EYETHINK is an eyewear shop located within the same SELECT BY BAYCREWS complex as Circles Tokyo. Shimizu-kun, a renowned staff member and the manager there, used to work with me in Nagoya until March of this year, when Circles Tokyo was established, and we spent a lot of time riding together.
Whether it was lending him a bike to climb Mount Mikuni for a panoramic view of Nagoya, or heading out to Tajimi for soba, he’d always tell me that one day he wanted to build a bike of his own. Well, he’s finally gotten his hands on an awesome ride, so I wanted to share the update here!
He wanted a bike that could do it all
Shimizu-kun’s initial request was for a single, seriously cool bike that he could use for city riding, gravel rides, and cycling along riverbanks—he wanted to do it all. Typical of Shimizu-kun, he asked, “Is that too greedy for a first bike?”—though it’s hard to tell if he’s being greedy or modest. Either way, the conclusion we came to after talking it over was: “If you’re going to be greedy, go all out!”
We needed disc brakes to handle wider tires and allow for compatible tire setups since he has space at home, and he wanted a large cassette to tackle gravel, and so on.
After hours of back-and-forth, we chose the CRUST BOMBORA. It features a responsive, sleek, beautiful frame, an elaborate paint job that satisfies any owner’s pride, and enough clearance to fit 2.2-inch tires that can handle anything.
While we were picking out the frame, he seemed interested in what was inside the glass display case at the counter. His eyes were drawn to the WHITE INDUSTRIES crankset and the vibrant CHRIS KING headset.
These are dream parts for us cycling fanatics, but since he deals with beautiful industrial designs like eyewear every day, he clearly appreciated their aesthetic beauty. Even though it put him over his initial budget, I guess the instinct to choose parts you truly love is inevitable for someone in the fashion industry (though I can't talk, as I'm exactly the same).
The way he incorporated BROOKS for the saddle, pedals, hubs, and bar tape to add accents of color is just masterful.
Taking his bike for a ride
Once the long-awaited handover was complete, we headed out for a ride together! The Tamagawa Cycling Road has absolutely no shade, and Shimizu-kun looked a little worn out from his first ride in a while, but as soon as we hit the gravel, his face lit up!!
Since he’s running ULTRADYNAMICO Cava 27.5 x 2.25″ tires, the bike is great on-road and exceptionally well-suited for gravel—once we dropped the tire pressure a bit, he had the biggest grin on his face.
I think he realized that even in places he rides every day, you can find gravel if you stray from the path a little, and by linking those sections together, you can turn a routine ride into an extraordinary adventure right in your neighborhood.
I hope he keeps on riding and goes on all sorts of journeys with his BOMBORA!!
