Posts tagged “japan”  

Yamashita Park is in Yokohama City Japan and a lovely place to ride a Dahon. Mark V has toured Japan.

Uploaded by owenfinn16 | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Yes! YoXo tweeted about a human-powered monorail fun ride ...

That looks like more fun than the Skycycle in Japan.

This girl on bikes blog has a Japanese flavor.

Via Brooklyn By Bike | Photo kelly★5246

I found this mini velo bike on a Japanese page. This has got be the nuttiest thing ever, just crazy amounts of carbon. The first time you see a photo of this bike, you might be tempted to assume that the frame was adapted from a BMX bike or something because of the really tall steerer. However, I have seen several different designs all with this set-up, and the details of the frame suggest that the bike was intended solely for this application.

If you pan down their page, you see some other inexplicably bling equipment, like 20” carbon clincher rims and 3-spoke aero wheels.

While I was searching for a particular steel frame fitting that is apparently only available in Japan nowadays, I came across this mini velo…and I do mean mini.

This particular bike is a hot-rod version of the Handybike, which is re-branded by several companies for sale in Japan and other parts of Asian. As easy as it would be to just dismiss this item as a silly fad, you can tell the guy takes this thing pretty seriously. Still, I’m not sure how much I’d want to ride the bike on sidewalks that aren’t handicap-accessible since a curb would surely cause a faceplant.

The Skycycle, a pedal-powered rollercoaster, is perched precariously on a hill in Okayama and offers fitness and thrills …

Note the hand brakes and pink baskets.

Also see this attempt for man to fly with a bike; especially the photo series from 1975.

I think the messenger backpack rules; I’m always on the lookout for cool designs. Here a bag by SAG (don’t forget umlaut) from Japan (which generally doesn’t use umlauts). This is the first I’ve seen in the states with my own eyes. After the jump, see how the bag reflects in the dark

The Loro Slowspot, the shop in Tokyo from whom I bought my Gios Feluca, specializes in mini velo bikes and recumbents. The shop itself was about 20x30” with the mechanics working in a corner. They carried pretty nice stuff, including this set of Hed Jet mini wheels.

I’ve seen pedicabs like this in Europe and once in NYC. Does anyone know who makes these? Why don’t we have these in Seattle? It looks like it has drumbrakes, which might be a good thing here in the states.

Here’s another entry in the mini velo category. This one made by Kuwahara was at the same shop that I purchased my Gios Feluca; as a matter of fact, I think I carried my Gios home to Seattle in the same box that originally contained the Kuwahara. This Kuwahara “Funny Bike” is a flatbar, single-chainring, multispeed bike with a 24” rear and 20” front. Notice how the fork is built with long blades and relatively short head tube.

There’s a department store in Japan called Tokyu Hands which started out as a hobbies and crafts store, but now it has something for anyone who likes doing creative things. In the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo, the Tokyu Hands store has the most amazing cycling section I’ve ever seen. Next to a display case of Dura Ace 7800, they have a shelf full of anodized track handlebars, racks of leather toe straps, bags of powdercoated spokes. This is a store that also has everything from calligraphy to model trains. You could easily kill 2 hrs shopping here and still miss a floor of interesting things.

I have to admit, I don’t read the directions that often. I mean, there’s nothing mysterious about a quick release after nearly 2 decades of wrenching. But sometimes the directions make great entertainment.

The manual that came with my Gios Feluca mini velo was mostly Japanese, but there was an important note for aliens.

When I bought my Gios mini velo from the Loro Slowspot, I passed by this mama-chari outside of Tokyo Station. I have to say, it looked posh in red. Sure, it’s got a child seat and electric assist, but something about it says sporty. Like how Jessica Alba is still smokin’ hot even with a baby carrier.

So a few people have asked what exactly is my souvenir bike from Japan, and here it is: a Gios Feluca mini velo. Mini velo can be any bike with small wheels (and they are frequently folding bikes), but the market in Japan has taken the small wheel platform and added a twist. Some mini velo have taken on the style, components, and sometimes the capabilities of 700C road bikes. Well-known North American and European brands have jumped onto the trend but only offer their mini velo to the Asian markets (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea).

This picture was the end of my test ride. I bought the bike from Loro in central Tokyo.

Iris and I went to the electronics district in Tokyo, the famed Akihabara. You ever see a movie where the characters visit a sketchy market of cramped alleys and exotic goods? Well, Akihabara would be the place to stage that scene if the characters were nerds into ham radio and action figures. We found 6 stories of model kits and action figures of animation school girls, five by five stalls selling vintage tube amplifiers and high-tech Xmas lights, and a pornographic DVD store catering to any and all of your dirty needs. You want cellphones that do everything except work anywhere else but Japan? Easy. You want an electronic gizmo for a bike? Yeah, I found it. Not in a store, but rolling through the crowds of shoppers in the street.

Here’s an electric-assist version of the mamachari classic Japanese bike for the housewife. Note the front and rear child seats, and mini front wheel. This was a pretty common site, but I can’t say for certain whether they are a new trend (with the electric assist) or if I just didn’t notice them much the times before when I came to Japan.

Either way, I’m impressed that the Japanese public intends to keep the bicycle as a part of everyday life.

My first day in Tokyo, we went to Shibuya and walked to Harajuku. After the UT t-shirt shop I saw this Kona Ute next to this one shop/boutique. This is the only longtail I’ve seen in Japan, but though Japan may score low on the cargo bike parameter, this country is near tops for commuters. I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but in Copenhagen I saw a crapload of commuters. I think that if the subway/rail system wasn’t the best in the world then there would be even more cyclists commuting. There are definitely less motorscooters here than Taipei too.

OMFG, my step-father was right! All those liberal, bike riding hippies are a secret plot to steal our tax dollars! Maybe Toyota was Detroit’s demise after all (and not rocketing petrol prices kicking down the house of cards that the full-size SUV built). Next thing you know, the Japanese will be landing wave after wave of these Communist bikes, like this one in Hatagaya.

I spotted this photo on Tim Jackson’s blog (he works marketing for Masi). This is a mini velo-style bicycle meant for the Japanese market. Mini velo can describe any bike with small wheels (generally 20” or smaller) including folding bikes, but there is a subset that resemble road bikes with tiny wheels.

It’s like a Smartcar for cramped city riding….doesn’t take much space to park either. Mini velos are popular in Japan, but as of yet no one sells them in the states.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, there’s a form of velodrome racing in Japan known as keirin , and the bikes used in the professional ranks are made to very exact, high quality standards yet are almost anachronistically traditional in design.

But what you might not have known is that professional keirin exists in Korea as well. When I was in Korea a few years ago, I didn’t have enough time to find a track. I hadn’t thought much about Korean keirin until a customer came into the shop a few weeks ago with a keirin bike with distinctly Korean characters on it.