I, too, want to be the kind of person who identifies as stingy—not out of greed, but for the sake of being wise, sound, upright, and above all, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. Circles Chronology – The Layered and Content Never Betray Edition –

2016/11/20 田中慎也

I have personally had an obsession with things called tools.
It is an undeniable fact that even at my previous job, I loved workwear—a multitude of workwear—as tools.

Regarding what are known as vintage items—which were also my bread and butter during my time in America—I obsessed over certain aspects while remaining indifferent to most others. (As a basic stance, while vintage items are very interesting as reference materials, I neither have the courage nor the desire to spend large sums of money collecting them. Furthermore, my personal philosophy for purchasing things is rooted in the idea that finding the current best and finest is what is most enjoyable.) And I suppose you could say I loved messing around with such tools: observing their outward appearance change as they were used, watching them eventually break, and knowing there are people who fix them to make them usable once again.
In addition, I loved that these were things made on the premise that they would be used by the general public, rather than only for certain special people.

That has remained the same, and I have poured my affection into the things I handle now, too.

There are various reasons why a manufacturer called Surly captured my heart and wouldn't let go, and I have poured out my thoughts in my diary before. But as the years pass and everything changes rapidly, I have realized that conveying the same thing repeatedly, at any time and in any era, is the only way to transcend the span of years. Influenced by this, I have decided to write about my thoughts and stories related to Surly once again.

It was born 18 years ago in Minneapolis, America, after much trial and error. Young cyclists interested only in bicycles—for the sake of those who love bikes deeply and those who know nothing about them—aiming to be clever, sound, right, and above all, to ensure no one wastes money on anything, they acknowledged being stingy, and added all of their experience to that.
(The early OnexOne model mentioned above is a real one owned by a friend. Although, even calling it an "early model," it's a second generation. By the way, I remember vaguely that the very first generation was manufactured with Peacock Groove.)

Such thought-out ideas are hard for anyone, anywhere to imitate, or rather, the act of imitating becomes so ridiculous. Because there exists a unique philosophy, freedom, and aesthetic that only authentic cyclists (the kind talked about lately, like "just ride") can know; and if one were to imitate them without understanding the meaning, they would be branded in a terrible way by this small community in a big world.

Yielding blindly to performance evaluated by others, bowing down to what famous people own.
There is greed—money, vanity, and more—in places far from true richness and experience.
Knowing the essence of all that, they simply straddle the saddle, lift their feet off the ground, seek freedom in this beautiful world, and keep pedaling. Whether slow or fast.
Believing only in that, seeking fun for themselves, perhaps to convey the important things people have lost sight of, and entrusting it to the tools they believe in.

Tools will eventually rot away. Just like people, too.
The answer that lies beyond knowing that might be that how you rot, or how you let yourself rot, is what's important.
So, make things as durable as possible in advance. (It’s the same as the body.) And with a proper sense of awareness, provide as many sizes as possible—which equates to the diversity of people—and allow for as much freedom as possible within the tools, because they know that there are infinite methods.
Furthermore, sticking to your own pace is the only secret to not stopping your progress.

To describe their behavior on a stereo level, it’s counter-culture, but what they have built is already a culture.
History proves that new culture and ideas are only born from things that many people laugh at in the beginning. And it is also a fact that things commonly thought to be good are, in that same measure, unstable. Since tools are created by people, and by using them, they should create the next work, I personally believe that if people just understand them as accurately as possible and use them correctly, they should be able to live very simply. And even now, I believe that having encountered that philosophy more than Surly's products, and continuing to explore the meaning of tools, is the treasure I possess today.

Some people say Surly has become just a brand now. And in conversations with recent young customers, I often hear things like, "Surly is an expensive brand," or "I don't like it because everyone is riding one." Every time I hear such words, I feel a bit disappointed that it’s such a fashion-oriented way of thinking, but I realize that overcoming that is the proof of being a solid brand, and I also realize that as for what we can do, we must continue to talk about the meaning and value of these things correctly, as uninterruptedly as possible. (The Surly I personally like is the one sold at bike shops run by students, like a co-op on a university campus in America, and the way it is assembled and used is very "Surly." Because of that, one of the things we can and should do led to the creation of our new store, Culture Club. And SimWorks, too. I'll talk about that later.)

Continuing a conversation—I think that is the most important thing in a customer service business. What the customer wants, what they want to do, how they want to self-actualize, what they own, what they believe in, what they eat, what kind of people they associate with—from such little bits of information, I believe my job is to open my drawers, see what should be provided, and keep surpassing the customer’s expectations in a better way. And finally, convey a little information about bicycles, share the true heart of the company called Surly if I should, and I am often moved by the fact that there are not a few people who can understand that.

I think it’s common to all things, but through contact with others, knowing the essence of oneself and of things is the best, easiest, and highest method, and I think it’s one of the joys of living.
That may be the only reason why we can set up shop on the roadside and exist.

After a certain amount of experience—for example, playing while breaking things more than others, sometimes playing even while experiencing painful and hard times, playing while feeling the expressions of streets and mountains with my five senses, anyway, playing with all my might—I want to replace that with our own way of expression and convey it to everyone. I believe this is perhaps the most important skill for providing tools for play. I feel this belief is a common understanding among many friends, not only in my own country but in other countries as well.

8069140484_69078f088c_k — Most fo photos from Randi Jo Fablication

And finally, in order to encounter the best tools, you must encounter the best people.

Repeating such conversations time and again at the new store, I look back now and realize it was a preparation stage for the next trajectory, and it is changing into a foundation for new actions.