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You're very entitled to your own opinion, but I didn't hear the same contradictions you did. I've re-listened multiple times this morning and I still can't hear it the way you have. I heard Markus say they knew they were facing tough times but weren't expecting the PE firm to get to a point where they aren't willing to inject cash. The Fire Sale was an effort to get through that specific period without having to ask for more cash. That failed and then they were told 'no more'. As for your previous point, it's not exactly clear to me...

Honestly, we're probably all just huge nerds. Or maybe, the sad reality of it is that cycling in general is such an expensive and elitist sport that it mainly attracts people who are financially quite well off. And in most western countries, academic success is very strongly linked to financial prosperity. Rich people, statistically speaking, still have much better chances in academia and generally much better access to higher education. Therefor it is probably not a coincidence that people who ride bikes seem have above average education. I'd like to see a venn diagram on this sociology of cycling.

OMG this took me too my emotionally hijacked self. I've been with my wife for over 20 years at this point (I swear I'm not that old, we just met young) and I've thrown a full blown temper tantrum meltdown 3-4 times in that time period. The biggest one was a similar story getting ready for a CES event at mammoth and trying to get the car loaded to head up there after a long day at work. I fought a tire and insert for 2 hours, also putting a hole in the tape, taking it all apart and starting...

A guy I know was on his first solo mountain bike ride when he started cramping up. Had that first bike / new hobby stoke and was trying out the route we’d shown him the week prior. He hadn’t done a ton of long cardio activities in a while, and ended up getting roasted on a hot day. Mega cramps had him walking the final trail back, with some sit downs and some groaning. Those really gnarly leg cramps that just debilitate you. Not particularly funny. Until a rider came by and helped by offering water and an energy packet...

This just happened to me today. A couple months back, I bought a new frame and started building it up, mostly transferring parts from a donor frame. Work has been uncomfortably busy, so I've taken my time, doing bits at a time on the weekend as a form of therapy. I'm usually a good if not anal mechanic, and in this case I really focused on each job at hand, extracting everything I could from the process. Anyway, I finished the build today. After gazing at the new bike with a sense of pride, I did a quick lap around...

I'd forget everything if I could. I'm very capable of thinking about X so focusedly that my feet take me right past Y to go to Z even if Y is leaning up against the door. Which is also why I don't have batteries on my bike. They'll be forgotten immediately. My focus walks me right past my lunch and out the front door, there's no way I'm going to remember a little black cuboid hidden away in another room. Plus I'm more practical than I am smart. So ALL of my bike ride stuff lives in a box. All...

I thought it was brilliant. Chris touched on all of the issues - team not getting paid, YT usa, paying customers with no bikes - and Flossman was free to respond naturally. Instead of diluting or improving my perception of tribulations at YT, I found the conversation really reinforced Flossman's now infamous character- zero accountability, empathy or remorse for the customers and staff involved, and constantly focused on the implications to the brand (not people) and damage limitation measures. If this was a parole hearing he'd be miles from getting his sentence commuted. I don't think this was good publicity...

This is a classic derailment. I don't think anyone expected Chris to grill Markus like it's a cross examination and no one expected Markus to do anything but represent himself in the best possible way to position his new company to re-start. At best, it is a bit of new information from one side... At worst it's a nothing burger. I hope Brines has contacted a certain someone in an effort to get the other side of the story. Because at this point that's the only thing that would make this narrative compelling. We never quite got a bullet points...

I’ve been a long time listener to Downtime, as evidenced by my support in this thread, but the responses by other listeners in this thread have solidified my appreciation for the value it brings to our community. I’ll be supporting via Patreon as a result. I know, from listening, it’s been a tough year financially for Chris and the podcast, and I don’t want the negativity on this thread to outweigh the stellar content that the podcast usually offers. That being said, I do think a more hard hitting interview with Markus would be great, but I certainly wasn’t expecting...

I tried to make this clear in my follow-up audio note, but I’m really not trying to throw shade at @Downtime Podcast or Chris. Two things can be true: Chris is one of the best hosts in the MTB world, and the Markus episode missed the mark for some of us. No podcast hits a home run every time. Every show I listen to has episodes where I think, “not for me” or “this one whiffed.” That’s normal. And the same is obviously true for my own content. In a way, Chris let Markus make his own bed. Anyone who...

I had zero issue with the way the podcast went. Let's be real here does anyone think Markus goes on a podcast at think he will be pressed super hard. I am 100% saying no way he does it. You should have known what it would be the min he said have editorial control. Everyone knew what it would be and thats what it was. It was an opportunity for Markus to his story. We all know the other stories out there and we all know the truth is somewhere in between. Would I have liked him pressed about the...

I just want to recognize Chris for stepping into the bull pen that is this thread...

" You are very privelaged to be in your position whether you work hard or not." Might be one of the wildest statements I've read in awhile, and that's before the spelling... --- Chris, keep it going! Get everyone's side of the story, make some money while you're at it, and let the audience decipher the message. You (and all the other podcasts out there) are the platform, we are the interpreters, whether some of those interpreters like it or not. On a cohesive note, I think we can all agree that anyone who knows even the basic details of...

Full list of rumors this year: Oisin to Trek Everyone else to Frameworks

If your definition of making money in a cushy fashion is 4 days work for minus £40 and comments like this, then I must be that hanger on using mountain bikers for my benefit. Just to be clear, this was my decision to do this interview and I'm not unhappy about doing that at my cost. YT just covered the bulk of the travel to enable us to do it in-person, which I think provides not only a better quality audio and video experience for you all, but also makes the conversation flow better. This doesn't in any way change...

Thanks to those who've taken time to write kind words about Downtime. I was expecting to get some hate for this episode as there is definitely a lot of frustration out there on this topic and Markus appears to be a very polarising character. For what it's worth, I put in the time to understand the concerns of the MTB world as much as was possible from forums etc and I believe that all those key points were covered in this interview. I also took time to understand the mechanisms of Private Equity and just why growth is essential and...

+1 on Downtime here! The pre- and post-race shows are among the holy triumvirate of DH racing content (with WynTV and Vital Raw), absolutely not to be missed. The guests are often great but as hogfly says, the Downtime Goes Downhill series is evidence that the host n dem are interesting on their own. I have that as the best execution of that vibe in DH, it’s relatable and a really cool insight into the British DH racing scene. So yeah. Downtime good! Flossmann bad though. What’s noteworthy about Flossmann’s appearance is that he was given an open mic to...

Chris is the man. The amount that guy does for gravity sports and athlete exposure is unreal. I think it's unfair to bash downtime over the YT gong show. Keen for a Vital x Downtime 2025 recap podcast this slow season 👀

I’m marveling at this dude’s ability to detach himself from decisions he made. Talking about these onerous contracts that have simply handcuffed them, whatever shall we do? Zero accountability. Like, I expect it from these sociopath CEO LinkedIn financebro podcast goblins, but it’s infuriating to hear. Made it to the halfway mark, I’m out. The cornball way he holds the mic should’ve been enough: dude’s a kook. I sure hope he stays out of racing forever.

Watching the Downtime Podcast with Marcus Flossman . I just got super upset. He talks about arranging a legal way to deliver bikes to customers while under court administration where he bought the bikes to deliver to the customers with his own money but then later on in the video, he’s basically shrugging 🤷🏼‍♂️ his shoulders when it came to supporting YT Mob , says the court wouldn’t let them pay the riders or the team. Riders are paid as independent contractors. So we now know he bought the company back. My question is why the heck didn’t he enter...