KHS Pro MTB Archives - KHS Bicycles

April 10, 2024

Monster Pro Downhill Round 1 with McKenna Merten

KHS Pro MTB rider McKenna Merten out of the starting gate at the Monster Downhill series round one.

I had a great time at Rock Creek for the first-ever Monster Pro Downhill Series race this past weekend. I drove into North Carolina on Thursday and headed up for a track walk while Jon at SR Suntour serviced my fork for a big weekend of racing. Scoped out all the different sections and lines and was so excited to get on track the next day.

KHS Pro MTB rider McKenna Merten at the Monster Downhill series round one.

On Friday morning, we practiced bright and early in the morning. Did a solid six laps learning and dialing in the course. The race track was running so well; there were a lot of technical rock sections mixed with fresh cut steep loam bits and quite a few fun features throughout the track; Neko Mulally and the guys at Rock Creek did an awesome job at putting a killer race course together for us. I chilled the rest of Friday, knowing we had a lot of work to do on the weekend. We went to the mountain on Saturday morning, got another four solid laps in on the course, and went right into seeding afterward.

I had a good and smooth seeding run, which slotted me into seventh place. Race day came before I knew it, and I couldn’t wait to see what I could do racing against some of the best ladies in the world. Got a few good practice runs in and waited for my drop time. I did my pre-race warm-ups, and then it was go time. By the end of the weekend, the course was a little blown out, so I felt pretty loose in my race run but held it together enough for a solid sixth place, only 0.2 seconds off of a podium spot and beating my seeding time by over a second.

KHS Pro MTB rider McKenna Merten crossing the finish line at the Monster Downhill series round one.

Tight times across the board, but I am very happy with my progress and performance. Working and training hard every day and being that close to some of the top girls in the world feels good. I am so excited to head out to the Sea Otter Classic in a week and do some dual slalom racing. Thank you so much to the KHS Pro MTB team and all the cosponsors for the support. My bike and entire setup is perfect, and I am so happy and lucky to be a part of such an awesome team.

April 4, 2024

Tennessee Nationals

The first National of the year is already in the books, and our development athlete, MeKenna Merten, is holding it down in the Pro women’s category. With very limited time on the bike and little testing under her belt, McKenna would come out with a top 10 finish on the first major USA National of the year. Mackenna was definitely striving for more and, unfortunately, had a mechanical with her chain falling off near the top of her race run.

“Rough day out there today and the TN National. Unfortunately, I had a major mechanical problem halfway through my race run.” said McKenna, “Super bummed to have ended the first race of the year that way, but that part of racing. Back to work until the next one. I’m super hungry for more racing. Big thanks for KHS Bicycles and all our co-sponsors”.

The team and McKenna will continuously improve her adaptability to her KHS downhill bike and get her more tuned in. The entire team has been training very hard this off-season and will be hot and ready for the Seattle classic, where the whole team will be together for the first time in 2024. Once again, we want to thank all our sponsors, friends, family, and everyone who supports the dream!

February 2, 2024

Bella Naughton joins KHS Pro MTB

Born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, Bella grew up racing off-road trucks and ski racing. Her family raced mountain bikes, but she never found an interest in it until she was talked into joining her high school’s cross-country team in 2016. Bella then went to an enduro race with her mom and fell in love with going downhill and she hasn’t stopped since.

“I am excited to be on the KHS race team for 2024 and looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in Enduro and Downhill!” said Bella.

“We are thrilled to have one of the best female North American Enduro athletes join our squad for the 2024 season.” Logan Binggeli, KHS Pro MTB team manager said, “Bella is no stranger to podiums when it comes to the big mountain Enduro and other top-notch North American Enduro races. We are also excited to be supporting her when it comes to the Downhill side of things, she will be competing in the monster energy American downhill series along with other Premier events. We can’t wait to see what Bella Naughton can accomplish under the KHS umbrella, welcome to the family!”

October 5, 2023

Steven Walton Wins the Big Mountain Enduro E-Bike Championship

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton is the 2023 Big Mountain Enduro E-Bike Champion.

Steven Walton is no stranger to hunting down titles in the Mountain Bike community. Steven has numerous regional and local titles and on top of that he has one major title to his name winning the 2020 USA Downhill National championship series.

It has been a three-year dry spell to claim another title and that streak is over with Steven Walton claiming his first 2023 E-bike National series title. Steven competed in the Big Mountain Enduro National series with racing over five major venues spread across America, competing against the best athletes in North America. KHS Pro MTB team and KHS Bicycles headquarters is very proud of Steven’s accomplishments and his continued success in this new growing MTB category.

Steven was on board his KHS 6555E bike that guided his way to victory, also equipped with the best co-sponsors in the business. KHS Pro MTB is super honored to have another title and the continued success heading into the 2024 season.

July 18, 2023

2023 US National Championships

KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the track at the US National Championships.

The 2023 USA National Championships was hosted this past weekend at the new Ride Rock Venue located in the amazing mountains of North Carolina. The week’s weather would be a drastic roller coaster ride from dry to wet conditions ever changing. We had the best athletes from America competing for the top spots in multiple categories. It would be Nathan Kitchen who would be competing in Jr. Pro DH and Slalom, Kailey Skelton would be backing up 2021 – 2022 DH National titles and Steven Walton would be holding it down for the Pro men’s DH category. Friday’s DS was a mudder to start to finish. Rain soaked the track and the riders early in the day pushing back the start of racing a few hours. Hats off to the track crew who absolutely worked a miracle to get the rain rutted track in shape for seeding and finals.

The day would end with Nathan winning his 1st DS National Championship! Sunday’s downhill track recovered from the heavy rains of Saturday and racing finish times dropped! Saturday would be a full day of qualifying for all team members with very wet track conditions. Everyone would have solid qualifying runs with everyone’s mind on Sunday’s finals and weather looking completely different. Sunday would bring high pressure for everyone gunning for the top spots. It would be Nathan Kitchen who would improve his qualifying run and get back on the podium in 3rd. Kailey Skelton would push hard as possible but unfortunately just fall short into 2nd place and Steven Walton would maintain a top 30 run with a flat tire. Overall, all the team did very well in the near impossible rain conditions. Huge thanks to all our sponsors, friends and family who keep us on the top steps. See everyone next weekend for round 4 of the Big Mountain Enduro series hosted in Brian Head Utah.

This year was a change of pace with a new location on the east coast. The venue, track and weather were also something to adapt to. With extreme humidity, heat and unpredictable rain storms it was a difficult time staying comfortably during practice and racing. The track was a challenge in itself as it was different from anything we’ve ridden before. Most of the track was all man made and most obstacles were very unnatural. Overall, the track was a daily challenge with rain storms occurring every day.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the track at the US National Championships.

Practice was Patience and more patience. I didn’t find pace till my seeding run. I felt good in seeding with one large mistake putting me further back than I intended. I knew I needed to step it up come race day. I struggled a bit mentally trusting my skills on this track. Race run- I rode some sections perfectly and some like a wimp, as I over braked when I knew I should not have in my race run. This put me in 2nd place, unfortunately not being able to hold onto my 2-year national title! Although I wasn’t able to put down a winning run it was a great experience adapting to a new location and track. This makes me so hungry and eager to push for the next one! Thank you, KHS, my team, and mechanic, for all of the expert work and support. Onto the next!

-Kailey Skelton – Pro Athlete