Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Bicycles |
Founded | 2006[1] |
Headquarters | |
Key people | Markus Flossmann, Founder & CEO |
Website | yt-industries |
YT Industries is a German mountain bike manufacturer. Founded in 2006, the company operates in a direct-to-consumer model. YT also has showrooms at their headquarters in Hausen, Germany, and "YT Mills" in San Clemente, California, and Guildford, Surrey, England, with a third location planned in Bentonville, Arkansas. [2] [3] With its origins in dirt jumping and freeriding, YT has expanded its lineup to include all forms of mountain biking and gravel biking.
YT Industries traces its roots to a marketing company founded in 2006 by Markus Flossman called Sponsoree Deutschland. [1] Flossman and Stefan Willared built and sold their first bike, a dirt jumper, under the Sponsoree name in 2008, and in 2011 the company was renamed YT (Young Talent) Industries. [4]
YT soon moved into mountain bikes, producing the downhill Tues, Wicked enduro bike, and the park-oriented Norton. In 2014, they launched their first carbon fiber bike, the Capra enduro bike. [5] YT expanded their linup with the all-mountain Jeffsy in 2017, [6] the Decoy e-bike in 2019, [7] the Izzo trail bike in 2020, [8] and the Szepter gravel bike in 2022. [9]
In 2021, private equity firm Ardian acquired a majority stake in the company. [10]
YT began sponsoring a professional race team, the YT Mob, in 2012 with freerider Andreu Lacondeguy. Cameron Zink joined the squad in 2014; that year, Lacondeguy and Zink finished first and second at Red Bull Rampage. [11] Aaron Gwin won the 2016 & 2017 downhill UCI Mountain Bike World Cup while a member of the YT Mob. [12]
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which often makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimised for topography, application and a frame with a suspension mechanism for the rear wheel. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper seat posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into distinct categories: cross country, trail, all mountain, enduro, downhill and freeride.
Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including 12 meters, and drops can be greater than 3 meters.
Freeride is a discipline of mountain biking closely related to downhill biking, dirt jumping, freestyle motocross, and freestyle BMX. When riding a freerider one focuses on tricks, style, and technical trail features. Freeride is now recognized as one of the most popular disciplines within mountain biking.
Mountain bike racing is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Durango, Colorado. The first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series took place in 1988. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig. Cross-country racing was the only World Cup sport at this time. In 1993, a six-event downhill World Cup was introduced. In 1996, cross-country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.
The Red Bull Rampage is an invitation-only freeride mountain bike competition held near Zion National Park in Virgin, Utah, United States, just to the north of Gooseberry Mesa. From 2001 till 2004, it was held off the Kolob Terrace Road, on the western boundary of Zion National Park.
Aaron Holmes Gwin is an American professional downhill mountain biker from Morongo Valley, California. He is a five-time World Cup overall champion.
Yeti Cycles is an American bicycle manufacturer located in Golden, Colorado.
Santa Cruz Bicycles is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that manufacturers mountain bikes in Santa Cruz, California. They sponsor the Santa Cruz Syndicate, a downhill racing team. The company moved premises from 104 Bronson Street to 2841 Mission Street in 2013. Formerly owned by NHS, Inc. On July 3, 2015, Santa Cruz Bicycles was sold to Pon Holdings, a family-owned Dutch conglomerate with a bicycle division including brands such as Cervélo, Focus and Royal Dutch Gazelle.
Steve Smith, commonly known as Stevie Smith, was a Canadian professional downhill mountain biker.
Lorenzo Suding is a professional mountain bike (MTB) downhill and enduro athlete and multiple champion of Italy, living in Valle d’Aosta.
Eastridge Mountain Bike Trail Centre is a free mountain biking venue in Shropshire, UK. The venue is developed and maintained by volunteers, and features a mixture of blue, red and black graded trails. There are also a number of steep, technical off-piste trails. Since 1991 Eastridge Woods have been used to host Downhill and XC mountain biking events since the 90's hosted the British National Mountain biking Championships in 1993,1994,1995,1996 and 1999.
Gabriel Amigo III is a Filipino Enduro mountain bike athlete who is currently residing in Bislig, Philippines.
Camille Balanche is a Swiss cyclist. In 2020, she won the women's downhill race at the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships held in Leogang, Austria. She is the first Swiss rider to win a Downhill world title.
Valentina "Vali" Höll is an Austrian cyclist who competes in downhill mountain biking.
Nat Ross is an American professional cross-country mountain bike racer. Ross became the first American to win a professional race on a twenty-nine inch mountain bike. Ross was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2008. Ross is a two-time World Champion with multiple National Championship titles. Ross is a pioneer in mountain bike innovation with regards to racing.
The 2022 UCI Mountain Bike season was the seventeenth season of the UCI Mountain Bike season. The 2022 season began on 15 January with the Momentum Medical Scheme Attakwas Extreme presented by Biogen in South Africa and ended in December 2022.
Jenna Hastings is a New Zealand mountain biker competing in downhill and enduro. She is the current junior women's downhill world champion.
Kyle Strait is an American freeride slopestyle mountain biker from Alpine, California. He began racing in 2000 on the Monterey peninsula at the age of 12. He participated in the first edition of Rampage in 2001 at the age of 14, won the contest in 2004 and again in 2013. As of 2023 Strait is the only rider to have participated in every edition of Red Bull Rampage. In 2022, he was unable to complete a run after breaking 3 vertebra in a practice session. Less than a year later, Strait was able to compete in Red Bull Hardline, and competed in Rampage again in 2023.