British track rider Dave Daniell is heading out to Japan to race on the Keirin circuit between April and September, and London/web-based bike shop Tokyo Fixed have supplied him with the bikes he’ll be using to compete.
Daniell is a hopeful for the GB 2012 Olympic track team with several World Cup podiums to his name and a silver medal from the keirin in last year’s Commonwealth Games.
Max Lewis of Tokyo Fixed said, “A few weeks back, Dave contacted us. He was seeking advice on the NJS [Nihon Jitensha Shinkōkai – the Japanese Keirin Association] kit he had been instructed to use. Dave was also after an NJS-approved track frame.
“From the list of seven top frame builders, two are available from Tokyo Fixed but between Cherubim and Nagasawa, the obvious choice for Dave was the latter. Nagasawa built for 10 times sprint World Champion Koichi Nakana, as well as building frames for Dave’s teammate Matthew Crampton.
“Dave was also eager for a try on a steel track frame and we felt our S1 prototype would be perfect to give him a taste.”
Gambling on keirin racing is big business in Japan so all riders are subject to strict equipment rules that make the bikes technically very similar. All bikes and equipment must be made by a certified builder using approved materials and then stamped by the NJS. It makes the UCI’s equipment regulations policy look positively relaxed.
The Tokyo Fixed S1 that Max mentioned uses stiff and light Columbus Spirit tubing and comes with a fork that features aero Kasei blades. The driveside chainstay is chromed and you get Japanese stainless steel-plated dropouts. The frame and fork package costs £750.
Keirin racing began in Japan back in the late 1940s and was eventually added to the Olympic programme in 2000. Chris Hoy is the current Olympic champion. It’s a 2km mass-start race between 6-9 riders who are initially paced by a derny motorized bike. With 600-700m to go, the derny swings off and the riders sprint it out.
For more details on the Tokyo Fixed range go to www.tokyofixedgear.com.
Fair pedantry, though as HP said there may be a slight difference - my point was not the relative merits of ICE / EV braking and tyre wear...
I like how drivers make the case for making monitoring covert, not overt.
She seemed a bit upset about a minor misjudgement that could have killed someone and is going to cause months of stress and inconvenience.
No we don't agree, personally I would take primary, even if only for a short period although I can understand why some riders might not want to...
And which looks very like the bag produced by indy bag manufacturer Wizard Works…...
If it was a 'no vehicles' sign (all white circle centre), it would mean cyclists could ride in the hours that HGVs and disabled drivers are allowed...
The bit at the start and end looks like a cycle lane, but the bit they drive on looks just like a patched filter lane for traffic lights.
Hey, you 4 execs helped run a company into the ground and have no jobs anymore... Come work for us because you have great experience in the...
£11.5k for a bike weighing over 8kg that's 2 fingers to customers let alone UCI
I'm going to show my bike a picture of this shed and tell it, "If you don't behave..."