We are proud to announce a new partnership with legendary mountain bike racer Brian Lopes.

Lopes will be riding and racing exclusively on WTB’s high-end saddles. Each of Lopes’ team-issue Ibis race bikes will be outfitted with WTB’s Silverado SLT saddles.

“I am stoked to ride WTB for a couple of reasons,” Lopes stated. “First, the Silverado is the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever used: It felt great straight away and I haven’t had a single issue. I’m also excited to work with such a great company,” he added. “The folks at WTB are not only cool guys, they’re bad-ass cyclists.”

Lopes is the most successful mountain bike racer in world. The 37-year-old American has four world championship and nine national championship titles to his name and has won 25 world cups in a range of disciplines including four-cross, dual slalom, downhill and BMX. Lopes has been inducted into both the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame as well as the BMX Hall of Fame.

And the fiercely competitive athlete still has something to prove. Lopes’ goals this upcoming season are to win more races in a wider range of disciplines. “I want to show everyone how well-rounded I am,” he stated. “I like to do it all.” In just the past three weeks—the off-season for most pros—Lopes has raced elite-level BMX and cyclocross.

Welcome to the team Lopes!

Team WTB rider Bobby McMullen was featured on the front page of the Marin Independent Journal today. Sports writer Christine Vardaros does a fantastic job documenting the daily struggles of a competitive bike racer that happens to be blind. You can read the entire story on marinij.com or click here.

The NorCal High School Mountain Bike League is screening the ground-breaking documentary The Way Bobby Sees It at select theaters this week. Go to norcalmtb.org to see the full schedule.

Decline Magazine states, “We rode the Prowler MX on everything from burly rock gardens to dry hardpack and sloppy singletrack with impressive results.” The Prowler MX 2.3 will be available in two versions: the $60 Race and a full UST version ($70). The Race version should be in stock by January 1, and the UST tires will be available this spring.

Read the entire review by clicking here.

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.

Mark Weir, WTB’s PR manager and pro athlete, is joining a select group of the world’s best mountain bikers in a race down Mt. Kenya this February. The event, named Urge Kenya, is being organized by two-time downhill world champion Fabien Barel and Fred Glo of Tribe Sports Group. Only ten athletes will be racing this spectacular, ultra-endurance downhill event and all proceeds will be donated to ACORD, an international alliance working to promote social justice throughout Africa.

So far, the alleged roster of riders consists of Mark Weir, Brian Lopes, Fabien Barel, Wade Simmons, Ritchey Schley, Steve Peat, Julien Absalon and Anne Caroline Chausson, among others. The riders will spend three full days trekking to the 16,355-foot summit of Lenana Peak. Although each competitor will be assigned a Swahili guide, the riders must carry their own bikes. The hike up the mountain will serve as course inspection and the start order will be determined by each rider’s knowledge of the Swahili language, encouraging interaction between riders and guides throughout the trek. The voyage up Mt. Kenya will undoubtedly be a life-changing bonding experience for the group. The trip down will be a flat-out battle between the world’s best mountain bike pilots across a half-dozen ecological zones, including bamboo forests and Afro-Alpine chaparral. The group will speed through the impressive landscape and finish in less than three hours.

Fabien Barel and Fred Glo are visiting the area right now organizing the event and Mark Weir is anxiously awaiting his departure in late January. “It will be a once in a lifetime trip,” said Weir. “I just hope I can breathe at 16,000 feet.” Weir also stated that he’d be riding with a paper bag over his head to prepare for the thin air. In a more serious tone, Weir stated, “this is an incredible opportunity to use our sport to help people that are less fortunate.”

photos courtesy of Fred Glo.
                     

With the impending doom in our economy and summertime temps rapidly coming to a close, WTB reminds you to get out on your bike while you still can. A small crew of us here at WTB world headquarters squeezed in a lunch ride today in spectacular fall weather. Something about riding mid-day—during the week—really adds an element of excitement. From the first pedal stroke out of the parking lot our group was high energy. We were laughing and hooting and hollering the whole time.

Click HERE to read more.

WTB is proudly exhibiting at this Saturday’s Biketoberfest Marin, a celebration of cycling that will donate all proceeds to bicycle advocacy in Marin. The event will include a free bike expo, a vintage bike exhibit, demo bikes and guided rides. For $20 festival-goers can sample from 16 different beers from 11 Northern California-based breweries. Other highlights include live music by Ross Shafer, the MONOPHONICS and Mad Maggies; a massive drawing; and a free skills clinic from Bikeskills. Visit Biketoberfest2008.org for more info. See you there.

This is a photo gallery of my commute from Cole Valley (San Francisco) to WTB Global Headquarters in Mill Valley (Marin).

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of shredding sweet singletrack in Downieville, and finding the perfect flow on Ashland’s well groomed trails. However, I have managed to link together what I like to call a super commute (16 miles each way). I am so grateful to work for WTB, a company that embraces bike culture. I get paid a $3 daily incentive to ride to work, save $5 on bridge toll and have a shower and washer and dryer available.

The best part, each day on the bike commute is an adventure. From fancy yachts (the Maltese Falcon featured in the photo gallery) to bobcats. My commute has everything from bike lanes to fire roads to singletrack. I go up hills and down hills. I deal with sketchy drivers, mindless tourists, territorial coyotes, gale-force winds, fog, sunlight and moonlight. I would not change a thing. I took these pictures while commuting to and from work in the last month. Enjoy my photo galley. Hopefully it will inspire you to rally your own super commute.

I feel sorry for people who don’t ride bikes. Because when they wake up in the morning… that’s the best they are going to feel all day long.

Click HERE to see my photo gallery.

–Chris Schierholtz