Nice to meet you. My name is Ryo Senoo, and I have officially been working as a member of the Circles team since April.
Although a month and a half has already passed, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself properly. I am from Kani City, Gifu Prefecture, and I attended a technical high school.
Aside from bicycles, I enjoy going to the movies (I’m quite fond of Star Wars and Disney) and going camping. My favorite foods are omurice and hamburgers, and I also love sweets and matcha! I even painted my own bicycle matcha-colored...
My journey with bicycles began shortly after I graduated from junior high school, when I started taking an interest in cross bikes and rode a Bianchi. Up until then, I hadn’t really done any sports; I was a true indoor person who had been in the art club throughout elementary and junior high school, and even continued in the art club through high school. I was worried about whether I could handle a nice bike, but my attraction to its cool appearance was stronger, and that was the start of my cycling life.
Once I started riding my cross bike, my range of travel expanded significantly. I was so happy to feel a sense of fulfillment as my holidays shifted from playing indoors to being a bit more active. When I started a part-time job in my second year of high school, a friend who lived next door started riding a road bike, which led me to buy one myself. I still remember how fun it was to go touring together.
I currently ride a SURLY CROSS-CHECK. When I was on my road bike, I felt limited by the tire size, so after doing some research, I decided to swap over to a Cross-Check.
Having attended a technical high school, I enjoyed customizing things and tinkering with machinery. I started with the lighthearted mindset that I’d just buy a frameset and swap the parts over from my road bike, but it took quite a long time to complete, and by the time it was finished, I had accumulated quite a few tools I had never even seen before.
The Cross-Check is a versatile frame with 132.5mm spacing that can accommodate two types of hubs, but because the brakes and other components differ from a road frame, I spent time visiting various bike shops while researching how to install things and what types of parts to use. That was when I first came to Circles—I was about 17 years old. I bought my first pair of clipless shoes there: the QUOC PHAM Urbanite Classic Low.
A year into vocational school, I learned about bicycle-related companies through Surly. While I was balancing school—where I studied product design—with a part-time job, none of the design fields felt quite right. I was struggling with what to do for job hunting, but I started working part-time at Circles. As I lived my life immersed in the cycling industry, I realized I wanted to continue working at Circles, which brings me to where I am today. Because of this, the Surly Cross-Check is what made me want to understand bicycles deeply and ride on all kinds of roads, so I believe I am where I am today because I encountered that Cross-Check.
Near the end of my student years, I was lucky enough to participate in RidinBirds, organized by SimWorks. It was a lot of fun to get to know so many different people while riding through Izu.
Photo by Eri Tanaka
My goal is to continue gaining experience and, through all the rides I go on, use Circles to help create products that meet the true needs I encounter.
By the way, the new bike I’m building up is a Surly Instigator.
I’ll report back once it’s finished.
