Travis Ekenberg is a 32-year-old amateur Colorado Springs racer and father of two young kids who has been charging hard this summer on his Spot Brand singlespeed with Gates Carbon Drive. In early July he took first place in the non-championship singlespeed division of the Firecracker 50. It was an impressive ride, and his time would have been good enough to take third place in the championship field. Earlier, he finished second in the singlespeed men’s category of the three-race Ascent Cycling Series.

“I have nothing but great things to say about the belt,” Ekenberg says. “I wanted a singlespeed belt drive the moment I saw the Spot demo during the 2008 Interbike.” Ekenberg says the Carbon Drive always catches the eye of other riders. “It is almost a guarantee that someone will stop me and ask about the belt,” he says, adding that the belt drive is “quiet as a mouse.”

We look forward to hearing more from Travis and wish him luck through the race season.

They were revolutionary on paper, awe-inspiring through production, and pure magic during testing. Now, they’re just flat out irresistible. The new line of Spot Bikes has officially arrived – 11 belt compatible bikes, 10 of which feature the unique Kobe Slider Dropouts. That means frames that can easily accommodate belt drives, chain drives or chains with derailleurs. It adds up to a level of versatility that has truly never existed in high-performance bikes. And 9 of the bikes are available as frame-only or complete set-up. Enjoy examining the complete line. And best of luck deciding which 10 not to buy.

Golden, Colorado—June 29, 2010—Andrew Lumpkin, CEO of Spot Brand bikes announced today that they have hired Sky Yaeger for a newly created position as Senior Product Manager.  Yaeger started immediately, working out of a Marin County, California office. The majority owner of Spot Brand is Wayne Lumpkin, having founded Avid in 1991 and, after successfully building the international brand, selling it to SRAM in 2004.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me, as I have always admired Spot Brand and been a huge fan of Wayne and Andrew.  After they acquired Spot Brand I was excited to see where they would take it and I am honored to be joining a company with such legitimate MTB heritage, and now huge potential with the Gates belt-drive system,” Yaeger said.

Yaeger brought some of the first production single-speed mountain bikes to market in the mid-90s, while at Bianchi USA, and spec’d Spot hubs on those first bikes. “I go back with the brand and have always liked the simple, clean designs and fun vibe.”

Andrew Lumpkin added, “Sky is a trendsetter in the industry and will be instrumental to Spot Brand’s continued trailblazing of new technologies.”

For the past 4 years Yaeger has been working at Swobo Bikes, which was recently acquired by Santa Cruz Bicycles. She started designing the urban bicycle product line in 2006, and the line-up now includes 10 models currently in production. Before that she was VP of Product Development at Bianchi USA for many years.

The industry veteran will be responsible for a new line of Spot models that will incorporate the Gates belt-drive technology. “I think the future looks bright for alternative drivetrain options. I’ve always believed in simple, elegant solutions to complex problems. The internal hub is an old  idea but it’s been my mission, since I designed the Bianchi Milano in 1996, to get more people to appreciate the function and simplicity of internally geared hubs on modern bikes. Add a belt to that and you have an almost perfect drivetrain.”

Andrew Lumpkin, CEO of Spot Brand bikes, announced today the launch of a complete re-design of the company’s website.  Spot Brand partnered with Mondo Robot to create a retail site for the 11 new Spot models. With seven of the models belt-driven, Spot Brand is the industry leader for the Gates Carbon Drive System.  Both stock and custom models are available, in steel and titanium, single-speed and geared; in mountain, urban and cyclo-cross categories. Ten models incorporate the patent-pending Kobe Slider dropouts, allowing elegant belt integration and usability with unprecedented modularity of bike models.

“We are extremely pleased with the streamlined look and feel of the site, and believe the navigation, simple user-interface and retail sales component will incite people to consider our unique product offering,” said Lumpkin.  The Colorado-based company worked with Mondo Robot, in Boulder, CO, for 6 months on the re-design. ”The site allows us to grow our product line and add features, down the line,” added Lumpkin.