WTB

WTB was born in 1982 at the base of Mount Tamalpais (Mt. Tam,) the mountain that is most often credited with giving rise to the sport of mountain biking. Located just north of San Francisco and overlooking the Pacific Ocean lies a huge swath of majestic and serene protected land punctuated by 2,500 foot Mt. Tam. This mountainous region, that is largely open space, gave birth to mountain biking. The late 1970’s marked a transition for the early days of mountain biking. 1940’s era Schwinn cruiser style bikes originally designed for children were not standing up to the abuse that mountain biking demanded of them. Lightweight, hand-welded, and purpose-specific frames designed for mountain biking became popular. Original mountain bike frames still used parts from old cruiser bikes that fell apart and were not designed for use off road. WTB filled this void by creating the first mountain bike specific parts in 1982. They were light, reliable, well made, unique, and truly different. Never before had parts been designed specifically for mountain biking.
WTB is famous for original thinking. Grease Guard parts redefined durability in the 1980’s while the 1999 WTB Nano Raptor 2.1 29” tire created the 29” wheel size for frame builders, a size that is now unquestioned in the bicycle industry. A wholehearted approach to standardizing tubeless tires and rims along with quality, comfortable, and high performance saddles marks WTB’s progression during the 2000’s.
WTB is still headquartered and owned in Marin County, California at the base of Mt. Tam, the mountain that gave rise to mountain biking. WTB still stays true to its original purpose: to make bicycling better, which WTB continues to do with original thought. 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.