[MKS Exclusive] Black Magic, Brass Magic

Aging or Patina?

Chips, wear, cracks, oxidation. Things with form are always changing; nothing in this world stays in the same state forever.

In this impermanent world, that is a path we cannot avoid.

While the beauty of a new product is wonderful, I love things that find their true beauty after being used and changed over time.

In terms of bicycles, that means paint chips from flying stones or a dented top tube from a handlebar collision. The more you ride, the more the pristine beauty of the new bike changes, but those are records of your own rides, which I find charming. No matter how mass-produced a product may be, these dings and chips tell the history you’ve engraved into the bike, turning it into a special piece with its own unique scars.

Whether the frame gets dented or chipped, that is the history created by you and your bike. I find that change beautiful.

While it is generally viewed as deterioration over time, I personally believe that, conversely, it means injecting new values and sentimental attachment into a product.

Take well-worn jeans, or a broken-in leather saddle or jacket, for example. Even if every one of them was manufactured under a mass-production system, they take on different expressions depending on the person who wears or uses them, which becomes the value of that specific item.

Wanting to create bicycle parts like that is exactly why we commissioned this bespoke order from MKS (Mikashima Industrial), a pedal factory that Japan is proud of.

Three years after the initial concept, it is finally released (man, that was a long time...)

MKS Pedal Black Paint

The product designs are MKS's pride and joy: the PROMENADE, SYLVAN STREAM, and BM-7. For this release, we had them manufacture the side plates out of brass.

And we’ve had them finished with black paint. Unlike anodizing or electro-deposition coating, the paint will wear off (relatively easily) the more you use them.

These are pedals where, as you use them, the black paint will peel away to reveal the raw brass underneath.

For some, the changes will start on the tread surface; for others, the brass will begin to show where the pedals have hit the ground.

The exposed brass will then oxidize and gradually dull. Depending on the environment, you might even see some verdigris.

But that’s what makes it good.

Everything except for the side plates uses the same materials as the regular items, with the same black paint as the MKS x MASH collaboration.

Black Magic

Black paint over brass. If you're familiar with this world, you might have guessed it: we were inspired by Leica.

Leica is an optical manufacturer founded in Wetzlar, Germany. They were the ones to invent the 35mm film camera, which became the standard for film cameras by repurposing movie film.

Recently, PENTAX released a new half-frame film camera that caused a massive stir (?), but before that, Leica was the only manufacturer in the world still producing film cameras.

The Leica M-series is a masterpiece of humanity that has been in production with model updates since 1954. (Surprisingly, a 1954 lens is compatible with a 2024 digital body...!)

When the M-series was first introduced, silver chrome was the mainstream. However, upon requests for cameras to be "less conspicuous" for press work, a small number of brass-bodied cameras with black paint were manufactured. The way they age is just incredibly cool... (The silver bodies are also made of brass, by the way.)

Because of their scarcity, original black-paint models trade for high prices on the second-hand market (I really can't get my hands on one).

Price aside, no two are the same due to how they age.

It looks cool when the raw metal is exposed in a flashy way, and it also looks cool when it only shows on the edges.

They start off the same, but as you use them, each one develops a different expression. They change so much you wouldn't think they were the same thing to begin with (the photos show an M3 and M4, so they are different models). I love this philosophy so much that I mustered up the courage to buy a black-paint Leica M digital camera... I believe tools are meant to be used, so I might treat it roughly, but I believe that is the correct way to use a tool.

Including bike parts, I’m the type who thinks that products look best not when they are brand new, but when they have been well-used and reflect your own life. I like that way of riding, and because a bicycle is just a tool, I interpret "taking good care of it" not as keeping it in pristine condition, but as riding it hard every single day without worrying about a few scratches.

The box was also specially designed for this item.

I am truly sorry for forcing my personal hobbies into this, but many people who love bicycles also love photography, so I thought, perhaps, you might share this value...!

By the way, I love black paint so much that I even painted my SimWorks brass Turtle58 fenders black, haha.

Raw Brass

I’ve talked a bit too much about cameras, but for brass lovers around the world, we have also prepared a NO Paint raw brass variation.

Like the black paint version, we have prepared all three types: PROMENADE, SYLVAN STREAM, and BM-7.

I apologize for talking so passionately about the black paint, but this finish is just raw brass that has been lightly polished.

In other words, this was also made with the assumption that it will age.

As you can see, the bottom is before use, and the top is after use.

We deliberately chose not to polish it too much to maintain that raw brass atmosphere. As it dulls, it develops an incredible vibe. (On the other hand, you could polish it yourself to make it shine...)

This belongs to mat-kun, a SimWorks user living in Hokkaido; his brass fenders are also super classy.

I’ve written a lot, but the quality is the reliable MKS standard. They are carefully finished by hand.

I know there’s absolutely more demand for the raw brass, but I just couldn't stop talking about how wonderful the black paint is—sorry that the description is so heavy on the black paint part...!

Regardless, I wanted to make a mass-produced item that you’ll grow attached to as it ages; if anything, I wouldn't mind if you polished it yourself and made it your own. I’d like to make more products with that kind of free spirit.

The raw brass is great, and the black paint is also a fantastic build. I hope you’ll put them on your bike.