Take a peek at the day and the life of WTB/Cannondale/Fox rider Ben Cruz as he shreds the Novato California hills on Mutano TCS tires, Stryker TCS All mountain Wheels, and his favorite Valcon saddle. Ben claims”…all the trails around my house are basically illegal, but we make do. We have made friends with the local land owners so we can hang out there and dig. We can do what ever we want on our own free will…without the worry of getting hassled by the man.”

We had big plans for this saddle—It was to announce the return of the Yeti team to WTB saddles. This Devo is particularly special, it’s decorated with the world championship stripes to celebrate Jared Graves’ four-cross victory in Canberra, Australia. We were so excited to get this saddle to Graves that we paid the extra shipping fee to have it overnighted to Southern California, just so that he could race with his hard-earned rainbow stripes at the Fontana City National. Unfortunately the saddle went missing somewhere between Mill Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Some might call it the curse of the world champion’s stripes, others say that things get lost all the time. I have my own suspicions. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this was a planned and deliberate interception of the high-profile Devo saddle. I’m no detective, but the first suspect to come to mind is Brian Lopes. Mapquest tells us that Lopes lives only 52.91 miles away from Rancho Cucamonga. Lopes is also a WTB-sponsored athlete, with frequent communication to WTB headquarters (his pal Mark Weir may have leaked inside information about the delivery). Also consider that Lopes has won the world championships four times, yet his custom saddle—the Silverado SL55—features no such stripes. This could be a case of jealousy or an elaborate prank. For now we’ll have to settle for this snapshot and hope the saddle turns up somewhere in Rancho Cucamonga.

The crew at Singletracks.com is very pleased with performance of our new Aviator saddle. Our whole idea behind this saddle was to combine comfort with unbreakable durability. By the looks of this review we’ve achieved our goal. In fact, the Aviator was so tough that while these guys were testing they broke a seat post in a crash, and the saddle was completely unscathed. Read the entire review here.

Santa Cruz Syndicate racer Greg Minnaar won the first round of the UCI world cup series yesterday. Minnaar was riding his favorite saddle, a white WTB Deva SLT, when he schooled the field of international pro downhillers in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The 2008 world cup downhill champ was racing in his hometown and won with his entire family spectating. What a sweet way to start the world cup season. Nice work Greg.

MBA gives WTB’s Rocket V saddle four stars out of five and states, “This is a saddle you will like more every time you ride it.”

Read the entire review by clicking here.

WTB’s extensive new 2009 product line will be available in a matter of weeks. We’re introducing three redesigned tread designs, two new saddle models, new grips, new hubs and a wide selection of UST tires. To learn all the minutiae about our new Dissent 2.3, Prowler MX 2.3 and LaserDisc FR wheels check out the videos below from Pinkbike.com. To download a PDF of WTB’s complete 2009 catalog click here.

To watch the complete 2009 videos, click here.

Check out the May 2008 issue of Bike Magazine. It’s a special, 170-page, 15th anniversary issue with their Editors’ Choice Awards. WTB’s Silverado Team saddle was awarded a spot in the glass trophy case. The Silverado is a real standout for endurance riding and racing, on and offroad. The saddle is available in three versions that range from the 190-gram Silverado SLT to the entry level Silverado Pro.

25 years of saddle-crafting experience all wrapped into one top shelf, slim-line saddle.