Pedaling DOES Make Things Better! A New Bike Shop on Meguro Dori

Well, the shop is no longer new, it has been open more than a year, perhaps two. But it is new for me--RX Bike Sports and Fitness!

Some time ago I started passing a bike shop on Meguro Dori on the flat section between Moto Keibajo Mae Crossing and Meguro Post Office as I would head out of town for a weekend morning ride. Then last autumn I read an article in the Tokyo American Club's monthly about a club member, Takaoka-san, who had set a new world record (6 days 13 hours) for the fastest 2600km cycling journey from the southern tip of Kyushu to the northern tip of Hokkaido -- he is apparently a Keio alum, a lifetime cycle racer, an ex-finance type who left the banking scene and opened his bike shop.  I thought -- I really better check out that shop!

I usually went by before opening heading to a rendezvous, or on the opposite side of the busy street nearing home on my return at the end of a ride, so I did not actually stop by until a few months back. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not just a "Specialized" shop but seems to have a decent variety of components. They had a carbon fork with a lot of clearance for a road/gravel bike that looked like a potential replacement for the 15 yr old Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork on my titanium travel bike.

They have a full-time mechanic who looked like he knew what he was doing. And one sales staff. Upstairs, there is an exercise studio with trainer bikes all set up. And there is a framed certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records certifying his end-to-end Japan cycling record. I just checked it out and bought a tube for my tires. Last Friday I went back and bought some tires for the upcoming Okayama 1200 ride. I thought it was a lot closer to my house than, say, Nalshima, or a Y's shop, or Positivo. Again, I was pleased with the choices. They generally seemed ... like the kind of tires that would be chosen by someone who wanted to ride a long way, fast. And there were plenty I had not seen nor tried before (Challenge, Goodyear, Donnelly, and more, as well as standards such as Conti 5000). And plenty of them were marked down to a price I consider reasonable.

The Japan S-to-N record
6 days, 13 hours, 28 minutes

MOBs bicycles - Road

MOB's shop carries a large inventory of bikes. Of course, MOB rides road racers, he is primarily a roadie, and so you would expect the store to be a great place to test and buy a road bike. You would not be disappointed.

There are lots of brands, but the big three are Cannondale, Trek, and Wilier (in alphabetical order). There are a few Giant bikes around, but he is no longer handling them. And the bike I rode on our trip through the marshlands north of Bremen one afternoon was a nice Ridley gravel bike.

But Cannondale, Trek, and Wilier are the main lines of bicycles.
As you may know, bicycle manufacturers offer pricing discount/rebates to stores that sell large numbers of their machines, so a retailer needs to focus in order to get favorable/competitive pricing. The fact that he has 3 major brands ... unlike the "all Trek" store I go back near Komazawa Park, for example, is a testament to both MOB's sales volume and his customer focus.  (Of course, in Europe Trek is not just Trek, it is their subsidiary/affiliate Diamant, which offers many kinds of bikes other than road racers. And even if MOB loves to ride and sell road bikes ... in fact, there are more people coming to his shop to buy Diamant city bikes than there are high end Trek road bikes.)

MOB had very nice things to say about all three of his major brands.

MOB has always liked Cannondale bikes -- he rode an olive green Cannondale when we started riding together in Tokyo, and he also had a Cannondale "bad boy" one-armed-fork MTB as well.

As a dealer, he say that Trek's Switzerland-based team stands out for its wonderful service to its retailers in Europe. The bold colors are, well, very nice, even if not so Germanic. And the Diamant bikes fill out the line.

Aero, direct mount brakes.

Madone -- a classic name. Project One - customization.

These are new since I last bought a road bike - internal cabling adjusters.

Trek even offers subdued colors. They have everything.

And Wilier is his new love -- Wilier make beautiful racing bikes that are very fast and light. The company has revived an old Italian brand in recent years and is based in the countryside north of Venice. French Team Total Direct Energie rode Wilier Cento10Pro bikes in this summer's Tour de France.

Another adjuster for internal cabling ... on the down tube.

The Wilier HQ building -- Italian style.

Next post -- something about the non-road bike part of the shop.

New Cycle Shops and Concepts Good and Bad

In Tokyo, the cycle shops open, and they close.
I mostly ignore it, since I do not have enough business to patronize even the ones I feel commitment to (Positivo, C Speed).  And by all accounts it is not an easy business.
But I could barely ignore the brand new shiny store on Komazawa Dori as I rode by Komazawa Park last week. At night the store was dark but some shiny new Trek road bikes were in double decker display in each window, suspended in space. Very impressive. The name looked like Cloro bicycles, but I guess the "C" was just a wavy cloud at one end of the logo. LORO Bicycles.

I finally went by the other afternoon on Friday, during business hours.  I needed a spare spoke and thought it would be a way to at least take a look inside and see the place.

It is a 100% Trek shop.  Trek. Bontrager (Trek components).  Maybe even some Gary Fisher (Trek MTB brand). More of the same. Nothing original. I asked about getting a spoke. They said they would need to do a special order.  I declined and walked out.

Really a disappointment if this is the future of cycle retailing. No reason for me to go back, ever. About the same as the Trek concept store at Roppongi Hils ... unless I get a flat tire right outside the door during business hours and lack a spare tube. And I have still not forgiven Trek for the Lance years.

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The same afternoon, I was in Aoyama (where I did actually pick up a single 260mm spoke at Nalshima Frend, though only a temp fix since it does not match the wheel).  On "Killer Dori" just after leaving Nalshima, I passed the shop that, last I recall, was a Bridgestone "Anchor" concept store, showing off bikes but not selling much, if anything.

It is still a Bridgestone store, but no longer promoting the "Anchor" brand (which is in plenty of cycle shops in Japan, sponsors a UCI Continental team). The new concept (well, new to me, not sure how long it has been around) is called Ratio & C.

This is a very attractive store, at least at first glance. They sell coffee, latte, etc. and have space to hang out. They offer two Anchor "Neocot" steel frames, with a WIDE range of customization possible.

This is very style-focused bicycle shop, but the gear looked rideable for getting around Tokyo, and much higher quality than "Tokyo Bike" or similar style-focused shops.
For example, in addition to the standard Bridgestone saddle, they offer 7 other types, including Fizik Arione, Brooks Cambium C17 (and women's version) and a Moca Kashimax.  They offer a Nitto S65 seatpost in black or silver (the same as I have on my Randonneur bike).

Portland Design Works option for the hand grips.

Kashimax keirin style saddle (not for my anatomy)

And they offer the two Neocot frames in 24 colors, so you can get one and not have another similar one in the bike parking lot.

This is a concept that actually looks like it fits the market (central western Tokyo) and the times, and will end up with people having bikes they really enjoy.

Giant Bike Shop at Night

One of many shops in my neighborhood I have never managed to buy at ... but it does look nice at night, nestled between the Futakotamagawa train station and the bridge over the Tamagawa.