If you’re familiar with free ride, you know Sombrio. The clothing company is the brain child of Freeride legend Dave Watson and been anywhere big bikes roam since 1998. Dave grew the company to the point that it includes performance riding apparel, casual wear, and even bike shoes but after some ambitious sales strategies, Watson ended up selling the company to Dorel Industries to be managed by Sugoi.
Often times, when a storied brand is sold to a large corporation it doesn’t go as well as planned, but in this case the combination of Watson’s knowledge of freeride and design sense combined with the materials and engineering of Sugoi seems like a winning combination. With Sugoi’s location in Burnaby, British Columbia, Sombrio will stay close to the North Shore and the hearts of freeriders everywhere.
While many of the pieces are carrying over, almost every design itself is brand new. Sombrio will be keeping the same categories with Freeride, Epik, and Gravity, along with the Life casual line in both men’s and women’s. Products like the Highline shorts continue with updates like laser cut ventilation and improved fabrics. Sombrio will continue their sponsorship of top riders like Darren Berrecloth, offering his own signature kit (top photo, middle).
Sombrio will continue to offer shoes as well, with Watson’s own FS compound FlyerSol that he personally developed.
In addition to increasing the availability of Sombrio products (any Sugoi dealer can be a Sombrio Dealer), Sugoi has managed to bring the pricing down for both dealers and consumers as well. Since almost all of the products are being given the Sugoi touch, availability of the new product is set for Spring 2015, though current products can still be purchased on Sombrio’s site.
