Interview: Chumba Racing

By MBT Staff

We’ve recently had an opportunity to sit down with Alan Kang, the vice president of Chumba Racing.

Alan, lets begin by you telling us a little bit about yourself.

MWell, my name is Alan Kang I’m the Vice-President of CHUMBA. I used to ride a lot of BMX when I was younger. I went to UC San Diego for college, majored in political science. From there I was off to the University of Southern California Law School. I worked for a law firm right out of law school, realized that life wasn't for me, and joined CHUMBA. Since CHUMBA is such a small company, I took on several job functions, and now I handle most of the sales and marketing as well.

I ride a lot of aggressive XC/all mountain style riding and some downhill.

I noticed you go by CHUMBA Racing, give us some history there.

Generally, CHUMBA has been known to cater towards people involved with the race scene. We feel it’s real important to have a racing presence because of the feedback we gain on our products. Top level athletes and race environments can push the bikes to their limits, and once we see and understand where the limits are, we can figure out how to break those limitations -- in essence, we innovate new concepts of performance for the industry. This is how we brought about ideas like the floating brake caliper.

What’s Chumba got on the burner for 2006?

We feel that we've made a tremendous breakthrough with our six inch all mountain bike, the EVO. It is the kind of bike you can ride all day, on the gnarliest trails, but the bike won't wear you out -- as it is relatively light and super pedal efficient. Here, you have a bike strong enough to be raced as a downhill bike, in fact, we have several riders racing the Canada Cup on it right now. But, the bike still pedals as well, if not better, than most short travel XC bikes. I mean, there is literally no pedal bob at all. So, the bike really breaks through traditional categories of XC, Freeride, and Downhill.

Jumping into the competitive bicycle industry is generally considered quite a leap of faith. Let’s hear a little bit on the formation of Chumba.

Hmm, it’s been nearly 20 years, so that may be a little foggy. Probably just a desire to build bikes their way.

Do you remember some of the challenges initially?

I believe it stemmed from a genuine passion for making the best frames possible. After seeing what is out there, we know in our hearts that we can make a frame with performance characteristics unlike anything else on the market. The suspension designs we use to get the balance points and handling just right on our frames, the CNC work, and other things like dual bearings to increase lateral stiffness, are just some of the details that we put into these bikes that taken as a whole, make a superior product.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a new entrant to the field?

A lot of times people were skeptical because our designs are so unconventional. The way we had to get around this is by sitting back and allowing the bike to speak for itself. We just got people on the bikes, and let the bike sell themselves.

Which of your models seems to be selling the best this season?

The EVO is really picking up some steam right now.

Based on your spec sheets, the component selection seems spot on for the price, how do you accomplish this?

We partnered with SRAM and DT Swiss to be really competitive with pricing.

What kind of warranty comes with a Chumba frame?

We offer a 2 year original owner warranty.

Who is the most interesting person you've met in the industry?

I'd say the people I work with everyday -- Ted, our founder and designer; and David, our manager, just because I get to see all of their different talents each day.

Finally, where should we send customers who wish to learn more about Chumba bikes?

Have them call 714-986-9180 or e-mail me alan@chumbaracing.com. Visit us on the web at: http://www.chumbaracing.com