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What is the Tour Divide, and what does it take to ride it? On Episode 139 of the MTNCOG Podcast, Tucson riders Craig Boydell and Curtis Dechant explain the route and the race. The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is the world’s longest off-road touring route, first mapped by Adventure Cycling Association in the 1990s. The Tour Divide is the self-supported race that runs on it every June. Craig, Curtis and Peanut rode it northbound (aka backwards) from Antelope Wells, New Mexico, to Banff, Alberta, in 34 days, about half the time of the average tourer.
They break it down state by state: the high country of New Mexico, the long middle section through Colorado and Wyoming, the empty Great Basin, and the grizzly country and brutal hike-a-bike of Montana and Canada. Along the way they cover their bikepacking setup, tire and sealant lessons, saddle and chamois choices, water filtration, resupply planning and the eat-anything nutrition plan. They also talk about trail angels and staying in a good headspace when you’re 10 days in and not even 1,000 miles along. If you’ve thought about riding the Tour Divide or the GDMBR, start here.
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  134 - Bike Shop Secrets: 9 Problems, 9 Fixes: From Fork Feel To Hot Wax
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Two guys, 10 mountain bike myths, and one question: fact or BS? Josh and Dane sit down at Guru Bikes to settle the trail talk that’s been going around forever. Some myths get thrown out right away, like the idea that a cracked carbon frame belongs in the trash. Some turn out to be completely true, like what happens when you mix wax and non-wax chain lube. And a few start real arguments. Modern MTB geometry? Clipless pedals? Strava? Let’s just say there were no unanimous decisions.
Along the way, you’ll hear about hydrogen embrittlement and Simple Green, why “get your butt back” is outdated advice for steep descents, chamois vs. no chamois, and what’s changing with SRAM T-Type chain wear. Josh also gives a quick report on Trestle Bike Park. Listen, laugh, then come tell us where we got it wrong.
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Enjoy this episode?  Here’s a few more of our top ones to check out… 
  128 - Are Chinese Brands Disrupting the Mountain Bike Industry?
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  125 - How Much Do Bike Companies Make? More shocking economics.
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  130 - 15 Bike Maintenance Skills All Riders Should Know
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  119 - How to Set Up Bike Suspension: Complete & Simple Guide 
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  134 - Bike Shop Secrets: 9 Problems, 9 Fixes: From Fork Feel To Hot Wax
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER

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New gear, tested hard at Angel Fire Bike Park: SRAM Maven brakes, Shimano Saint pedals, Continental Kryptotal tires, RockShox Lyrik Ultimate Charger 3.2 and Wolf Tooth Locked In bar ends. Some impressed, some frustrated, and one pair of brakes almost ran Dane into another rider. Here's what worked, what didn't, and what you can tune to fix it.
Dane brings the bike shop side of things: why a new Lyrik takes more tinkering to dial in, why tire pressure depends on the tire and not a magic number, and why his shop is still trying to figure out what's going on with Maven brakes. Josh brings the rider side, including arm pump, foot position and riding sweep at the back of the pack. There's also a look at enduro vs. downhill bikes at the park, a bolt-check PSA, and the case for riding chainless when your derailleur breaks.
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Enjoy this episode?  Here’s a few more of our top ones to check out… 
  128 - Are Chinese Brands Disrupting the Mountain Bike Industry?
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  125 - How Much Do Bike Companies Make? More shocking economics.
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  130 - 15 Bike Maintenance Skills All Riders Should Know
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  119 - How to Set Up Bike Suspension: Complete & Simple Guide 
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER
  134 - Bike Shop Secrets: 9 Problems, 9 Fixes: From Fork Feel To Hot Wax
  APPLE      SPOTIFY      WEB PLAYER

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How do mountain bikers actually wipe out? Josh went digging and found a study that looked at 534 mountain bike crash videos. Just over half were over-the-bars crashes, about half happened on moderate descents, 64% came from poor jump landings, and three quarters were at speeds of 18.6 mph or faster. Josh, who admits he rides cautiously and never jumps, takes that as a green light to keep doing exactly what he's doing. Dane has a few opinions, and a parking lot crash story that doesn't help the "just go slower" theory.
Episode 136, "Crash, Heal, Repeat: Mountain Biking After an Injury," goes from the numbers to the hard part, which is recovery. Dane and Josh talk about the difference between crashing and getting hurt, learning how to fall, pads and protective gear, and why the mental side of coming back from a crash can take longer than the physical side. Expect plenty of stories from Angel Fire, Whistler, and Tucson, plus a few ways to ride smarter without giving up the fun.
Injury Mechanisms in MTN Biking: A Systematic Video Analysis of 534 Cases
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12177224/

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Can you buy speed? It's the question every mountain biker asks themselves while staring at a $10k build in the shop window, and it's the one Josh and Dane finally sit down to debate. They break the argument into pieces — weight, suspension, drivetrain efficiency, tires, frame stiffness, brakes — and figure out which of those upgrades are real and which ones are just good marketing. Turns out, the honest answer is somewhere in the middle, and it depends a lot less on the price tag than you'd think.
Dane brings shop-floor stories about what actually gets people faster (hint: it's usually not what they think), and Josh lays out the numbers on price-per-pound and where the smart money stops making sense. They also cover depreciation, the emotional cost of crashing an expensive bike, and why your tires deserve way more attention than they're probably getting. And because it's MTNCOG, there's a detour into Josh's worst ride of the year that has nothing to do with bike specs and everything to do with bad timing.
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