Summer-Like Conditions Greet Huge Turnout of Racers

IRVINE, Calif. (January 11, 2012) – Shimano continues its commitment to grassroots mountain bike racing through its third consecutive year as the presenting sponsor for the 2012 Southridge USA Winter Series in Fontana, CA. Highlighting this year’s event is the Shimano 2-Run format Super D that saw double the entrants from the prior years event. With the rising popularity of gravity endurance events, Shimano is excited to watch the sport grow and will continue to help develop the resurgence of Super D and the advent of Enduro events.

The Shimano Super D was dominated by local Pro Waylon Smith of the newly-formed Hyper Team. Waylon was followed by teammate and multi-time downhill National Champion Eric Carter. Both riders were running the Shimano Deore XT component group including Deore XT Ice Technology disc brakes. Waylon not only won the Super D but came back the next day to win the downhill against a very stacked field.

Eric Carter noted “We have been super busy getting the new Hyper Bicycles MTB program up and running that we are really not completely dialed in. Yet we still came away with 2 wins and a second place. It was great to see my teammate Waylon win in such convincing style, especially considering the long hours that were put into getting the new bikes together just in time for the event. We are going to be doing a lot of Enduro and Super D racing and we are very excited about our relationship with Shimano and the performance benefits of the Ice Technology brakes and the Shadow Plus derailleurs.”

For more information about the Shimano Winter Series see www.southridgeusa.com for details.

About Shimano American Corporation
Shimano American Corporation, a member of global Team Shimano, along with its world-renowned subsidiaries, offers consumers outstanding sport-related products and apparel. Shimano is proud of its staff, diversity in talent, interests and backgrounds. The company is an ISO14001 certified business where environmental compliance and continual improvements are part of the business philosophy and operations.

Contact:
Joe Lawwill, Shimano, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , (949) 470-4266

December 05, 2011 - Malaga, NJ

Hyper Bicycles has a long history in the sport of BMX, including a National Pro Championship in 1993, delivered by Eric Carter. This early success helped to establish Hyper as a major player in BMX.

In the intervening years Hyper has maintained its position as a leader in BMX, with a full line of products for racing and freestyle riders. Hyper has also continued its commitment to the sport by sponsoring riders, teams, as well as being the series title sponsor for several major events.

As Hyper has established its position at the "core" levels of Race and Freestyle, it has also become a major player in the Mass and Specialty Sporting Goods Markets, offering BMX Bikes, Mountain Bikes and other products to a broad consumer audience.
"With such a long history of active, successful participation in BMX, it is time for Hyper to establish a similar position in the Mountain Bike community.

The obvious choice to manage our MTB program is longtime friend and Downhill, Slalom, 4-cross legend Eric Carter. Eric is currently heading up our Product Development Program and is organizing our marketing and support efforts.
Eric has already committed to a schedule of Racing and Festivals as well as other promotional opportunities to provide visibility in our effort to create the foundation for Hyper's continued involvement in Mountain Biking" said Joe DeChamp, Hyper Bicycles, Inc. vice president.

Eric Carter said “To be back with Hyper is a great opportunity that I’m very excited about to, say the least”.

“Together we accomplished some great things when we last put our minds together and it was very apparent to me during our first meeting discussing this future Hyper Mountain Bike program that the synergy is still in place”.

“To be handed the keys to the castle with the task of building a high end line of Mountain Bikes for the Hyper brand is both a big responsibility and honor. I look forward to the challenge. I will still be on the bike at all scheduled events but my role will be more directed toward educating Riders about our products and growing the brand at a grass roots level, rather than focusing solely on results”.

“Hyper has also brought Waylon Smith on board. Waylon is known in the Southern California area as a multi-talented cyclist, racing and winning the 2011 Overall SRC series titles in both the Downhill and XC. Waylon’s focus for Hyper, aside from the SRC series, will be on the growing segment of Super D/ Enduro racing”.

Clay Goldsmid, owner / CEO Hyper Bicycles, Inc. on Hyper’s new venture had this to say.
"For me personally, after riding BMX all my life … I'm super excited to now be involved in the Mountain Bike side of cycling and to attend numerous events riding Hyper Mountain Bikes! Even dating back to the early days of our BMX heritage, I've had the dream of developing a MTB program as a part of our natural progression, we want to do it right, and considering Eric's existing contributions to Hyper's legacy, it's no wonder his name is at the top of a select list of people who I want to help us take on such an endeavor. Eric is the perfect ambassador for our brand”