Japanese Bikes

Just yesterday I saw three Japanese frames, never seen a single one before, and then all in one day i see..

A Blue 3rensho, ( i think this is Glow's, just had a quick look in 'What bikes do you ride?' ),
a purple Kalavinka
and a pale sparkly blue LeveL,

sick to see these around London, but who's are these and where did you get them from? ?

ahhh the njs crew !

You can buy them (overpriced) from the US. Or if you're lucky you can buy them ( a litle bit overpriced) straight from Japan.

heh yea,

i did talk to Stratton over at Keirin culture, but that stuff is way over priced :

A guy over at sf fixed sells quite a few, but they get sold quick quick,

Yep, everybody seems to want them. Guess it has to do with the Japanese mystique of keirin/NJS or something. I often wonder if a Dutch or Belgian built frame, built by some old man who has been building frames for the last 40 years, is worse then a Japanese one.
I mean if Japanse are some much better...

just have to wait a couple of years i guess, will be dime a dozen.

The Kalavinka belongs to 2 Wheel Army, a.k.a. Conrad.

yeah the blue 3rensho is glows,i seem to remember him falling off it a few times while trying to play polo!

Where does the high cost come into play? I mean, are these bikes epxensive to buy direct from the factory/shop in Japan or is it reseller markup or postage that makes the prices high? The reason I ask is that my cousin is married to a Japanese guy.. and my mate's cousin lives in Japan.. and Australia is closer to Japan than England..

3rensho level kavalinka bomber pro nagasawa all these frames you could expect to pay $1200 - 2000 USD for a frame new, some 2nd hand ones are going crazy on ebay these days i guess it is rarity value as much as anything the old supply and demand issue

plus they do look sweet some of the nagasawa paint jobs sparkly sparkly look so nice

you can't actually buy them new, except nagasawa's i think and there's a crazy waiting list, the frames are built for keirin racers and you have to be one to get one, so most you see will be scond hand..

the purple kalavinka was probably conrad's i don't know about the anchor, there's an orange one floating about too..

According to Tomity there are only a few well-known keirin frame makes no longer made...

KATAKURA SILK
LIGHTNING
REMINTON
UNO

... 3rensho is now Makino

http://homepage.mac.com/tomity/PhotoAlbum37.html

soft fix

I have all the parts to fit onto a nice clean white Keirin frame, but can I find a nice white Keirin frame, not for love nor money. You can pick up a Gan Well Pro frame from several places in the US, this for about sixteen hundred dollars. EAI were importing Gan Well Pro's also but these have nearly all gone. I was quoted a thousand pounds sterling for an EAI import frame. You can order Nagasawa's & Kalavinka's from several places in the states but you are talking three thousand bucks. Really I got my heart set on one of these.

I was looking for a Japanese person to give them a call, but by the sound of it GLOW, that japanese person has got to be a Keirin racer, which is a bit of a drag...

Anyone figured out yet how to get on the Japanese Yahoo Auctions yet...?

if you get this bike i will hate you.
and yes that means i am a mature adult!

oh the blue 3rensho is a guy called max's he just got it recently, its on the pirate alley cat pics
there is a cream 3rensho about that is a friend of mines that i built up,
the purple Kalavinka i have seen him about, riden by an overly cool black guy with blue anodised nitto drops(saw him on last critical mass and about camden) that makes my mouth water.

but there seems to be a lot of them about of late, the trend is growing over here, i think its only a good thing

It's like KFC, Mc Donald's and bike polo... is the american culture invading Europe!

Jos Yep, everybody seems to want them. Guess it has to do with the Japanese mystique of keirin/NJS or something. I often wonder if a Dutch or Belgian built frame, built by some old man who has been building frames for the last 40 years, is worse then a Japanese one.
I mean if Japanse are some much better...

Totally - why try to find stuff from the other side of the world if you have everything here in Europe ;)

hell yeah,
fantastic frames made in the good land that i grew up in, roberto knows that allright

Bike polo is very european. Maybe playing it on dirty basketball courts in cities could be seen as american but I just see that as urban.

European frames kick functional ass but those japanese paintjobs and seatstay caps are pretty.

those japanese frames are stupid prices, i can't believe they are any better than a custom uk made frame.

I was looking for a Japanese person to give them a call, but by the sound of it GLOW, that japanese person has got to be a Keirin racer, which is a bit of a drag...

Anyone figured out yet how to get on the Japanese Yahoo Auctions yet...?[/quote]

well no, the japanese person (or person living in japan) can just be anyone who can bid on a japanese auction for you

Trampsparadise - I know what you like so I know that you know that not all Euro frames are purely functional!

A grand for a Ganwell Pro? Fuck that. Anyone else who wants to spend a grand on a pretty frame should check this out

built by this guy http://www.robinmathercycles.co.uk/

glow I was looking for a Japanese person to give them a call, but by the sound of it GLOW, that japanese person has got to be a Keirin racer, which is a bit of a drag...

Anyone figured out yet how to get on the Japanese Yahoo Auctions yet...?

well no, the japanese person (or person living in japan) can just be anyone who can bid on a japanese auction for you[/quote]

I am looking for a Japanese person to call LEVEL in Tokyo for me, give them my measurements, lay down some dough, and have it shipped, this cat http://velospace.org/node/3494 got himself hooked up with a Level Pro, so there has to be a way ...

As to Yahoo Japanese Auctions I can't figure out a way to translate the pages into inglesh.... but I have started following Japanese people around on my bike ...so where there is a will there is a way

how does that 3Rensho ride then glow...?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but one of these bikes is 'styling'
while the other one is rather 'sensible'