Founded by Markus Flossmann in 2008, YT Industries offers a wide range of products and they regularly feature high in most lists of the best downhill mountain bikes and the best enduro bikes. They have also recently dipped their toe in the crowded gravel bike market with the YT Szepter Core. The brands main focus is sill on mountain biking and gravity is integral to the brand with their bikes carrying riders to success at Red Bull Rampage, Downhill World Championships, and World Cups.
Central to the YT Industries brand ethos is customer brand experience and following the success of the YT Mill consumer experience concept in San Clemente, CA, Surrey Hills in the UK and Hausen, Germany, YT are proud to announce the new YT Industries Experience Center coming to Bentonville, Arkansas in early 2024.
YT Industries will open its new flagship YT Mill in the heart of the OZ Trails mountain bike network in Northwest Arkansas. The OZ Trails are a world-class network of shared-use trails, that are also headquartered in Bentonville, born out of deep ties and support from the local community.
The MTB-specific trails include the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, built on land designated as a mountain bike preserve about a mile west of downtown Bentonville, with the trails featuring multiple flowy jump lines, challenging technical rocky sections and several huge gap jumps.
The Slaughter Pen trails in Bentonville are a truly uniquely named urban mountain biking experience with 40- plus miles of single-track and include trails ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert with connector trails taking riders between the various points of the system.
YT says that the YT Mill is more than just demo a center, delivering an immersive brand experience to elevate, educate and engage the mountain bike community with Bentonville seen by some as the mountain bike capital of the world.
YT hopes to welcome the first mountain bikers to its new venue by Spring 2024, with an immersive, two-floor showroom showcasing the entire range of YT bikes with easy trail access for demo rides. To enhance the customer experience the Bentonville venue will also host community events, include a unique rider’s lounge area with beverages and entertainment. A pro-level workshop will allow YT customers to get their bikes built, set up, and serviced onsite.
The first US YT MILL opened in San Clemente, California in 2019 and received a positive response from the mountain bike community, based on YT’s bike demo tour at mountain bike festivals, the unique Rolling Circus. The YT Mill is an extension of this, transformed into hubs where riders can hang out, ride bikes, and get to know more of the MTB community, and has become a fans favorite.
Matthew Wale from YT spoke more on the concept. “It has proven extremely successful in giving customers access to the brand and an understanding of our vision, and to see our bikes ‘in the flesh’ on a great trail network, and building relationships with customers offline is a key enabler for trust and credibility. Being a primarily online DTC brand, physical connections are invaluable, and the Mill allows us to introduce the brand and our bikes to customers in person. Bentonville is a mountain biker’s paradise with a growing mountain bike community, a city with a passion for music, art, and awesome coffee. It feels like a natural home for YT to expand."
YT says they will be recruiting for the new Mill location in Fall 2023 with all the information available at YT-industries.com. For anyone that can’t wait until Spring 2024, be sure to visit the Rolling Circus at Bentonville Bike Festival or at some of the other planned stops. You can also find more information on OZ Trails at oztrails.com.
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