Life is comin’ back..
Defining a bicycle of freedom and richness
Hello, this is Tanaka from Circles.
Where and how do you interpret the phrase "riding freely"?
Regarding that question, another one of the answers I’ve come up with has arrived from California.
As one of those answers, here is an urban track bike by Sycip Design / Jeremy Sycip.
After MADE ended last year, I requested this bike during my bikepacking trip. Following the 1×1 style MTB by RETROTEC, this is the “third model” produced based entirely on my own bias and judgment.
If the RETROTEC model was a bike meant to be “used up” off-road, I asked for this one to be designed for the asphalt—among traffic lights, hills, and the hustle and bustle—as a “bike that allows you to pedal hard and brings true satisfaction.”
I would like to introduce this bike to you, while sharing its beauty and richness, as well as the person who is Jeremy Sycip.
The aesthetics of being "ordinary"
What I asked for was a simple track bike, with no gears and no decorations.
But it’s a little different from a so-called typical track bike.
I had in mind something that holds a street sensibility like a SURLY Steamroller, but is slightly more delicate, slightly more gentle, and more aligned with the "current mood."
The only person capable of truly embodying that is Jeremy Sycip, who possesses the best welding skills in California; that’s just the natural conclusion one arrives at.
From a quiet studio in Santa Rosa
Sycip Design was founded in San Francisco in the early 1990s by the current owner, Jeremy, and his brother Jay.
After Jay moved to Portland, Jeremy continued the work alone, and today he handles every stage of manufacturing by himself in a garage studio next to his home in Santa Rosa, California.
Santa Rosa is a small city with a calm atmosphere different from Napa—where Curtis from RETROTEC, whom I introduced previously, lives—where artists and residents coexist peacefully.
It is also where Charles M. Schulz, creator of Peanuts, spent his final years, and a place many Japanese people still visit for the Snoopy Museum. (Coincidentally, Mr. Schulz was from Minneapolis, the hometown of SURLY.)
I feel this stillness and intimacy mirror the rhythm of Jeremy’s craftsmanship. His speech is calm and he is by no means talkative, but his eyes are always watching "people’s lives."
Where and how do you ride, where do you park, what are you struggling with? Carefully incorporating such concrete images into the frame—that is the true essence of Sycip Design.
Furthermore, he doesn’t just make bicycles; he takes on signs, fixtures, chairs—anything made of metal, if he finds a sense of richness in it. When I visited his workshop last time, he was actually making a chandelier for a restaurant.
He is not limited to the framework of a "bicycle builder"; he is truly an "explorer of craftsmanship."
Details for riding the city
The design packed into this Sycip Urban Track might look minimal, but it is filled throughout with the “just right margin” necessary for everyday use in urban areas.
▷ Spec Highlights
- Frame material: 4130 CrMo steel
- BB standard: BSA 68mm (JIS)
- Head tube: 1-1/8” Ahead
- Seatpost diameter: 27.2mm (Clamp diameter 30.0mm)
- Rear end: 120mm (Track end)
- Max tire width: 700×35c (intended for fender mounting as well)
- Brakes: Caliper brakes (medium reach)
- Color: CANDY BROWN / PORSCHE GREY (Powder coat by Prismatic)
While cutting away unnecessary decorations, consideration for usability is thorough.
The clearance to accommodate tires up to 35c, along with a design that allows for simple racks and fenders, is proposed as the "ideal form for daily use" in the city.
The colors are a tribute to the Steamroller, the source of our homage, updated with Porsche original colors from the 70s—a favorite of the Sycip family—while basing it on colors that existed in the past.
I feel that Candy Brown holds a subtle allure that changes its expression depending on the light, while Porsche Grey holds a deep, indescribable quality worn by Porsches of yesteryear.
A "good bike" that panders to no one
The greatest aesthetic of this frame might be that it has absolutely no self-assertion intended for showing off to others.
Without relying on logos or excessive decoration, it stands there quietly in nothing but a solid coat of paint.
However, if you gaze closely at details like the supple lines of the stays, the shape of the fork, the meticulous welding marks, and the precisely calculated geometry, anyone who has lived a rich life and has a keen eye will immediately realize, "Ah, this is the real deal."
Jeremy himself rarely uses the word "functional beauty," but a beauty that arises inevitably from function breathes through the frames he builds. Because it isn’t forced, it exudes a pure and powerful charm that deeply satisfies the heart of the rider.
The Sycip way of life
The appeal of the person Jeremy Sycip goes beyond technique and frame design.
He is also a cyclist who has continued to manufacture for over 30 years alone while raising children, and who has sincerely continued to build "bicycles to make life better" while being deeply involved in his local community.
He is a rare existence among American handmade builders who has continued to choose "trustworthy craftsmanship." That is precisely why Circles has been his partner for over 15 years.
SYCIP BIKES Urban Track Bike Frameset
Size: 50cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm
Color: Candy Brown, Porsche Grey
Price: 660,000 JPY (tax included)
Sales have already started at the Circles storefront, and thankfully the 52cm size has already sold out, but we have uploaded them to the webshop today.
For those interested in custom orders, we are accepting consultations for size fitting, color selection, and delivery times at Circles Nagoya/Tokyo stores or our CWD sales partner shops.
Closing
If the RETROTEC 1×1 was a “return to the origin” bike for me, I think of this Sycip Urban Track as a bike for “returning to freedom.”
Even without flashy and excessively high-performance shifting gears, even without special measurement devices—I believe the essence of a bicycle lies in riding "as yourself" through the city and enjoying every day, not just for a special day on the weekend.
A bike that conveys such important things, quietly but surely.
I hope that this Sycip Urban Track is that bike for you.
Until next time, don't forget to keep your sense of playfulness.
See you somewhere on the streets.
