Deathhare and I rode out to Makino today.

Prior to the story, I should tell you that yesterday I rode about 30 miles. Before today that was the farthest I had ever ridden and my legs made sure I knew that this morning.

Anyway, I rode the 8 miles or so to meet him (since the Makino shop is closer to his place than mine (lucky bastad)). I was late.

The ride sucked. Well, my ride sucked. I was definitely feeling yesterday in my legs, deathhare runs a higher gear than me, and...let's just say that I am definitely going to invest in some cycling shorts, ASAP. We only missed one turn the whole ride and stopped by the Kiyo shop (boring) on the way out there. Not sure how long it took to ride the 20 or so miles.... Counting the stops at Kiyo, for food, to pee, and missing our turn it was maybe 2 1/2 hours.

When we finally got to Makino it looked empty and we were pretty damn bummed. Deathhare decided to take charge though and opened the door and yelled (politely) inside anyway and, lo-and-behold, a guy came out of the back.

Not sure who he was, but he wasn't Makino-san. The shop was pretty nice (they had a whole crapload of track stuff) and there were some pretty sweet bikes. When we asked about the 2 3renshos and 1 makino hanging from the ceiling we were told that they weren't for sale to people who ride them on the street. Especially people who ride them brakeless on the street. Like us.



After we got over that shock (the guy was unfriendly to begin with), I asked him about drilling my fork since I was thinking of getting it done at Kalavinka anyway. Apparently Makino-san won't do anything to bikes that he hasn't made himself, so despite my wanting to make my bike more 'Makino-approved' with brakes I was shot down.

The shop wasn't a total bust though. I was able to find a 27.0 Nitto Jaguar stem, some tensioners, champ grips, and a chain-holder-thingy for when I ship my bike. The guy working there was a dick though, and we were worried he was going to try to revoke Deathhare's Makino-riding-privileges for being a brakeless, street-riding, gaijin.

Needless to say we were kinda pissed. I had been hoping that we'd get there, after a long ass ride, and end up shooting the sh*t with Makino-san, checking out cool 'secret' bikes and maybe getting awesome stuff for little to no money. Didn't happen. But we did decide that while we were there we might as well check out the bike shop right next door that we had originally thought was Makino.

It made the trip worthwhile. The place looked like a 3Rensho museum. Jerseys, signed posters, vintage saddles and framed collections of decals. Ever seen an Eddy Merckx track frame with fully Campy set-up and a Campy rear disc wheel? We did. He had posters, and what looked like shop signs, and REALLLLLLLY beautiful 3Rensho frames. In other words, he was almost as bad as all of you guys.

Deathhare got some (read: a lot) of secret 3Rensho goodies (I only got two) while I picked up a new set of NJS Suzue Pro Max hubs (110 spacing) for about $120 and a couple super-awesome 3Rensho track multi-tools:


It seemed like every time we bought something we'd find something else we wanted, and the owner kept giving us discounts (probably because we were so ridiculous and spent so much chedda).

There were only 2 parts of the shop that sucked:
1. They didn't have cycling shorts in my size (and my taint is pissed at them for that)
and 2. Those damned MASH dudes had visited! We saw a sticker and business cards stuck up on the wall, and he said two really tall really big guys had stopped by. Even in the middle of nowhere Japan you can't get away from them.

As we were leaving the shop the owner stopped us to take our picture. He then ran back inside and when he came back out he handed each of us a 3Rensho decal. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I'm not complaining.

The ride back sucked hardcore. Well, actually, it started out not too bad (despite deathhare riding way too damn fast up hills) since now we knew exactly where we were going. In fact, I would even say I didn't mind it.

Until the rain set in. With 10 more miles to go until we got to deathhare's place. Riding a bike when you're tired isn't the most fun. Riding a bike when you're tired, wet, cold, slipping and sliding, and getting hit in the face by stinging rain sucks. Riding a bike when you're tired, wet, cold, slipping and sliding, getting hit in the face by stinging rain AND you almost get creamed by a bus and wipe out (deathhare) or take a turn too fast and wipe out (me) ****ing sucks.

We were pissed and I decided to leave my bike at his place, borrow a shirt and money for the train (since I was soaked and spent ALL the money I had on bike stuff) and spent another hour and a half going home.



Morals of the story: Get cycling shorts. Makino isn't worth visiting. Don't ride in the rain. Watch out for crazy buses. AND REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR CAMERA WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO VISIT NJS BUILDERS!

Hey that's a nice 3 wrencho

oh, and quitcherbichen, it's rides like that that give you a good story to tell, if everything had gone ice cream smooth it wouldn't have been an adventure.

I told deathhare that when I look back on this I'll be really glad I did it. But when I was saying that I was cold, wet, tired, hungry, sore, and worried about the final exam that I have tomorrow.

Dude, last winter I rode 8 miles each way to get to work. In the winter. In Winnipeg. There sure as hell weren't any superfresh track numnums on discount waiting for me when I got there. Jealousy reigns.

OT, but some of you cats livin in Japan have got to hook us up. We'll send you bags of liquid nacho cheese and cases of Krispy Kremes, you send us track parts.

Yeah that guy at Makino was a dick. Im still annoyed about that guy.
Also, the bus that crashed me.
I had a good time despite the rain on the return trip.

what was so wrong about him designating to whom he sells his goods? It is his right. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Go buy something different if need be.

sorry about the bus thing - that is never fun

True, but you don't have to be rude about it. Of course some people are naturally surly, and tend to come off rude even when they don't mean to.

Your awesome thread made my morning. Sank You!

ever think that there are cultural differences? the world cannot abide by american customs.

I agree with you 165 but..It was that fact that he was not nice about it at all. He bascially said yes, they are for sale but i wont sell them to you. There's a good way to say that kind of thing but he doesnt know it. ANyway, it wasnt all about the frames. He was just not a nice guy.
Plus, he never even asked if we planned to ride on a track or not.
If youve been to Japan you know that people in shops are nice, helpful and always polite. That guy never heard of those things.
I wouldnt even consider going back in there and I somewhat regret buying toe straps there.

Did anyone here imply that there should be a UN resolution,
or a Japanese law that mandates that Makino should sell to
all? Why on Earth would you question someone being annoyed
at being refused service?

Thats what im saying. If he didnt want to sell them to us he should have just said that they werent for sale instead of going into to a long rude reason why he wouldnt sell them to US.
He would fit right in an American bike shop, where half the workers are jerks.

I lived in Asia for a year, on the economy and on my own. I experienced a full range of politeness. What is your point? That because someone was nice to you in one shop, that you expect it from everyone? Kind of American in habit, if you ask me. When I lived overseas, I remembered that i was a visitor, a foreigner, and that I should not expect politeness, but show understanding. It was not my culture to change to fit my needs.

There is more to your story to be sure, but just understand that his reasons are his own, and you should respect that. Would VanGogh have wanted "Starry NIght" hung in a bar bathroom? It might be an extreme example, but it makes the point clear.

did you ever think he might find it rude you cry babies are using his frames as fashion accessories, rather than for actual track racing?

yeah. without being an apologist for actions that i didn't experience, what popped in to my head reading the story was that maybe the shopkeeper didn't take too kindly to brash young americans looking for hot deals on keirin parts. after all, keirin is pretty much japan's national sport, huh? japan is a heavily nationalist culture, if i'm not mistaken, and maybe br995's and deathare's behavior - benign as it may seem - is an unwelcome and all-too-often source of frustration.

i'm not saying that's what happened, or that's how that interaction played out. it's just one of several possible scenarios that went through my mind when i read it.

it's also a reminder to me that sometimes, when i'm just doing my thing, i can be disrespectful, without knowledge or intention. it's a reminder to check my behavior, look for where other people are, and frequently, to follow their lead - to take cues about how to perform the whole When In Rome thing.

doesn't excuse anybody being a jerk, but it might explain it.

edit: isotopesope - yeah...

Sure, I expect Br995, and deathhare are more intimately aware of the cultural differences one is likely to encounter as a foreigner living in Japan than I am. I have a friend who lived there a couple of times as an exchange student, and while he did describe to me the cultural differences he noticed, rudeness was not among them. Anyway, surly bike shop employees seems to be something that crosses cultures, and I'm pretty willing to forgive it. I've been to plenty of bike shops that don't see me as their target demographic, and treat me as such. Shopping elsewhere works, especially if there happens to be a great shop next door.

I'm also aware that Makino is probably more of a frame building shop that caters to racers than it is a retail establishment. While some places like that welcome visitors, and are always happy to chat, retail isn't their primary goal, and many places would just as soon not have customers taking them away from their work. I would suck at retail. I would be a very surly bike shop employee. I'm guessing the guy they ran into, whoever he was, was probably not hired for his winning personality with strangers, but he's probably very good at his primary job.

It may be true, eh?
Ive been in Japan for 3 years and i guess ive grown accustomed to shop staff always being polite. Maybe my skin has grown thin here.
In America i would almost expect rudeness in that same situation.

Anyway, he didnt ruin my day. I had a lot of fun and picked up some very cool parts. Im happy.

Hate it when shop staff are rude - Nalsima is like that sometimes too.

Rang a restaurant today to be told they don't like foreigners dining there. Fact is casual racism exists here - the Makino guy might have hated all non Japanese. Certainly might have hated Americans. You were probably lucky you weren't Chinese. As you know, there's still signs at some sentos and pa*****o parlours saying "No Foreigners".

Ever think the guy at Makino was just having a bad day and you were his cat to kick? I have had bad experiences at a first visit of a place that I had built up in my mind as something bigger/better then it really is and was disappointed at the result of the visit, but I still gave it at least one more shot. Usually my second visit works out better, but not always.

True, but giving him the benefit of the doubt he might not be racist at all. Perhaps he hates everyone regardless of race or national origin.

No offense but I hate all big spending, I'm kool and but not jock kool, tight blue jean wearing, I look dirty but I'm actually clean, look like a bum but I ride a bike that cost as much as some people's cars, I care but I don't care kids. And, I don't discriminate by race, creed, or religion....... And guess what? I'm not the only one... On a side note tho. I thought Makino-san was actually known to be a bit of an @hole.

You said the MASH kids were at the shop next door? Maybe they pissed Makino-san off and gave him a bad taste for Gaijin.

Imagine that an @hole who makes nice bike frames... huh... unprecedented

The hipster thing died. We held a funeral and everything. You must have missed it.

I dunno, neither of us know him. I'd like to think he wouldn't care.