Sklar Bikes: A Custom Builder’s Shift to “Mass” Production

It’s rare for a small but well-established custom bike builder to make the leap to overseas-built production bikes, but Adam Sklar has done just that. While it might be easy to romanticize the idea of a custom hand-built bike made by a single builder, Adam speaks very openly about the ways running that version of Sklar had ceased to feel like the way he wanted to bring bikes into the world; the challenges (and high points) of building custom bikes; coming up with a production lineup after years of making such varied custom offerings; and a whole lot more. TOPICS & TIMES: Adam’s founding of Sklar (3:07) Turning Sklar to a business from a hobby (5:22) The custom era (6:34) Surviving as a custom builder (7:58) The custom bike-building process (9:33) Evolution of Sklar’s custom business (19:22) Adam’s North American Handmade Bike Show winning bike (21:28) Material selection (22:33) Working with titanium (25:26) Moving to production bikes (28:06) Sklar’s stock offerings (31:35) Overseas production (34:40) Lessons learned in production (39:18) Dangle Supply (41:10) RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Membership BLISTER+ Real World Testimonials Blister Labs This Week’s Gear Giveaway Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide OUR OTHER PODCASTS Off The Couch GEAR:30 Blister Podcast CRAFTED Happy Hour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.