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Published On: May 15, 2007 04:23 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 15, 2007 04:23 PM
a Keirin dilemma....
I have a dilemma, albeit rather a nice one...
(note, non-cyclists might find the next bit dull... but read on anyway ;o). I'm
the lucky owner of the only GanWell Pro Keirin frame in the UK. It might even be
the only one in Europe, I don't know, seems unlikely - but they're certainly not
often seen outside of Japan. I should explain (well, actually I'll borrow some
text from Wikipedia), the Japanese are nuts about a discipline of track racing
known as Keirin which is a mass-start event with up to to 9 sprinters compete at
one time in a race with a paced-start. Riders draw lots to determine starting
positions and start as the pacer (which could be a motorcycle, a derny, or a
tandem bicycle, for example) approaches. The riders are required to remain
behind the pacer, which starts at the deliberately slow speed of about 25 km/h,
gradually increasing in speed and leaves the track approximately 600-700 meters
before the end, at a speed of about 50 km/hr. The first cyclist to finish the
race is the winner (sometimes finishing at 70 km/h). Keirin races are about 2
kilometers in length (8 laps on a 250m track, 6 laps on a 333m track, and 5 laps
on a 400m track). Read the rest of the detail here.
There is a huge gambling culture surrounding the events, because of this there exists a very strict set of rules/standards governing equipment, similar to those used in one-design yacht racing). The standards have been set for a long time so the bikes in use on the face of it are very traditional in appearance being built from skinny steel tubes with a lugged construction. The "old-skool" appearance though is only skin deep, because of the restrictions the construction of keirin frames has been elevated to an art form, and current frames can be considered state of the art... and rather beautiful.
GanWell is (or was) one such builder of frames (based in Kyoto), I say 'was' because the builder died recently and there won't be any more, so the rarity of them outside of Japan will remain unchanged, certainly in this country. I was lucky enough, with some help from Will at HubJub , to be able to lay my sticky paws on one of the last unused examples left in Japan.... I was very lucky actually, there was one in my size (of only 4 left if I remember correctly) and it was a gorgeous ferrari red colour. It made it's journey from Japan and arrived on my doorstop, nicely wrapped in a mountain of Japanese newsprint back in October 2006. I've done nothing with it since simply because it needs a really nice set of components to do the frame justice, and it's taken me a while to accumulate the funds to do that.... but now I'm ready..... and here is my dilemma:
Strictly speaking a 'proper' keirin build needs to use all NJS-approved parts (NJS = Nihon Jitensha Sinkokai, or the Japan Bicyling Association) with a deep drop track bar and accompanying deep drop stem. Such a set up looks gorgeous but isn't particularly rideable for anything other than track sprinting. I intend to ride this frame on the road (on those lazy summer days when a trip to the beach cafe is in order...) in which case a more conventional road bar and stem would work much better... but wouldn't be 100% appropriate, though I can source such parts from Japanese manufacturer Nitto who also manufacture the best NJS-approved track equipment so it's not such a blasphemy as it could be! Besides, I've already settled on the rather lovely but not NJS-approved high flange hubs from Phil Wood . The extension to this dilemma is whether or not to go for an all Japanese build.... I'm a big fan of Campagnolo equipment, and in typically Italian fashion their track cranks are a work of art, highly polished sculptures that still carry the NJS approval. The Japanese alternative is something from Sugino (the '75') or Shimano (Dura-Ace), of equal quality to Campagnolo but they just don't look so nice... the Sugino especially is just too utilitarian in appearance for my tastes... No doubt my opinions will rub some folk with nowt better to worry about up the wrong way but hey, free country and all that. I also know won't get any answers back from you lot, but stay tuned to see what I end up doing... But in the meantime here's a nice photo for you to look at, this is what it will look like once I finish the build.
There is a huge gambling culture surrounding the events, because of this there exists a very strict set of rules/standards governing equipment, similar to those used in one-design yacht racing). The standards have been set for a long time so the bikes in use on the face of it are very traditional in appearance being built from skinny steel tubes with a lugged construction. The "old-skool" appearance though is only skin deep, because of the restrictions the construction of keirin frames has been elevated to an art form, and current frames can be considered state of the art... and rather beautiful.
GanWell is (or was) one such builder of frames (based in Kyoto), I say 'was' because the builder died recently and there won't be any more, so the rarity of them outside of Japan will remain unchanged, certainly in this country. I was lucky enough, with some help from Will at HubJub , to be able to lay my sticky paws on one of the last unused examples left in Japan.... I was very lucky actually, there was one in my size (of only 4 left if I remember correctly) and it was a gorgeous ferrari red colour. It made it's journey from Japan and arrived on my doorstop, nicely wrapped in a mountain of Japanese newsprint back in October 2006. I've done nothing with it since simply because it needs a really nice set of components to do the frame justice, and it's taken me a while to accumulate the funds to do that.... but now I'm ready..... and here is my dilemma:
Strictly speaking a 'proper' keirin build needs to use all NJS-approved parts (NJS = Nihon Jitensha Sinkokai, or the Japan Bicyling Association) with a deep drop track bar and accompanying deep drop stem. Such a set up looks gorgeous but isn't particularly rideable for anything other than track sprinting. I intend to ride this frame on the road (on those lazy summer days when a trip to the beach cafe is in order...) in which case a more conventional road bar and stem would work much better... but wouldn't be 100% appropriate, though I can source such parts from Japanese manufacturer Nitto who also manufacture the best NJS-approved track equipment so it's not such a blasphemy as it could be! Besides, I've already settled on the rather lovely but not NJS-approved high flange hubs from Phil Wood . The extension to this dilemma is whether or not to go for an all Japanese build.... I'm a big fan of Campagnolo equipment, and in typically Italian fashion their track cranks are a work of art, highly polished sculptures that still carry the NJS approval. The Japanese alternative is something from Sugino (the '75') or Shimano (Dura-Ace), of equal quality to Campagnolo but they just don't look so nice... the Sugino especially is just too utilitarian in appearance for my tastes... No doubt my opinions will rub some folk with nowt better to worry about up the wrong way but hey, free country and all that. I also know won't get any answers back from you lot, but stay tuned to see what I end up doing... But in the meantime here's a nice photo for you to look at, this is what it will look like once I finish the build.
Posted: Tue - March 13, 2007 at 10:01 AM