Uncrafted: A Race team "made up north"

Video by Oli Martin


To put it mildly, 2020 had not been an easy year for anyone, especially if you are starting out as a brand with a thirst for the mountain biking scene, and a drive to create a small team of riders. But this is exactly what Luke Nicholas has done against all the odds. 2020 saw the rise of an MTB and outdoors sports brand by the name of Uncrafted UK, led by Luke Nicholas. Inspired by brands like Fat Face, O'Neil, Billabong and Fox, Luke has very much developed his own style. He's also an adrenaline junky and rides BMX and dabbles with MTB. Going all out to run a team and clothing brand has certainly helped Luke, with a past history of anxiety, Uncrafted UK has quickly taught him to realise the benefits change and unknowns. It keeps him busy and distracted and with a new focus for 2021, he's designed the Danny Hart's Descend Bike Park rider jersey




This isn't just about having an idea and sending off orders to companies to print, the key behind these hoodies and Ts is individuality and manually screen printed items. What does it take to do this the way Luke does? To get the knowledge and skills takes a 3 year Degree in surface design and textiles. Uncrafted UK was an idea way back in 2018 and became born in 2019 and whilst he was finishing off his degree he had already started designing and printing merchandise. Mountain biking is a very male dominated sports, and it has not gone unnoticed by Luke. He's now teamed up with a local rider Tess (mud_and_no_makeup) and they are both working on producing a women’s range of clothing.


In 2020 the team came together, this was not only to expand the clothing but to form a team with 3 riders and try and help them get to where they want to be. All of the riders are "born up north" and are often seen riding at Danny Hart's Descend Bike Park. The team is also sponsored by Dirt Shifter MX. It sure was a tough year to form the team in 2020, all of them are gagging to get between the tape.

Alex Scarre is the most experienced racer with 47 races under his belt and no stranger to the podium, he's even had a stab at the UCI Fort William back in 2017.



Aston Brown has 7 races under his belt and is often seen in the top ten, the majority of his races are up north but he's also ventured into Scotland and raced the formidable SDA series.

Brad Woodall has only 3 races to talk of, but get a load of this, his only race in 2020 he came in at 2nd in the 17+ category, literally smashing the field apart and only 6 seconds behind elite riders like Scott Mears and Ad Brayton.

Tess has just joined the team this weekend and again she's an experienced racer with 22 races under her belt. She's again no stranger to the podium, but missed racing in 2020, rest assured she's desperate to get inside the tape in 2021.




So there you have it folks, during a crazy year a race team has been born by a young group of up and coming riders. These guys are desperate to get between the tape and start competing. You know what they say - once the gate drops, the bullsh*t stops.



If you want to find out more head over to the web pages here. To find out more about riding at Danny Hart's Descend Bike Park head to their website here or their Facebook. As soon as we are allowed, we'll be out hitting the bike parks, why not come over and say hi.