In February I spent a month in the US, and the main purpose of that stay was to visit Nao Tomii (Nao-san from here on) of TOMII CYCLES, a handmade builder based in Austin, Texas.
The point of this blog post is to invite you to a POPUP happening right after Golden Week, but before getting into the details, the best thing is to show you what he makes.
I think you'll understand why he lives in America, and the Japanese sensibility that seeps out of his bikes.
Fat Canvas
First up, his signature model, the "Fat Canvas."
It's an ATB in the so-called gravel-to-all-road range, with max clearance of 700 x 48mm or 650B x 2.2″, but Nao-san's bike has none of the clunkiness typical of ATBs.
I got to ride Nao-san's bike over there, and it feels tight and very classic. It's a bike that rolls smoothly over any surface.
It really does go. In Japan, it'd be an attractive option for anyone who wants to ride hard and solid on big, wide-open paved-and-gravel mixes in Hokkaido, or on places like the super forest roads.
By the way, it's no exaggeration to say the SIMWORKS🫱🫲TOMII CYCLES 🌵Faraway Tire🌵 was developed to go on this bike.
In fact, this 700 x 40c range works really well on Japan's double track too (it's faster than you'd think).
His Custom Bike2
His latest creation, which he calls the “Flat Bar Fun Bike.” (I've taken to calling it the Fat Fat Canvas.)
An ATB designed specifically for 27.5, with 2.4″ clearance.
With a long top tube and a slack head angle, it's built a bit like an MTB, but it's a rigid bike that's not suspension-corrected. The biggest intention behind this bike is that it's designed around the ENVE Adventure Fork.
Nao-san himself said "I came up with it after going riding with MTB riders," and it's a model for tougher terrain than the Fat Canvas. It also feels nice and mellow on asphalt.
Rougher-road-oriented than the Fat Canvas, but short of trail. It's designed perfectly for the kind of terrain people in Japan call "gravel."
Personally, a bike concept I absolutely love.
His Custom Bikes
Besides the Fat Canvas and the Flat Bar Fun Bike, he of course builds custom bikes too.
This is the X-Frame he showed at MADE 2024. It had the Americans at MADE going "Maji-Yabai!!!!"
Creativity, a sense of color, delicate craftsmanship: all of it high-performance. Many technically focused builders are the "how much handwork can I pour into a classic lugged frame" type, but I think Nao-san is a rare presence in the world, working mainly with modern TIG welding while turning out incredible craftsmanship in a POP way.
POP UP @tailored
We're inviting Nao-san, the maker of these bikes, to hold a POPUP at Circles Tailored in Nagoya.
[TOMII CYCLES POPUP]
Dates: May 9 (Sat) and 10 (Sun)
Place: Circles Tailored
Hours: 10:00–19:00
[Coffee Outside Ride]
Date: May 10 (Sun)
Meeting point: Circles Tailored
Time: from 9:00
At this event, we'll display Nao-san's own bike, the “Fat Canvas,” and his new “Flat Bar Fun Bike,” and also display and sell small parts born of his craftsmanship.
He calls this body of work “Bike Jewelry.”
He's planning to bring these too, fresh from the order I placed when I was in Austin.
They're made of brass, so they develop a lovely patina with use.
We're also holding a Coffee Outside Ride on Sunday morning! Let's ride with Nao-san, drink coffee and chat!
Every week, Nao-san explores the outskirts of Austin by bike and turns the ideas and images that come out of those rides into products.
Even with a complete bike, his craftsman's temperament won't let him rest until he's put his own hands on the off-the-shelf parts, and it makes me think that handmade builders really are artists.
I completely agree with his view that "it's a hobby vehicle, so the more fun the better!" And I simply love his attitude of living abroad and making his way on nothing but his own skills.
He's super friendly and one of my personal favorite makers, so I'd really love for you to come, get your hands on his work, and talk with him.
Most of the builders we work with at Circles are from overseas, but this time he's a maker who speaks Japanese, so come on by, no need to be shy, lol.