articles
The story behind the photo: A kickstarting shot
Everyone of us carries a powerful camera in their pockets. A camera which puts early digital cameras to shame in its ability to stack pixels and capture photos in low light situations. Most of these utilities even have multiple focal lengths to choose from. An enthusiast may forget that these cameras are a bonus on a carry on telephone.
Podcast: 25 years of history in bike media. A retrospective with James Huang and Jens Staudt
Print was king regarding MTB media and our main source of information. There are only a handful of editors or writers out there which experienced this transformation to the media as we know it today. James Huang and Jens Staudt are two of these dinosaurs. In over 100 minutes of history in the development of bike media. Covering the rise of online reviews and online race coverage. The influence of people like Alex Rankin and Clay Porter, the rise of Pinkbike, centralization of power under media houses and some ideas on how bike people would like to consume information in the future.
Steel. Printed. Welded and unique. Thadeus Tisch
Thadeus is a passionate frame builder, and has been for many years. Steel was his gateway material, allowing him to create a wide variety of bikes. He doesn't limit himself to just one category – from dirt jump bikes, mountain bikes, and hardtails, to downhillers and even four-wheeled children's bikes, he's worked on it all.
What is coming 2025?
65 % discount on new bikes and novelties in e-bikes. An outlook on what bikers can expect in 2025: What will be relevant in the bike industry? What will be new for us bikers? How can innovation look like? Things have gone wild in the bike industry in recent years. Jens takes you with him and shares his thoughts.
Podcast: Paul Aston – Pushing Geometry and reliability of bikes
A good ol’ Mountainbike ramble. Paul Aston is not an unknown person in the bike media world. In this Testpilot Podcast we talk about, what he calls his „light bulb moment“ he had with a bike he first couldn’t really ride but made some geometry changes on to transform it to what he Called back then „the best bike ever“. A second light bulb moment with GEometron Bikes from Chris Porter. A little bit about his crowd funded testing of bikes and components on his website AstonMTB.bike.
Formnext 2024 Frankfurt – New manufacturing methods for bikes and components
At the Formnext trade fair in Frankfurt, the focus was on the latest technologies in the field of additive manufacturing methods. What most people colloquially refer to as "3D printing" is, upon closer inspection, much more complex and multi-layered (pun intended). Take a bit of time and dive into an overview of both old and new manufacturing methods, and how the combination of both will influence our beloved bicycles.
Angerbird – Custom Build Deluxe
Attention, bike nerds! A custom Firebird build with personalized geometry. Jens breaks down how he assembled his dream bike, the “Angerbird,” piece by piece. Every component—from fork and shock to pedals — was carefully chosen and fine-tuned. He explains how small adjustments can tweak the frame’s geometry, covering everything from offset bushings and reach sets to an adjustable coil spring. Perfect for anyone looking to customize their ride to the fullest!
Podcast: Dave Weagle – MTB design, kinematics pros and cons on linkage - Part 2 of 2
In one packed hour, Dave and Jens will try to explain, the complexity in bike design. They shed light on the advancing of bike technology and how we as humans are still the weakest part of it. How technology got better and how hard it can be to set it up. We dip on how to influence riding characteristic’s of a bike via kinematic design and head back to the 90s for the first steps with chain guides.
Test – e*thirteen Sidekick Flux Enduro
The new e*thirteen Sidekick hub was put to the test! Is it revolutionary? What does the new innovation from e*thirteen has to offer? Is the Sidekick hub something for your ride? Is it compatible with your riding style? Find out all the details about the hub and the e*thirteen Sidekick Flux Enduro wheel set in our review and first ride experience report.