Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Bag maker San Util Design recently collaborated on some wacky quilted bags with a friend, and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to learn more. Find photos, the story behind them, and a quick look at their new space in Winter Park, Colorado, here…
Earlier this year, San Util Design founder Adam Nicholson’s friend Caleb asked if he could help out in the shop during the summer. Adam signed a lease for their new space (more on that below) on May 1st, and Caleb arrived to start training on May 15th, where he learned about the machines, patterns, and fabrics. He was helping crank out orders shortly thereafter. Caleb wanted some of his own bikepacking bags but couldn’t decide on a color, so Adam suggested quilting a bunch of fabrics together. Caleb worked on the bags over the course of two weeks, and the result is amazing.
His setup included a pair of Lightweight Panniers, a Nameless half frame bag, two Jammy Stem Bags, and a Big Stache Daddy Handlebar Bag. He is also running a Thule Pack-N-Pedal rack on the rear of his 2013 Kona Explosif, which is built up with 11-speed Shimano SLX and a dropper post.
It’s been a busy year for San Util Designs, and I reached out to Adam to learn more about what they’ve been up to. Here’s what Adam had to say:
“This past year was an exciting season for San Util. We went to a few bike festivals and got the word out about our bags to a larger audience. Coming into the summer, I knew I was going to need to hire someone to stay caught up and sane. After a few months of keeping my eyes out, I decide to sign a lease for a new space on main street in Winter Park, Colorado. We started the buildout May 1st, knocking down some walls, fixing the lighting, building out a retail space, and lots and lots of painting. On June 1st, we moved into our new space and had a one-month soft opening. The concept for a space that folks could come in and shop while bags are getting sewn in the back seemed to be working! On July 1st, we had a knockout grand opening party with our community of folks up here.
This summer has been a hectic time trying to keep lead times down and continue innovating and improving our designs, customer service, and general feel of San Util. What started as a small garage side project has turned into a really cool business in the Fraser Valley with an awesome team of people making it all happen! The vision for San Util has always been grow a business that folks are excited to come to. Whether it’s customers or our own team, I want everyone to be excited and feel like they are a part of a big group project when they walk in the door.
Our retail space/workshop is open six days a week (Thursday to Tuesday), and we love it when folks come in, grab a beer, sit around, hang out, and talk shop. We have a workstand and tools for wrenching on bikes and a bar to sit and get some work done throughout the day. Folks are encouraged to come hang. Our address is 78941 US Hwy 40 Unit A, Winter Park, Colorado, 80482.
This upcoming season, we have loads of ideas we want to try to implement into our lineup of bags. We introduced two new hip packs this summer, and both have been getting loads of praise (we are pumped!). This winter, we are going to be introducing a ski touring pack to round out the dirt-to-snow catalog. ”
You can check out their offerings at SanUtilDesign.com.
Further Reading
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