Mr. Nagasawa is one of a select few Japanese builders who are licensed to produce NJS approved frames for keirin racing. I have always been a bit dubious about riders that were fanatical about assembling a complete NJS stamped bike, but I’ve grown to appreciate them, and subsequently desire them. These bikes contain the same fighting spirit and high level of craftsmanship as a samurai sword tempered by a master sword smith.
A man with an extremely refined sense of bicycle aesthetics has just built up this particular frame: Alan, the editor of the blog Cycling Weapon of Mass Destruction. This is actually the second Nagasawa we have seen pass through Alan’s hands, and frankly I think the purple will go much more nicely with his custom orange tall-tandem (it’s real, there’s photos). The components all came from his white Nagasawa, the feature of which is a Dura-Ace 10mm pitch drive train.
What attracts me to keirin frames most strongly is the paint, which is occasionally infused with glitter, but Alan’s Nagasawa in matte purple and gold really caused my jaw to drop. Don’t let the fancy paint fool you, as these are fighting frames. Read all about the history of Alan’s Nagasawa and the rest of his inspired and individual bikes on the CWMD blog.
