A few years ago, I wrote a piece about Waterford Precision Cycles and Gunnar Cycles closing their doors. When I wrote that, there was some industry chatter suggesting that someone may be buying the brands. Well, here we are, two years later almost to the day, and Abra-Cadabra Fabrication – manufacturer of Colorado’s Sanitas Cycles – are announcing that they have purchased the two storied brands.
Waterford & Gunnar are back, by Abra-Cadabra Fabrication
Production will be relocated to Abra-Cadabra Fab’s Durango, Colorado facility. Production will be ramping up and going online later this month. Leading the effort, David Siegrist says that they are “excited to blend Gunnar and Waterford’s great designs and reputation with the capabilities of our team and facilities“.
With high-precision US-made frame building and cutting-edge specs, combined with John Siegrist’s fab and welding expertise, the new owners hope to reestablish the quality, fit, and finish that Waterford has always been famous for.
Add in a plethora of different riding terrains with the feedback from Durango’s world-class riders, and they hope to fortify Gunner’s tradition of rarely matched, value-based performance.
Who is Abra-Cadabra Fabrication?
Abra-Cadabra Fabrication makes titanium frames under the trade name Sanitas Cycles. They’ve also been fabricating frames for decades within the custom bike frame space – designing and contract manufacturing steel & ti bikes for other brands, as well. Besides just the Gunnar and Waterford trade names, they’ve also acquired the historic designs and specs. They’ll be using these to help “revamp the product line”, bringing Gunnar and Waterford up to date.
Customers will start to notice the changes in the websites this upcoming Spring. Since their closure two years ago, Gunnar and Waterford have continued to support their existing customers. And now it looks like Abra-Cadabra will be working a little magic to get WaterfordBikes.com & GunnarBikes.com rolling again with new bikes.
Aftermarket support will still be available under a new website, which is scheduled to launch “towards the end of May”. Updates will be posted on the Gunnar and Waterford websites, as well as the brands’ Facebook and Instagram accounts.
“I’m so happy that we could pass Gunnar and Waterford on to people who’ve earned an excellent reputation for craftsmanship, and who build quality bikes in the United States. They will bring fresh ideas to these brands but will still be guided by the wisdom borne of experience,” described Richard Schwinn, former owner of Waterford and Gunnar.
