Wilderness Trail Bikes
Wilderness Trail Bikes (usually shortened to WTB) is a privately owned company based in Marin County, California, USA. Founded in 1982[1][2] as a company that specialized in mountain bike parts, today WTB sources and sells its product worldwide supplying bike manufacturers and bike shops with components including tires, saddles, rims and grips.
History
Most photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco are taken with the photographer standing in Marin County. In the Pacific Ocean, just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, is the San Andreas Fault, separating the Pacific and North American Plates of the earth’s crust, creating the Coastal Range of mountains and Mount Tamalpais (Mt. Tam,) rising 2,574 feet a stone’s throw north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Marin County, just north of San Francisco, is split by the San Andreas Fault and has unique history that gave birth to the sport of mountain biking. WTB has been mountain biking from the beginning of the mountain bike.
The post-World War II economic expansion in the United States included paving the nation with highways. Automobile production soared as less expensive, mass-produced cars took to the streets. As new automobiles peppered driveways, steamrollers flattened tarmac in an effort to keep the economic surge alive. In a heroic tale of epic proportions, local Marin residents bonded together and defeated major transportation and development initiatives slated to carve freeways and new cities into Marin’s still raw and mountainous environment. Even today, over 70% of Marin County is still open space, protected from development.
As the oil embargo of 1973 took hold of American’s wallets, gas prices skyrocketed and motorists began to question the validity of petroleum-based transportation. Bicycle sales surged. More cyclists took to the streets.
Marin County is different in that for such close proximity to San Francisco and a large urban area, a huge swath of protected land exists, punctuated by 2,574’ Mt. Tam and folds of ridges rippling the sparsely populated landscape. With its varying inhabitants tying their roots to ranching, the peace and love movement of hippies, and a resistance rock and roll foundation, it was only a matter of time before unique, creative and different thinkers found another way to escape the confines of pavement. Mt Tam was the perfect incubator for creating the mountain bike. The mountain and its protected surroundings were a safe place to ride a bicycle.
Many people participated in the birth of mountain biking. The Larkspur Canyon Gang attributes their discovery to exploring and partying beyond the confines of Baltimore Canyon, a creek walled in by steep hillsides in Larkspur, California. Bikes being the preferred mode of transport for the Gang, and steep Redwood slopes surrounding their rendezvous for mischief, it was only a matter of time before someone pushed his bike uphill and the thrill of riding bikes downhill took over. Others, Charlie Kelly, Gary Fischer Joe Breeze, Marc Vendetti, Otis Guy, and other members of the Velo-Club Tamalpais, built up one speed bikes to give their Italian road racers a rest while running errands, and soon they, too, found themselves riding dirt. Charlie Kelly recounts finding the legendary Repack trail courtesy of exploration with Fred Wolf and Peggy Madigan and soon after, Kelly began promoting races down the famed Repack trail. And while the mountain bike idea formed and took shape, Morrow Dirt Club riders were bombing Cupertino fire roads, just to the south of Marin in the San Francisco Peninsula.
What united many of these early dirt riders was that the necessary tools for their newly found passion were not available. Early mountain bike pioneers had to scour junkyards looking for 1930’s era Schwinn Motorbike frames – Excelsiors being the most acknowledged today but also Colsons, Rollfasts, Morrows made by Bendix, and various bikes sold by BF Goodrich, many rusting robust frames worked as heavy relics of the past that seemed to hold up to a couple months of abuse. Soon enough, riders realized that a purpose-specific frame might withstand long term off road abuse better while also saving weight. Tom Ritchey, Joe Breeze, Mark Slate, Steve Potts, Charlie Cunningham, and many others began designing and building frames, quickly altering their creations as the sport grew. This still left something missing… parts.
Early riders aboard 1930’s era frames, fall, 1977. This photograph was taken in Fairfax by Jerry Riboli before the start of the first cross-country "Enduro" race, promoted by Alan Bonds. From left, Fred Wolf, Wende Cragg, Mark Lindlow, Robert Stewart, Chris Lang, James Preston, Ian Stewart, Charlie Kelly, Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, Eric Fletcher, Craig Mitchell, John Drum, Roy Rivers, Alan Bonds.
Many parts being used were leftovers from the time of the frames, or carryovers from the motorcycle and motocross industry. As lighter, mountain bike specific frames continued, it became foolish to bolt on heavier, older parts intended for other uses. From this deficit and necessity for betterment, WTB was formed.
WTB filled the parts chasm that the rapidly growing sport had left by the wayside. Purpose-built parts, made specifically for mountain biking, were designed and abusively tested on the very fire roads that the sport had just emerged from. WTB’s experience with modified parts led to its design of the first mountain bike tires and rims. WTB designed quickly. WTB Toe Flips led the way to WTB Speedmaster brakes, then Type II fork crowns, WTB Modified Shifters and WTB Drop Bars. Starting in 1985, WTB designed 25 tread patterns for Specialized and created geometry for the 1987 Trek 8000 mountain bike frame.
To showcase this previously unseen innovation, Team WTB subjected the nation to the beauty and strength of WTB componentry in a shameless array of wins across the country. In 1985, Team WTB SunTour racers at the NORBA National Championship Race in Santa Barbara, California held 4 out of the top 10 places. Roy Rivers took second place, Casey Kunselman placed fourth, Todd DeAngelis eighth, Joey Peterson tenth, and Robert Stuart finished closely behind in 14th. Mark Slate, one of WTB’s founders, transported racers in the Team Vehicle, his own muscle car, a 1969 Pontiac LeMans. Team WTB SunTour racers gave direct feedback and parts evolved further to match the demands of those pushing the sport, a tradition that continues today with Team WTB.
WTB then turned its focus worldwide, having gained a name through innovation and quality in the US with racing and ahead-of-its-time design. WTB licensed Grease Guard® Technology to SunTour starting in 1989, making bearing lubrication and longevity attainable for racers and riders worldwide. The WTB Velociraptor Tire debuted and won the famous 1994 Mammoth Kamikaze, then called the Reebok Eliminator, under German racer Jurgen Beneke and became a very popular choice for OEM, Original Equipment Manufacture, specified on complete bikes globally. The mountain bike market had swelled in size as Asian production quickly caught up to US-based demand. Through licensing technology and matching growing demands, WTB had expanded its reach worldwide.
Additionally, WTB’s 1995 PowerBeam rim marked a step into global production and showcased a vertical support in the rim’s cavity, exponentially increasing the rim’s strength while still weighing fewer than 400g, a feat almost exclusively reserved for carbon rims today. The WTB SST saddle in 1996 also furthered WTB’s global reach, gaining endless OEM spec while also proving to be an aftermarket hit. The SST’s drop-nosed design revolutionized the saddle industry. Never before had a saddle’s nose curved downward, giving riders freedom to quickly move on and off without being hung up nor speared by the nose.
Then, mountain biking changed. The leftover, unquestioned wheel size of 1930’s Schwinn Motorbike frames underwent scrutiny – was there something better, could mountain biking be improved further still through something more monumental than the creation and improvement of durable, high-end componentry?
The 1999 WTB Nanoraptor 2.1 29” tire marked the first ever 29” mountain bike tire. WTB had put its neck on the line, encouraged through Wes Williams’ tireless efforts and the promise of spec from Gary Fisher, the brave creation of this tire gave credence to a segment first chastised and now unquestioned in elite level cross country racing worldwide. WTB quickly created some of the first 29” specific frames for Gary Fischer to test and try following the WTB Nanoraptor 2.1 29” tire’s birth.
Dissatisfied with subpar, accepted means of tubeless gaining popularity led to a long, hard look at tubeless usage in the mid 2000s. Team WTB racers Jason Moeschler and Mark Weir were frustrated with bead retention and durability when racing and training for Downieville Classic’s fiercely rugged terrain. Razor sharp rocks of unrelenting Granite dominate this Northern California landscape located in the remote Sierra Buttes region. Development between Team WTB and Mark Slate, Co-Founder, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Inductee, and Vice President of Product Development began.
2011 marked the introduction of TCS® - WTB’s Tubeless Compatible System. Forged out of Northern California’s punishing Sierra Buttes region and born from the need for competitively light yet ruggedly consistent and durable tubeless products, TCS tires, rims, and wheels formed an international standards-based system. TCS combined the precision of UST specifications with the low rotational weights of tubeless ready, non-standards-based formats. In 2012 WTB became the first tire company to gain sealant-tubeless certification. Now a globally accepted system, WTB TCS has proven that standards-based design yields consistency and competitive weights.
While Team WTB now travels the globe and is at the forefront of emerging disciplines within the greater sport of mountain biking, the same spirit and focus are dedicated to the same unyielding purpose – to make better bicycle products to withstand the rigors of professional athletes globally. Carbon railed saddles now dot Team WTB’s enduro race bikes and racing-derived casings protect tubeless tires beneath rebound-tuned rubber compounds. The sport has changed but the mission has stayed the same.
Founded in 1982 at the base of Mount Tamalpais, the mountain biking Mecca where it all started, WTB has been creating innovative mountain bike components from the beginning. WTB designed the first high performance mountain bike rims and tires. WTB also designed extensively for other companies in the bicycle industry including Specialized, Trek, and SunTour. From designing the first mountain bike specific tires and rims in the 1980s to becoming the first tire company to gain sealant-tubeless certification in 2012, and establishing the TCS Standard, WTB continues to push the boundaries of what is possible through an unrelenting quest for the betterment of mountain biking. WTB is still located in Marin County, with product testing and inspiration still occurring on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, the birthplace of the sport and the home of mountain biking. Through questioning the norm and thinking beyond conventionality, WTB continues to make the world better for bikes one new groundbreaking concept at a time, one revolutionary product at a time, and one bike lane at a time.
Corporate advocacy
Wilderness Trail Bikes has created a sister 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization called Transportation Alternatives for Marin (TAM).[3] TAM’s mission is to develop safe bike routes for commuting and for schools throughout Marin.
http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/91-1807308/transportation-alternatives-marin.aspx
References
- ↑ "About WTB". WTB. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- ↑ "WTB". MOMBAT. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- ↑ "Transportation Alternatives for Marin" (PDF). WalkBikeMarin.org. Retrieved 2013-05-31.