Quercus Outdoor Equipment
Behind all this is, as usual, a head with a lot of enthusiasm and a bit of stubbornness. The one in this case is Álex Grau. A professional bike mechanic, urban cyclist by conviction, adventurer in his free time and aspiring randonneur.
Everything started in 2019 as a result of seeking an alternative to traditional panniers. The idea was to change them for lighter and more agile gear in order to attempt the Empty Mountains route with my friend Jorge. Using the materials we could stock up on, my mother's old sewing machine and a lot of motivation, in just three weeks my first frame bags, top tube and handlebar harness were on their way to Teruel.
Those totally basic and simple bags were surprisingly able to withstand the eight days of the route and planted the seed. Little by little, in my dining room, that seed grew, always with the aim of designing and making the bags I required for subsequent adventures. One way or another, a new bag was always the excuse for a new journey. It is still that way today.
Eventually that side project took off and with a humble shop, proper sewing machines and the help with the logo of my friend David Vander, Quercus Outdoors Equipment was born at the end of 2020.
The aim has always been the same for us, to keep production small in scale, but big in sustainability, quality, customisation and durability. Micro production and the fact that being designer, producer and user at the same time, has allowed us a very fast development curve in our products with hardly any waste. The time and attention we put into each of our bags has nothing to do with the mass production of the big brands and the textile industry. Combined with the use of the best materials in the market, this ensures high standards of quality and durability. Also, offcuts from larger bags always find their place in our smaller bags, parts or prototypes, maintaining a high level of efficiency and upcycling of materials. We save a lot and discard very little.
Our designs are subordinated to our way of understanding cycling and travelling, as we often say; "we make the bags that we like to riding with and inspire us to travel further", having a clear minimalist and functional approach in its DNA. We try to share and spread this philosophy in each of our bags.
Today, after just a few years of life, we can proudly say that our bags have seen much of the world and have been almost all over the continents and all weathers. They've ridden Badlands, Transiberica, Basajaun, Paris-Brest-Paris, Silk Road Mountain Race, Seven Serpents, European Divide Trail, Himalayas, Alps, America, etc. They have even made it to Bikepacking.com