Factory Tour: Creating Custom MTB Apparel Inside Endura's Scottish Headquarters

Feb 22, 2023
by Ed Spratt  
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Words: Ed Spratt & Tom Bradshaw
Photos: Ed Spratt / Eilidh McKibbin / Tom Richards



Based in Livingston just outside of Edinburgh Endura has continued to build upon its in-house facilities to expand its custom clothing operation allowing riding groups, events, clubs and pretty much anyone who wants custom kits to make something unique. Recent years have brought the brand's custom gear operation to its mountain bike orientated MT500 and Singletrack ranges with options to customise jerseys, pants and baggy shorts. Examples of these can be seen being ridden by the Atherton race team, Mikayla Parton and the always wild designs of Joe Barnes and Hazzard Racing. Last year Endura put together some custom pieces as part of its support for Pinkbike's former presenter Tom Bradshaw (miss you already Tom!).

While the brand's standard range of clothing is mostly made overseas, the Scottish headquarters house all the facilities needed to recreate items from its mountain bike ranges with a custom twist. From Roland printers specifically designed for the sublimation process to a whole room full of sewing machines and handmade expertise, we take a look through the process of getting a piece of custom kit made.

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Tom checking things out. Photo: Eilidh McKibbin
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Resisting the urge to do a potato-themed jersey. Photo: Eilidh McKibbin

To start the process of creating a custom jersey Endura put together a few different designs for us, once we had picked out our favourite it is checked over to ensure each panel will print the design correctly in the next stage. For standard custom orders, the initial stages would involve sending over design ideas that can include sketches of what you want your clothing to look like before Endura's graphic designers make this into an interactive 3D render of the design. At this time a print-ready artwork will be created ready to get the manufacturing process started.

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Next up is the print shop, Enduro has kitted out this part of its factory with a selection of massive Roland printers specifically designed for sublimation. Sublimation is a printing process where a design is transferred from special paper to fabric using heat and pressure. For Endura, the process starts properly at its print shop where the initial design is checked over once again and its layout adjusted to make efficient use of the transfer paper and ink.

As the full garment design is printed out onto the transfer paper there is a lot of ink required for each one-use design so to help avoid any smudges or defects a heater is placed in front of each printer as it produces a design. Once the printing is done the designs are left to dry out in racks before moving on to the next stage.

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Before the next step can start each section of fabric to make up the custom piece of clothing needs to be cut. Instead of using old cutters and making each piece by hand, Endura uses a CAD cutting table that can apparently cut the same number of pieces in two days that would have taken a week with the traditional methods. Each custom garment from Endura will mostly start out as white fabric which is placed on the cutting table where the sizing of each can panel comes from the computer to ensure garments of each size can be accurately cut. Endura offers multiple sizes across the custom range with the MT500 jersey being made for us available from XS all the way up to XXL. Another benefit of using a CAD cutting table is Endura can ensure it effectively uses as much material as possible when cutting to avoid unneeded waste.

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Photo: Eilidh McKibbin
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Photo: Eilidh McKibbin

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Continuing the dye sublimation printing process the printed designs are laid out on the transfer presses before each part of the garment is carefully laid over the matching part of the design. This step is very important because the design needs to be matched to a specific fabric panel these need to be lined up perfectly to ensure a seamless-looking final jersey.

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Photo: Eilidh McKibbin

Once the fabric panels are matched up to the correct part of the design they are sent into the transfer press where very high levels of heat and pressure turn the ink into gas which is transferred onto the fabric. Once done the machine feeds out the finished piece of fabric, these can then be peeled off the transfer paper and packed up ready to be taken to the next stage which is the final assembly.

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The final stage of production takes the printed fabric panels upstairs to the sewing shop. Endura hand finishes each garment off with its skilled sewers providing the final touch to its custom clothing. The initial design seen on the computer at the start of the process is used again to ensure each panel is matched up correctly to the design. Endura says that it has made sure to keep these skills going by it providing training for its staff to keep the hand-making skills continuing into the future. It's incredible to see the speed at which the jersey can quickly be put together from what starts as just a pile of fabric.

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Photo: Eilidh McKibbin
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At this point, Endura's custom clothing would be packed up and shipped out with this process normally taking around six weeks for delivery from the date of final approval of the design. Tom put his custom jerseys to work throughout the season racing at the EWS and taking on the Canadian Open DH during Crankworx Whistler.

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Disclosure: Endura supported Tom Bradshaw's video efforts in 2022. Thanks for helping make fun things!

Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,035 articles

36 Comments
  • 38 1
 I don't buy a lot of dedicated mountainbike clothing, but Endura is solid in my opinion. Reasonably priced, good fit (that's subjective of course), and lasts forever.
  • 15 0
 The fit is a bit old school (rather for short and wide dudes), but it is the best value gear anyway. I have at least 4 pieces which I use regularly for years. The only downside of endura for me are zippers, most of their jackets are extremely prone to jamming, which is a pitty cause they are great otherwise.
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: Agreed - was literally just commenting similarly
  • 4 1
 @lkubica: came here to rave about the price and quality but grumble about the size for tall athletic builds, and you call out the one thing that's plagued my Endura jacket for years....

Rub a pencil along the zip, graphite will sort you out until you buy another brand or they source better quality
  • 7 3
 Is 6 months for their rain gear forever?

Never made it past half a year without loose seam tape, delaminated membrane and wetting through.

And there was no repair service, just throwing it away.
  • 4 0
 @JohSch: You should learn how to apply new waterproof seam tape yourself. Its super easy and very fullfilling as even expensive jackets have problems with seamtape after awhile.
  • 5 0
 @JohSch: they have a repair service - £15 - I have literally just posted my MT500 jacket back to them after a tree snag ripped a hole in it.
  • 1 0
 Shucks, I ordered the same model / size shorts in two different colours, there was at least 2" difference in the waste size.
  • 9 1
 Would looooooove to have bought some Enduras - loved the fabric, style, and fit except they were about 5 inches too short and if I went longer I looked like I was in my uncles fat-butt fishing bottoms...does Endura only make pants for short people?

I only have a 34'' inseam - pretty standard for many guys (32 waist / 34 inseam) but - they don't offer anything even close. If I'm steppin' out in $150 pants they should fit exactly and look badass, with kneepads under so I can't figure out why tall rider options aren't available yet...maybe 2023 models consider The Rest Of Us now?
  • 6 0
 I 100% agree lol. It doesn't make any sense to offer pants in a single inseam length for every size. Two would cover most case (32" and 35"). Shorts too.
  • 2 0
 I took the fishing pants (hilariously accurate) route. Pants have held out incredibly well. Kudos to all at Endura. Thanks for your efforts.
  • 3 0
 Have you tried their burner pants? They are the most form fitting ones, the singletrack and what else they have is quite baggy.
But yes height wise mtb pants in general are a pain, using 34-36 inseam pants with a 31-32 waist really causes issues for me as well.
  • 1 1
 @NordicRider: Yep - I ordered a couple of pairs of two types maybe? Nothing fit (and I'm totally US standard). Endura just doesn't have a wide range of sizing in my view...bummer b/c I wanted to love them, but pants must it. Ended up ordering a custom-fit pair from DirtyRidesMTB apparel (UK brand) and they were $140 shipped, but fit perfectly - will def'ly order from them again.
  • 7 1
 In my experience Endura has been like the Crank Brothers of clothing. They let the designers go wild on all these clever designs and technical garments but the build quality and sizing is left to chance.
  • 1 1
 Having been stuck inside an Endura top that was too big (by their sizing chart) I have to agree
  • 4 0
 My MT500 waterproof jacket has disappointing performance considering the price. I was expecting better based on its rave reviews! seams delaminated around the neck area after a few months and fabric wets through now Frown never been machine washed just wiped down and reproofed with tech wash/nikwax. and as it cost me £££ its only been used for commuting so far not sure it will worth keeping as a mountain biking jacket now all the seems are gone... shame as other things i've had of there have been good.
  • 1 0
 I've had two Endura products - overshoes that the tiny zips broke on in no time at all, and a pair of Lobster Claw gloves where the liner detached from the outer making them impossible to put on. Everything of theirs is a hard pass from me now.
  • 1 0
 I've found nikwax to be useless on just about everything. Grangers seems to be much more effective.
  • 5 0
 Please design a jersey that has a DWR coating on the back to match the shorts so we don’t get a wet back on those days when there is surface water but is not raining
  • 1 0
 Looks like the GV500 jersey has softshell droptail and lumbar pockets,
but it's more of a road fit, so not sure how that fits into your style
us.endurasport.com/endura-gv500-l-s-jersey-olive-green/13952871.html
What you're after might be achieved with a vest (aka "gilet" oolala):
us.endurasport.com/endura-windchill-gilet-ii-hi-viz-yellow/13952603.html
Just my two cents!
Love the MT500 shorts too Smile
  • 1 0
 @blcpdx: yeh, I do wear a Leatt gillette for that reason,but would be nice to have the spray protection of the shorts continue up to just below the shoulders on a jersey,maybe not as thick as the shorts so not to be uncomfortable ,just enough to stop the wet in the lower lumber area. Every one I speak to about this ,say it’s a good idea and surprised nobody has done it especially here in the UK
  • 4 0
 Only really wear their MT500 clothing range these days.They've got some great stuff and their repair service has kept a load of my gear wearable for longer than it should.
  • 2 0
 I have an Endura Stealth Jacket from around 2013 I think, and it's still my go to when the biblical wet weather rides happen. Still as good today as the day I got it. Scotland knows wet weather and knows quality is needed. Cheers Endura for keeping me dry!
  • 2 0
 Epic got its second version, and it is still going well.
  • 2 0
 Endura stuff is my go to. Its tougher than most gear, its cheaper than most gear and I have no issues with long term build quality. For UK weather its largely unbeatable on practicality and price. They are open about their environmental impact and seek to reduce this too. Every waterproof item I have used in 30 years as eventually wetted out. The wash in waterproofing is useless. Buy some fabsil gold tent proofing and you are good to go again. It doesnt matter if its a 500 quid jacket or a 60 quid endura one, they all suffer the same problems. Alternatively get yourself a wax jacket and go full country gent to stay dry.
  • 6 0
 Endura gear is class.
  • 1 0
 I bought a pair of hummvee shorts a few years back and promptly had a hard crash while wearing them. Was very impressed by the lack of damage to them. Couldn’t say the same for me. Wore them for years afterwards and finally retired them just recently.
  • 1 0
 I wouldn't buy anything endura. Numerous shorts failed at stitch points and one at the main button (came off).

Waterproof jackets that aren't or are boil in the bag and waterproof pants that lasted one ride before the butt seam failed.

For me, it's cross sports purchases that are cheap and last years compared.
  • 4 0
 ...Looks Like a Coronation Street Set
  • 3 0
 Roys cafe or Tyrones garage ?
  • 2 0
 I gotta give them a try. Been so happy with my TLD garb that I never look elsewhere. Great article.
  • 2 0
 That designer's mood board is class; Joe Barnes's custom jerseys and a Tunnocks teacake wrapper.
  • 3 0
 Can verify this is good shit
  • 2 0
 "Anybody else's fingers hurt? I didn't think so!"
  • 1 0
 Episode V - Revenge of the Aussie
  • 1 0
 I own a few pieces from them and it has been great, on and off the bike.







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