Kalavinka Sunset

Will Goodan’s work has been featured on Cycle EXIF more than once. He’s even been highlighted in both issues of the Cycle EXIF Calendar. With good reason: he has a great passion for Japanese keirin frames and his creative talent is reflected in the way he captures them photographically. Will’s latest project is a personalized Kalavinka frame that’s inspired by a Miami sunset — and if you look closely enough, you might just spot a white Lamborghini Countach careering down Collins Ave.

Keirin frames are highly prized for their flamboyant paint schemes, where bright colors fade into each other like rainbows and the clear coat is infused with glitter. Will’s Kalavinka is no exception and it’s also decorated with iconic decals called senjafuda. The left fork leg displays Kalavinka’s characters which refer to the hawk before he opens his talons for the kill and the right denotes Will’s Japanese family name with the words ‘konjo’ meaning spirit and ‘dokyo’ for courage.

Will is a Creative Director for his own studio, The Prime, so it’s only natural that he should place an emphasis on the bike’s aesthetic. In fact, he collaborated with the master builder of Kalavinka frames, Akio Tanabe-san, to revamp the original logo design, the result of which you can see on the top tube. The omamori hanging from the seat is a final auspice: it signifies ‘victory’. View the entire set of the Kalavinka Sunset on Will’s flickr stream.

ROUGH CRAFTS x ZERO ENGINEERING | Harley Knucklehead

There’s a wonderfully gothic, Victorian vibe to the latest machine from Taiwan’s Rough Crafts. It’s built around an S&S Harley Knucklehead motor, using a kit from legendary ‘samurai chopper’ builders Zero Engineering.

Rough Crafts’ Winston Yeh is a big fan of Zero. “The ‘Zero Style’ created by Mr. Shinya Kimura has always been amazing to us. When we finally got our hands on a Zero kit, we decided to build a bike that was inspired by Shinya’s creations, yet still has that Rough Crafts flavor.”The frame is Zero’s Type 6, and other Zero parts include the springer forks and seat. Most of the sheet metal is pure Rough Crafts though, and a showcase for Yeh’s fabrication skills. “When you’ve got this great canvas to work with, you just want to add more and more details,” says Yeh. “Like custom foot controls, and weld-on hand controls with a remote hydraulic master cylinder.” Originally, the battery was exposed but Yeh has made a box to house a smaller, more powerful Lithium-Ion battery and the master cylinder.

“The whole design aesthetic follows our earlier bike, the Brass Racer,” says Yeh.

“Brass, black, neo-vintage. Just the way we love it.”

Check out the coverage of Rough Crafts’ iconic Harley Sportster custom, “Guerilla”, and Zero Engineering’s glorious Type 9. –BikeEXIF

Bicycle Portraits investigates bicycle culture in South Africa, and in particular, the lack of cyclist commuters on the roads. Its run by Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler, who travel around South Africa meeting fellow cyclists and taking pictures of them and their bicycles.

Stan explains the project as follows:

“As you’ll see we are not photographing people who ride purely for exercise or recreation, but instead we are focusing on those who use bicycles as an integral tool in their day-to-day existence. We’ve noticed that in South Africa, especially in the major centers, very few people use bicycles as mode of transport. This is very strange since we have no proper public transport infrastructure, and that which does exist is expensive and unsafe.”

He then goes on to make the point about how finding ways to support cyclist commuters can be an act of empowerment:

“Given all the benefits of cycling – independence, health, fitness, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly – we would love to encourage the use of bicycles in South Africa amongst all social classes. We’ve noticed that as our major centers develop there still seems to be a trend to make cities more friendly for cars, not people. While this might be happening in many places around the world the effect on individuals seems to be very dramatic in a country like South Africa, where there is a growing divide between those who can afford motorized transport and those who struggle to. Owning a bicycle in this social climate can be very empowering, if the correct infrastructure exists.”

Stan combines his advocacy for more people-centered cities and towns with his obvious passion for cycling:

“As you might know, South Africa is a world within one country, home to various cultures, with a tragic history of segregation and racism. Through this project we hope to give people a glimpse into each other lives through a well-known object of movement, practicality and joy – the bicycle. Looking at individuals through their, sometimes unconscious, involvement in bicycle culture, we will inadvertently touch on many charged issues like the implementation of public space, lack of infrastructure development and also social problems like class division and unequal wealth distribution, but also perhaps bring those unfamiliar to each other together in their love for a simple thing…”

This project is a must-read for anyone with a love of cycling, and in particular, anyone in the business of designing cities for people, especially municipal NMT planners. Please check out the Bicycle Portraits website, and see how you can support this project.

Stan Engelbrecht & Nic Grobler have published the best 162 portraits and stories of the over 500 portraits of cyclists they’ve photographed during their 2 year journey around South Africa. Divided over 3 books, each contains a different 54 stories, and also two essays each by local South African and major international cycling figures. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy and they have also collaborated with celebrated South African artist Gabrielle Raaff to create an individual hand-painted watercolor map, based on Google Maps, to indicate the location of each of the portraits.

tokyobike.

Japanese bike-maker’s new Shoreditch shop

One of our favorite cult bike brands, tokyobike, just threw a housewarming party and customized-bike exhibit to inaugurate its new outpost in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood. Londoners can now buy these lightweight, 22lb bikes directly from the Japanese bike-maker in a variety of frame colors and models. The simple, all-white 1,700-square-foot interior of the shop, designed by Glass Hill, also stocks hard-to-find accessories and lifestyle pieces such as Japanese bags and housewares, and houses a bike workshop space in the basement. We asked the team at the London location to give us more insight into the new shop, which is the latest in a string of recent openings that includes Berlin, Sydney and Singapore, with Paris and New York coming soon.

The design of the store incorporates elevated platforms for the bikes. Can you explain the concept behind these?

Joe Nunn, Glass Hill: The elevated platforms are more a shared approach that sees that different functions should take place in different spaces. Separating the circulation area from the product display area seems appropriate in the same way as a genkan is right for outdoor shoes and not indoor slippers. We are showing the bicycles as new and pristine, and the slight separation in height and material not only says that visually but also practically.

What is the significance of the hanging cedar ball and how does it fit into the space?

Yuki Sugahara, store manager of tokyobike Melbourne: The cedar ball, made by Japanese craftsman, is traditionally used at the sake breweries as a sign to tell the locals that the fresh sake is ready. We wanted to have a symbolic piece that makes our customers feel something about Japan, where tokyobike originally came from. It is a beautiful and happy element that stands out in a simple white space and will hopefully start a conversation.

What elements did you bring to this store to give it a London personality?

Neil Davis, tokyobike: tokyobike comes from a traditional suburb of Tokyo with a lot of craftspeople and designer/makers still working. The Yanaka store displays and sells a lot of this work, and the London store will be similar in that respect, showcasing local products and designs alongside books and maps and a carefully curated range of bicycle accessories. Gropes is a good example.

What are your plans for the store and brand in the UK?

Davis: The store is a beautiful, clean space designed to show off the bikes and their many colors, but this makes it ideal for events and exhibitions. We have just collaborated with six artists to produce six pieces of bike art which will be displayed at the store before being auctioned. In the future look out for more exhibitions and product launches.

What is the fixie bike culture like in London?

Yu Fujiwara, store manager of tokyobike London: Compared with Tokyo, London’s bike culture is more centered around DIY and vintage. People fix up their old bikes or ride 1950s and ’60s bicycles; the growing popularity of the Tweed Run typifies this culture. Tokyo’s fixie culture is more rooted in pop/youth culture, which mixes colorful components with fashion.

What did you learn about the UK market after you did the pop-up shop last year that you took into account for this permanent location?

Davis: Pop-ups are fun but we always intended to have a permanent store. Not least because we want to look after our customers’ bikes. Location was important too—staying in Shoreditch, close to our existing customer base and in an area where there is still a lot of creativity. Space was also important. We wanted to give people coming to the store an experience as well as have enough room to show the entire range and house a workshop to build/service the bikes.

Photos by Andrea DiCenzo

Handle Your Wood // F&Y Les Classiques Wooden Bike Handlebars

Inspired by legendary cycling races and their heros, “Les Classiques” revive the elegance and panache that once reigned our roads.  We have paired various hardwood species to these famous one-day circuits to create an authentic line.  Developed with passion, “Les Classiques” give your ride a timeless look.

The choice of species, steaming, bending, drying, and the patience… The meticulous work behind the shapes hands will grasp.  The utmost simplicity of wood, aluminum, and brass give “Les Classiques” their strength and signature.  Individually handcrafted, each handlebar embodies a traditional skill-set.

The result of a passion for woodwork and bike rides, each object holds its own singular traits fabricated locally and of a limited edition.  The attention to detail in the confection of theses handlebars is a small gift to those who love and appreciate cycling.  “Les Classiques” are uniquely designed and handcrafted in Montreal.

fny.bigcartel.com

STUDIO BRISANT

Uwe Scheufen and his Studio Brisant are located in Münster, Germany, about 300 miles from Berlin — where Fashion Week is just about to wrap up. There would have been plenty of mirror-gazing going on there but Studio Brisant’s chromed road bike is a mirror of more worthy reflection.

Studio Brisant has been restoring, modifying and selling classic road bikes in Münster since 2009. Recently, Uwe has collaborated with a British frame builder to release a proprietary line of lugged steel frames — a track and road model, while a randonneur is still in the works.

This example of the road frame has been built up with a high-polished NOS Campgnolo gruppo, the legendary and desirable Croce d’Aune brake calipers book-ending the bike. The frames are built with Reynolds 631 and are available for purchase, along with all Studio Brisant project bikes, through the website — contact Uwe for details. There’s more photos of this beautiful bike on their flickr page.

Detroit Bicycle Company

You know those Chrysler commercials touting the tagline “Imported from Detroit”? Well, we like to imagine that there’s another one but rather than cars they’re packed with similarly seductive night shots of Detroit Bicycle Company’s two-wheeled artistry. The company’s works are rolling testaments to killer design, with each bike entirely hand-crafted in Motor City. Indicative of a bygone Motown era, founder Steven Bock builds and finishes each frame himself imbueing each with complete bike with vintage track components. The result is an assembly of unique one-off custom single-speed bikes befitting of garage space — right by your 1930 Duesenberg J Walker Legrande.

Buy Now: $3,200+ | Frames: $1,200+