Perfectly Matched: Utah x Trail Wides

It started with a pretty unromantic reason. Our MTB Brand Manager, James Stokoe, needed one more flight to lock in United status for the following year and had some flight credit sitting there, a camera on the shelf, and a quiet window before winter really set in. Our boy looked at his rolodex of athletes, looked at the weather map and asked a simple question, "where can I get some riding in?"

Utah stood out, not the Utah that we often think about, such as the cliffs and high consequences of Virgin, but the accessible trails around Draper and Salt Lake City. If we're honest with ourselves, this is the kind of riding most of us actually do - although down the pub we may not admit it. Flowing lines, mellow features, long trail laps that reward rhythm more so than bravery.

So James packed light, grabbed his camera, and booked the flight to go see BMX living legend, and more recently "Angie the MTBer" Angie Marino. Minimal plan; no shot list, no overly scrutinized deliverables. Just a few days to shoot bikes and have some fun.

Once on the plane, the idea started forming: shoot Angie Marino riding terrain most people don’t associate her with. Angie is best known as one of the most influential riders in BMX, a world-class athlete with real clout, riding for Cult and Vans, and respected for her style, power, consistency and her drive to bring the community together through Bloom.

Trail riding sits in that middle ground between cross-country efficiency and gravity riding, we ask our bikes to do a bit of everything. Relying on your setup to stay composed when the trail gets rough or the jumps come out of nowhere. We know that trail riding is where we log the most miles and where equipment show's their faults over time, not in a single moment - although, we've all had that single moment that has scared the beegees out of us.

Angie summed it up simply:

“These are the kind of trails where you just keep riding. The Trail Wides felt solid all day; good support in corners, didn’t freak out when things got sketchy, and let me relax and have fun.”

A good trail wheelset doesn’t try to impress, it brings the bike into balance, providing support through corners and tweaked landings, calming things down when the trail gets choppy, and staying out of mind when the riding settles back into a rhythm. The difference is cumulative.

Riding those trails with Angie made that balance clear. The wheels stayed composed as the pace picked up, supportive off small jumps without feeling harsh, and consistent enough to let the riding stay relaxed and fun - this should always be the goal.

The combination of efficiency without fragility, and strength without excess is exactly what the Trail Wide wheelset was built for.

The days fell into an easy pattern out on the trails. Pedal up, drop in and then do it again. A few familiar corners and features started to reveal themselves as the light shifted, and lines smoothed out simply through repetition. It was the kind of riding that doesn’t demand a big moment, but the reward comes from attention over time.

From behind the camera, that rhythm mattered. Angie rode with the same composure she’s known for on a BMX, bringing precision and restraint to terrain that flowed more than needed force. The result was riding that looked natural, repeatable, and real, what most of us recognize from our own local trails.

As the laps stacked up, the bike itself became less of a focal point and more of a constant. Staying settled through long corners, carrying speed without feeling nervous, and handled the kind of small mistakes and late adjustments that come to all of us after a long day of riding.

That’s where trail riding tends to leave its mark, not in a single feature or photo, but in the way everything holds together over hours on the bike. When the setup works, the trail opens up, the riding stays relaxed, and you’re free to focus on why you went out in the first place, whether that’s chasing light with a camera or squeezing in one more lap before the sun drops.