North Kanto 400km - Utsunomiya Cycle Picnic?!

Bike (and rider) rest at dawn on Monday 4/30, somewhere on local Rte 75 between Sano and Kanuma

Utsunomiya's audax group teamed masterfully with local authorities to schedule a 400km brevet with start and finish at a recreational facility just Northwest of Utsunomiya city--known to many as the capital of Tochigi Prefecture and the home to the greatest gyoza in Japan (though fans of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka may contest the latter designation).

Hirose-san reads the very helpful, detailed, relevant briefing for this ride. Impressivbe.

The finish was Monday morning (Showa Day holiday), concurrent with a major "cycle picnic" that offered rides of 15, 65, 75, 100 ... and 400 kilometers. That was us, the 400 km group.

This concurrent event had several benefits. For the normal brevet fee (JPY1200 or around US$11), we received free "Saitama style" reflective vests (see below), frame badges, and a ticket to the very nice onsen facilities at the adjacent "Romantic Village" Michi-no-Eki. We also had free overnight parking, with the facility conveniently located close to the Utsunomiya exit from the Tohoku Expressway, so only an hour and 40 minutes' drive from my home in central Tokyo. And, I even got to witness the mayor of Utsunomiya, as he came up and greeted, and exchanged business cards with, Hirose-san, the leader of Utsunomiya Audax, as I checked in at the goal. (Sorry, no photo. I would have liked one with the youngish (40-something) mayor in dark suit, white shirt, slicked back black hair, tie clasp, etc., very out of place among the spandex clad crowd, and Hirose-san, the randonneur group's leader, in his jeans and cycling jersey ... somehow Hirose-san obviously was the much classier of the two). With Utsunomiya's role hosting the Japan Cup pro cycling race each autumn, maybe it is making a push to be something special in the cycling world in Japan. (Now, if only they would make some bicycle friendly routes THROUGH the city, so we don't always need to go AROUND it.) But, of course, this was all just the icing on the cake.

But wait, there's more! Free reflective vest!

Optional frame badge in red, white and blue

Non-brevet riders at one of many booths of the Sunday morning "Cycle Picnic" at the Goal

We were there for the ride itself! And when I parked and unloaded my bike at 615AM Sunday morning, there were no families going to the concert at the michi-no-eki, no sponsors in tents at the cycle picnic, and no short distance riders, couples or children on bikes. Instead, it was just us hard men (and women) who chose to ride a 400km event on a nice Sunday in late April.

Then  again, course was not so hard, with around 1100 meters of climbing on each half. Why mention the halves? The riders were split into two groups. One started with the East half from 7AM, the other started with the West half from 8AM. I took the East version. We passed each other somewhere around Ashikaga, just over 200km for us, just under 200km for them. I pulled off at around 225-230kms for a quick pasta at a Family Mart Cafe in western Ashikaga one block from the course -- a nice quiet store with cafe seating -- where the course which followed a levy along the Watarase river. As I finished up another rider pulled in. He was going the opposite direction, having started an hour later, and had gone just 200kms. We shared information before I headed out.

Park in Mito, Ibaraki, with center of the city visible across the lake. Azaleas everywhere this time of year.

Decorated trucks at O-Arai beach -- room for another row, perhaps, but not for the thousand or more lined up trying to enter.

The first 93kms was fast, to Mito and out to O-arai and the coastline.  To this point, I was with some faster riders, like Kamano-san. After leaving the checkpoint, we quickly entered a LONG traffic jam along the coast. As I continued through the line of stopped traffic, gradually the percentage of trucks got higher and higher, until the line was ALL trucks. They were headed toward O-arai No 2 (Dai Ni) Sunshine Beach. The trucks were all decorated with special paint jobs, accessories like the gaudiest of samurai helmets. I saw more than one pedestrian in a black t-shirt with the rising sun flag of wartime Japanese military usage. I thought, this is either a huge assembly of truck maniacs who are being judged for best paint job and decoration, or some kind of strange right-wing rally. In any event, after passing the beach entrance we continued SW along local Route 16 ... and opposite a 5 km line of trucks waiting in the opposite direction. They must have had a VERY long wait, since there was no obvious room on the beach's parking lot for any more of them.

More trucks

Anyway, as we headed south then west, the going got tough. The wind had picked up and was from the SW, and it was getting hot. A group of 3 riders zoomed past and I could not "hop on the back" even to keep pace. I slogged and slogged this second quarter of the ride. It was more of the same, typical Japanese "inaka" settings of towns, suburbs, farms, rice fields, some rolling hills and even a few forests. Then more of the same. Finally, there was a climb over the north shoulder of Mt. Tsukuba (it seemed very steep, but that might have just been my fatigue, or my lack of a real "climbing gear" on the bike I was using, or my poor physical condition compared with some prior years). The brakepads on my carbon rims squacked on the descent (I changed the front pads before the next climb), and then into a checkpoint at 152.5 kms.

The next leg was easier, at least no big climb, and the wind from our side, not front. There was even a tailwind as we rode a very nice path along the levy-top next to the Watarasegawa through Koga city and to the 200 km checkpoint. One rider came up and said hello and "hisashiburi" at the 200km checkpoint, He was tall, and I remember him from past rides ... but could not (and cannot) pull out his name from my memory. I need an Audax "facebook" with names next to photos -- and the photos need to show people with and without helmets/sunglasses. Otherwise, I am still hopeless with most riders' names, even people I see at these events repeatedly over the years. I miss Inagaki-san, I cannot help but think. We all do, those who were lucky enough to ride with him.

The route was first East, clockwise, then a counterclockwise western tail, misshapen figure eight

I reached the 200km point around 540PM, 10 hours and 35 minutes after my start. Half way, and now cooler. From here, we again rode adjacent to a mammoth traffic jam as we passed through Sano-shi and entered Ashikaga. But at least parts of Ashikaga were nice, and it was now cool and dark and very comfortable to ride. After my stop at the Family Mart Cafe, the route hugged the hills just north of Kiryu, and eventually climbed to around 500 meters elevation after crossing from Kiryu into Maebashi. After the disaster of the Tsukuba climb in the afternoon, I had feared this stretch. But it was cool, and dark, and the road was smooth, and the lights of Maebashi and Takasaki stretched out to the South in the valley below, and it was just delightful. I want to take this road again next time I need to cover this ground. The climb is well worth it, to get out of the congestion and sprawl. At one point, I stopped for a rest and a bite from my rucksack, and no one passed. Was I on the right course? ... Well, the GPS said so, and sure enough, when I got to the checkpoint 7-11, there were at least 6-7 riders there, and many more pulled in before I left.  I was on track, not suffering any obvious problems, and had climbed the last big hill. So even though I was only 270 kms into a 400 km event, I felt sure I would finish. The "bonk" of the afternoon heat, wind and climb, the legs that could barely turn over, were forgotten. Randonesia usually sets in awhile after the event, but this time it seemed to hit even during the ride, a few hours after the bonk.

Sure enough, the ride through Maebashi and Takasaki to the South was easy, and then the route continued flat to the East through until dawn, as I re-entered Tochigi and finally climbed a small rise parallel to the Tohoku Expressway. I saw another rider stopped, resting and taking a photo, and pulled over beside him. He complained that he was sleepy, and was delighted to have someone set a pace for him. We had talked at a few checkpoints ... though I never got his name. I actually pulled him the next 5-10kms, the only real "domestique" duties for me this ride. We caught a woman rider, and I drafted off of her for a few kilometers until our small three-person "train" fell apart as first the rider fell away off my back, then eventually I pulled into a convenience store for one last rest. After a snack and a 10-minute nap seated on a bench and wedged against a wall just out of the rising sun's light, I was ready to bring it home.

Sunrise in Southern Tochigi on local Rte 75

The last stretch included some short uphills, and then on the home stretch we were suddenly among riders from the "cycle picnic". But it was a new day, and I felt inspired to push home quickly. In the end, my time (just over 24 hours) was not at all inspired, but at least the last stretch felt that way!

At "Michi-no-eki Romantic Mura" on Sunday morning, après onsen

All in all, it was a very good training ride, in nice country and beautiful weather, in not-unreasonable traffic, with good colleagues and a few perks. And after a long afternoon and then night of sleep, I feel refreshed and rested.  ... and ready to do it again, soon.

New Year Week rides

Today at Shiroyama Lake/Dam. It felt like a gale force wind

This week has been typically good early January riding weather in Tokyo.  The first five days of the New Year have seen highs of at least 10 degrees C (50 F), lows above freezing at least a few degrees, sunny days and swirling, gusty winds.  The 6th and 7th should the same, and much of next week after some potential clouds and rain even late Sunday and early Monday.

Today at Shiroyama Lake/Dam

Anyway, after resting on the 2nd to recover from the brevet, I have gotten in short but gradually longer rides daily.  31 kms on the 3rd (cut short because of an equipment failure), 55 kms on the 4th, and almost 90 kms today.  If all goes well I will get in at least one more longer ride, on the 7th.  And these are actually training rides, subject to my not wanting to push too far or too long since I really need to focus on getting some work done otherwise this week.

On Tuesday, January 3.  A wintry afternoon's pastel blue sky.

Tuesday short ride

Wednesday slightly longer ride

Thursday (today) decent ride

2015 -- Ended with an Exclamation Point!

Last sunset of 2015, from Kamakura on the Shonan Coast

2015 was for me a year of dramatic change.  So I was elated that I managed to complete the major cycling goals I set at the outset for the year, taking advantage of a nice, lengthy planned professional transition to complete both an "SR600" and Paris-Brest-Paris, while also participating in two very different, spectacular weeklong events--the Giro del Dolomiti and Cycle Oregon. According to my mileage log, I rode over 15,300 kilometers in 2015.

Despite all these highlights, this autumn I have been on the other end of the professional transition and very busy on all fronts.  I have only taken a handful of "classic" weekend rides with friends in the hills west of Tokyo.  No randonneuring.   Indeed, October and November were my two lowest mileage months since January, despite regular Wednesday 75+ km commutes to the Keio SFC campus.

For the last goal this year, I looked forward to the annual Strava/Rapha "Festive 500" -- ride 500 kms recorded by GPS and uploaded to the Strava site, and get sent a small cloth patch in the mail months later.  This trivial award is much better than other Strava challenges, which seem to offer mostly an "opportunity" to buy exclusive Strava-branded goods.

I've managed to complete the Festive 500 the last two years, but as of December 30, with only a day left, the situation looked bleak for this year.  I took a short Christmas ride on the 25th, but had other plans the 26th and 27th. On the 28th, I rode out of town in the morning and into town on a commute for an afternoon at the office and evening dinner, but only 90 kms.  Worse, I ate something that disagreed with me, and was so weak by the evening that I needed to lock my bike half way home and hop in a taxi.  On the 29th, I had planned to ride with my two sons, but one was not feeling well, so instead we substituted a much less strenuous plan than a bike ride.  On the 30th, other plans.  So with one day left on the Festive 500 calendar, I had ridden only around 220-230 kms out of 500.  270-280 kms remaining.  (There is some uncertainty because I had not realized Strava does not "count" a ride that is marked private -- which I had done for a few shorter local trips I was recording but did not think merited going into the Strava feed.)  I was considering a click on the "leave challenge" link.

Then again, what is 280 kms?  Less than Tokyo-Itoigawa.  Less than a 300 km brevet.  And riding for a Strava challenge, I could have complete freedom as to my course.  I could even change course mid-ride based on conditions -- come to a long red light?  Turn at the corner and head up the cross street, then cross it at the next signal and come back down the other side, turning again and continuing en route.  Do it all at a relaxed pace, and add 500-750 meters for what otherwise would have been sitting at a signal.

So after a look at a forecast for beautiful weather and only light winds December 31, I decided to go for it.  And did it -- leaving home shortly after 6AM.

I approach Maruko-bashi on the Tamagawa

I rode a classic winter course around the Miura Peninsula and the Shonan coastline to Odawara, and back again, and had a very nice time.

Through Minato-Mirai section of Yokohama.  No traffic around 7AM on December 31. 

At Hakkeijima on the southern tip of Yokohama.  Lost more fishing boats up ahead.

Through Yokosuka now

Near Kannonzaki Park

Agriculture on the southern tip of Miura, Chiba across the bay

Cats at the park on Jogashima -- residents, not visitors.

My first food stop was a convenience store around 115 kms, somewhere on the west side of the Miura Peninsula between Misakiguchi and Zushi.  My next food stop was around 180 kms, in Odawara.  Again, convenience store pasta for the "toshi-koshi" long noodles Japanese custom requires (okay, they really ought to be soba, but I needed the carbs!)

The outer moat of Odawara Castle

At the crossing to Enoshima

The final food stop was a convenience store again, when I was almost back to Yokosuka on the return.  I hopped the train at Motomachi/Chuka-gai station around 7PM.  Not bad for a 265km+ km ride.  Great conditions, ... almost no one driving, except for the LONG lines of cars at service stations as Japanese get a car wash and fill up the gas tank in preparation for the New Year.

I rode the Sky Blue Parlee with my Gokiso wheels -- the Parlee is a joy to ride -- and the 50mm carbon rimmed Gokisos take the minimum of effort to maintain a reasonably high speed.  For some reason, the hills of Miura looked much more gradual than I had remembered from the past.  And indeed, Strava tells me I rode "personal best" efforts on many, many of their segments over the ride.

Anyway, it was a good ride to end the year and complete the "challenge".  I am delighted to be in the same event, of a sort, as Kurt Searvogel and Steve Abraham, this year's two leading HAMR participants ... even if they were #1 and #2, while I was #6091 out of 72,349 participants.

As for 2016 ... stay tuned.  Plenty of epic rides in mind.

Basic route with Gunjira

I took a 4.5 hour ride today with Gunjira.  I was still tired from the week, and not in great shape in my post PBP slide. Gunjira has a new baby daughter, Nona, and has been off the bike for most of the past 6 months.  So a welcome event to ride in warm, dry November weather.

Crossing the Tamagawa and heading toward Onekan.  A quiet morning.

Mega Solar peacefully co-exists with giant spider, at the far end of the Tank Road.

Bike leaning -- Sky Blue Parlee Altum R, with the Gokiso wheels!

My bike and Gunjira's

Today Gunjira rode one of his Equilibrium bikes, made by Vlad. Road disc brakes, single front chainring.

More pix over the North side of Lake Tsukui

On the bridge over Lake Tsukui.  Twist body for photo.

Gunjira's Equilibrium tries to climb over the rail and escape

I headed back via Otarumi and Takao.  Gunjira continued on for Kobu Tunnel and Tomin no mori.

At Otarumi.  Is that, yes, surely it must be ... Mt. Fuji in the distant haze!

It was great to catch up with Gunjira and great to get on the bike and out of town a wee bit!

Flat Kanto 300

At Choshi - Eastern Tip of Chiba Prefecture and the Kanto region

In order to participate in Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) this summer, I need to complete a standard series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevets by mid-June.  Of course, last year I had planned some early season brevets ... but snow resulted in cancellations.  Weather, injury, equipment failure or illness; these are the things that can trigger a DNS or DNF and ruin as plan to ride PBP.

So I want to "check the boxes" quickly and get through the standard series quickly and without incident.  Thus, I signed up to ride the February 21, 2015 first edition of the "Flat" 300km sponsored by the Audax Randonneurs Nihonbashi.  AR Nihonbashi is a new group sponsoring Audax events (one of several to crop up in the past year).  I guess just about everyone who does enough Audax rides at least considers the idea of forming a group with friends and planning their own.  But Nihonbashi?  Surely a terrible place to start a brevet, meaning at least 60-90 minutes of traffic signals to get to the countryside, repeated on the return.

Future randonneur (randonneuse?) with papa

The 7:30 starters begin to gather at Kiba Koen in Koto-ku.  20 riders each at 6, 630, 7 and 730 on this event.

As the AR Nihonbashi website indicates, by starting near central Tokyo, they want riders and organizers to get to the start by bicycle or public transit, and avoid using cars to the extent possible.

• オダックスランドヌール日本橋は2015年より､東京都・日本橋近辺を発着地とするブルベを開催します。都心発着のメリットを生かし､参加者・主催者とも自走や公共交通機関を利用し､できるだけ車を使わないブルベを目指します。

Okay, this is a worthy goal ... though not necessarily one requiring a Nihonbashi start.  For 200, 400 and 600 km events, it should be possible to start/finish on the edge of the Tokyo metropolis, and still get to and from the start by public transit (same day for a 200km; next morning for a 400km, next evening for 600km) or bicycle.  But for a "normal" rider on a 300km event, taking between 15~19 hours out of the 20 hour limit, indeed, it is tough to plan an event without an automobile if start/finish are far from one's home. One solution:  an evening start.  This has two merits:  first, it is possible to come and go via public transport.  Second, you get to ride at least the first half of the event with little to no traffic, no matter the location or road.

But an evening start does not seem like a great idea for a February brevet near Tokyo.  Icy roads, and starting straight into the coldest part of the day ... between midnight and 7-8AM ... do not seem appealing.  So this event started from Kiba Koen, only 4 km east of Nihonbashi in Koto-ku.

I rode the Canyon Shark, with my Gokiso wheels.  This, and the flat course, made it one of the easier 300km Brevets I have joined, and my fastest to date, at 14 hrs 59 minutes.  And yes, I did ride to the start and back from the finish (almost 22 kms each way).  When added to the event (which was actually 307~308 kms), that put me at 350 kilometers for the day.  I had the 5th fastest time out of around 55 finishers (with another 22 DNS and 7 DNFs) -- typical that I do better on a flat course like this.

But so many, many times I needed to accelerate, only to see a light in the distance -- first the walk light turns blinking green, then red, then the traffic light turns yellow, then the right turn signal (if there is one), then red.  For a minute or more.  Each time, I would ease up my pace hundreds of meters from the light as soon as I realized I would not make it.  Each time the Gokiso wheels would roll and roll, and I would need to brake as I neared the (red) signal.  Mottaenai.

Home to the Start of the Brevet

The Brevet course-- 308 kms

Home from the Finish

I rode the first 20 kms or so with Hayashi-san, a Utsunomiya-based randonneur.  He rides with lots of zip, so helped me get off to a fast start despite the endless traffic signals.  I saw my neighbor Kazu Tachikawa, and rode together briefly through Chiba City.  ウワン-san (Twitter handle), who I got to know during Tohoku 1700, rode as well, starting a 630AM.  He looked a bit surprised when I caught up with and passed him before PC1 (how did I get there so fast?  Hayashi-san, of course ... and Gokiso). And, of course, I was traveling very light -- my Q36.5 Salopette tights and hybrid que perfect for Saturday's 0-10 degrees C range, just some extra glove liners and a warmer head garment needed early and late, and a thin rain shell in my pack just in case.

ウワン was in and out of PC1 quickly, and we met again between there and PC2, and again when he arrived at PC4.  And he complimented me on the Guide for Audax Staff.  Glad to hear some people are enjoying it.

And thanks to Yoshiaki Philippe.  He and another rider passed me as I was slowing a bit, riding along on Ku-ju-ku-ri about 85 kms into the event.  I could hop on the back, draft and ride with them, dramatically boosting my speed over the next 30 kms or more.  Yoshiaki Philippe has switched the trusty mountain bike I remember him on at Rocky Mountain 1200 and numerous other events ... to a sleek Focus road bike with Enve deep rimmed carbon wheels, and he looked as if he was enjoying riding fast(er).  Over the 30 kms, Yoshiaki Philippe pulled at least 20 kms.  The other rider at least 5 kms.  And me, only a few.   Still, I flagged again and needed to pull over for an energy bar near Iioka ... and so lost the benefit of their speed a few kms before the Choshi checkpoint.  That was the last I saw of them.

Hara-san, one of the Vice-Chairs of AR Nihonbashi, had warned me I would not like this course because of the constant stop and go.  He was right.  The course was the worst I have ridden on an Audax event.  Constant stop and go with signals.  And riding in heavy traffic what seemed like most of the way. The course needs a serious redesign.  Yes, heavy traffic is inevitable for a ride in Chiba and Ibaraki, but there must be better alternatives.

Generally unpleasant stretches included:

-- from the start through Chiba City.  Especially under construction Routes 14/357 through Chiba City.
-- Chiba Route 20 (Oami Kaido) across the northern Boso Peninsula to Kujukuri beach.  Many congested stretches and nowhere near as nice as the route further south on the Chiba 300km event last October that brought us to Takataki Lake in the center of Boso.
-- after Choshi, Route 124 then Ibaraki Route 212 near Kashima.  We were blessed with a tailwind ... but this was another very heavily traveled stretch of road.
-- after a few nice stretches on Route 354, ... but more heavy traffic on Route 355 to Ishioka!
-- then long stretches of heavy traffic most of the way back to Tokyo, Ibaraki Routes 48 and 26, Route 6 etc.  (I would like to try the Audax Saitama route on their 300km event yesterday -- which also traveled between NE Tokyo and Kasumigaura.)

A quiet moment. Dusk at Lake Kasumigaura, over one of the HUNDREDS of solar farms we passed.

Even the section along the beach at Kujukuri offered only limited actual views of the ocean, and plenty of mid-day Saturday traffic.

There was a nice stretch on the return to town, as we could see Tokyo Skytree in the distance, and it was late enough in the evening (after 9PM) so that traffic had started to thin.  Indeed, Sumida-ku seems to have undergone a bit of a revival.

From a hill near Choshi, looking North

From a hill near Choshi, looking back SW

But other than the nicest view sections at Choshi, I have to say my favorite parts of the entire ride were ... going through Tokyo in early morning and late night, getting between the start/goal and my house.  I got to enjoy at least some parts of the city at a very quiet time of day.  Much better than riding along the narrow shoulders of roads through traffic jams, or racing trucks and weekend warriors on the highways of Chiba or Ibaraki.

Dawn at Eitaibashi -- the welcome peace of central Tokyo before and after hours

The Gokiso Story / Gokiso Monogatari

Nobuo and Yutaka Kondo with me as I take delivery of a set of Gokiso wide carbon clinchers with wine red hubs!

Japan is a country of manufacturers (in Japanese-English, often referred to as “makers”).  Even though it is one of the wealthiest developed nations in the world, there is an underlying sense of scarcity and limit.  Japan is an isolated island with little in the way of natural resources:  no oil and gas, nor significant precious metals.  Its agricultural land is limited and the sector over-regulated, its farms famously tiny and inefficient, with almost 60% of total caloric intake imported.  It has forests, but the cost to cut trees is so high that most wood is imported.  And with some notable exceptions, Japan is not a major exporter of services -- language and business culture being significant barriers, in contrast to some other island nations.  So Japan survives and prospers by making things.

The “makers” are many and diverse.  Of course, there are globally known giants such as Toyota and Panasonic.  But for each global giant, there are thousands of smaller firms.  Indeed, many of the most successful Japanese firms today are not global giants, but smaller companies that have no significant brand or consumer presence, primarily “B-to-B” businesses with relentless focus on a core competency.  They make components that go into other company’s products: the Nidec motors that go into almost every hard disk drive (HDD) in every PC or server in the world; the various parts of electronics or autos that--even today as Korea, Taiwan and China move up the food chain and U.S. manufacturing experiences a revival--cannot be made anywhere except Japan, or cannot be made anywhere as well as in Japan. And then there are hundreds or thousands of subcontractors who work with each of the global giants.

Nagoya-based Kondo Machinery Corporation is one such a “maker”.

Kondo Machinery Corporation's production facility

The office, just across a busy street from the factory

Kondo Machinery is a small company – around 30 employees – that makes high precision metal parts that spin around, very fast.  They work on many projects with NTN, a leading Japanese precision ball bearing manufacturer.  Today, a typical Kondo Machinery application is a part that will go into a Rolls Royce or GE jet engine.  Of course, a commercial jet engine is a huge product that must work flawlessly for decades under the most extreme stresses and conditions, spinning at incredibly high RPMs.

A skilled machinist opens a high tech cutting tool to reveal a shaft -- core component of a bicycle hub.

Kondo Machinery also makes machine tools that are used to make key parts which go into hard disk drive (HDD) motors, which in turn go into HDDs -- Kondo is a true "maker’s maker".   Of course, the motor in an HDD also must work flawlessly for many years, and spin at 5400, 7200 or 10000 RPMs.  Of course, HDD motors are the opposite end of the spectrum from jet engines – some of the tiniest widespread electrical motor applications.

HDD motor (left) and central spinning part. Kondo Machinery makes the machine tool that makes these parts.

The three pieces on the top in this photo combine to make the piece on the bottom, which spins, really fast and smooth.

Each of these products must be made to extremely high levels of precision.  The typical requirement is to “build as designed”: no variance, or a tolerance for no more than 0.1, 0.2 or 0.5 micron variance.  (For any readers who do not typically work with microns, 0.1 micron is 0.0001 millimeters).  The employees are highly trained, the machinists have special certifications, and the factory is qualified by major end customers such as Rolls Royce.

So basically Kondo Machinery’s focus is on the most demanding, high speed large and tiny metal spinning part applications in the world. Everything must be "manufactured as designed".  Only the tightest tolerances.  (0.1 micron; 0.5 micron).  “High precision” does not quite describe it.  In fact, “ultra high precision” would be a better description. 

Nobuo Kondo, President, and younger brother Yutaka Kondo, Senior Managing Director in charge of product development, are Japanese "otaku" engineers – technical geeks who are fanatical about the problems they take on, who like to experiment and who are, admittedly, not the most commercially minded.  They want everything to be the best, and want to find solutions to problems others may not have even realized exist.  (Of course, this focus on the “best” solution, rather than a purely commercial approach, is one of the things that can bring continued delight to me as a customer in Japan, when dealing with a craftsman, a chef, an artist or even an innkeeper.).  

Nobuo Kondo also happens to be an avid cyclist, as, I am told, is his wife. 

So what would happen if a company like Kondo Machinery designed and built road bike hubs and wheels?  Gokiso hubs and wheels is what would happen! 

For a cyclist whose company happens to make ultra high-precision spinning metal parts, the challenge and opportunity is obvious and apparent, even if your company has no other "B-to-C" businesses or brand presence.  Is it possible to make better hubs, to make the best, smoothest rolling, fastest bicycle hubs in the world?  And once you have done the work to produce these hubs, you have the testing equipment setup and have analyzed the data, what do you do when you confirm that a hub is only as good as the wheel it is a part of?  Of course, you set out to see if you can make the best wheels as well.

Wheels in the production facility

I had seen Gokiso hubs on display at Cyclemode back three or four years ago, soon after they first came out.  The hubs are incredibly smooth, and the wheels are extremely carefully tensioned and balanced.  As a result, they spin with the lightest of touches -- less than 0.5 grams of weight on the rim is sufficient to spin the wheel.

It is a challenge to get the color "just right" and consistent among different hubs.
Gokiso standard hubs are now offered in black and wine red ... not these greenish grey colors.

But that was back before I started experimenting much building my own wheels in 2012. 

And the Gokiso approach – an ultra precision, aerospace quality component – was the opposite of what I had just been taught in the frame-building class I took at UBI in Portland, February 2012.  One instructor there (a successful, prize-winning welder and framebuilder) would tell us not to worry too much about precision.  “After all, we’re not sending these things to the moon!,” he would say.  No need for aerospace precision with a bicycle frame.  Use your “builder’s eye” to get things “just about right”.  

And if you mess up a bit – say you use the 135mm MTB blank instead of the 130mm road one to hold your rear triangle in place as you weld the stays to the seat tube and to each other in your jig, you can “cold work” the metal later to adjust the spacing.  

“Cold work” is just a polite word for application of brute force.  It sounds better to the customer buying your frame if you talk about “cold worked metal" than if you say you needed to bend the damn thing with all your strength, to take a mallet to it even, until you got it right!  A 5 millimeter error in the spacing of the rear stays.  That would be 5000 microns.  And maybe it can be reduced to 500 or 750 microns (0.5 or 0.75mm) by application of brute force.  But there is a long, long way to go from 500 microns to get to 0.1 micron tolerance! 

And then, there was the strong yen.  In 2011~2013, just about any bicycle product made in Japan was priced out of range, even for those of us living here.  This was especially so for a high-end product like Gokiso hubs.  Gokiso displayed their wares at NAHBS in 2013, and the reaction, from what I can read online, was a mix of envy at the product and true puzzlement at the high cost, so much more than other hubs.  Indeed, the exchange rate in 2012 was 78 yen to US$1, and the standard Gokiso hubs front/rear set at that point carried a list price of US$3800.  Ouch.  

At the time, I was working to develop a business, investing in projects that might or might not pay off, and was definitely putting off any luxury purchases.  As time went on, I forgot about Gokiso.

One-of-a-kind set of Gokiso "climber" hub shells in Q36.5 green -- intended for David Marx/RGT

The titanium shell of a "super climber" Gokiso hub.  Each one is hand polished by Mr. Kondo!

But I was reminded of Gokiso when I visited David Marx’s RGT Enterprises showroom in July 2014. His 2014 Parlee bikes on display each had striking Gokiso wheels, with the distinctive Climber or Super Climber hubs and Continental Supersonic tires. 

Then in October 2014, I happened to turn on the NHK BS-1 television channel on a weekend evening.  NHK, the national broadcaster, had a one-hour special on the most famous of Japanese cycling “hill climb” amateur competitions, the annual event at Norikura and Makoto Morimoto, a previous 4-time champion. 

You can watch the (Japanese language) documentary online here.  I highly recommend it.  (Japanese language only, but you can just watch the hill climbing sequences and a bit of the Gokiso team back in the factory to get the picture.)  

Norikura is a spectacular climb on a road bike, cresting at 2700 meters elevation, essentially as high as iconic European climbs such as the Passo della Stelvio in the South Tyrol or the Col du Galibier in the French Alps.  So of course, I was glued to the TV set, watching this program.  According to the NHK program, Morimoto-san is known in Japan as the true “king of the mountains”, even “god of the mountains” on the bicycle.  At age 34, after a 2-year absence from the event due to a stint with a pro team and then some ailments, he was attempting to return to top form and again make it to the top of the podium.  It turns out that Morimoto-san had joined Gokiso as an employee (quality control checker) and sponsored rider, and would ride Gokiso wheels for the big event.  

Would Morimoto-san be able to regain his prior shape and compete effectively at Norikura? And could he do it riding the heavier Gokiso wheels?  Gokiso hubs are designed not for lightness, but to be the smoothest rolling hubs imaginable.  As Nobuo Kondo explains during the program, they have done exhaustive tests, and believe that their hubs roll smoother than others, and by absorbing shock in the hub shell without it affecting the shaft/axle, achieve a better result for the rider than that of a lighter hub, even when climbing. 

Likewise, the Gokiso team exhaustively tested different types of rims, spokes and tires, eventually selecting carbon clincher rims of various rim heights and widths, with a lot of material in the area under the brake tracks.  Contrary to what I had thought, they found that wide carbon clinchers have much lower rolling resistance than tubulars, likely because of the tire shape formed by the clincher rim.  The Gokiso rims are heavier than lightweight climbing rims or standard aluminum clinchers, but they are ultra precise, “built as designed” for Gokiso.  They roll beautifully and hold the line incredibly through turns.  Again, Kondo-san says the test data supports this approach over one that emphasizes light weight. 

Indeed, Gokiso no longer sells its hubs on a stand-alone basis (at least in Japan). Rather, they sell the full wheelset to ensure that the customer is able to maximize the benefit of the product without a weak link (poorly tensioned spokes, poor alignment, lack of balance, poor aerodynamics, etc.), any of which can eliminate the core advantage of the hub.  They now build only with Sapim CX-Ray spokes – the best they could find when they tested them all (I agree, based on my experience).  They use only brass spoke nipples – again, for someone whose core business involves metallurgy, they say that using aluminum nipples with stainless steel spoke strikes them as folly – a modest weight saving in exchange for a nipple that may bind and seize, and has less strength.  I have not had problems with aluminum nipples from Sapim, but if I were making wheels for customers, I would want the stronger product.


Kondo Machinery has tested Gokiso wheels at 300 kph.  No, I do not expect to ever ride more than one-quarter that fast, even on a straight alpine descent!  But if the wheel does not develop stresses, imbalances or start shuddering at 200 or 300 kph, then it will not do so for me at 75 kph on my fastest descent.  If the hub is tested for 100,000 kms, then it should work well for most riders pretty much their entire lifetimes. 

Wheel testing setup at the Kondo Machinery factory.

Of course, after a season of struggles to get back into top form, as documented by NHK, and with the support of Gokiso and his bride Kaori-san, Morimoto-san wins the Norikura hill climb for a record fifth time, no competitor even in sight as he crosses the finish line on his Gokiso wheels!  He climbs at a pace that probably would have broken his own record for the event … if only the course had not been shortened somewhat due to rain earlier in the morning.  Around 20 of the Kondo Machinery workforce are at the goal, cheering him across the line together with Kaori.

Here you can find a Japanese language (Cyclesports Magazine) online interview with Morimoto featuring the equipment that he used.  Note that he used a Gokiso bottom bracket as well as Gokiso wheels -- another spinning part with ball bearings in it!

Of course, the yen’s exchange rate has now slipped dramatically, from JPY 78 to around JPY120 = US$1.  This equates to a 1/3 reduction in U.S. dollar pricing for anything exported from Japan.  The yen, as well as a desire to expand sales beyond the current niche, contributes to a significant price cut for the Gokiso products measured in US dollars.  They are now out of “nosebleed” territory.  Yes, the prices are still at the high end, but now it is much easier to justify – a product that should bring real joy to a cyclist for countless hours, days, months and years.  The hubs, at least, could last my lifetime, even if I should be lucky enough to keep cycling into my 80s.  

Instead of $3800 just for a set of hubs as back in early 2013, the list price for a pair of carbon clincher wheels with 38mm high, wide (23mm) carbon clincher rims, CX-Ray black spokes and current generation “standard” Gokiso hubs, is 386,000 yen, or around US$3200. 

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I found myself in Nagoya in early December to pick a set of Gokiso wheels.  Thanks to the introduction of David Marx of RGT Enterprises, who is helping secure some foreign distribution arrangements for Gokiso, I got to spend a good part of the day at the company, getting official maintenance training, a factory tour, and a chance to meet much of the Kondo Machinery Corporation family, even a lunch with the Kondo brothers, Tsuji-san (Factory Manager), Morimoto-san and one of their specially certified machinists.

I get training on hub assembly and maintenance from the expert, Ms. A. 
The maintenance is actually quite easy to do after a short course.

Re-greasing the rear hub's freewheel assembly. 

The Gokiso truing stand.  Simplicity and precision.  No dishing tool required.  Just flip the wheel.

I was taught how to balance wheels.  In time I will put these weights inside the clincher rim bed and out of sight 
... but with the tires on it is of course easier to place the weights externally -- at some aesthetic and aero tradeoff.

The hub maintenance is not difficult, and should only be needed a few times a year, unless I ride long distances in truly grime-inducing conditions -- a long Brevet in the wet.  There are some Gokiso-specific spanners and a beautifully made free-hub remover to open up the hubs, but otherwise no special tools.  Special grease for the O-rings, yes, and several reminders not to use "parts cleaner" where it would get on the actual sealed bearing assemblies.

Delicious lunch near the plant.  No plastic food here -- instead a rusted metal sculpture featuring the meal's main ingredient.

What are the key technical features of the Gokiso hubs and wheels?  The hubs are packed full of new, (in some cases patented) features and many things that are just done, well, more precisely than in other hubs.  The shaft is a more perfect concentric circular shape.  The hub shell is separated 0.5mm from the shaft and bearing races etc. at each flange, so the shell can absorb even big shocks coming from the rim without placing friction/stress on the shaft/axle.  This “elastic shock absorption” system is a key feature, accomplished in an entirely different way in the “standard” and “climber” hubs, but with the same intent – that shocks on the wheel do not get transmitted to or affect the shaft. 

The hubs use spherical washers at each end next to the quick release, to eliminate any mis-formation that might otherwise occur when the quick release and fork dropout presses against the hub from each side.  

And each hub uses double sets of P5 ceramic bearings on each side.  Of course, the best bearings are a key to why these hubs are so smooth.

Gokiso’s own videos can explain better than I.

Hub video Part 1 (English):

http://youtu.be/oRlwywn2fNk

Hub video Part 2 (English):

http://youtu.be/77gBogzvY2c

Rear hub structure video (English):

http://youtu.be/zpSlzZROGWI

Testing video -- 100,000 kms at 100 kph; 300 kph test -- other parts of bicycle broke at 210 kph, so the test is rerun after other components are reinforced:

http://youtu.be/nHc8wg_9sm4

(Japanese speakers -- You can find similar videos with Japanese narration by searching at Youtube.)

Front and rear hub internals, and the shell 0.5mm off of the internal components 

Front internals 

Rear drive side/cassette area internals

Another rear hub internal -- the original model

Another front hub internal -- the original model

They make a set of track hubs as well!

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Riding the Wheels -- First 800 km Impressions

I left Nagoya a very happy camper.  The next morning, I took an early winter cycling trip to the Miura Peninsula, revelling in the ease with which I could accelerate and hold a decent speed on the fast stretches.

In total, I have ridden around 800 kms on my Gokiso wheels over the past month.  Five rides of 100 kms or longer:  Miura first ride, Winter Solstice ride -- Kobu Tunnel, SFC "commute" during the Festive 500, Hakone to Tokyo via Ashigara/Yabitsu, and the Nishi Tokyo Brevet.

The only time I have NOT used them during this period is for commuting/in town, and one long ride where I needed a front dynamo hub/light.

How do I like the wheels?  They are great.

I am noticeably faster when I ride them, and I seem to work less hard.  They roll and roll and roll, and they are stable and strong.  After 800 kms, they are as true as the day I got them.  And if anything they roll smoother.

As regular readers will know, I have set lots of Strava "Personal Records" on these rides, even in mid-winter and even when I have not worked any harder than usual.

Of course, they are carbon clinchers, so I am using the brake pads Gokiso recommends (and supplies).  The braking surfaces are perfect.  I had some squealing when braking on one ride after the brake pads wore a bit, but that I fixed the issue by “shoeing in” the pads again so the front edge is closer to the rims than the rear.   Issue resolved.

On Saturday, January 10, I rode my first Brevet of 2015, a Nishi Tokyo 200 km ride in a big loop from Machida around the Miura Peninsula.  I did not work particularly hard, except the first 20 kms where I wanted to work to stay warm and get through the long lines of riders waiting at traffic lights; I even stopped and took the time for a sit-down seafood lunch at Misaki Guchi--on the the southern tip of Miura; .... and yet I was 2nd to finish out of around 70 riders.  That never happens to me.  But it did this weekend, on the Gokiso wheels.

My rear and front hubs (and my foot)

My front hub -- Gokiso includes serial numbers not just on the shell but on various internal components such as the shaft.  Complete trackability in case of any issues even decades later -- aerospace practices.

Front and Rear wheels

Small decal

Large decal

After 800 kms, the rims are still perfectly straight, perfectly balanced.  And they roll much smoother than any hubs I have ever used.

Here is the result of my amateur spin test on the front hub/wheel.  The wheel rotates nearly 10 minutes, so feel free to "fast forward" through the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYI-6K_I0M

Here is another amateur spin-test I found online, this one a comparison of a Gokiso wheel with an FFWD 60mm carbon rimmed wheel with DT Swiss 240S hubs.  This video is less than 2 minutes - at which point the competitor wheel has already stopped spinning, whereas the Gokiso has barely slowed at all from its initial speed.


Here are some other English language online references to Gokiso.

1.  Cycling Dirt – Gokiso at 2013 NAHBS

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/250510-North-American-Handmade-Bike-Show/article/18788-Gokiso-Aerospace-Suspension-Hubs#.VKfjQ2SUfB9

2.  2011 gizmag

http://www.gizmag.com/gosiko-bicycle-aerospace-hub/19054/

3.  Bike Rumor -- 2013 NAHBS

http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/03/05/nahbs-2013-gokisos-amazing-suspension-bicycle-hubs/

4.  Cycling Tips -- 2014 Feb review (Australia)

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/02/gokiso-climber-hubs-review/

5.  Tokyo Cycling Club - Pro Cycling Mechanic - Gokiso / GS Astuto review

http://www.tokyocycle.com/bbs/threads/gsastuto%EF%BC%8Fgokiso-carbon-wheels.4586/

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I will have more to say about these wheels as I use them over the coming weeks, months ... and years!