The other day, I went to Asakusa for the first ever joint cycle parts exhibition.
This exhibition featured not only sports bike parts but also a wide array of city bike (mamachari) components, giving me a rare opportunity to get hands-on with parts I don't often come across.
For instance, look at this:
It’s a single-sided hub for a wheelchair. It got me thinking about what I could build with something like this.
I’m constantly dealing with city bike band brakes during repairs, but I was embarrassed to discover just how many different sizes exist depending on the model.
However, that might be hard for you leaders reading this blog to relate to, so I’ll introduce some sports bike parts that caught my personal interest.
At the Park Tool booth, there was this:
A tool for removing sprockets on Gates belt drives.
For a split second, I thought, "This is definitely easier to use than the genuine tool we have at Circles!" but then I realized I’ll probably never actually use it.
（Sorry to the distributor!）
But it’s amazing how Park Tool always hits the ground running.
Next, what caught my eye at the GRAND BOIS booth were their elegant bar tapes and the cable hangers for center-pull brakes with cute bird designs on them.
As expected from a brand that releases so many high-quality goods, am I the only one who feels such a strong sympathy toward them?
Please do check out their niche tires and such, which we also carry at Circles.
I hate to brag, but Circles takes orders for a ridiculous number of hand-built wheels. We naturally keep a certain amount of stock of Hoshi spokes—the purebred Japanese product—but I was very grateful for the opportunity to see and touch the actual items on this occasion.
While there weren't many major new product announcements, I think this was a meaningful exhibition because I had many opportunities to talk directly with the people who actually manufacture the products...
Since a man is holding a gun to my head telling me to hurry up and end this boring exhibition blog that Tomoda would end with something like that, I’m handing over the account with a heavy heart.
（Tomoda is immortal!）
Jack complete! It’s all mine now.
It’s a bit sudden, but I’d like to talk about fixed-gear bikes as a form of self-introduction.
Nice to meet you all. I’m Miya-chan, a part-timer at Circles.
I’m currently studying violin repair and craftsmanship.
I’ll be heading out into the world as a violin technician in Kobe starting this spring.
MASH SF released a new movie last year, didn't they?
I also went to the JAPAN PREMIERE in October.
Three months have passed since then, but I still see many fixed-gear riders coming into the shop, and I feel the resurgence of the fixed-gear boom every day.
I first encountered fixed-gear bikes about two years ago.
Being a person with no hobbies, I happened to stumble upon the MASSAN movie from MACAFRAMA.
I researched fixed-gear bikes that same day,
and the next day I went to Circles to order a Durcus One Master.
Thinking back, that was an uncharacteristic burst of speed for me.
Incidentally, I remember being served by Happy-san.
From there, I was hooked. The following year, I bought an NJS-certified Peloton. Six months later, I got my hands on a coveted Hunter Cycles Track that had been hanging in the Circles pit. I even rode my fixed-gear to that fun RideAlive 2015.
I own three fixed-gear bikes and no geared bikes at all.
Because they’re just so cool. And so fun.
The simple look unique to a single-speed drivetrain.
Infinite possibilities: push the pedals and you go, stop your legs and the wheels stop too.
Plus, as a lazy person, it’s easier to have just one gear than to have to choose the right one.
Above all, the idea of competing with just that much tickles my heart.
Trying to express my love for fixed-gears like this, I feel frustrated by my own lack of words...
I don’t know that so-called "golden era," but I am satisfied with the current fixed-gear scene. If I had to ask for more, I’d want to expand this circle even further.
This might be a very biased way of thinking, but it’s a happy thing to do exactly what you love as much as you want.
I am so thankful to all the Circles staff for allowing me to do so.
To all the fixed-gear riders out there, come by and let’s talk fixed-gear! I’d love for you to unleash your own skewed, biased love onto me.
Tomoda-san, thanks for having me :)