The Thousands

It makes perfect sense. A mountain bike is for the mountain, a racing bike is for the velodrome and a Tokyo Bike is for cruising about the neighbourhoods of Tokyo. This is the inspiration behind Tokyo Bike – a company that emphasises comfort over speed. Style over spandex. An urban commuter bike that encourages the rider to immerse themselves in their neighbourhood – not pretend they are riding a stage of the Tour De France. Beginning as a small operation in a quiet Tokyo neighbourhood in 2002, Tokyo Bike has since expanded to London, Berlin, Singapore, Sydney and – as of this week – Peel Street, Collingwood.

The new store’s clean, simple layout is very different from the clutter of a typical bike shop. Lit by a trio of traditional Japanese squid-fishing lamps, cycling accessories including handlebars, seats, locks and pedals are laid out on a big Australian wool classing table. I couldn’t help but notice the Gamoh rear basket and Gropes leather handlebar grips! The frames come in four lightweight designs – from a traditional city bike to the quicker single speed – and all are designed with smaller wheels for easier maneuvering in tight city spaces.

Taking a break from assembling bikes and painting walls at the new shop, Tokyo Bike’s Fuyuki and Yuki Sagahara joined me at a cafe around the corner to explain the thinking behind Tokyo Bike.

Tokyo Bike has expanded to many cities beyond Tokyo. Why did you choose Melbourne for your latest shop?

Fuyuki: Melbourne is a very nice city with a lot of culture. It has a bike culture but also cafes and food and other things too. It fits in well with the idea of Tokyo Bike. Before we open a store in a new city we like to go there and spend some time. But we never visit bike stores to do research – it’s more about meeting people, going to cafes and getting a feel for the area.

Yuki: The first question we ask is, “Where is the best cafe or restaurant or where is a good gallery at?”

Why Collingwood, in particular?

Fuyuki: We were looking for a place that felt like Yanaka. We liked the creativity of Collingwood, the studios, cafes, bars and galleries. We also wanted to be off a main street and the streets off Smith are good for that. Also, not only in Collingwood but in Melbourne generally the people enjoy their city. They enjoy the cafes and going out.

Are the bicycles themselves made specifically for city riding?

Fuyuki: Yes for sure. The wheel is an important feature. We use a 650cm wheel so it’s smaller than a normal wheel. This makes for quick acceleration, which we believe is important in a city where there are many pedestrians and many traffic lights so you must stop and go, stop and go many times. So, mathematically, if it’s smaller it will move more quickly. Which is less effort for the rider. We believe this the perfect spec and of course this makes the bike lighter, weight wise. The other point is the gears; we just want to offer the perfect urban commuter bike so we believe in gears. Even in Melbourne there are slight slopes so we need gears. We have four models and three of them have gears. We also have a single speed. But as a default our single speed is free wheel.

Your store doesn’t feel like a typical bike store…

Fuyuki: Our customers have told us that they feel something about Japan in our store. 

Yuki: That’s what we noticed in the Sydney store. It’s an experience. People come into the store for half an hour and they feel like they’ve spent the last thirty minutes in Tokyo. We hope to to offer that in Melbourne too. Also most bike stores feel very masculine but I like to think our store has a more feminine feel. It’s more inviting and welcoming. I find many bike stores intimidating.

Fuyuki: When we interview for staff it’s a lot more like an interview for a cafe or a clothes store. We see their personality as just as important as their knowledge of bikes.

But you do have a workshop in the back?

Fuyuki: Our shop is a manufacture direct shop so it’s different to other shops in that we only carry our brand and we have a professional mechanic in the shop. We offer a free check up and maintenance for the first three months. People like that service.

And you carry accessories?

Fuyuki: Yes we encourage people to accessorise their bikes. We like to choose accessories from all over the world. We are a Japanese company so obviously a lot come from Japan but we also have products from Canada, the UK and the States which suit both Tokyo Bikes and other bikes.

Do you see much difference in the bike cultures of Melbourne and Tokyo?

Yuki: I definitely don’t see the mamachari (the ubiquitous and functional bicycle used by Japanese housewives to cart kids and groceries around) in Melbourne and I guess, unlike in Japan, older people don’t ride bikes. Here it seems it’s for a younger or middle-aged generation.

Fuyuki: Davide says that in Sydney he found the difference was a lot more obvious. In Sydney it’s a lot more car oriented. People are really scared about riding a bike so compared to Sydney I’d say Melbourne is definitely more bike friendly city. Nobody is scared of riding bikes in Tokyo. Another difference is the helmet of course. We don’t wear them in Tokyo!

Tokyo Bike Melbourne opens its doors tomorrow, Thursday 18 August at 11.30am! Test rides are encouraged.