New Frames

I was in Cavendish bikes this afternoon (after a rendezvous with a certain Mr 14 (first name 50) at Oxford Circus) - and they have some lovely new handmade steel frames with track ends and gorgeous paint jobs and chrome lugs - I forget the brand - something Japanesish beginning with 'K'.

Very very very nice - £600 for frame and fork - but very very very nice.

Anyone know the name from my rubbish info above ?

The guy with the foreign accent and blotchy complexion (is he Polish, I wonder . . .) said they were getting a lot more in, and there would be quite a varied spec. And by the way I was most discreet Tynan, and left before they killed me. All I imparted was your good advice on ceramic bearings.

those bikes rule for getting from one plantation t'other

Probably the best inter-plantation frame currently coming out of Polonia.

As far as i understand this Katana is/was a sort of prototype, and future ones are gonna be toned down in terms of the decals (we hope). The guy who builds them seems pretty keen on feedback, but will also do whatever you want in terms of colours/decals etc. I heard he may also do some curvey tubing at some point....swanky lo-pro anyone?!

As far as i understand this Katana is/was a sort of prototype<<

They have actually got around 4 or 5 frames in, all in different colour schemes, a nice white one has curvy seat stays - with the mid point of the seat stays curving towards the BB.

Nice.

the new blue thingy looks like a soma rush or whatever it is.

it's nasty, tacky, and unpleasant.

seriously, look at it, it's a piece of garish tat, like something out of a morrison's cracker, except not as posh looking. still, as per usual, the masses are queueing up to coat it in sticky white love lacquer.

I had to stop off in the pub next door and knock one out.

I'm sure tynan feels the same way really, but knows that if it was toned down with a chimp-arse rear rim, the class would start to ooze from it like so much uncured framesaver.

You know me too well.

so it's a Polish built frame with a Japanese name..

a Katana is a long bladed sword, used by Ninjas, Samurai and slaves.

50/14 told us all about you, tynan.

then we killed him.

He told that you might attempt to kill him that is why he sent 50/14 v2.0 - the real 50/14 went down the pub with me.

evil twins, the new hip hop slaves?

quick send out the trouser and shoe correspondent

The guy with the foreign accent and blotchy complexion (is he Polish, I wonder . . .) said they were getting a lot more in, and there would be quite a varied spec. And by the way I was most discreet Tynan, and left before they killed me. All I imparted was your good advice on ceramic bearings.

That's all they deserve.

He told that you might attempt to kill him that is why he sent 50/14 v2.0 - the real 50/14 went down the pub with me.

was that to give you a hand making the love lacquer?

Yep ! They have a nice Vivalo + a few other bits and pieces of niceness !!

Take a look at the Katanas, they are freaking lovely.

That shop is a fucking slave ship.

I saw the Katana a coupla weeks ago but thought it was way too expensive, I'd be much happier spending my sharecropper credits on a Vivasawavinka from a bit further east...
Gonna pop up there today and check the Vivalo out, wrong colour tho', my Ninja slave bike must be black... Black as night... With coloured sparkles... Then Arrotex'd white... ;)

I I mean, what's wrong with being Polish? Did Polski NJSki Wantabi not have the right ring to it?

There is a Polish frame builder called Orlowski who apparently got NJS certification, anyone know if thats true?

He told that you might attempt to kill him that is why he sent 50/14 v2.0 - the real 50/14 went down the pub with me.

was that to give you a hand making the love lacquer?

My dealings with Mr 14 are entirely business related and above board.

my Ninja slave bike must be black... Black as night... With coloured sparkles... Then Arrotex'd white... ;)

Get some of these bastards under the clear coat . .

then Arrotex it white, that way you will always have a food source if the fixed gear rapture happens whilst you are out and about.

There is a Polish frame builder called Orlowski who apparently got NJS certification, anyone know if thats true?

(Notice the name. Orlowski. Not Wasabi Teriyaki not-quite-NJSki. Admittedly I have no idea if Orlowski ever got NJS certification, but it's not like he's pretending it's Japanese.)

(Notice the name. Orlowski. Not Wasabi Teriyaki not-quite-NJSki. Admittedly I have no idea if Orlowski ever got NJS certification, but it's not like he's pretending it's Japanese.)

hmmmm, as far as i know not all keirin frame builders are japanese, it just so happens most of them are.
this keirin bike looks like it says Orlowski on the frame

^^^Indeed it does look like an Orlowski.

Never said that all keirin builders were Japanese. I'm just saying that Polish former track racer Orlowski doesn't feel the need to pretend to be Japanese, he's happy just to put his name on his bikes like many other builders and let his reputation carry him.

These guys behind the K...atana, on the other hand, are dressing up their bike as Japanese. Why? Because far too many NJS-slaves will think "ah, Japanese styling = cool". Why couldn't they just be a respectable Polish framebuilder? Because then they'd have to spend time building up a reputation and they couldn't sell their frames for £600 a pop. Mutton dressed as lamb, as PJ said.

Pity, because I think the framework looks quite reasonable. But you can get a Bob Jackson for £345 off the peg, or a 631 Mercian for £430. Why pay £600 for an off-the-peg frame whose builder doesn't even want his name on his bike?

Edit to add - wasn't suggesting that the Katana was built by Orlowski. But if it was, then put his name back on it!

actually, i think the only way he could justify selling his frames at 600 would be to use his own history as opposed to co-opting someone elses; supposedly the builder built many of the polish national track team frames for a few years in the late 70's. the frame typography/styling is the brainchild of someone else (ie. not the builder). it is quite a shame, they are beautifully made and painted, they just need some taste and honesty to their presentation.

Dafoneyowski? ;)

These guys behind the K...atana, on the other hand, are dressing up their bike as Japanese. Why? Because far too many NJS-slaves will think "ah, Japanese styling = cool". Why couldn't they just be a respectable Polish framebuilder? Because then they'd have to spend time building up a reputation and they couldn't sell their frames for £600 a pop. Mutton dressed as lamb, as PJ said.

Pity, because I think the framework looks quite reasonable. But you can get a Bob Jackson for £345 off the peg, or a 631 Mercian for £430. Why pay £600 for an off-the-peg frame whose builder doesn't even want his name on his bike?

I tend to buy a bike frame using practical considerations, things like build quality - aesthetics might also be a consideration as well as weight - but I can't really get into the whole moralistic approach, rejecting a bike frame because of the rights and wrongs of how a frame manufacturer should or shouldn't name their product.

They have some nice Bob Jackson frames in Cavendish at the moment (right next to the Katanas) and to me the katanas are much nicer, the finish and attention to detail is just fantastic.

I tend to buy a bike frame using practical considerations, things like build quality - aesthetics might also be a consideration as well as weight - but I can't really get into the whole moralistic approach, rejecting a bike frame because of the rights and wrongs of how a frame manufacturer should or shouldn't name their product.

They have some nice Bob Jackson frames in Cavendish at the moment (right next to the Katanas) and to me the katanas are much nicer, the finish and attention to detail is just fantastic.

I buy things according to whether I think their aesthetics, functionality, build quality and brand integrity match their price point.

I think the k...atana is overpriced for a bike that is a bit gaudy and which nobody has ever heard of before.

If the price were more a par with a Bob Jackson (edit to add - or a Mercian) it might get a look-in.

I also think that people are generally far too easily manipulated by advertising, and the faux-Nippon styling of this bike is, to me, more than a bit disingenuous. I really don't get what was wrong with being Polish.

But hey, if you like your Marks-and-Sparks doesn't-really-taste-like-sushi that's fine by me.

(Another edit to add - but you're curiously comfortable with getting into the rights and wrongs of other people's individual belief systems. Who'd have thunk it?)

I tend to buy a bike frame using practical considerations, things like build quality - aesthetics might also be a consideration as well as weight - but I can't really get into the whole moralistic approach, rejecting a bike frame because of the rights and wrongs of how a frame manufacturer should or shouldn't name their product.

They have some nice Bob Jackson frames in Cavendish at the moment (right next to the Katanas) and to me the katanas are much nicer, the finish and attention to detail is just fantastic.

Don't you think the Katana's a lot of money tho'? I'm not disputing the quality, it may be great but £500-ish for a Mercian Vigorelli hand built to your own specifications wins hands down IMHO... My tuppence...

I really don't get what was wrong with being Polish.

Nothing wrong with being Polish at all, but maybe they thought what I did when I first read about the frames... '£600 for a Polish built bike? That's a bit steep'

There's nothing wrong with Polish craftsmanship, but oftentimes, the perception is that things from Eastern Europe should be cheaper due to lower costs and so on, irrespective of their quality.

What about Orlowski?

What about Gazelle, for that matter, the Dutch company that made very nice bikes?

I think people need to get out of the mindset that Japanese certification is the premier mark of quality... Which is exactly what these guys are playing on with their faux-Nippon styling.

I also think that people are generally far too easily manipulated by advertising.

Like I said, if it does the job, looks nice, doesn't weigh a ton it gets a look in, I will leave the less practical considerations like moralising about nomenclature and seeking 'brand integrity' to you ! ;P

But seriously, go and have a look at them, they are very well made indeed, perhaps you are right, £600 is a little steep, but they are individually hand made by a small manufacturer and the price includes forks and custom paint choices.

If they were actually made by Orlowski I'd consider buying one, provided they put his name on the tube instead...

For the time being I'll wait and see how the early adopters fare.