R.E.Load Bags, Philly bike messenger bag shop, announces plans to close after 25 years

R.E.Load Bags, Philadelphia’s beloved custom bike messenger bag business, announced it will close up shop at the end of the year.

Known for its colorful, creative designs and handcrafted products trusted by cyclists in Philadelphia and beyond, R.E.Load announced the end of its 25-year ride on Instagram Tuesday.

“While we love what we do and the community that we do it for, we’ve realized over the past few years that there are still other challenges and pursuits that we’d like to take on,” the post said. R.E.Load did not immediately return requests for comment Wednesday.

The bag business opened in 1998, with cofounders Roland Burns and Ellie Lum crafting canvas courier messenger bags from an apartment kitchen. R.E.Load eventually moved to a storefront in Northern Liberties, and has worked with partners in Japan, Germany, and Denmark; helped organize courier cycling events; and made cameos in movies, according to the company’s post.

Today, R.E.Load peddles a host of “bombproof” bike bags and accessories, from saddlebags to the “hoagie hauler,” signing and dating each handmade item.

“There was a lot of trial and error with the first bags,” Burns told WHYY in April. “But just out of Philadelphia community, love, and the timing and everything, once people learned that we could make bags, and we could kind of do whatever they wanted, they started asking us if we could make stuff. That kind of turned into the beginning of R.E.Load.”

In its announcement Tuesday, R.E.Load said the company is still accepting orders.

“We’ve had the privilege of meeting people and learning about their lives and their needs and making things for them that affect them in personal ways beyond simple utilitarian use,” R.E.Load’s post said. “To everybody out there that has supported us in any way over the past quarter century, you have our heartfelt love and appreciation.”