Inside WTB: Transitioning from History

Aug 15, 2014 at 6:21
by Jordan Carr  
WTB Header image.
WTB

"We started riding off-road to get to different party spots in the woods,"explains longtime WTB employee Fred "Trail Boss" Falk, "It was just the way we ended up getting around and it has evolved into all this." It was a beautiful California day when we rolled up to the longtime home of WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes), slightly offset from a busy four lane street in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco. Smiles and friendly faces greeted us as we made our way into the modestly restored shop space. Concrete block walls were lined with old frames that hung above the partitioned cubicles while tires and product samples sat unassumingly throughout. The space dates back to WTBs early days in the mid-80s, where frame builders Steve Potts, Charlie Cunningham, and Mark Slate tinkered with early iterations of fat tired rigs. With the need for better quality bikes and components, the three began working to improve their experiences out on the trails by creating products that fit their specific needs.

Situated just north of Mt. Tam State Park, Mill Valley sits in the heart of Marin county, one of the birthplaces of mountain biking. Bike brands have situated themselves in this area for years and WTB has played a key role in the evolution of the sport. An early beginning, stemming from little more than a booze fueled necessity, WTB was an early component of the sport we all love. With an office staff that lives and breaths mountain biking and accessibility to some amazing trails, this is a brand that epitomizes mountain bike culture.

WTB
WTB
WTB
  Years of MTB history littered the walls of the quaint WTB office many from the early tinkering of the brand's founders.


Early Tinkering

With their humble beginning wandering through the woods to parties, WTB was formed out of a love of tinkering and two-wheeled travel. While mountain biking was still in its infancy, pioneers were the life blood of the sport's evolution and WTB was a vital organ. Riders were the key visionaries of early componentry and frames and without them the sport would not have evolved into what we have today. Founded in 1982, Wilderness Trail Bikes began by creating components for the three owners revolutionary frames. These components included forks, brakes, hubs, stems, handlebars, seatposts and pedals. Because these pioneers were pushing the limits on klunkers designed for city riding, they quickly developed an understanding for what parts needed to be fabricated and what type of abuse they needed to withstand. As the sport grew, so did the demand for well engineered, use-specific components and WTB was there to fill the need.

In the late 80's, owners Charlie Cunningham and Steve Potts continued to fabricate off-road specific bikes as larger manufacturers like Trek and Specialized saw the rising demand and needed components for their sought after rigs. WTB's innovative products became the top component choices for small and large manufacturers alike and development continued to improve. Innovations like their Grease Guard bearings and roller cam brakes improved a bikes performance and durability allowing for a new level of riding. The company's component sales grew and Cunningham decided to take a step away from frame building and focus on growing the brand.

“All the design and production goals require riding bikes for inspiration for new ideas,” he says. “Designing components means: research, deciding whether an idea could be marketable, developing prototypes, testing, making the changes, engineering, patents, finding the materials that are best suited for the part, and all of this can take years.” - Steve Potts (quoted from Mountain Bike Hall of Fame)

The 90's brought continued growth as mountain bike sales soared and manufacturers began to produce more and more models. WTB also began marketing frames under its name with fabrication done by Steve Potts; these frames help complement the growing component collection and help with WTB's brand recognition. 1997 saw the introduction of WTB's first tires with the Velociraptor, Desert Raptor and Primal Raptor.

WTB
   Jason Moeschler heads up WTB's product development and OE sales, but when he's not tied to his desk Jason races and manages the WTB race team, a team built around product development and supporting top notch racers from the local Marin county area.

New Push, Same Strategy

As the sport has continued to grow WTB has kept producing an array of products, everything from saddle and toe clips to hubs and tires. Though the brand has a deep history, they are are rather small outfit in terms of man power. The Mill Valley office is the company's home base and has only about 25 employees. With such limited resources the brand wants to focus on making the best products possible and is focusing its attention on key areas of development. "We feel it's really important to develop the best products we can and we can't do that if we are trying to do to much," explains Jason Moeschler, OE Sales Manager and Product Development. "We are based on rider development and it takes time and resources to develop the best products. We focus on working with key riders that have been a part of development for many years now. It gets to be a lot of work but this gives us more consistent feedback." Moeschler continues, "Like the old days, these product development sessions often take place around one of our kitchen tables after a full day of riding."

WTB
WTB
  A tour of such an interesting office space isn't complete without a proper espresso to get your mind whirling and your eyes scanning the years of history in the small space.

For the immediate future, WTB has focused development on two key areas, tires/rims and saddles. "Rim and tire development is a natural partnership. The interface between the two has become so important with tubeless tires and so many varying factors between manufacturers," Moeschler explains as he walks us through WTB's new tire lineup. "We want tires and rims to work seamlessly together from setup on to the trail. It is such a key component in the ride and we firmly believe in developing the two together. We are always testing out different products and combinations because we want our products to work really well in every situation."

As WTB has helped push mountain bike industry, it is the culture that has helped them evolve as a brand. Emerging new trends, riders and terrain has pushed the brand to develop new and more innovative products. Continuing with their original philosophy, Wilderness Trail Bikes strives to make your ride better, and employees like Jason Moeschler, Fred Falk, and many others are important components to making the brand what it is and will help them keep close to their roots as the sport of mountain biking evolves.



WTB
  With their deep history in the industry WTB continues to keep true to their roots. Progressing our sport through product development and a passionate enthusiastic office that embraces the sport whole heartedly


www.wtb.com

Author Info:
JordanCarr avatar

Member since Aug 7, 2013
42 articles

40 Comments
  • 36 2
 WTB makes the best saddles, love them
  • 4 1
 Agree with the saddles, almost indestructible.... unlike their Wolverine tyres :-(
  • 5 1
 Wolverines were the first tyres I tried tubeless and though I have used some tyres with more absolute grip never have I found a tyre with the kind of predictable breakaway they had that allowed a kook like me to regularly two wheel drift hard pack corners. Also I haven't found a tyre yet that could climb, power through thick mud or brake like the paddle steamer tread on the rear velociraptors. Pity they don't make them in folding anymore. Had good comfort and wear from their saddles as well.
  • 2 0
 Not complaining about their performance, very predictable and agree about their drifting ability, was running 1.95 back and front, ultra fast rolling on hard pack with recommended pressures... but so weak in the sidewalls, split both in one race, tubed back after first... then walked/ran 4km after splitting front :-( Have used Velocirapters on our hire bikes, hard wearing and grippy but always tubed... Generally hats off to WTB, good value and well made...
  • 4 0
 Agreed- best saddles in the bike industry!
  • 1 0
 My WTB saddle makes horrendous 'clicking' noise since day one. Comfy but so annoying I'm about to throw it in the bush.
  • 2 0
 WTB -- Please, baby please. Bring back the .98! Not the cheap horrid vinyl .2Ks.. The genuine embossed leather, made in Italy, steel-railed thing of ultimate quality and gorgeousness. Even at $250 you'd sell a ton of them. Please!
  • 1 1
 Prefer SDG, love my Bel-Air RL with leopard skin print. The SDG saddle also looks really cool, which I appreciate when I have my bike next to the TV, so I can stare at them both at once.
  • 13 0
 WTB's customer service is second-to-none. I have dealt with them directly on warranty issues and they have been a pleasure to deal with. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
  • 2 0
 Sold! Almost no matter what, if you spend 7,000 on a bike, it's gonna ride nice regardless of what company it's from. What happens after you buy the bike is really what makes the decision for me though. If the company has crap customer service but good products I still won't even mess with them, if they have great customer service and killer warranty deals, that is what makes the decision for me.
  • 6 0
 Silverado and Volt is a legend
  • 2 0
 Been running WTB Bronson's front and rear. Fast rolling, durable, and good all condition tire. Just got a set of WTB KOM rims and those are the business! If you haven't look at WTB stuff in a while check out these KOM rims. Super light weight, understated graphics, wide, TCS, freaking pumped up on them.
  • 1 0
 Yes, their saddles are superbly comfortable; those I beam rims were insanely durable, but why on earth don't they continue to make the GREASE GUARD bearings anymore!!!??? Those were the best things high mileage, hard core, year round cyclists could put on a bike!
  • 4 0
 No mention in the article if the original founders are still involved with WTB. Did they sell off the company and move on?
  • 1 0
 Got a 12 years old (and counting), WTB 36mm wide DH rim on the rear, total hardout bombproofness right there! I bought some of their QR skewers secondhand recently, they're that good... Use to have one of their Freeside seats on my commuter bike, was that comfortable, then some shitpricks stole the bike, hope they found that seat as comfortable as I did... Actually on second thoughts they can keep the bike but just give me the seat back!
  • 5 1
 Bring back the LT 2.55 WEIRWOLF !!! FOR 26INCH !!! OR DIE.
  • 1 0
 Have you tried the vigilante yet?
  • 2 0
 WTB is my favorite MTB company out there. I've never been disappointed with any of their products, especially their tires. Would love to visit that headquarters someday.
  • 5 0
 HAHAHAHA Drew Muggin it
  • 1 0
 Drew is always muggin' it. In this case he is muggin' it in more ways than one.

...because he's holding mugs. Get it?

It's funny...
  • 3 1
 The saddle made for the new Pivot phoenix carbon is certainly one of the best looking I've ever seen.
  • 1 0
 I just built up a new 650b dh wheelset with the i25 frequency rim and so far it's rock solid. Looking forward to seeing how it holds up over the year(s).
  • 1 2
 If only Pee Wee Herman had been a mountain biker, they might have had him climbing Mount Rushmore to look for his pimped out WTB mountain bike up the presidents nose, rather than in the basement of the Alamo...
  • 1 0
 I love WTB saddles but they should offer a softer durometer rubber compound in their tires. 50A isn't sticky enough.
  • 2 0
 They offer 45A on the team issue tires.
  • 1 0
 Hi i have had a set of wtb rims. never had prbolem with them. i put them tthrough hell and back. i am sold on your rims.
  • 3 0
 VIGILANTES!!!!
  • 1 0
 Great Saddles, Tires and People! Thanks WTB
  • 2 3
 Can we have the Stout tire back please x
  • 13 0
 Mate, this isn’t a text your girlfriend no “x” required...
  • 1 4
 Hey WTB you guys have been involved in MTB since beginning WHY DO SEALED DRIVES NOT EXIST?
vimeo.com/80191950
  • 2 0
 Hard to see what you are referencing
  • 2 0
 A bunch of good people making great products. If you get a chance, go to one of their events, ride Tam with their pro team, tour there headquarters and check out their products.
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