Colossi at C Speed

Hiroshi at C Speed has recently started distributing another brand in Japan -- Colossi!  They have a lot of interesting frames.  The main website is here, and flickr photo collection is there.  Hiroshi's blog description is here.  The production is in China, and the company founder/CEO is a Dutch expat in China, together with his son.                        

I stopped by on Sunday with some friends who wanted a short test ride.  The reviews are very good.  Top quality steel frames -- including opportunities for customization.  The bike he has in inventory, with their "Rambler Road" steel frame of Columbus Zona tubing, looks great.

Colossi outside; Chesini inside

It is great to get access to a(nother) maker of really nice and reasonably priced steel frames via C Speed.  I hope to have more to say about Colossi in the (near) future.

Saturday near Futako with MOB

Last Saturday MOB and I spent part of the afternoon visiting areas near Kaminoge.  We had already gone to Positivo a few days before, and MOB had been back since, so we checked out a few of the other quirkier shops.

On the way to lunch in Jiyu-ga-oka, we made a brief stop at the CPW Skate Shop with its high rider bikes.

The proprietor, full tattoos on both arms, was delighted to learn that a Bremen-based anarchist group are big fans of his shop.

Bikes at lunch

On the way to C Speed, we visited the Above Bike Store, where the Yamabushi was painted.  MOB managed to find a beautiful 59cm Nagasawa used track frame hanging from the ceiling in the rear of the shop, which he immediately purchased.  A thing of beauty in a spectacular metalic blue paint.  I wish I had spotted it first!  I expect it will show up on MOB's blog before long, with a beautiful track build.

We next visited C Speed and chatted with Hiroshi.  With an aria playing in the background, and Chesini bikes on display, the shop is a little bit of Italy.  After a long chat, I left MOB there to head home for Brevet preparations.

Yes, the Chesini "Florian" image marketing is nice.  But Above Bike Store's "Summerlong (Steel Era)" image movie is a bit more ambitious.  (full screen recommended).


"SUMMERLONG" (STEEL ERA IMAGE MOVIE) from goooove on Vimeo.

Cycle Mode 2012 - Makuhari Messe

I have not been to Cycle Mode -- the closest thing Japan has to EuroBike or InterBike --  in a number of years ...  usually it conflicts with some great riding weather, and there is nothing new under the sun, or very little.  And I have heard grumbling from exhibitors -- it takes a lot of time, effort and money, and in Japan the show does not seem to translate into sales for most companies.

But after missing it for a few years, and getting more interested in "the industry", I thought I should attend.

This year Trek, Giant and Specialized were noticeably absent, though Pinarello, Colnago, Chesini, De Rosa and other Italian brands were there.  Cervelo had a small display.  Shimano was there, of course, and Campy Japan.  I did not see SRAM.  Presumably whether someone participates has a lot to do with the specific importer/distributor relationships and whether companies feel they can avoid the show without it damaging their business and prospects.  It is a "command performance" for major Japanese brands, and for some others trying to expand here.

There were a few highlights for me.

1.  Chesini.  Of course, stopping by the Chesini booth, to see Hiroshi Koyama, and also meet Mr. Chesini and his daughter (in law?) visiting from Verona.  Hiroshi has been actively promoting the Chesini brand in Japan via C Speed.  It is a small brand, but has a long history, back to 1925, and its bikes have some world championship victories to their credit.  Chesini is to Verona what Sambi is to Ravenna?  But more so.

2.  Gokiso Hubs.  Are these the best hubs in existence?  Tim Smith (GS Astuto) and David Marx (RGT Enterprises) are big fans, and they come highly reviewed.  As I was leaving, I saw Tim Smith just entering the show.  He was headed over to say hello to Kondo-san at Gokiso.  David Marx was home in Nagoya, but told me he loves his Gokiso hubs and that I should check them out.

At the well-manned booth, I was given a demonstration of how perfectly balanced and responsive a wheel can be -- to the point where adding a plastic valve cap would be enough weight to start the wheel rotating.  And they explained how the hubs are designed to avoid damage to the internals, especially the bearings, in both installation and with a suspension to protect from impacts while riding.  They start with ball bearings designed for aerospace applications.

But the cost is a bit much for a mere mortal like me (around $3000 for a set retail).  Great for a show bike, or for Alberto Contador.  Difficult for me to justify.  And as my instructor said at my UBI framebuilding course in February, "we are not flying these things to the moon" ... Bicycles really do not require aerospace precision.

3.  Randonneur bikes at Grand Bois.  I must be getting older.  Or maybe it is just that I have lost what remained of my interest in bike racing following the Lance Armstrong USADA report.  Instead of checking out the latest racing models from Pinarello and the latest in carbon deep wheels, I found myself drawn to the Grand Bois booth.  Grand Bois is a brand of classic and retro bikes and components developed by I's Bicycles in Kyoto.  I think Jan Heine/Compass Bikes handle their products in the U.S.  They had a classic Rene Herse bike from way back (1950s?) on display.

Grand Bois hubs -- retro styling, but modern internals and the convenience of QR skewers.

4.  Different bikes, New bikes.  There were plenty of folding bikes, some belt drives, some wooden handmade bikes, and a modern looking design with the front and rear lights integrated into the top tube ... nice fashion accessory, though not sure I could see myself riding it.  The folders and the belt drive looked like the wheel bases were too short for me.

Strida, the only belt drive model I saw ... though there were probably more. (You need a monostay, like this, or a notch in one side of the seat stays, to fit a belt drive onto a bike).  A UK brand, apparently.

Vanmoof bike with Philips front and rear lights integrated in the top tube.
Internal gear Sturmey Archer rear hub.  Dynamo front hub, both with drum brakes.

5.  Handmade bicycles.  Cycle Mode now has a special area for framebuilders, and around 8 to 10 of them had their wares on display.  There was also a stage set up for a presentation by the builders.  Of courser, Cherubim had a display.  It was not crowded, so I took the chance to say hello to Shin-ichi Konno, one of the most celebrated framebuilders of his generation and winner of the NAHBS "best in show" award twice in recent years.  And there was a display for a new vocational school -- Tokyo College of Cycle Design, that opened this year.

Cherubim's take on the classic racer.  With a more modern tandem below.

Konno-san and the NAHBS winning bike, plus some beautiful lugs on the headtubes/fork crowns in the foreground.

The stem on Cherubim's sleek, modern version of a racer.  Nothing but Campy in the entire booth.  

Nagasawa-san, the Keirin builder, was there.  As were others.  I liked a bike on display by a Kyoto-based woman framebuilder, Yuka Kitajima.  It was a touring bike with the racks designed for carrying food and drink to a picnic -- wine glasses, tabasco sauce etc. on board.  The steel frame had some very nice etching, and the front rack/fender support was hollow for storage of a spare spoke.  Not that practical, but fun.

The distinctive Nagasawa logo ... Blogger seems to want to show it upside down.

Etching on Yuka Kitajima's steel framed pizza picnic bike.

Spare spoke fits inside the fender attachment.

I rode my bike about 20 kms to Hacchobori, then put it in the bag and hopped the Keiyo Line the rest of the way out -- a fast way to get to Makuhari.  On the way home, I rode the entire way.  It was about 50 kms, taking Route 14 most of the way from Makuhari into Tokyo.  I needed to hunt a bit for a decent route as I got closer to Tokyo, but it was tolerable, and good for future reference.  ... since I might even go back to Cycle Mode next year.

C Speed Re-Open ... Nearer to Me!

As planned for some time, Hiroshi's C Speed has moved from its initial location out in Kohoku/Yokohama, to Takatsu-ku/Kawasaki, 3-7-12 Mizonoguchi, just a few minutes away from the river on the Kawasaki side at Futako Tamagawa.  It is less than 10 minutes from my house by bicycle!

The shop is conveniently located just across from the Takatsu Police Station -- so as low a risk of another "smash and grab" as possible.  And Hiroshi can get to and from his house in a few minutes, via his trusty mama chari (lower left edge of photo).  The mama chari does not quite fit with the gorgeous bikes and frames inside the shop ...  but gets it done for errands in the rain.

Duell: Steel is real

During the last week I supported Hiroshi in doing something unique for his C Speed bike shop that would separate him from the myriads of other cycle shops in Japan. It's not enough that he is a very nice guy with lots of experience in cycling and a very well connected network.

Now finally something visible, touchable, and most important of all rideable (almost), resulted from the last months of effort. We have been negotiating with Duell, a small steel frame builder from the Netherlands for the last weeks and C Speed is now the exclusive distributor for Japan (with the exceptions of Hokkaido, Kyushu and some other inaka regions. Duell agreed to make a special paint finish for their bikes for Japan. We thought long about it and wanted to emphasize the handmade, Dutch-made and modern steel aspect of the bike. So many beautiful handcrafted things come from the Netherlands: Windmills, Pommes Frites with Sauce Speciale (OK, Belgian in fact) and of course inflatable Dutch wives.

Unfortunately the Dutch national colors are basically the same as the French one and can be easily mistaken when put on a bike. So we came up with the idea to use the orange of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau, from which the queen comes from. Commonly used as color of choice for the jerseys of the Dutch soccer team or the Rabobank cycling team.
That the color is by chance orange is regarded commonly as a great plus.

The frame left the workshop finally yesterday and will be shipped to Japan next week.
Hiroshi ordered another frame with the standard Duell design as well for display in his shop.

The type of the Deda tubing (SAT 14.5 and EOM 16.5 respectively) are noted on the top tube. These are not old-fashioned steel bikes made from Reynolds 531 or Columbus SLX. They are also much lighter.

Hm, I want one myself, but due to the recent additions in my garage ......

Duell has along history of building competitive steel racing bikes. Some of them can be seen on velobase, for example this, this and this. Here we see the old head badge design.

I am excited to see how Hiroshi will built up the bikes and how they will look like when ready to ride.

I really think that Hiroshi has a good eye for colors and proportion which might comes from the fact that he has worked for the fashion industry quite long. Although I have to say on the other hand, that I am not a big fan of the Avedio bikes he is selling.

We did another project together in which I supplied a beautiful old Mondia frame from Switzerland in mint conditions and Hiroshi converted it into an even more beautiful single speed bike for late winter training.

Let's see what comes next.

Gimondi Zero Gravity

Here is one idea how it could look like. See more at C Speed in due time. We have bought another Gimondi frame in green to complete the Gimondi frame offer. Hiroshi's C Speed will become the authority on Gimondi frames in Japan.

We also purchased a beautiful Mondia frame from the late eighties. Mondia is a now defunct Swiss maker, famous for their multiple layers of fading paints. More photos will follow.

Gimondi Steel Frame, RH58 1978 made

Done. In hopefully no time you will be able to buy this nice steel frame at C Speed in Yokohama. This is an original Gimondi steel frame from 1978. You know Felice Gimondo, don't you? He is well known in Japan as he finished 33rd in the road race of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Besides that he was also only the second cyclist who won all three Grand Tours.

This is the first vintage cycle project Hiroshi and me are doing. I am excited to see the outcome and hope for many more.

Sky After Rain

Tokyo had rain off and on over Thursday and Friday, very heavy at times including early Saturday morning. The skies cleared today and by mid-day it was sunny and nice, not hot, really nice. The morning rain and work kept me off the bike this morning, but I took a spin out to C Speed to visit Hiroshi in the afternoon.

We had a nice talk -- he was readying a bicycle for shipment to Hokkaido -- one of his blog readers had ordered a Fuji track bike.  Hiroshi said he is getting decent business from blog readers.  (Yes, MOB, Positivo Espresso now has 30,000 views.  Hiroshi's blog has over 200,000).

A couple stopped by to browse, but the shop was otherwise quiet.  We talked about the need to break through the traditional importer/wholesaler ("tonya") structure in order to provide good imported products at competitive prices.  He showed me a Focus Izalco bike on the Wiggle site for about 360,000 yen, with Mavic Cosmic SLR Carbon wheels and Campy Super Record components, and said in Japan the wheels and Super Record gruppo alone would exceed that price.  He sees lots of products offered online overseas for much less than the price Japanese wholesalers offer to him.  He is thinking about teaming up with a small European brand that does not have a presence in Japan, to import direct -- a great idea.  MOB is suggesting that Hiroshi import and fix up old steel frames from Europe -- there are plenty of beautiful ones to be had, and they would probably be a hit in Japan as long as you could find the smaller sizes.  And he is thinking about maybe doing something in the nutrition area, though "proper" imports (as opposed to mail order by individuals) require various testing, labeling and other requirements.

At this point, with the yen stronger than any time in the past decade against the dollar and the euro, a direct import model might work very well. 

I took Rte 246 and some local roads out to Center Minami -- an unpleasant experience until I got close to the Kohoku area where the streets widen and the traffic and pedestrians thin.  On the way back, at Hiroshi's suggestion, I took Nakahara Kaido.  I used to ride this with Jerome and Juliane coming back from Yabitsu in 2005, and was pleased to see that in parts it has been widened and now has a nice shoulder.  The last 5-6 km to Marukobashi is still slow going, with narrow lanes, standing traffic and cyclists and pedestrians.  Today, I was rewarded with a very nice sky, beautifully clear after the rains, as I crossed the Tamagawa and headed for home.  Pick your favorite photo.