Gates Carbon Drive™ System Powers Bikers to Victory in Epic Conditions

FRUITA, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In conditions that destroyed equipment, shredded even seasoned racers and caused a late race course change at the recent 5^th annual 18 Hours of Fruita bike race at Highline Lake in Fruita, Colorado, the Oskar Blues Belt Busta’s team of Scott Hicar, Dale Katechis, Troy Mandery and Jeremy Rudolph took the overall victory thanks to the consistent performance and mud-shedding capabilities of their Gates Carbon Drive™-equipped Spot Brand single speeds.

“The Gates Carbon Drive system just pounded right through it, allowing our guys to keep riding fast while everyone else was literally just trying to survive!”

With little more than two hours left in the race that had started under clear and cool skies at midnight on Sunday, April 26, the 85 competing teams were thrown a curveball in the form of a late spring storm that turned the dusty, rolling, six-mile course into a nearly unrideable patch of goo. Aided by the spring rain, the area’s infamous bentonite clay changed from a fine white powder into a sticky mud of peanut butter consistency that ripped off derailleurs, gummed up traditional chains and coated wheels with pounds of muck.

Thanks to the foul weather performance of their carbon-reinforced, polyurethane Gates belt drive as well as Gates chainrings and rear sprockets with patented Mud Ports™, the Oskar Blues team was able to click off consistently fast laps while their competitors struggled to complete a lap in two or three times their normal rate. “There were no worse conditions that I’ve ever ridden in,” said 42 year-old Oskar Blue’s rider Hicar. “The Gates Carbon Drive system just pounded right through it, allowing our guys to keep riding fast while everyone else was literally just trying to survive!”

To learn more about Carbon Drive systems, visit www.carbondrivesystems.com.

Gates Corporation (gates.com) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and automotive products, systems and components with operations in 25 countries. Gates maintains sales and marketing operations in every major industrial and automotive market, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Gulf Region. Gates is part of the Industrial & Automotive group of Tomkins plc, a global engineering group listed on both the London (TOMK) and New York (TKS) stock exchanges, and with revenue of $5.5 billion in 2008. Tomkins plc has over 33,000 employees worldwide and enjoys strong market positions and technical leadership across all of its business activities and owns some of the best-known brands in their respective markets.

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