Have you seen the SKLAR Japan Touring article that Kimura-san uploaded the other day?
Since this was Adam's first time in Japan since we started doing business together, I got a little over-excited and put together a pretty packed itinerary, but I’m just glad everyone seemed to enjoy it. Above all else, we had a blast, too. Another highlight of the trip was reaffirming that the PBJ is the perfect bike for this kind of fun.
If you haven't read it yet, please check it out.
In this blog, I’m going to do a bike check on the bikes that Adam and Nick actually brought with them. Let’s get right to it!
Adam’s PBJ
First off, we have the bike belonging to the man himself, Adam.
He brought along the PBJ that he had been riding as a long-term sample. Adam rides the Salmon colorway.
We planned this as a "credit card touring" trip (lightweight touring without tent camping), so he kept his clothes simple and used a combination of a handlebar bag and a frame bag.
The assembly is based on parts he had previously used on his MTB. It’s Adam’s gold-standard setup: our own PBJ Bar paired with a 35mm PAUL COMPONENT Boxcar Stem.
The long top tube paired with a short stem, combined with a handlebar that has a nice sweep and rise, makes touring and casual riding comfortable, while also allowing you to dive into any singletrack or doubletrack you find without hesitation.
While Adam uses hydraulic brakes on his trail-specific bike, the Tall Tale, he opted for mechanical brakes for his PBJ. Naturally, he went with his friends at PAUL COMPONENT's Klamper, but the pro move is using the short-pull version to make the lever action lighter.
He also had a hub dynamo set up on the front; the way he mounted the light was quite interesting, using a simple custom bracket he made himself. Of course, the hub dynamo and light are from the reliable SON NABENDYNAMO.
Nick’s PBJ
Nick, who works with Adam as part of the SKLAR team, also brought his PBJ to Japan. Since he's tall, he rides an XL frame in Moss Grey.
Like Adam, he uses a handlebar and frame bag combo.
Because the bike size is large, the head tube is also long, so he doesn't have to worry about the handlebar bag touching the tire even without a support—it's very stable. I’m also jealous of how much he can pack into that large frame bag.
Just like Adam, he runs both brakes and shifting mechanically, making the setup easy to fix in a pinch. He’s running 29x2.6" TERAVAIL Honcho tires, so he doesn't care what the road is like. Thanks to the original 3D yoke, he has plenty of clearance even with these wide tires.
Also, it’s just like them to equip a dropper post so they can really have fun. They were actively dropping their seats on descents both on and off-road, and it was also super useful for train travel (rinko), which made me decide to install a dropper post on my own bike (it's currently on order, lol).
Chris McNally’s Super Something
Finally, we have the bike of Chris McNally, a well-known illustrator in the bike industry. His studio is in the same building as the SKLAR office and shop—so, they’re neighbors. (Incidentally, though they couldn't make it this time because they were busy, Kyle and Jim from OUTER SHELL are also part of that tight-knit SF crew who are based in the same building).
He brought along a Super Something sample bike that was built just before the trip.
Oh, and the new Super Something framesets arrived safely the other day and are now available both in-store and online.
He’s running drop bars with a shallow drop and 700x50c tires.
It’s incredibly comfortable and can handle everything from your favorite short gravel loop to touring like we did this time—it’s truly the perfect example of a Super Something build.
The fact that he chose gold for his WHITE INDUSTRIES headset, as well as the PAUL COMPONENT top cap and bar ends, to match the logo colors is just so stylish.
For his handlebar bag, he primarily used the SimWorks Voyageur Handlebar Bag. Chris, who has experience with Japanese train travel before, packed smartly under his downtube. The simple rear rack on his seatpost is a titanium bag supporter once made by MOOTS. It originally came with a specific bag, but Chris mounted a dry bag to it instead.
Conclusion
So, while most of the group on this tour were on PBJs, we had a diverse variety of bikes including the Super Something and others.
The pace was laid-back and chill throughout, but it was a great team where everyone kept up well.
You can enjoy both on-road and off-road equally, even with a decent amount of gear loaded, and you can even have fun on trails. If you take advantage of the 29-inch capability, moving from point A to point B is surprisingly smooth. If your goal is to go further and faster, other bikes might be better, but there are always sights to see and fun to be had by going slower.
This tour was a great opportunity for me to realize once again just how versatile the PBJ is.
SKLAR BIKES PBJ Frame Set
Kimura-san is also planning to build a new PBJ, so once it's finished, I hope we can go on another tour together in a different location.
