Jeff Estes founded Durango Bike Co. in 2012 with his wife, Wendy Ayer. The custom mountain bike builder is beginning to break through, with positive reviews coming in from magazines and websites.
Durango Bike Co. has three models that range from $4,500 to $6,500. The bikes are designed and assembled at Estes’ facility at the entrance to Horse Gulch. Some machining also is done in Durango.
Some industrial processes have to be done in Phoenix, such as heat treating the frames to 985 degrees.
“It’s literally just impossible to do this around here,” Estes said. “We’d like to do more of it here; it’s just a logistics thing.”
Estes and Matt Vincent of Ska Fabricating have discussed sharing the cost of some industrial equipment, but they haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Durango has many bike shops, and Estes said he isn’t trying to compete with them.
“We are a manufacturer,” he said. “We don’t tune bikes. We don’t sell helmets and apparel. We’re not a bike shop.”
Estes, who previously worked in the bike industry in California and owned a masonry business here, is getting the word out by attending big mountain biking events. He’ll be at the Global Fat Bike Summit in Jackson, Wyoming, in January, and the Sea Otter Classic in Laguna Seca, California, in April.
