Team WTB riders giving a final pre-race inspection. Photo by Jen Burt.

It was anyone’s guess what the winning rubber would be for the 3^rd Annual Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival that included super enduro, short track, pump track and dirt jump events held in Aptos, CA last weekend.  After a week of heavy rains left the three enduro courses a rutted, muddy disaster, suddenly the playing field was leveled to a degree that in addition to solid handling skills, riders would need the right equipment to get the job done. With one of the best fields of enduro racers ever assembled in the US, the race proved to be a battle that was won or lost based on the rider’s ability to stay upright through the corners.

Ben Cruz hauling the mail towards the finish. Photo by Jen Burt.

WTB rider, Ben Cruz, was one of the few who took to the mud like a fish to water. “I love riding in the mud and when it started to dump rain a week before the race, I got excited!!” said Cruz, who knew the rain would be a huge game changer that would be reflected in the results. “Anyone can ride a trail they know fast in the dry but in the mud it’s a different story. It turns into having the ability to adapt to all conditions. The mud made it a real enduro game,” he added.

Weir starts the 12-mile climb to the top of the enduro course. Photo by Jen Burt.

Come race day, WTB riders agreed that the Moto Tubeless Compatible System (TCS) tire, in one combination or another, was the right tool for the job. The podium proved them right with Santa Cruz/WTB/Fox riders Aaron Bradford  in first place on Moto 2.3 TCS front/Bronson 2.1 TCS rear and Ryan Condrashoff in second on Moto 2.3 TCS front and Moto 2.1 TCS rear. Cannondale/WTB/Shimano/Fox riders Ben Cruz and Mark Weir came in fourth and fifth respectively, riding WTB Vigilante AM TCS prototype front/Moto 2.1 AM TCS rear.

Not far behind was Santa Cruz/WTB/ Fox rider Nathan Riddle on Moto 2.3 AM TCS front/Wolverine 2.2 TCS rear finishing in 11^th  with Cannondale/WTB/Shimano/Fox rider Jason Moeschler  in 12th on Moto 2.3 AM TCS front/ Moto 2.1 AM TCS rear, and WTB/Ibis rider Kenny Burt in 17th also on Moto 2.3 AM TCS front/Moto 2.1 AM TCS rear. The Moto proved to be the tire that helped the riders find their flow and hold onto it.

Team WTB rider Jason Moeschler explained, “The conditions were so bad that I was pretty much thinking that there was no traction to be had at all,” adding that he was surprised  to have controlled, two-wheel drifts through the corners. “Made it pretty fun,” he said.

Santa Cruz/WTB/Fox rider Aaron Bradford rode TCS Bronson tires to a second-place finish in the Short Track event. Photo by Forrest Arakawa.

High fives all around to the riders who finished the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival events with mud between their teeth and some well deserved bragging rights!

Cheers to Scott Chapin for winning the WTB All Mountain Challenge with Aaron Bradford in second and Barry Wicks (not pictured) in third. Photo by Forrest Arakawa.

Thank you to the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival staff, volunteers and supporters for a great time! Speaking of great times… check out WTB rider Jeff Herbertson winning the Dirt Jump competition…

We’re bringing back a WTB favorite and for good reason.

In 2009 WTB’s Moto tire was shelved due to production complications at the factory. Not content to let it sit there collecting dust, we set resident Mountain Bike Hall of Fame designer Mark Slate to work, re-designing the Moto to give it a fresh look and feel. Now after three years, the Moto is back and ready to ride again.

Photo: Milliman

The Moto was the first tire to win the Downieville All-Mountain race in 2005, under employee-rider Jason Moeschler. Seven years later,the Moto is still Jason’s go-to tire for almost every ride. Here he is above putting the new Moto prototypes through their paces at “The Ranch” last April, just like the good ‘ol days.

Welcome home old friend.

The new Moto is available in 26” 2.1, 26” 2.3, and 29” 1.9 at your local bike shop.

Cheers to WTB/Cannondale rider Jason Moeschler for a fifth-place finish at the Merida Cup in Taiwan yesterday. After finishing up with Taichung Bike Week, the WTB OEM Sales manager was able to squeeze in a race while he was still in town. Sometimes it pays to bring the bike no matter how far away you travel!

“The race was freeking huge. Huge.” Says Moeschler, “I don’t remember the last time I was at a race attended by this many people. I was stoked I got to go up to the podium.”

One athlete. 30 sports. 30 days. 30 cites. Watch day 26 as Mark Weir, Ben Cruz, and Jason Moeschler coach Sam (from the EAS Unstoppable Tour) on how to shred the Ranch. This video illustrates what great coaches, perfect terrain, proper nutrition, and excellent equipment can do. This was filmed at The Ranch, the testing ground for all things WTB. Kick back and enjoy the video!

WTB makes good bike parts, and has for some time. There are a lot of reasons for this but mostly because of the people who, for one reason or another, have chosen a path that led them to the bicycle industry. What they find at WTB is an outlet for their passions in life, which more often than not is consumed with family, riding, health, outdoors, good food, drink and friends—not necessarily in this order. Feeding your passion and that of your friends’ with what you do each day is what we call living the dream.

We’re not going to lie…there’s a bit of work involved but what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, as they say…

Case in point is our own unsung hero and resident nice guy Jason Moeschler, living the dream as WTB’s OEM Sales Manager. Our friends at Mountain Bike Action magazine made it easy to select him as the first in a series of WTB employee profiles that will be featured here periodically. Enjoy!

We have a winner! No, its not Mark Weir nor Jason Moeschler. No, it is not in the Super D or XC race category. I’m talking about commuting. That’s right, the ride to work. WTB’s Sales and Marketing Director Gary Gleason won the QBP (Quality Bicycle Products) 2010 Espresso Fund Commuter of the Year Award (Vendor)!

We’re not sure if this is allowed in the rulebook of commuting or not, but Lucy wins too! Lucy, originally from Guatemala, is a German Shepherd/Daschund mix who gets free rides via the dog trailer. The two commute 12 miles each way from Fairfax to Mill Valley, rain or shine.

Viva la Commute!

From Downieville to Europe, Team WTB Competes across the Globe!

After taking last year off, Mark Weir made a triumphant return to the 2010 Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race and Festival. He finished first in the longest (17-mile) downhill race in the nation with a smoking fast time of 44:01.5. This is the eighth year Weir has won first place in this event! Jason Moeschler took fifth place in the Downhill with Kenny Burt one minute behind in eighth place. Despite riding with an injured knee from the previous day’s XC race, Moeschler’s combined times in the 29-mile XC (1:58:52) and Downhill events (44:57.1) secured him a spot on the podium for third place in the All Mountain event. Ben Cruz rounded things out for the team, finishing in 13th place, one position ahead of Team Giant’s Carl Decker, who won the previous day’s XC race and the All Mountain event.

“To come back after two years and regain the Downhill title was a moment that will forever warm my soul,” Weir said, after explaining that he had literally spent about half his life in the town where he credits the race and the trails for bringing him the best things in his life—his friends and the lifestyle that makes him who he is.

Weir went on to thank everyone from his wife, parents, friends, sponsors, to the people of Yuba Expeditions and the Downieville Classic, who have become his family. He added a special thanks to his teammate Jason Moeschler, who he says is everything he inspires to be. “I am truly his biggest fan,” Weir said, explaining that without Moeschler this adventure would have ended two years ago.

Besides just being really fit, fast and exceptionally talented bike handlers, here’s what Weir and the WTB Pro team ran on race day that helped get them on (or darn near close) to the podium.

• Mark Weir – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Valcon Carbon saddle

• Jason Moeschler – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Silverado Carbon saddle.

• Kenny Burt – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Silverado SLT saddle.

• Ben Cruz – Laser TCS XC rims laced with Laserdisc Lite hubs; WeirWolf 2.3 All Mountain TCS tire in front and Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS in back; Rocket V SLT saddle.

In the Expert Master’s category, Team WTB’s Fred Falk finished strong with a second-place finish in the Down Hill (51:41.0) and All Mountain events, just 20 seconds off the leader. In the Junior Expert category, Max Houtzager (high school student and WTB intern by day) swept the field and took home first place prizes in his category in the XC, downhill (49:20.0), and all mountain events. Team WTB junior riders Thomas Ravina finished in second (52:43.7) with Chris Ravina in 9th (1:13:45.8).

All in all, it was good to be riding WTB if you were in Downieville for the race, and it is always good to be in Downieville if you are up for the challenge of all-mountain, technical riding with some of the best people around!

Speaking of best people around….so where was Bobby? That was the question the team heard all weekend in Downieville. The answer—Bobby McMullen was racing the Super Enduro in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy the weekend of July 3-4, and the Mega Avalanche in Alpe d’Huez, France last weekend. Check out some of Bobby’s Euro adventures beginning with an interview from the Super Enduro in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy.

Between the SuperEnduro, the Mega Avalanche, and the Downieville Classic, Team WTB had it covered over the last few weekends as the team divided to expand its global perimeter. Next stop: Weir and Moeschler will take a turn in France to compete in the Enduro Series in Vars on July 24 and 25, and in Valloire from July 31-August 1. Keep it here for more updates.

A call to ride for two good causes was answered recently by Team WTB/Fox/Santa Cruz at Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo ride on Saturday, Oct. 3. Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler joined thousands to give back in support of both the cycling and local communities.

Read more.

If he’s not fighting traffic or dodging rangers, Jason Moeschler, 29, is enjoying his life in the clean air of Marin County, where he lives down the street from WTB/Fox/Santa Cruz teammate Mark Weir, and works from home for Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB).

Moeschler began racing bikes at age 16 and over the course of his racing career has become a three-time Mountain Bike World Championship Competitor, 1997 US Junior National Champion, as well as a three-time Downieville All Mountain Pro Champion.

Read more.

These are just a few images from the Santa Cruz Hellride—Where Team WTB-riders Mark Weir, Jason Moeschler and Rachel Lloyd led eight riders on an all day epic over rugged terrain. By the end of the ordeal, ride finishers covered about 60-miles and climbed more than 14,000-feet all on Downieville, California’s sweetest trails.