Hey! If you’re going to be at Sea Otter, make sure you keep an eye out for PixieWolf aka “P-Wolf”. If you can track him down and get an autograph, bring it over to the WTB booth and we’ll give you a free pair of Weirwolf grips.
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.
Learn all about our flagship all mountain tires at wtb.com/WeirWolf. This site features action-packed video, all the technical details and the legend of the WeirWolf.
Decline Magazine is so excited about our new Tubeless Compatible System tires that they dedicated an entire page of their March issue to preview the technology. Decline states that “WTB’s TCS technology is proving to be one of the best systems on the market.” You can read the entire story here.
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.
Brian Miller is from Mill Valley, CA, and he’s been dropping by the WTB office for years. After the first couple of visits a couple of things about him really stood out: he always had a great attitude and hardly asked for anything despite the fact that his bikes were always falling apart. Before long, we started to realize that his skills went well beyond “local ripper”, and we can’t say that we were surprised to see him claim third place at the AT Showdown dirt jump competition earlier this year.
It looks like Miller is really getting his act together. He has full support from Haro bikes, some kick-ass video segments on the web and a great profile on Pink Bike. Anyway, we’re proud of our local boy. Even though he’s now living in dirt jump Mecca Aptos, CA, he’s still our favorite local dirt jump rider.
Looks like the crew at Twentynineinches.com is head-over-heals in love with the Wolverine 29″ tire. In a recent review (the Wolverine’s Mid-Term Test), the editor stated, “I have many hours on this as a front tire over a wide range of surfaces and across two bikes. It has fast become my favorite front tire for all around trail riding.” And it gets even better from there. Read the entire review here.
WTB employee Mark Weir’s home was ravaged by a fire two days after Christmas. Weir was at home with his wife and son, but was unable to stop the flames. Fortunately the Weir family escaped without injury. WTB wishes the best to Mark, Suzie and Gus, the next few months will undoubtedly be a tough chapter in their lives.
Katie Compton may be the most dominant American rider in the history of cyclocross, but that doesn’t mean that it comes easy for the 32-year-old. This past weekend, at the fourth round of the cyclocross world cup in Kalmthout, Belgium, Compton encountered a number of setbacks and just barely managed to remain the overall world cup leader. The course was blanketed in fresh snow, complete with ruts and frozen snow. Compton had a bad start, then suffered a crash trying to move through mid-pack traffic. By the end of the race, Compton moved up to third place. This race was a stark contrast to Compton’s dominant style, but illustrates the grit and perseverance needed to stay competitive at the top level.
