Mountain Biking the Clwyd in Wales
Rounding out our UK road trip, we hit up some pristine trails in northern Wales.
Visiting Endura: bc road trippin‘ in Scotland!
The bc crew set off on a short road trip through the UK. An obligatory stop was at Endura’s skunk works in Scotland.
After a 15 hour boat ride from Amsterdam to Newcastle and an English breakfast, Stefan, Benjamin and I braved the left-driving UK traffic to reach the first stop on our trip, the Endura HQ. We were greeted warmly by our sales manager Arne to receive a tour of the premises.
Designed and manufactured in Scotland
A peek behind the scenes at the big and small brands in the cycling industry is always exciting and interesting. With Endura it was no different as it’s such a friendly and exciting brand. After seeing some office space and shaking a few hands, we entered the logistics warehouse. Endura dispatches all their European orders from here and that’s an impressive operation. Right next to it, the team uniforms are manufactured – including the bc team jerseys and bibs. You got it right, Endura relies on local labour and produces these in-house. We passed by a van-sized machine that functions as a gigantic laser cutter and prepares all the cuts for the different apparel items, be it vest, jackets, shorts or accessories. Then there were printing machines for the team logos with the sponsors on it. They are later heat pressed on to the garments. Then we went on to the sewing department. This is where it all comes together. The assembly of a jersey or jacket is a quite sophisticated task and Endura pays great attention to detail.
Big powwow with the Endura guys in the admin offices.
No surprise, Endura products everywhere. Can you spot a prototype?
The laser cutter is one van sized beast. Very impressive!
Stefan learns every detail about the laser cutter.
The design process also happens in the same building. Endura employs around 20 product designers and developers who are constantly working on future collections. Product ideas can go from drawing board to prototype to testing on a stationary trainer or the local trails in the surrounding woods in a very short amount of time. The feedback from the testers can be integrated into the next prototype immediately. Is that efficient or what?
Trail riding the Endura way
After the tour, we were invited to go riding in a nearby trail park. Since the weather was being very Scotish indeed, the three of us got hooked up with Endura MT500 jackets and spray shorts.
Stefan trying on the Endura MT500 jacket for our ride.
Indeed, a rigid singlespeed MTB and a CX bike were part of the trail park outing.
GPX file of the trail tour for download
When we pulled into the parking lot at the trail centre, Chris and two of his co-workers were already waiting for us. To our surprise, their selected rides were not the usual suspects, but a MTB single speed with a rigid fork and an old CX bike. Only one was riding a common trail bike.
Stefan bombing down Scottish trails
Cheers Endura, we had a blast.
The reason behind that became clear to us very quickly though. The narrow tyres of their steeds were excellent for the muddy Scottish trails and we had to work hard to stay on their wheels. That said, the trails were of excellent quality and the riding was loads of fun. We did about 90 minutes of intensive riding on literally every type of surface you can imagine – of course all of it was wet. By the way, the Endura MT500 jackets and shorts did a fantastic job protecting us from the elements and regulating heat transfer.
Cheers to that mates!
Back at the parking lot, we “spontaneously” decided to end our Endura adventure with a visit to the pub. There is nothing like celebrating a great day at the local watering hole enjoying a pint or two. A big shout out to Chris and his guys. We had an awesome time and enjoyed learning how and why Endura is able to design and manufacture some of the finest functional cycling apparel on the market.
UK Road Trip
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