2008 Sea Otter Classic - Festival of Cycling

Report by : Quinton Spaulding 

Photos by: Gavin & Quinton Spaulding

The Sea Otter Classic event is exactly that, it is classic! If you’re a Cycling Enthusiast or a Pro Racer and you’ve never attended it and seen it in person then you are simply missing out on something quite spectacular.

The Sea Otter Classic really needs no introduction. This is where everybody in the cycling industry goes to see what’s new…show off there new gear, bikes, sponsors, rigs, fitness and everything it takes to be noticed at an event of this magnitude! Of course the “KHS Army” means business wherever we go, whether we are at a local race or a World Cup! We love to race our bikes at a very high level, and put on a good show for anyone who would like to watch us do so!

Here are a few of our “Factory Race Rigs”, we had a weapon for every occasion at this years Sea Otter Classic. It is important to have as many options as you possibly can when competing in Downhill, Dual Slalom or Mountain Cross. The more options you have in your arsenal the more obstacles or adverse elements you can overcome in your preparation before it is time for your race run or run’s. Continue reading 2008 Sea Otter Classic - Festival of Cycling…

The KHS Army: Full Force in Fontana

Report by: Quinton Spaulding
Photos by: Monique Spaulding

It’s always exciting to get to the first National Race of the year. Everybody has been training, testing equipment, getting their heads in the game - just all round zooming in…keeping their eye on the prize and hoping to do well at the first BIG race of the year.

Setting up is always fun at the Nationals!

We arrived in Fontana, California Wednesday evening to some beautiful weather. Immediately we got to see familiar faces, faces that we see year in, and year out, people that become your family away from home.

Team Big Bear Race Promoter Tom Spiegel Checks in with his MOMMY!

Southridge Park was bursting at the seams this past weekend!

I was told the numbers were up 35% from previous years and that this was the busiest Fontana National to date. This is inspiring news for Team Big Bear , Southridge USA and for the mountain biking community all round. We all love what we do, and go to the races because we want to be there, and to have the stats looking bright for the future is AWESOME! This goes to show that we do matter at ground zero! Melissa Buhl took the 1st place qualifying spot in the Women’s 4X Friday evening, and ran a time that none of the other girls could really compete against. Despite the fact that Buhl was racing seasoned World Cup 4X pro’s, she went on to win without anyone coming close at all, on what was an exciting Fontana 4X course…well done Buhler!

Logan Binggeli qualified in 9th place amongst an extremely competitive Men’s 4X field. Some of the best in the world had showed up to do business. Binggeli went on to earn a very respectable 7th place overall, and remember this kid is just getting started. Continue reading The KHS Army: Full Force in Fontana…

Transport for London: Cycle Safety

Take a look at this new ad campaign for Cycle Safety in London. No use of a bicycle or cyclist to be found in the ad, but the message may be more evocative than obvious.  Let’s hope it makes a difference.

Click here to watch the video

KHS will be in Full Force at Solvang

For the 14th straight year, KHS will be at the Solvang Century providing technical support and displaying bicycles at the Ride Expo. The 26th Annual Solvang Century takes place on Saturday, March 8th. The Solvang Century is considered one of the best century rides in the nation. Pro race teams like Discovery and Slipstream hold their off-season training camps in the beautiful rolling hills located around Solvang.

Riders have become accustomed to seeing the blue and yellow KHS tents on the side of the road and at the expo area. We provide service when needed, including flat tire repair, brake/derailleur adjusting, spoke repair and truing etc. Riders and their families love seeing the KHS bicycles at the Expo area on Friday night during the pre-ride check-in, or at the finish line area. If you’re riding the Century, please stop by the KHS booth be sure to say HI! and take a look at the 2008 bikes.

For more info about the Solvang Century, please click here 

By the way, Solvang is the Danish village that recently hosted the Amgen Tour of California Time Trial.

Caroline Buchanan Australian Elite 4X and Under-19 DH Champion

Caroline stands on the top step for the Under-19 DH and Elite 4X Championship

Mt. Beauty is the last Downhill National series race in Australia. It rained on race day…in fact, 7 out of 7 national rounds have rained in AUSTRALIA.  It’s starting to feel like Europe.
Womens DH Results: Tracy Moesly 1st, Tracy Hannah 2nd, Caroline Buchanan (KHS) 3rd. This awesome result placed Caroline 3rd for the Australian National Downhill Series (2007-08).  Caroline is only 17 and places 3rd behind two Elite Pro women.  Incredible!  
2007-08 Australian National Champion 4X Australian National DH Champion and Australian National 4X Overall Series winner.
Under-19 Downhill Champion and 3rd place in the Overall National Series Championship (2007-08).

With these victories Caroline gets to wear the Australian colors on her jersey when competing in those events.

KHS Racer ‘Lico’ Ramirez Wins La Ruta

‘Lico’ Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut-Powerade-KHS) proved that his win yesterday in stage one of La Ruta was no fluke after powering away from the remnants of an elite group to take his second win and cement his hold on the yellow leader’s jersey. His team-mate Juan Alberto Solis took second place on the stage, 4′17 sec. down, while Paolo Montoya (Macosta Lee Cougan) dropped Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) in the final few hundred metres for third, at 4′43 sec. Montoya continues to hold onto second place, but is now a distant 12′08 sec. behind Ramirez, who is well on track to becoming the first ever four-time winner of La Ruta. Thomas Dietsch (Gewiss-Bianchi) finished sixth on the stage and held onto third overall, but is 27 minutes in arrears.

Click here to read cyclingnews.com story

Consumer Bike Demo Days in Fontana

Consumer Bike Demo Days Fontana, CA Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. October 13 & 14 - Fontana Come out & test ride the latest and greatest bikes for ‘08 This event will be FREE to the public (shuttle services for downhill will be available for $5 dollars all day). Ride the latest bikes from various cool manufacturers including KHS. Deinately worth the price of admission (It’s Free!!) http://www.southridgeusa.com Questions: southridgeusa@verizon.net

Chris Foster Wins Nautica Malibu Sprint Triathlon

Race Report by Chris Foster / Photos by Karli

At the last minute, about five days ago, I decided to race the Nautica Malibu Sprint Triathlon. While this is not a race I would normally do, as it has no points or prize money, I signed up because I knew there would be a decent pro field coming out. Aside from some local pros,the biggest names were Fabio Carvalho, Jose Azevedo (both from Brazil), and another Australian pro by the name of Chris McCormack. McCormack is the only triathlete to win both World Championships and be #1 on the World Cup rankings in the ITU. McCormack has numerous wins at Escape From Alcatraz, Wildflower, Chicago Tri, LA Triathlon, Ironman Australia, and the list goes on. He is on of the heavy favorites to win next month’s Ironman Worlds.

So I signed up for this race, knowing that it would be a rare chance to race one of the greats–especially at a shorter distance.

At the gun, roughly 100 people in the Pro/Elite wave ran into the chilly 59 degree water and out to the first buoy. I knew I had to get out fast because it was such a short race, so I pinned myself to McCormack’s feet and hung on for dear life. As we rounded the last buoy, I felt good enough to try to break from the pack (something I have never, EVER done) and put a little time on a few guys. Coming in through the surf, I looked around and didn’t see many people except that I was running out ahead of McCormack. I got to the sand and he slowly passed me, but I quickly realized that if I wanted the official credit of beating him out of the water, I would have to sprint ahead to the timing mat–which I did!

Out onto the bike, I had lost a little time in transition, but was feeling surprisingly good in fourth place behind McCormack, Carvalho, and another pro, Caue Suplicy. I had changed the setup on my KHS Flite Team with Cole Shuriken Carbon Lite T85s and it was really working for me. At the halfway I had gained all the time I had lost and was feeling incredibly strong riding near the group of three at the front. With about five miles to go, I made a big move on McCormack and Carvalho to keep the pace honest and test them a little. They responded fairly quickly, but it definitely made things a little tougher. As we came into the transition, I saw that the media and spectators were there in full force with cameras and flashes going off everywhere. It was pretty crazy. Continue reading Chris Foster Wins Nautica Malibu Sprint Triathlon…