Editor’s Note: Our team has heard from various community members all the ways Revelstoke punches above its weight class. From non-profits and businesses to events, there are examples everywhere. We’re putting a spotlight on these humble brags and giving them a chance to highlight others who are making big things happen in a small town.
You can find Jackalope Bikes tucked away in the Big Eddy, bike frames hanging from the walls and metalwork fabrication tools spaced throughout the shop. From customer-led design to in-house builds, Revelstoke’s very own bike manufacturing company is aiming to blend riding styles and needs to match the biking culture throughout B.C.’s Interior and beyond.
“We want to build your forever bike,” Jack Sutter, Jackalope Bikes founder and owner said during a Friday, Oct. 24 shop party unveiling the team’s latest projects.
Founded in 2021 by Sutter after setting up shop next to Big Eddy Glassworks, Jackalope Bikes consists of Sutter, Jeff Polster working design and product development, Danny Smith as the in-house mechanic and machinist and Tom Wilson behind marketing and media.
The team’s latest celebration is the launch of the Kanga MX150, Jackalope Bikes’ first full suspension mountain bike. Production of a full suspension mountain bike has been the goal since day one, and Sutter is proud of the team for pulling it together in four years.
“We’re just going to keep biting off bigger and bigger production runs at a healthy pace, building up our brand name,” he explained. Over the winter, the team will focus on pre-manufacturing Kanga frames so stock is ready when an order comes in, shortening lead times as next year’s biking season rolls in.
Trimming down wait times for a bike build is a tall order when a company is focused on tailoring each aspect to the specific rider. From body height to riding styles, Jackalope Bikes works with each customer. While Sutter emphasized the bikes are not entirely customizable, with function still valued above form for each build, he wants each rider to know their bike is capable for any adventure.
“Our customers are looking for that bike that’s really special. It has a really cool story and it’s made in a way that makes sense for what they want to do.”
Fine-tuning the bike to specific body types rather than focusing on six standard frame sizes is part of the reason Jackalope Bikes puts energy into metal tubing fabrication instead of standard carbon frames. It’s one more way the build team can focus on each rider’s specific build instead of depending on pre-fabricated casts.
Sutter himself has a focus on building with all sorts of mediums. Originally in post-secondary for architectural design, he found himself in the metalworking field for over 15 years now. His early days in the Big Eddy shop involved metalwork sculpture pieces and even collaborating with Kyle Thornley and Metal Mind Forge.
“I love to design things that make me excited and make people around me excited,” Sutter said.
Bike frame fabrication wasn’t on the radar as a career until Sutter spent his second year in the shop building his own bike.
“That’s when I realized that I could use all these skills that I had developed over my career and design from scratch and build these objects that I’m extremely passionate about, and the community here in Revelstoke is also extremely passionate about.”
Revelstoke ‘keeps us motivated’
It’s a passion rooted in the land surrounding Revelstoke that fuels so much of the ingenuity and spirit found in town, Sutter theorized. Originally from Reno, Nevada he moved to Canada in 2018 before specifically moving to Revelstoke in 2020.
“People that pick Revelstoke to live want to go play in those mountains. What keeps us motivated is getting out on our bikes, on our skis, on these big adventures in this incredible place we get to call home very deliberately,” he said.
Sutton sees that drive play out in the number of small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits found in Revelstoke. It’s also rooted in how supportive the community is, he says. While programs like the Kootenay Association for Science & Technology’s Venture Acceleration Program helped Sutton navigate the world of business ownership, it was the support from mentor Leah Allison at Big Eddy Glass Works that helped ground Jackalope Bikes in the Big Eddy neighbourhood.
“She’s a hard working entrepreneur, creatively driven, amazingly talented artist who’s right next door to me. She’s helped me feel at ease more so about taking this huge leap,” Sutter said.
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