Speaking of nice customer bikes this steel roadie came through.
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A trip down memory lane Kuwahara Pacer
For anyone who grew up in the 70′s and 80′s when kids actually got outside and amused themselves (and it was safe enough to do so), the bmx was probably our first taste of freedom and adventure and like with most things you always lusted after the best bike on the block. Back in the glory days GT, Redline, Diamond Back and Kuwahara were the brands to drool over. Then ET came along and Kuwahara went nuts!
So when Cam brought his Kuwahara Pacer in to be cabled up I was filled with a sense of nostalgia for those days when summers lasted for ever and everything seemed simpler and easier.
The brand was started as a small family business in Osaka, Japan in 1918 by Sentaro Kuwahara as a bicycle wholesaler and by 1925 he was exporting bikes to Russia, China and South East Asia. The company closed down during WWII but got right back to it once people had stopped killing each other.
1972 saw the first Kuwahara branded bikes exported to the US, European and Australian markets this was bolstered by american Howie Cohen who set up a US distributorship and ran a phone-in Kuwahara sticker give away to any little tacker that could pronounce the name correctly making it a household name.
Then ET phoned home and the image of a kid on a bmx, milk crate strapped onto the bars, cute extra terrestrial in a hoodie riding up front, sihlouetted against the moon hit the movie screens and the brand went nuts.
Cam informed me that this model, the Pacer, was made for the european market around 1991 and came during the time when several brands were experimenting with some pretty out there paint schemes. My first mtb, a GT Tequesta, had a similar liquid paper/paint dribble effect.
It’s not often you see one of these in the flesh and in such condition so I thought it deserved a couple of photos.
Legends of Le’Tour
It’s all been very serious of late. Pour yourself a glass of vino, pull on the slippers, sit back and relax with a bit of cycling history..
Battle of the Groupos
In a quick postscript to the last episode Chris Hunt managed to achieve his goal of 400km starting at 1am on saturday morning and finishing at 6pm on saturday evening! hard as frickin nails Hunty!!
It’s hard to keep up with the amount of goodness that comes through the doors here at Cycles BeBombastic so I’ll try and keep it simple.
We have been fortunate enough to see the latest and greatest from the 3 big groupset manufacturers Di2, SRAM Red and Campag EPS. Of the two electronic systems I think Campag has the finish but Shimano has the form. In terms of functionality from the little play I had, they are similar to their cabled sibings, Shimano light and silky smooth while Campag is a much more physical ‘click’ to shift.
SRAM on the other hand has improved,refined, evolved it’s already great groupset with much needed improvements to front derraileur shifting, stiffer crankset and single pivot braking.
Once more some nice customer rigs coming through including Matt Millers ‘Nago which got a new SRAM Red facelift…
Plus John Wyatt’s Cannondale SuperSix Di2 Ultegra with Hollowgram crankset upgrade…
Paul Aubrey’s Belgium inspired Jonesman…
and not to mention (if you haven’t seen the gallery page) Jonsey’s Dekerf.
Hunty’s Candy Apple Jonesman
Just a nice photo of a nice bike to start the week. Jonesman steel, Sram Red on White Ind Hubs, DT spokes and Velocity A23′s.
Hunty is known for his 300km jaunts on the weekend. This Easter he’s trying for 400kms.
Olde Schoole
It’s easy to get caught up in the uber tech orientated world of bike gear and while we mainly specialise in your current bicycle paraphernalia every now and again it’s nice to sit back and appreciate the past, Fyxomatosis knows what I’m talking about.
…And it’s always nice to help out a dude who takes pride in his bike.
This nice old rig came in yesterday, when I saw the stem I was smitten….
What’s going down in Baysie-Town.
Howdy folks! Your friendly LBS here, that’s Local Bike Shop to the uninitiated in the parlance of our times. Well as per usual we be a movin’ anda shakin’ and summer in general is turning out to be a cracker!
One of the joys of Cycles Be-awesome is the day to day blingage that comes through, and I don’t just mean bikes we sell but in general. Chris Bishop came by with his new Llewellyn for a tune up…Lovely looking rig!
Along with some old favourites like Jonesy’s old Liquigas race bike now gone to greener pastures.
The Creux Clothing dudes are sitting pretty on our shelves. Gotta say their shirts are super comfortable and their shorts are the business!
Being a vain man I have to openly admit to prancing around the shop with a Catlike Whisper on me noggin and gazing longingly at myself in the mirror because they just look so damn good! Been waiting years for these! Although I am mighty impressed by our new Bell helmets. The Volt is my pick…..We are getting a few Giros in too!
A new development at Cycles Bespoke is we are 1 of 2 shops in Perth to be inducted into the bourgeois class of SRAM Ambassadors. What this means to you is we are fully trained and tech’d up on all things SRAM from servicing to sales. What it means to us is dapper jackets with stars on the shoulders and ribbons on the breast pocket a sign of our Ambassador status at groupset functions and the annual SRAM/Shimano/Campag ball.
Did someone say Campag….we got that too!
My last reference (for this post) to fancy bike stuff we sell is our rather impressive array of finishing kits. While not the most expensive the new 3T Team Stealth issue is mintox! *Note the number of shiny bit in the background…I don’t think we have ever had this many Chris King headsets in stock since we opened!
Last but not least the 4 day pain-fest or festival of lycra that is the Perth Crit Series is over for another year. Massive props to all those who took part especially our boys Carlos, Iain, Matt (and myself) also Team Delta who had us back and centre on their jerseys. Their man Craig Cook, brother of Olympic Road Champ Nicole rolled in second overall in the support race category.
I wish i had more fotos but unfortunately I spent the majority of the time gnawing my handlebar while on the bike or trying to re-insert my lungs into my chest cavity while draining the blood from my eyeballs. For anyone looking for some good action snaps check out Tony Lendrum photography on the Book of Faces.
What fotos I did capture were to be used as incriminating evidence but stuff it, I’ll post em now. It can be revealed the real reason we signed up for the crits was the free massage at the end.
And one of Team Delta watching on for good measure.
Adios muchachos.
And all of a sudden it was February!
With a snap, crackle, pop it was Feb and we are well and truly into the year it all ends (according to the Mayan calendar and awful Hollywood films). That being said why wouldn’t you treat yourself to a very reasonably priced, yet still expensive, high end bike so you would at least know the feeling before the world cracks open, the fires rage forth and the asteroids smash into the little rock we call home and obliterate us all? Why wouldn’t you eh?
A slightly different take at a sales pitch there, I feel dirty all the same….
On a lighter note, Happy New Year loyal followers! May prosperity and riches befall you in the this year or our lord 2012. And what a manic start to the year it’s been!
Posting has been a little on the light side due to some computer issues but hopefully we will be back up to speed.
Now on to shop biz. There has been a pleasing flow of very nice bikes, parts and general bit n bobs coming and going through the shop at the moment including the uber stealth Parlee Z5 SL Ltd.
The new for 2012 Pivot 5.7 Carbon.
Pivots 2012 Mach 429.
White Industries and ENVE parts.
Globe bikes are the shizzle oh and did I mention ENVE?
Picking up a carton of beer from the Baysie drive-through has never been more fun!!
We have also taken the plunge and just took delivery of our first pair of HED wheels. Stinger-4 Carbon Tubs.
Christoph creating dreams.
An enterprising local Oliver brought us in his own creations…Pedal straps with a clever design to keep the straps separated. The first 3 to respond get a pair and can be our test pilots as long as you provide us a review.
Our beloved floor.
