At age 55, Lee McCormack is still getting faster, and helping other riders do the same
Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast
Singletracks.com
4.7 • 574 Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2025
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lee McCormack is a mountain bike skills instructor and coach, and he's the author of nearly a dozen books, including the NICA Skills Training Manual. He's written extensively on bike fitting and fitness training, and just last year he launched his own bike brand, Mistress Cycles.
- How have mountain biking techniques changed over the years?
- What's the difference between a good mountain bike racer, and a good mountain bike coach?
- Is pedal cadence important for mountain biking? How do you know if your cadence is too fast or too slow? How can you improve your cadence?
- Why are you such a fan of pump tracks. Why?
- How do Moto Cranx work on a pump track?
- Do you think mountain bikers tend to be overconfident, or underconfident in their skills?
- Do you think it's possible to be faster in your 40s or 50s than in your 20s by maintaining fitness and progressing your skills?
- How did Mistress Cycles come about? What is it about "modern" mountain bike geometry that you find frustrating?
- You've come out with some innovative products over the years, like the RipRow trainer and Moto Cranx. In addition to the bikes from Mistress Cycles, do you have any other projects in the works?
You can keep up with the latest from Lee McCormack on Instagram @leelikesbikes, where you'll find links to all of the projects we talked about today.
An automated transcript of our edited conversation is provided at singletracks.com. Click here for an unedited video of our conversation, where Lee illustrates many of the concepts discussed. Note: may contain brief language some readers find offensive.
This podcast episode is sponsored by Backslope Tools.
Backslope Tools designs and produces innovative lockable, stackable, and field-repairable tools for trail building, landscaping, and gardening. With 20 years of trailbuilding experience, Backslope is putting the right tools for the job into builders' hands, from individuals to full-on trail crews. Order online at backslopetools.com and save 15% on your order with code SingletracksPod.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Backslope tools designs and produces innovative lockable, stackable, and field repairable tools |
| 0:06.6 | for trail building, landscaping, and gardening. |
| 0:09.6 | I've been using their Clyde rake and hoe to build a pump track in my backyard, and it's |
| 0:14.0 | proven to be super versatile and durable. |
| 0:17.0 | I'm also a big fan of the portable Clyde Jr., which fits in my backpack for trail workdays. |
| 0:22.9 | The Clyde Jr. may be small, but it gets the job done quickly. |
| 0:26.7 | Both tools are incredibly sharp out of the box and are constructed from high-quality materials, |
| 0:31.7 | so they're sure to last for many years. |
| 0:34.8 | In addition to various rakes and hose back Backslope also offers webbing and straps |
| 0:38.9 | for moving rocks, logs, and heavy debris deep in the backcountry. With 20 years of trail building |
| 0:45.2 | experience, Backslope is putting the right tools for the job into builders' hands, from individuals |
| 0:50.8 | to full-on trail crews. Use code single tracks pod at checkout to get 15% off your order at backsloptools.com. |
| 0:59.6 | That's backsloptools.com. |
| 1:02.3 | Hey everybody, welcome to the single tracks podcast. |
| 1:05.2 | My name is Jeff, and today my guest is Lee McCormack. |
| 1:08.4 | Lee is a mountain bike skills instructor and coach, and he's the author of nearly a dozen books, |
| 1:13.8 | including the Nica Skills Training Manual. |
| 1:16.5 | He's written extensively on bike fitting and fitness training, and just last year, |
| 1:20.9 | he launched his own bike brand, Mistress Cycles. |
| 1:24.4 | Thanks for joining me, Lee. |
| 1:26.0 | Welcome, man. |
| 1:26.7 | It's good to see you. |
... |
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