Great times were had by all at the 8th annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show. The three-day event held in Sacramento, CA contained 171 exhibitors and a record breaking 8,100 attendees. Requirements for companies to show their frames is that they must be handmade in the good ‘ol USA. WTB, founded in Marin County, CA, maintains close relations with many domestic frame builders and is the last independently owned, American bicycle component supplier in the U.S. We were thrilled to see the WTB booth and expo always packed with passionate cyclists and a line of anxious spectators strung out the door. WTB set up a booth in the middle of the action and never had a dull moment spreading the gospel of Tubeless Compatible System (TCS).

(Ok, there was a dull moment before the show opened)

Walking around NAHBS takes you into a world where dreams come true; you name it and it was there: Wooden rims, alloy rims, big wheels, little wheels, titanium frames, steel frames, carbon frames, bamboo frames, wood frames, road bikes, mountain bikes, commuter bikes, tandem bikes, belt drives, internally geared hubs, and custom paint jobs. No other show even comes close to offering this much diversity in one weekend (Thanks for the great event NAHBS). Add it to your bucket list. Check out some of WTB’s top picks.

Soulcraft bicycles won the ribbon for most WTB product featuring Stryker TCS wheels, Bronson 29” 2.2 TCS tires, a Silverado saddle, and Moto-X clamp-on grips.

A WTB employee favorite, the alcho-hauler. The frame builder, John Boisclair, from My Dutch Bike, loaded it up with two empty kegs and all the gear for the weekend then rode 80 miles from Oakland to the show in Sacramento.

So not TCS! However, there is always a special place in our hearts for wooden rims.

This review just in from Mountain Bicycling Australia on WTB Bronson tires.

“The more time we spend on the WTB Bronsons the more we liked them; in fact if these were the only trail/all-mountain tyres in the world we wouldn’t be disappointed.”

Amen! Click on the image below to read the full Bronson tire review.

If bikes could smile, mine would be grinning ear to ear after todays lunch lap. Deep blue skies, tacky dirt, and the perfect tire combo (Bronson 2.3 AM TCS).

Weir’s 29er race debut at the 2011 Ashland Spring Thaw XC. Photo courtesy of LM.

The 2011 Ashland Spring Thaw was full of surprises complete with teeth-chattering temperatures and snow levels so high, race organizers had to re-route the XC course. There was even talk of snow the next day at the start of the downhill. The start of the XC bore its own natural wonders, as there was more than one double take when Team WTB/Cannondale rider Mark Weir showed up on a Flash 29 hardtail. For a guy who is almost synonymous with endurance downhill riding, one had to stop and take a gander.

Not one to compromise performance especially on race day, Weir ran Stryker 29” wheels with the new 29” Wolverine 2.2 tire on the front and 29” Bronson 2.2 on the back. The result: a fifth place finish and trip to the podium for the overall. Weir was just 41 seconds off local favorite and WTB-sponsored rider Nathan Riddle (Santa Cruz/SRAM), who came in fourth with a smoking fast time of 1:43:34. Kenny Burt (WTB/Ibis) stayed true to his 26” roots, and finished in the top 10 in 1:47:01 on Stryker wheels and Nano TCS tires.

Ben Cruz chases down Team Chico rider, Aren Timmel in the XC on his 29er. Photo courtesy of LM.

Also making his race debut on a 29er hardtail was Team WTB/Cannondale rider Ben Cruz, who finished first in the Men’s Cat 1 (19-34) event in 1:46:34, seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. He ran Stryker 29” rims with one of the new Bronson 29” tires up front and a 29”Nano on the back—a combination he said worked “super perfect.” He explained that the Bronson’s traction handled well on the flowy course while the fast-rolling Nano helped him out on the climb.

Weir on his way to a second-place finish in the Spring Thaw DH. Photo courtesy of Jen Burt.
For the Downhill competition, it was back to the full-suspension 26” format for the Team, with Weir finishing second in 4:15.88, three seconds behind first-place finisher Nathan Riddle. For this event, Weir ran Stryker wheels and tested the new Moto 2.3 AM TCS tire up front with a Bronson 2.1 AM TCS tire on the rear. Ben Cruz took fourth place, missing third by only .03 of a second! Bobby McMullen, despite freezing afternoon temperatures, had a few surprises of his own as he cleared the rock garden and finished the tacky, unpredictable course like a champ! For those who may not know, Bobby McMullen is legally blind and an inspiration on and off the course!
Bobby McMullen is guided through the rock garden in the Spring Thaw DH event. Photo courtesy of LM.
Kenny Burt shredding the DH on Strykers! Photo courtesy of Jen Burt.

Thank you to Echelon Events for hosting another fantastic Spring Thaw event. Rain or shine, you can count WTB in for next year’s surprise party!

Photo courtesy of Jen Burt.

Take a ride down the DH course at the Sea Otter Classic with WTB Athlete “Blind” Bobby McMullen. One might say this was the best Sea Otter of all time.

WTB racers were everywhere; WTB/Yeti‘s Jared Graves won 1st place in the men’s downhill AND 1st place in the dual slalom. WOW! Local Marin shredder and newly appointed WTB athlete, Peter Lucas, not only guided Bobby McMullen (see video above) to his personal best on the DH course but managed to take 1st place in the Cat 1 (19-24) category on a set of Bronson 2.3 AM TCS tires. Peter later stated, “the Bronson 2.3 TCS was a perfect tire for the Sea Otter DH. Fast-rolling for the flat sections and very comfortable in corners a real jack-of-all-trades type of tire.”

Last Friday we had a meeting with Nat From NICA, (pronounced n-y-k-ah: National Interscholastic Cycling Association) which is officially the best thing to happen to our sport since the invention of the Velociraptor. All of us old school folks are flush with envy that the youth of today have the option to race mountain bikes instead of playing football, badminton, or baseball (GO GIANTS!).

Maurice “Can I borrow a pair of flat pedals and a trash bag? ” Tierney joined us for the ride, making do without his SPD shoes and rain jacket. He made the sweetest black trash bag rain poncho vest I have ever seen and he rocked the trail wearing a nice set of hemp slippers.

The rain on Friday made for a perfect excuse to continue the meeting on the mountain. I was giddy to see how our new Bronson 2.3 AM TCS tires would fair in the greasy wet roots and mud of Mt. Tam. Trying to keep up with Nat was no easy task as he darted off the pavement on to the famed Tenderfoot trail. There is a dicey root infested section within the first thirty feet of the trail that will usually dictate how the rest of the ride will go. Clean this section and you are on your way to a gold metal, dab or go down = Fail. Cleaned it and grinned with plenty of stoke as we shredded down the rest of the trial. The Bronson 2.3 AM TCS passed the test and I look forward to more rides with Nat and Maurice and supporting NICA.

The Road to Valloire was a windy one that turned out to be its own kind of enduro. With bikes and a baby on board, the team needed to find the most direct route, which meant driving over the Col du Galibier or the Col du Gal-e-bare?

On the Road with Weir and Moeschler from WTB on Vimeo.

Once in Valloire, the guys managed to maintain their leads on the Bronson tires, with an anticipated top finish on the last and longest run of the day. Despite coming off the bike somewhere in the 5,500 ft. descent, Weir finished second in the day’s fourth run with an unofficial time of 30:38.0, putting him in third place overall that day. His finish was just three seconds off the leader (Remy Absalon) with third place (Jerome Clements) 22 seconds behind the leader. After three strong runs, Moeschler’s fourth was compromised by his first flat of the trip. He rode it out and managed to finish with his wheel intact and still remarkably true. Although, he chalked the flat up to rider error, Moeschler decided to change it up for the next day’s runs, putting a WeirWolf 2.3 in back, keeping the Bronson tire up front.

On the second and final day of the 2010 Enduro Series Championship, both riders pushed their bikes and bodies to the limit. They were looking at four runs, five miles each with approximately 2,560 feet of descent on the rocky, extremely fast, and aggressive “no trail” courses (as in no established trail or line, they take ribbon and make a new course out of raw mountain side). In the end, a broken derailleur and derailleur hanger cost Weir at least 20 minutes and put him out of the race. Moeschler finished the day in 12th and 23rd overall, while Weir was off the chart (literally) for the day and 34th overall.

It was a challenging day that grew more challenging by the minute as they contemplated getting themselves, their gear, families and bikes from France to Switzerland in the world’s smallest tin can van. The answer: pawn the back two seats of their rig off to the greatest guy around (Robert Hamilton-Smith) who, after competing all weekend, agreed to lug the things to Switzerland in return for lifetime gratitude and an open invitation to Weir’s. What a guy! Thanks again Rob! And special thanks to Frank with Shock Therapy, Fred with Tribe Sports Group, and Momo with The Race Company for the great hospitality while we stayed in Germany and France. You guys can stay at Weir’s too!

Now that the trip is over, everyone is home, back to work, getting ready for the big trade shows. “Just a short time ago, we were on top of the world on some French Alp peak,” Moeschler explained. “It is amazing how being in the mountains can make you forget about everything. It is why we go to the woods…to get away from it all. We need to do it more—like every day.”

Cheers to that! You don’t have to be in the Alps to find a sweet ride this summer. Just head out the front door and take it from there.

After a quick stop in Germany, Team WTB piled themselves, two bikes, two wives and a baby for a nine-hour van ride to Vars, France—a few days before the French Enduro race was set to begin. And because French Enduro races strictly prohibit pre-riding the courses, the team resorted to hiking and riding some of the nearby trails to get a feel for the terrain—an important factor for guys with one set of wheels! Check out this link to see how the guys built their TCS wheels on the fly with only a hand pump, a tire lever, and a hotel cup. Maybe Gus helped a little too…

TCS with Moeschler and Weir from WTB on Vimeo.

French Enduro Series—Vars

Weir and Moeschler competed as individuals on three different courses that took roughly 15-20 minutes to descend depending on the course: 2,738 feet (morning course), 3,162 feet (afternoon course), and 1,332 feet (evening course). Because they needed an all-around good tire for varying conditions that could perform on rock, shale, wet grass, as well as hard pack, the guys opted to run the Bronson 2.3 All Mountain TCS tires. With no flats, the Bronson turned out to be the go-to tires that held their own on both days of the race that involved 11 runs (seven on Saturday and four on Sunday).

With the bikes and bodies in check, the guys were primed for a good race. However, after their first run, it appeared they were following the course a touch closer than the competition and it was reflected in their finishing times. The locals promptly advised them about not “cutting the course enough.” That in mind, the next run was faster, despite the magically appearing course tape in sections where there hadn’t been on previous runs. By Sunday, Weir was riding fast and finished the day in second place (sixth overall) with Moeschler in the top 20.

See you tomorrow with Part Three of our tale…