread in disc...

The news of Aaron Gwin making a new home on Frameworks TRP yesterday left a lot of unanswered questions. Thankfully the man himself was down for a candid chat to discuss his new future.

Cover photo by Callie Horwath

Topics

0:00 - Intro and What About Crestline?

9:34 - History with Neko

12:26 - How Can Frameworks Afford Gwin?

15:38 - Does Gwin Have to Race Now?

19:14 - Dealing with So Many Product Changes

32:31 - Does the Frameworks Accomod...

0:00 - Aaron Gwin

8:16 - James McAllister

16:05 - Neko Mulally

As the 2026 downhill mountain bike season dawns, Frameworks TRP Racing announces that #USDH superstar, Aaron Gwin will join the team. Aaron, multi-time World Cup-winning downhiller, ran his own team, Gwin Racing, aboard Crestline bikes in 2024 and 2025. The change to Frameworks means a focus on racing, rather than team management, as Gwin seeks to wrap up his competitive c...

After an exciting two years with Mondraker Factory Racing, our guy Dak has moved to Scott DH Factory and signed a three-year deal. So naturally, we had to podcast about it. We wanted all the details on what prompted his departure from Mondraker, what attracted him to Scott, his goals and expectations for the upcoming season now that he's mostly recovered from his injury, and most importantly: will he still be running 75mm rise...

We have a very special, and probably tear-and-laugh filled episode of The Inside Line as we catch back up with Colin Meagher, all-around nice guy, incredible, storied mountain bike photographer and man dealing with the late stages of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Since Colin’s symptoms have progressed so strongly, he’s not really able to speak, so we have a gaggle of his best buds in Seattle to help do the talking for him.

You can wa...

Electric mountain bikes. Either you love ‘em, or think they’re wack. Granted, the latter opinion has been losing steam as more brands release good e-bikes, and more riders toss a leg over one. They’re the talk of our industry and are one of the few, if not the only, segments of bikes experiencing significant change year after year.

In this show, Vital’s own Jason Schroeder and Shawn Spomer, along with industry veteran Lars Sternberg...

In this special edition of the Inside Line podcast, Jeff Brines interviews Sam Nicols, the former CEO of YT Industries from 2021 to 2024, exploring his journey from a career at Amazon to leading a prominent bike company during tumultuous times. 

He reflects on his experiences as CEO of YT Industries, discussing the challenges faced in the bike industry, particularly around demand fluctuations, inventory management, and the impact of...

In episode 2 of Bikes: Unaffiliated, Jason Schroeder, Lars Sternberg and Shawn Spomer discuss the evolution of mountain bike technology, focusing on the durability of bikes and components. They explore the expectations riders have for bike longevity, and the importance of community feedback in shaping technology. The conversation also touches on maintenance practices and the balance between cost, weight, and durability in bike desi...

Join Vital's own Jason Schroeder and Shawn Spomer, along with industry veteran Lars Sternberg, as they discuss the gripping topic of launching new bikes and their embargoes. Why do we have embargoes? What goes on behind the scenes of a new product launch? Are embargoed launches still impactful? How do brands and media make a splash on embargo day to give riders something to get excited about?

Vital MTB's new podc...

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We’re back with The Inside Line, BS edition where we talk about the business and economic side of the mountain bike industry with Jeff Brines and Charlie Sponsel.

Today is a discussion about YT Industries and the company’s recent turmoil of going through administration, shutting down and then re-opening just the other day. Because they went through the administration process, Jeff was able...

This Inside Line podcast explores how mountain biking's newest competitive event, Hard MTB League, has the potential to change the sport. Vital Content Director, Shawn Spomer, met up with Braydon Bringhurst and Adam Pishl, the two visionaries behind the League, two weeks after its inaugural invitational near Boise, Idaho. 

Topics include explaining what Hard MTB League is, reflecting on how the first event went, the challenges ...

MSA, what a way to end the season. Grueling and daunting, it's a track that other venues will forever be compared against. It feels wrong that this could be the last World Cup at Mont Sainte Anne for a long time (if not ever). At least the final send-off race was one to remember. For our crew, it was memorable because our guy Dak, against a lot of odds, slotted himself into 4th place less than a year after a life-altering inju...