WTB-sponsored riders Max Plaxton and Kris Sneddon dropped by the office yesterday. The two Canadian XC racers got a full tour of WTB headquarters as well as a history lesson of our sport’s earlier days and a ripping lunch ride on some of Marin’s finest trails. Plaxton, who rides for Rocky Mountain’s pro XC team, and Sneddon, who rides for Kona’s factory XC team have been spending the winter enjoying California’s mild climate. The two riders are logging big miles right now, in preparation for a full race season of chasing UCI points. If all goes well, both Plaxton and Sneddon will be representing Canada at the Beijing Olympics. In case you’re wondering, Sneddon rides a Shadow V SLT while Plaxton prefers a Rocket V SLT.

WTB is proud to once again support Pinkbike.com’s DH team. We expect the team to tear it up this season in Canada, the U.S. and abroad. Stay posted to Pinkbike.com and WTB.com for updates throughout the season. Click the image above to read the report on Pinkbike.com.
 
 
 

Skiles Keith of Missingsaddle.com gives us an in-depth review of WTB’s Silverado saddle. About the sleek, cream/camo color, Skiles reports, “Urban camo is the new pink, so yeah, it’s hip.” Okay! Thanks Missingsaddle.com. Click on the image to read the entire review.
 
 
 

Check out the April 2008 issue of Mountain Bike Magazine. The issue’s Eye Candy section features ten pages of incredible, close-up looks at bike parts, including WTB’s new Prowler SS tire. Mountain Bike Magazine’s Ron Koch details the tire’s sipes and the traction benefits the small incisions achieve on hard-packed terrain. The issue also has a very entertaining feature story about an ongoing feud between WTB’s Mark Weir and legendary downhiller Jurgen Beneke. Click on the image to read the write-up.

Turns out even with freezing temps and pounding rain, the compound is still bustling and productive. WTB riders Ryan Condrashoff, Brad Benedict and myself took the opportunity of a day off from riding to rout a new downhill short track. With the already existing 5 corner track and a bit of consultation from infamous Downhill coach Scott Scharples, we came up with a new track that traversed the front yard including a longer more technical rock garden. Check out the shots from the track and stay tuned for the riding shots

Poison Oak Productions, the two-person crew that put out the film Singletrack Minds, is finishing up a powerful documentary about mountain bike racer Bobby McMullen. Jason Watkins and Wendy Todd of Poison Oak invited a few of us to a private screening at Pixar Animation Studios last week and we were simply blown away.

The film documents Bobby’s 2007 race season—including injuries and break-ups—with the climax at the Downieville Classic. Bobby is one of the most colorful personalities that WTB sponsors, a damn good bike racer and he can talk trash with the best of them. Another notable point is that Bobby is blind. This film does an excellent job capturing his incredible spirit. Although his vision is impaired, Bobby has more focus and determination than any other athlete we know.

We’re confident that this film will not only be a smashing success among cyclists, but a hit among non-riders as well. Click the picture above to watch the trailer.

Ryan in the belly of the beast!

WTB riders Ryan Condrashoff and Brad Benedict have been hard at work rebuilding a set of dirt jumps at an undisclosed location. They shot over a couple photos just to tease us here at the office. Check back for shots of the full set and of course riding shots!

WTB rider Bobby McMullen stopped by the office the other day and gave us the update on what’s been going on and his plans for the upcoming season. Click on the image above for the low down from Bobby himself.

We invited a handful of magazine editors to come out to San Luis Obispo, California and ride our new Wolverine and Prowler MX tires on Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC bikes. It was an action-packed two days; hooting and hollering on fast, flowy singletrack with Mark Weir, Wade Simmons and Andreas Hestler. Read Kip Mikler’s full report by clicking the photo above.

Chris Armstrong, publisher of Whistler Mountain Bike.com, descended from the great white north and paid us a visit last week. We happened to be in the thick of a winter storm the entire few days that Chris was here. By California standards the storm was quite nasty, with torrential rains, strong winds and near-freezing temps. Our thick-skinned Canadian guest didn’t seem to notice or mind the foul weather. Click on the photo to read the complete report.