The Financial State of the Bike Industry with Jeff Brines - The Inside Line
Thanks to Maxxis Tires | FOX | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside LineToday we're joined by Jeff Brines, a long-time mountain biker, Litter Mag and Vital MTB fan. He's also educated and versed in finance. He kicked off a forum thread on Vital MTB that asked "Will more companies be shutting down in the next 12-24 months?" At a year old, the thread has over 100,000 views with nearly 800 replies as news about our industry has broken. We discuss the past and current state of the bicycle industry through his analysis and tools and see if we can figure out where we're headed.Thank you Vital listeners!THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE.Podcast Contents0:00 - Intro, who is Jeff and what are we discussing?6:11 - Why start a Vital MTB forum post about bike companies shutting down?11:07 - Why did the *money people* think MTB would make them rich during Covid?17:30 - Is it just greed and ego?19:55 - Why did bikes stop selling?23:49 - Why don't brands save money for slow times?27:54 - Most of the bike industry is privately held32:52 - Companies that went under, does the investment money just disappear?38:05 - Original owners buying a company back, Family Office and Private Equity46:25 - Private equity and how it works51:54 - Is going bankrupt expected with venture capital investors?53:51 - The lunacy of VanMoof being worth $500 million1:04:23 - What does the bike industry future look like?1:12:41 - Is there any incentive to get into the bike industry now?1:15:41 - Is there an ideal company size?1:17:48 - Will the business world repeat the same mistakes 10 years from now?1:21:31 - Tools to learn about the bike industry1:26:10 - Vital audience surveyCheck out Jeff's slideshow presentation here (Google Slides)Vital MTB Audience Surveys (scroll to bottom of page)https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/
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1:37:19
That's It, That's All! Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup - B Practice Podcast
The 2024 World Cup season is over. And what a whirlwind the past five months have been, with all-time racing across the board. It's a shame things have to come to an end, but the hype is already building for next year. Mont-Sainte-Anne was very par the course for how the 2024 season has gone, with wet conditions on race day. Luckily, the classic Canadian course holds moisture like a champ, and besides some slick rocks and fresh sections, it was game on. Our dude Dak was having another promising weekend, and the odds were looking good that he could close out the year with another podium. That was until a damn track pole had other plans. #polegate2024Enjoy listening to the crew discuss all kinds of nonsense, from arm pump surgeries to e-bike training for DH, Greg Minnaar's retirement, the odds of needing a work Visa to race World Cups next year, rule changes for next year, and, of course, race highlights from the weekend and overall standings. A massive thank you to everyone who listened to us banter all season—we love bringing you these conversations, and we appreciate the support!
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2:34:13
Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup - Why Downhill?
Jack Rice wraps up the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup with interviews from racers, mechanics and MTB filmers and photographers to see how their season went, to find out what the future looks like and to continue the question, "why downhill?"Thanks to Jack, John Lawlor and Rick Schubert for all the hustle this year at the World Cups. And thank you listeners for helping us keep the stoke for DH alive.Interviews0:00 - Intro1:11 - Greg Minnaar4:44 - Marine Cabirou6:06 - Sven Martin11:59 - Tahnee Seagrave13:17 - Vali Holl16:11 - Aaron Gwin18:41 - Finn Iles22:31 - Abigail Hogie29:52 - Brad Blackwell33:21 - Alex Presant37:41 - Swen Heil39:32 - Tyler Ervin40:47 - Kale Cushman43:06 - Nick Robertson49:11 - Ross Bell55:59 - Roman Tunbridge59:55 - Tommy Krause1:03:44 - Andy Vathis1:11:20 - Carson Fletcher1:13:31 - Jack Tennyson1:14:54 - Jorge Gomes1:17:23 - Rachel Pageau1:21:25 - Steve Estabrook1:22:56 - Zack Harper
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1:26:05
Asa Vermette Interview - The #USDH Prodigy Reflects on His 2024 Season
Did you believe the hype? Coming into the 2024 World Cup season, Asa Vermette was an obvious favorite in the Junior Men's category. He'd been fast domestically for a few years, and with the support of Frameworks and guidance from Neko Mulally and Angel Suarez, he seemed poised to have a successful debut on the international stage. Then, at the first round in Fort William, Asa waxed everyone by 6 seconds. You tack on the fact that he won after sitting on the couch for weeks prior healing a broken hip, and the hype became simple facts. The next generation is always faster than the last, and Asa is leading the latest charge. Fast forward to now, and we've been lucky to watch Asa and Max Alran exchange blows all year. Each has three wins, and Mont Sainte Anne was teeing up to be an epic final round between the two. Unfortunately, Asa's crash in Loudenvielle left him more battered and bruised than initially suspected, putting an end to his first World Cup season. A bittersweet conclusion to an otherwise successful year, we wanted to know how Asa felt about his season—the highs, the lows, the lessons learned, and the goals for 2025. We talked about a whole lot more, so enjoy getting to know more about the calm kid from Durango who's damn fast on a bike.0:00 - Intro1:37 - Why Asa isn't racing MSA4:24 - Injuries collected throughout the season5:19 - The balance of pushing and crashing8:06 - Did he feel the pressure going into the season?12:00 - Key takeaways from his first World Cup season 13:38 - Why keeping racing fun is key14:51 - Asa's pump-up music of choice 15:51 - Advice from Neko and Angel17:05 - How Asa gets up to speed and breaks down tracks21:10 - Favorite country he visited this year 22:50 - Favorite track of the year23:33 - Getting used to riding in the mud25:32 - Injury updates going into the offseason28:05 - How Asa passes the time when he's hurt 29:46 - Favorite Elite racer30:55 - Asa explains his nasty whips31:56 - Doing a flip in a race run??36:17 - Who's got the best whips?38:29 - Things to improve on this offseason40:22 - Training program chit-chat 42:21 - What Asa rides day-to-day42:04 - Asa's perfect riding day43:36 - Freestyle Asa44:52 - Winter riding plans45:48 - 2025 Goals46:49 - 5 Years from now, where will Asa be…
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49:17
Why Do You Ride Downhill? The U.S. Open of Mountain Biking
This is a special episode of The Inside Line as we had Jack Rice at the 2024 U.S. Open of Mountain Biking in Killington, Vermont.See photos from the event - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/why-ride-downhill-u-s-open-mountain-bikingThanks to FOX, Maxxis Tires and Jenson USA for supporting The Inside LineIt was the season ender to the Pro Downhill Series and with the final World Cup DH in Mont-Sainte-Anne next week, the field was stacked with Elite level pros from around the globe. Instead of the usual questions with only the top riders, we had commissioned Jack to search the pits and ask amateur riders a simple question - Why Downhill?While plenty of answers resonate with the excitement and action of what DH is, an overwhelming response praised the community as a reason for coming back to ride. It's the people that make our sport so great and it's our hope that the comradery of the #USDH community continues to grow.Interview contents0:00 - Intro1:09 - Meredith Burnette2:25 - Jamie Tate3:18 - Dusty Mason4:10 - Kerry Marshall5:02 - "Scott and the fam"6:33 - Jacob Dyke8:57 - Bailey Gunter11:04 - Cole Bernier13:40 - Jack Burnette21:54 - Tyson Henrie23:55 - Tabias Spencer24:59 - Lachie Stevens-Mcnab (Race Winner)25:47 - Nina Hoffmann (Race Winner)29:23 - Max Beaupre and Why NOT Downhill31:51 - Tegan Heap33:00 - Dylan Conte36:20 - Lucas Dedora36:57 - Anna Newkirk38:37 - Chris Grice39:50 - Clay Harper
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