News: Jay DeJesus Returns To The Woods

A brand new EWR Woods frame waiting to be welded

After a 10-year hiatus, Jay DeJesus is reviving the Eastern Woods Research brand. The first prototype steel hardtail frames have been delivered to his offices outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and bikes should be ready for sale in two weeks.

According to DeJesus, the brand is already receiving a lot of buzz. “It’s pretty exciting that there are still people looking for the bikes. I put the word out quietly and it’s snowballed. I’m getting 600 to 800 hits a day on the web site. If we can translate that to sales, I’d be stoked,” says DeJesus.

DeJesus began EWR in 1991 in Pennsylvania. Back then, he was an accomplished trials rider, but also rode downhill, cross-country and dual slalom. Early EWR bikes were a fusion of those riding styles and featured high bottom brackets, short chainstays and aggressive geometry.

“Back then it was a do-it-all scene, the sport wasn’t so specialized. That’s where my designs came from,” DeJesus says. The brand built a loyal following, and EWR bikes were even ridden by Jeff Lenosky for a time. But the company closed its doors in 1998.

In their second coming, EWR bikes feature significant updates. The revised Woods Bike is designed around a 4-inch-travel fork, has a slightly lower bottom bracket, slacker geometry, manipulated and butted tubes as well as disc brake tabs.

The new bikes are being built by Bilenky Cycle Works in Philadelphia and DeJesus has brought two additional partners into the new venture—Don Stauffer and Kenn Rymdeko, a former EWR employee.

For now, EWR will produce just the updated Woods Bike, but a 29er is already in the works and should be ready by summer. Also expect to see two full-suspension bikes from EWR. DeJesus says he’s working on designs for a 3-inch-travel race bike, as well as 5-inch-travel trail bike.

For more information, visit www.ewrbikes.com.

A detail of the unique seat tube junction