helloamerican

I'm headed to tokyo this june/july and my goal is to come back with a pure japanese track frame. I'm reasonably new to the fix gear genre and have been riding conversions for the past 6 months or so and feel im ready for a genuine horizontal-drop-out-legitimate-track bike. I'm drawn to the japanese frames mainly because i love the culture but secondly because i hear they're some of the best.

I know this kind of 'im going to tokyo find me a frame' thread has been raised before, but in my defense i have done some searching through the forums and the japanese building sites, and while i don't read or speak japanese my best friend is and can, and he has told me the majority of the sites that were selling to non pro's don't really do it anymore. That a lot of the quality bike builders wont talk to you if you tell them you're going to ride their frame on the street.

So that being said im begging for info on shops in tokyo that would be friendly twords the non-pro fixed gear rider seeking a quality old track around or hopefully much under 400 american, or 40000 yen. My friend i'll be staying with lives in shinagawa so if you know the area shops closer to that would be best. However if there is some sort of old frame depot farther away i'm willing to go the distance to find something great.

I don't really know the going prices for some of the old frames, i know the keirin are more expensive, i don't neccisarily need a keirin though.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

PS. i have an old motobecane velosolex i'm bringing with me to ride, my friend has told me japan has very few french frames, from the people who've been there: do you guys think it might be worth while to bring another frame with me as possible trade? The friend i have in japan says he's seen not that great motobecane frames go for as much as 400 for something that would sell for 50 bucks in the us.

ephkappa

two years ago my friend said you can get a used samson, bridgestone, baramon, bomber pro, you name it, for $50-100 easy. now they go for about $500-6. nagas and 3rensho's are up to $900 on yahoo auction. everybody wants a piste bike in japan now. and prices keep going up every week. there aren't really any "deals" anymore except on parts.

with that said, my friend was out in the countryside and came across a mom n' pops bike shop. just out of curiosity he went in to see what they had. asked if they had any piste frames and was shown to a dusty old garage. he dug thru stacks of frames and found two 3renshos and a vivalo.
owner sold it to him for $50. all three frames together.

happy hunting.

br995

I didn't find any shops with good deals when I lived there. Kalavinka is THE place to go for parts/builds, but they don't deal in used frames. Have your friend help you get a frame on yahoo auctions; that was the best I found.

pitboss

there are no track bikes for sale in japan

they are either in SF, LA, or stratton's garage

onetwentyeight 

Please bring me back 2 HKK Vertex chains (silver) and 2 Izumi Vs (gold) as I hear they are much cheaper out there.

thanks!

ephkappa

^^^
$25US and $30US respectively.

helloamerican

ephkappa: thanks a lot that gives me an idea of what im in for, idealy search out momma and poppa and steal their wares as a win-win. Are there any shops anyone knows of in particular that are sort of on a 'priced to move' basis? again traveling is not that big of an issue, if theres somewhere i can get a good frame for a nice price i'm there.

ephkappa

if you're an odd size. like too big (57cm) or too small (49cm). you might find deals on yahoo too.

i bought a 51cm naga last night for $500. it's not a steal but at today's inflated prices i'm alright with it.

ephkappa

not exactly true. they very rarely have used frames and get snapped up right away when they come in. but my friend picked up two mint used 51cm kala for 35000/each there a year ago.

helloamerican

Yea 500 bucks seems to be about the going rate for frames. Also, in regard to size, it seems like im lucky, i normally ride a 58cm non-track frame so i guess i've been told i can ride (pushing it) down to a 55cm track suited frame.
I'm going to be checking the shops as well but it turns out my full japanese friend (whome i'm visiting) found a framebank from some old keirin rider who deals in frames right on the net where we can get essentially mint condition keirin frames (i'm looking particularly for a vivalo right now) for around 400-500 american, sometimes less for the smaller frames. Only catch is he'll sell only to full japanese with the promise you won't resell the bike (thats where my firend comes in). So either way im comming back with a bike from yapan.