.

Yup, it’s got all the details worked out, been tested in the field, and had its portrait taken.

It’s a big bag, intended for those of you who need to carry lots of cargo, from a file box delivery, to all your gear when you travel, to loading up on groceries or doing laundry! We’ve built in lots of sturdy structural elements and details to maximize comfort and convenience while doing all of that, so like all our bags it’s made for long-term heavy duty usage.

Check out all the details right here

Are you in Toronto? Are you looking to get some unique holiday shopping done? Don’t miss the Holiday Marketplace at 401 Richmond Street West!

This great event (now in its 17th year) is a fantastic opportunity to find one of a kind gifts from the 401 Richmond creative community, plus guest artists and artisans, this year including Under The Weather!

You’ll find a huge variety of creations, from natural skin care products to musical instruments to baked goods to bike-themed art. We’ve even gone out of our way to make some special items just for the occasion, like the cards and purses pictured below.

We’ll have lots of great gift-ables in a wide price range (most discounted from our regular website prices!), so if you’re in the city, definitely come check it out!

Admission is free, there’s great food, music and an ATM on site, even a raffle so you could win something from one of the participants just for being there!
Hours: Thurs-Sat Dec 10-12; 11am-8pm: Sun Dec 13; 11am-5pm.
This historic building (voted by NOW magazine 2007 as Toronto’s “Best Free Hangout”) is located just off Spadina Ave., one block south of Queen St. West, so it’s easy to get to and there’s lots of other great shopping in the area too.

See the event website for more details including links to other participants.

Please note our Holiday Shipping deadlines:

Purchases made by December 15 at noon EST will be shipped on the 15th with pre-Christmas delivery.*

Purchases made between noon EST December 15th and noon EST December 21 will be subject to extra shipping charges for pre-Christmas delivery.*

*There may be some exceptions based on location and item(s) purchased. Please include a note with your purchase if you would like to guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.

We will be closed December 16-20, December 23-28, and January 1-4.

Wishing the best of the holiday season to everyone!

We’re pleased to announce a special Limited Edition Collection of bags and accessories made especially for the Japanese market, now on sale exclusively through www.messengerbag.jp.

This Limited collection is a small run of modified Zenit, 2Hip4U, Cushy and Cache UTW bags and accessories.

This collection is made from remnant pieces of the high quality PVC we once used as the liners on all of our bags. These remnants were mostly assembled into fabric randomly and then made into bags and accessories. However, one or two of these bags follow a theme and have matching Cushy top tube pads. The bags feature interior liners of the same remnant PVC.

Each Zenit bag and 2Hip4U hip pouch is signed, numbered and dated. All pieces of this collection are unique. We no longer use this material and we won’t ever repeat this special collection!

Check out the whole collection at www.messengerbag.jp.

We’re thrilled to announce that you can now find UTW bags at the messengerbag.jp concept store in Tokyo!

Messengerbag.jp has been a great resource for quality messenger bags and other cycling accessories for years, and their physical shop has bags as well as t-shirts, shoes and other cool stuff.

So if you’re in Tokyo, swing by and check it out!

Lots of Hallowe’en fun in Toronto this year! Here are a couple of scary, spooky bicycle related amusements to amuse you on the 31st!

Start your party outright with some Bike Polo! Beginning at 11AM and rolling until 7PM join the West Side Maniacs for some polo ballin’ on the polo courts at Scadding! That’s at Dundas West and Bathurst. Come to play or to watch and hang out, wear your costume if you dare, you won’t be alone! The best teams around will be competing for bragging rights and a bunch of cool prizes.

More Info ++Halloween Polo Massacre Facebook Event Page.

Then get yourself to the First Annual Hallowheelin’, a new “Urban Cycling Challenge”! This isn’t a race, it’s a challenge apparently, so you roll how you want to. I’m picturing a bunch of people in costume on bikes doing a group ride. There are 2 courses, easy and hard so pick your poison muhwahahaha! This starts at 7PM just a bit north up the street from the Scadding courts at Manic Coffee near College and Bathurst. I hear that Lights and A BAG of some kind are necessary. The lights are so people can see your cool costume while you ride around town, I think the bag is probably for the same thing all bags are for at Halloween, candy and stuff. Really, wear your costume, it’s fun riding around town in costume we did it last year going from party to party, it’s a blast.

After challenging around town on the Easy or the Hard challenge you will end up at CineCycle for a great big Hallowheelin’ blowout bash with lots of fun people, bikes and costumes. Come in costume or just come by to laugh and point at people in costume, either way you will have a blast.

Proceeds from Hallowheelin’ are being donated to FoodShare and there will be some great pieces of art on the walls there from local and not so local artists! You can buy it and every penny goes to good causes specified by the artists!! Make an offer, all offers considered, get some nice bike art for that bare wall at home.

More Info ++Hallowheelin’ Facebook Event page.

If you’re going to be anywhere near Minneapolis this weekend, be sure to check out Queer Bike Gang’s Cirque du SoGay:

Check out their myspace for details.

Things should wrap up in time to enjoy Zombie Pub Crawl night, so zombie outfits are strongly encouraged for the ride. Just don’t get your bandages caught in your chainring unless you want real the blood to be real…

If you are in Toronto Saturday, September 26th at 9pm we hope you will attend the memorial fundraiser being presented by the TOBMA for Darcy Allan Sheppard and his family.

Al Sheppard was a local courier and TOBMA member taken from this world too soon in a horrible manner on our city streets. Our couriers in Toronto are severely underpaid and at times like this it becomes a necessity for us to band together to do what we can for one another and our families. The TOBMA is presenting a fundraiser for this purpose on Saturday, September 26th at Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College (College & Bathurst). Doors open at 9pm, a suggested donation of $10.00 or what you can afford is requested at the door. The evening will feature lots of fun including entertainment from Kick Ass Karaoke by Carson T. Foster, door prizes, a silent auction and lots of interesting people.

100% of donated funds will be used to pay for Mr. Sheppard’s funeral arrangements and to give support to his children.

Donations for this purpose are being accepted at this time via the donate button at TOBMA.com or at any branch of TD Canada Trust. Please provide the name Darcy Allan Sheppard and/or the account# 06906676860 & transit# 10202 to donate in person at a TD location.

The fundraiser will mark a solemn occasion with a celebration of his memory and a celebration of life. Come prepared to have fun while doing a good thing.

We’re aware that the current recession has made a challenging year for a lot of people, and as much as we’re proud of making bags that have lots of great features and details we also realize that there’s a need for something simpler, more affordable.

So today we’re happy to introduce the Zenit!

This commuter/student size bag is made to our usual high standards of construction, with the same quality materials as our other bags, but we’ve stripped features down to the essentials to keep the price low for you. Perfect for carrying your laptop and a few books, or a change of clothes, or even a few groceries on the way home, this comfortable, tough and convenient bag has already become our favourite for everyday use.

Check it out!