Spotted in Cambridge...

His name is Michael or Michal. Anywho...he used to ride a chromed Bianchi and waited to have the boys at Panasonic make it for him! Waited a while actually. Panasonic has a number of frame builders and are not a rare as let say Samason, Nagasawa, Nakagawa, Peloton etc etc. Those are usually one master frame builder with like two./three apprentices.
Sooooo...RIck Facebooked me and said he SNAPPED his Vivalo frame....any leads on this?

Mihail in that case i would presume.

Yeah, Rick snapped his vivalo at the top tube and bottom tube near the headtube :)

apparently a car pulled out right in front and he just went into the side of it. Funnily enough the deep v velocity that he had on it is dead straight but the frame is fucked.
Donno, well see, hopefully the driver's insurance will cover some of the costs of a new frame. Its just now its gonna cost him twice what he paid for it before for that condition, and he doesn't want anything else he wants the same pink, vivalo.... pfft

rick needs a titanium frame in his life, it would break the car before it broke itself

rick needs a titanium frame in his life, it would break the car before it broke itself

unless he hits a titanium car.

or even worse - diamond

It's true ! He had a mini pull out in front of him when he was motoring down Milton road . Hurt himself badly enough to get an ambulance which was funny coz they all knew him . Nothing broken which is amazing as he went over the roof ! Andy's wheel building is truly brilliant as the front wheel is still perfectly true but took ALL the impact . The frame snapped on the top tube just beyond the head lug . Wheel is bent back beyond the down tube .He's had 9 painkillers and gone down the Maypole to drown his sorrows . How you doing back in US ?

Aaron, are njs frames cheaper to buy in straight japan then?

I'm looking for one, and by the looks of things so does Rick

Things are great in the US. I tell you one thing that is NOT....bicycle shops in my home town SUCK BALLS. I bent my rear wheel in two places ( I stepped on it doing a trackstand...that is another story). I wanted to fix it and asked if they had any spoke wrenches. IMMEDIATELLY they said "this wheel is toast you have to get a new one"...hrrrmmmm.
Andy would never have said that! That being said it is probably toast, none of the spokes are loose, and the wheel as a wicked warp. If I loosen one side, the other side is already tight...argggh! Oh well...purple Velocity B43 for my bike! Ha ahaha!!!
Anywho....sucks for Rick's bike, but it is more important that he was ok! Maybe breaks would have saved his bike?????Just kidding!
As for cheaper frames in Japan...well that depends. Mostly on size, frame builder (popularity/rarity), and condition. The Yen is stronger than the British Pound so things wont be cheap. Plus you have to factor in shipping and possible taxes. I could find some frames and give some quotes. But I think people will have to be willing to drop something between $600 -$800 for a frame and add another $150 - $200 for shipping! I have saw some cheap prices two years ago, I really didn't look the last time I was there, 1) I don't really want a Japanese frame and 2) I want a new trick bike (Volume Cutter or the Milkwakee Bruiser!)

YOu wanted Japanese frames??? Check this website out. http://keirinculture.com
Reall good, lesser known but NOT lesser quality Keirin frames: Georama, Stratos, and Giro! Only 51, 52, 53, and 53.5 frames though! Only the shorties get to ride! But I good deals considering you get frame, bb and headset for about $700! Get on it my SON!!

I like looking here ...........http://njs-keirin.blogspot.com/

i never buy anything though , i once e-mailed him but he said it was sold . I like the fact you can get battered frames for cheap

so the verdict is that the njs stuff they have on the net for $700 odd and more dowwars is about the same as what you would have to pay if you went and bought one in japan?

sucks man

Mihail in that case i would presume.

Actually his name is Paulski .......according to Rupert

Yeah...supply and demand!
That is not to say that you cannot find deals...and you can...they just take TIME!
Basically people are WILLING TO PAY the crazy prices so the prices stay they same.
Most people don't have alot of fixed gear bikes. I am going to sell my Cornelo...I don't like the twitchy front fork, and I am sick of the weird seat stay, that accomdates this fucked up seat pin set up. I like my Condor (my first fixie...who forgets their first time??) and I like my San Marco (my first build/sourced parts/everything/stickered up!) The Cornelo is gluttony and I already have a Schwinn Paramount (that I want to make into a Sunday rider, brakes, 27" wheels, gumwall Panaracer Paselas, retro all the way) I am going to get it refurbed in Japan!) and I have a Specialized Allez Alum roadbike that needs some attention for seriously long rides!

SO....if I come across some frames for a REASONABLE price I will holler them out. I know a few bike shops already in Tokyo area and Tomoko;s hometown near Fuji. There are a tonne (british spelling :) ) of velodromes, and bike shops nearby are good places to look for frames as well.
Again, the frames will pop up when you least expect it! OR you can visit TOmoko and I, or better yet come to our wedding (APR 2010) and hostel it in Tokyo....super cheap, clean and badass time!

i seeeee

wow, and I had no idea you're getting married, although the word fiancé must have given me somekind of clue, daaaaaa.
Congratulations man. I'd love to come and see Tokyo for sure, but I can never be too sure about these things, in a years time I could be even more broke than I am now begging for a hot lunch on the streets in a trade for the skin of a dead lizzard so i can feed my pet monkey.

But time will tell for sure.

check the blog for some picks of ricks frame, it truly sucks balls, it was so pimp. as far as cheap NJS frames go its hard to find them thats why i got that pan of off gary, i could never afford the full wack on shipping one fron japan.

This lunchtime....
Young blonde dude - may have come out with us (?) yellow bike, pink rims (!) cycling furiously up Madingley road just before the coton turnoff.

ALSO, Rory McGrath on a three-speed with basket, trundling down hill to Comberton. Topless and in shorts. twas a sight to behold.

Yuk !

Yes, I thought yellow and pink was a bit much too.

I keep seeing the same guy on a black Specialized with the pink rear Deep-V and right hand Panier on Hills Road. Who is he?!

yeah i've seen that guy (langster, pink deep V), I've seen it locked up at the leys school. maybe a teacher(?) so fair play if tha's the case.

and blond guy on yellow bike is my mate Ollie, the rims are red/orange i have been told, haven't actually seen them yet but yeah. He's good mates with Oz, he helped ollie build up the bike so yeah.

He winked at me while i was sitting outside hills road... (Ollie that is)

YouTube - John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air (1978)

Love is in the hair , beware the winky fixie killer

I keep seeing the same guy on a black Specialized with the pink rear Deep-V and right hand Panier on Hills Road. Who is he?!

Dunno who it is, but it is often parked in the Engineering Dept as well. Think it is staff rather than a student though

3 riders heading northwest on huntingdon road at approx 7.30pm last night...me heading in the opposite direction. first chap hossing it (approx ~25mph), so couldnt get a good look at the bike...think white tyres with baby blue deep v's. impressive effort given he must have just ascended castle hill. second chap...looked like they were riding together, on a more colorful number riding slower at the time. 3rd chap bit further back, on his jack...3 good looking bikes...nice to see them being used properly too. me heading into town - black frame white tyres.

one of them sounds like rick as he now rides a baby blue bike with baby blue deep vs

To match his purdy blew eyes