Unfortunately, there are few opportunities to eat Mexican food—specifically tacos—here in Nagoya. However, for those of us who have discovered the wonders of Mexican food, tacos have become a staple meal during our business trips to California.
Personally, I think the best tacos start with a small corn tortilla filled with delicious stewed beans and chicken or fried white fish, and above all, topped with a generous helping of fresh, spicy salsa made right on the spot. And speaking of "salsa," I'd like to start this off with a bit of a curveball by connecting it to the keyword "Circles."
To understand why salsa has anything to do with Circles, you'll have to bear with me for a trip down memory lane.
For me, Salsa was the quintessential American handmade bike brand, and one of my goals in my youth was to own one before I died. But after 2000, the culture of custom-made bicycles began to be forgotten, and the company Salsa gradually lost its original character until it was finally bought by QBP, the largest bicycle distributor in America.
Gratefully, however, even after becoming a QBP brand, Salsa continued to quietly produce the chromoly stems we loved so much. Since they were offered at a relatively affordable price, I recommended the Salsa Cromoto stem for every kind of chromoly bike, and it was installed on most of them.
But the tides of change were bound to come. When we heard that this Cromoto stem was being discontinued (as a result of a recall finale, so please never use the later versions), we were quite frantic, which led us to a certain decision.
That was the beginning of SimWorks.
Putting those old stories aside, let me share a theory of mine: one of the ultimate ways to enjoy cycling is to build a "Papa-chari" (Dad-bike) that is the coolest thing in the world to you. Unlike a bike reserved for weekend rewards, this is about how you can incorporate the experience and wisdom gained from pedaling into a cheap-chic, cool machine dedicated to commuting and city riding. It’s great to do this without spending too much money, perhaps by using your own old, outdated parts or finding things others have discarded at the Bike Kitchen and turning them into what you need. But as an enthusiast, it’s only natural to want to show some personality rather than just going for the cheapest option.
Lately, there have been quite a few cyclists getting "likes" by slapping vintage Salsa stems, which fetch high prices in the tens of thousands of yen on eBay, onto junk MTBs.
In the midst of all this, our cycling friend Mick, who lives in LA and runs the taco shop 100 Tacos, brought us some great news.
We’ve known Mick for about three years now. He’s such a cycling fanatic that he runs his taco shop on weekends and works part-time at the legendary LA shop GSC during the week.
He showed off a SimWorks stem that he’d customized with his own homemade taco stickers. At that point, we knew we had to do it! We’re doing it! We’ve done it! That was the start of this special collaboration.
SimWorks x 100 Tacos
Spicy Tacos Stem
Material : CrMo Steel
Extension: 100, 110, 120mm
Style : 25.4mm / 90 deg. & 26.0mm / 75 deg.
Post Diam : 22.2mm
Color : Black
Made in Japan by NITTO
Price : ¥10000
There is no doubt that a divine message told me, "You need a quill stem that says 'Tacos' on it." One might call that inspiration, but these days, people who are passionately willing to bring such a thing to life might be rare. If that’s the case, then we want to make it happen ourselves. No, we *have* to make it happen—and thus, the chat with the "Taco Man" began. For those of you who have fun, play, laugh, and find yourselves hungry, please check out the Spicy Tacos Stem to beautifully decorate your favorite bike, new or old.
Since it's "100 Tacos," it's a limited production of 100 pieces, so get yours fast!
Much like his tacos, I’ll toot our own horn and say that I think it turned out to be a great product.
Why not find a quill-stem-compatible frame in a neighbor's shed, arm it with a cool Tacos Stem, and build your very own special Papa-chari?
SimWorks x 100 Tacos
Spicy Hat
Material : 12oz Duck Canvas
Size: One fits All
Color : Black
Made in LA, U.S.A
100 Tacos
3D Printed T-Shirt
Material : 100% Cotton
Size: S, M, L
Color : White with 3D Print
Body : BAY SIDE
Printed by 100 Tacos
We’ve also included some special items that anyone who loves tacos and bicycles shouldn't pass up: a T-shirt screen-printed by Mick himself, and a high-quality, LA-made baseball cap.
Because these are limited edition, some sizes have already sold out, but I wanted to get the word out on the World Wide Web, which is what led to this blog post.
Please be sure to check out the Circles web store!