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 emails??

3. What was your best trick during your bmx days?

4. What was the most money you made at a single race from bonuses? (you can leave out the team, year, or brands if you’d like)

5. If you had it all to do over again, would you rather have been a professional supercross/outdoor rider than a professional mountain biker?

6. Who has the best style at World Cups these days?

7. Favorite and least favorite World Cup track?

8. How many riders come to Windrock and ask for free shuttles?

9. Best place to eat out if you’re at Windrock?

10. Of the titles you hold, rank these from least to most favorite: bike park owner, race promoter, professional mountain biker, airbnb host, sports commentator.

11. What do you miss most about living in SoCal?

12. What’s your game plan going into Red Bull Hardline?

13. You’re considered one of the greatest downhill racers of all time. Who do you consider to be the best downhill racer?

14. We know you’ve always been a bit of a gym rat. Give us a few of your favorite exercises that translate well to on the bike performance?

15. How many elite men and elite women should there be in finals at a World Cup?

16. We’ve always admired your ability to capitalize on the success you’ve had as a racer with the many financial endeavors you’ve taken on. Do you have any money/business advice for other athletes?

17. Wouldn’t you rather be building trails at Windrock than answering these stupid questions?

Can Neko handled the dreaded 17? Watch on YouTube, too.

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 their implementation.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
05:39 The 32-Inch Wheel Debate
10:11 Mechanical vs. Wireless Drivetrains
17:01 The Push for 32-Inch Wheels
17:41 Technical Challenges in Tire Production
22:59 Market Response and Anticipation
26:06 Benefits and Applications of 32-Inch Wheels
33:51 Potential Pros and Cons of Larger Wheels
40:36 Looking Ahead: The Evolution of Bike Design
51:09 The 32-Inch Wheel Trend: Implications and Insights
53:51 Weight Considerations: Performance vs. Practicality
58:43 Community Insights: The Biking Culture and Preferences
01:01:46 Tire Talk: Preferences and Innovations

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 discussion - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2...

Chapters

00:00 New Year Reflections and Family Time

11:08 Retirement in Action Sports: A Bittersweet Transition

13:38 Women in Racing: Breaking Taboos

16:49 Health Reflections: The Impact of Illness

19:46 Excitement for Upcoming Events

24:03 Dak's New Journey with Dream Team

36:05 Community Engagement and User Feedback

53:25 Trends in Mountain Biking: E-bikes and Upgrades

01:13:50 Product Discussions and Industry Insights

01:26:23 Wheels and Brakes: Performance Insights

01:38:13 Starting a Business: Flowcraft and Community Engagement

01:47:32 Reflections on Racing and Industry Changes

01:52:30 Engaging the Community: The Podcast Forum

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 Accomodate Gwin's Riding Style?

43:00 - Being on a Team with Asa Vermette, Battling the Kids

49:50 - Game Plan for 2026 Races

53:55 - Gwin's Training Regimen

1:00:35 - Involvement with Lake Placid World Cup and TN National in 2026?

1:06:30 - Racing Hardline Tasmania

1:11:32 - Aaron Gwin 2011 vs. Aaron Gwin 2026?

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 career giving it all he can. With a new team comes new equipment. Besides the Frameworks frame, Aaron returns to FOX suspension after Ohlins with Gwin Racing. He'll be on Burgtec bars, a departure from his long-time Renthal setup. Wheels change to ENVE from e.thirteen, and he'll be aboard Continental tires.

Vital contributor, Jack Rice, catches up with Aaron, Neko and James McAllister, Aaron's mechanic during a testing session at Windrock Bike Park in December to discuss the changes and challenges.

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 bars on his new Gambler? Per usual, Dak was transparent about what he’s seeking from a team at this point in his career, the reality of having to prove he’s still a podium contender post-injury, and his newfound appreciation for the opportunity he has to keep racing his bike. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

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 watch this interview on our YouTube Channel

It was almost 7 years to the day that I first met with Colin in Hood River, Oregon, for an interview (found here). We talked about his career highlights and his diagnosis with ALS and what the future looked like for him. Well, we’re back to celebrate him and his life through some memories and some roasting by a group of friends that only know each other because of Colin.

Since Colin can't speak, we go through a Q&A with Patrik Zuest reading the answers that Colin wrote and provided via email.

Everyone at Vital hopes you get inspired by listening to the stories of how Colin impacted so many lives. Colin, we love you!

Contents

0:00 - Intro and Colin's crew on how they met colin

8:26 - Colin answers questions about his ALS

35:35 - Colin gets roasted by his crew