Classic Japanese Bicycles

Quick Answer: The Levi’s and Cherubim Bicycle collaboration debuted in 2012 as the concept bike for the “Levi’s Commuter” line, with limited-order production beginning in 2013. Hand-built by Shinichi Konno of Cherubim, the matte-black urban bike featured Shimano Alfine internal gear shifting, disc brakes, and an eccentric bottom bracket for chain tension. It originally sold for roughly $4,725 including tax.

This week’s Japanese Bicycle of the Week is another Cherubim Bicycle masterpiece — and one of the most unusual machines the famed Tokyo framebuilder ever produced. In 2012, when Levi’s unveiled their “Levi’s Commuter” apparel line, they tapped Cherubim to build a concept bike that married denim-brand heritage with Japanese handbuilt craftsmanship. The response was strong enough that Levi’s released it for limited-order production, and the example shown here is believed to have rolled off the line in 2013.

For collectors who know the marque, this bike sits in interesting company. Cherubim is best known for race-bred steel and showpiece customs, so a commuter built for a fashion label is a genuine outlier in the catalog. If you want the fuller picture of the brand’s range, our Cherubim Bicycle Review: Super Touring Edition covers a very different side of Konno’s work.

A Matte-Black Frame With Dual Branding

The matte-black painted frame is the bike’s defining visual. Both the Cherubim and Levi’s logos appear in subtle black-on-black, so the branding reads as texture rather than decoration — exactly the understated look you’d expect from a denim collaboration. It’s a finish that has aged remarkably well, and one reason the bike still turns up in collector conversations more than a decade later.

Up front, a semi-drop handlebar gives riders both a comfortable upright position and a more aerodynamic grip when needed, paired with a clean thumb shifter for the internal hub. It’s a layout built for real city riding, not weekend posing.

Shimano Alfine Drivetrain and Disc Brakes

The standout technical feature on this Cherubim Bicycle is its use of Shimano Alfine internal gear shifting combined with reliable disc brakes. The internally geared hub keeps the drivetrain sealed against weather and road grime — ideal for a commuter that needs to start every morning without fuss. Disc brakes round out the all-weather, low-maintenance philosophy.

The bottom bracket is eccentric, which lets the rider adjust chain tension easily — a necessity on a single-cog internal-hub setup. Shinichi Konno explained that Cherubim chose the eccentric design specifically to keep the wheel-to-seat-tube distance constant, rather than relying on a horizontal sliding-dropout mechanism. It’s the kind of detail that separates a true frame builder’s solution from an off-the-shelf one.

What Did the Levi’s Cherubim Cost?

At launch, the price worked out to roughly $4,725 including tax after converting from yen. That positioned it well above a typical commuter and squarely in boutique-handbuilt territory — fair, given that every frame came from one of Japan’s most respected workshops. Surviving examples rarely surface on the used market, which keeps demand high among collectors of vintage Japanese bicycles.

If your interest runs to other handbuilt Tokyo machines, the Mr.I Equilibrium titanium-carbon hybrid shows where Konno’s design thinking went next, while the Zunow KYGM 650B custom is another collector-grade example worth a look.

The BB is eccentric, allowing for easy chain tension adjustment. Shinichi Konno explained that they chose an eccentric design to keep the wheel-seat tube distance constant, rather than using a sliding mechanism.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who built the Levi’s Cherubim bicycle?
It was hand-built by Shinichi Konno of Cherubim, a renowned Tokyo frame building workshop, as a concept and limited-production bike for the Levi’s Commuter line introduced in 2012.

What drivetrain does the Levi’s Cherubim use?
The bike uses a Shimano Alfine internally geared hub paired with disc brakes and an eccentric bottom bracket for chain-tension adjustment, making it a low-maintenance all-weather commuter.

How much did the Levi’s Cherubim bicycle cost?
At release in 2013 it sold for approximately $4,725 including tax, converted from the original yen price — placing it in boutique hand built territory.

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This week’s Japanese Bicycle of the Week is an NJS bike built around a vintage 54cm Bridgestone track frame. The build was guided by track enthusiasts Covi Hazelwood of Two Wheeler Dealer and Trent Blackburn, who specified a component group drawn largely from NJS-certified Japanese track parts.

What Is an NJS Bike?

An NJS bike is a fixed-gear track bicycle whose frame and components meet the standard of the Japan Keirin Association, abbreviated NJS. The certification exists for one reason: equipment used in sanctioned keirin racing in Japan must be approved for safety and fairness, so every legal part carries an NJS stamp. Only a limited list of approved manufacturers may produce certified frames and components.

Because the standard is strict, an NJS bicycle is assembled from parts certified across several approved makers rather than a single branded groupset. Common NJS component suppliers include Nitto for bars and stems, Sugino for cranks and chainrings, MKS for pedals, and Shimano Dura-Ace for cogs and chains. The result is a purpose-built track machine with no brakes, no derailleurs, and a single fixed gear.

What Makes the Bridgestone Track Frame Distinct

Bridgestone built track frames in Japan from steel tubing, using the short wheelbase, steep angles, and high bottom bracket typical of velodrome bikes. A track frame carries horizontal rear track ends rather than vertical road dropouts, allowing chain tension to be set by sliding the rear wheel. There are no brake bridges, derailleur hangers, or cable stops, because a track bike runs a single fixed gear and no brakes.

Bridgestone is better known to many North American riders for its road models, but the company also produced track and, later, keirin-specific frames. Frames built to the keirin standard carry the NJS stamp. Whether a given vintage Bridgestone frame is formally NJS-stamped depends on the individual frame; the certification applies specifically to equipment legal for sanctioned keirin competition.

The Frame and Wheelset

The frame was sourced through Blueprint Bikes of Dallas, Texas. The wheels are a Suntour Superbe Pro and Sun Mistral track set, also from Blueprint Bikes, matched to a Suntour Superbe Pro headset to keep the hub and headset from the same group. Suntour’s Superbe Pro line, introduced in the early 1980s, was the company’s premium track and road group and competed directly with Shimano Dura-Ace for NJS specification.

Building or maintaining a fixed-gear bike like this one calls for a few track-specific tools and parts. While the vintage NJS components here are collector items, riders putting together a modern fixed-gear setup can find current track and maintenance gear at Competitive Cyclist.

Top Components on This NJS Bike

The cockpit uses a Nitto Pearl 100 NJS stem with Nitto B123 NJS track bars in a 40cm width. The drivetrain runs a 48-tooth Sugino Mighty Competition NJS chainring with a Shimano Dura-Ace 15-tooth NJS cog, a common keirin gear combination that yields a fixed ratio suited to track sprinting.

Power transfer is handled by a Sugino bottom bracket and crankset, with the seat post also from the Suntour Superbe Pro group. The pedals are Suntour Sprint track pedals fitted with MKS toe cages. The saddle is a Selle San Marco Laser, finished with cloth handlebar tape for a period-correct appearance. This mixed-maker approach is exactly what defines an NJS bike: a coherent build assembled from parts individually certified by approved manufacturers.

Frame Year vs. Build Year

A note on dating: the frame is vintage, but several components in this build—Suntour Superbe Pro and the Dura-Ace NJS cog among them—date to the 1980s. This is common with track and keirin bikes, where frames outlast multiple component generations and are routinely rebuilt with current NJS-legal parts. The result is best described as a vintage Bridgestone frame with a later NJS-certified build, rather than a fully period-original machine.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an NJS bike?

An NJS bike is a fixed-gear track bicycle whose frame and components are certified by the Japan Keirin Association for use in sanctioned keirin racing. Certified parts carry an NJS stamp and are made by a limited list of approved manufacturers.

Why are NJS bikes and parts sought after?

NJS components are built to a strict safety and quality standard for professional racing, and many are made in limited numbers by approved Japanese makers. Collectors value the build quality, the keirin heritage, and the consistency of the standard.

Can you ride an NJS track bike on the road?

It can be ridden on the road as a fixed-gear bike, but it ships without brakes and with track geometry. Road use generally requires adding at least a front brake and accepting a stiff, twitchy ride compared with a road frame.

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Quick Answer: Zunow KYGM Randonneur

The Zunow KYGM is a rare early-1970s full-custom randonneur frame built by Takeru Kageyama — the founder of Zunow Cycles — in the French constructeur tradition. It uses Nervex lugs, 650B wheels, and pantographed Zunow components throughout. Only a handful of these bespoke frames are known to exist outside Japan, placing the Zunow KYGM among the most collectible examples of early Japanese custom framebuilding.

The Zunow name is most associated with the Z-1 Hummingbird road bikes and track frames that defined the brand’s commercial peak. But before those bikes existed, Kageyama-san was executing something more demanding: full-custom randonneur work built squarely in the French constructeur tradition. The Zunow KYGM is a product of that early period — a purpose-built touring machine and one of the most refined examples of his pre-production craft.

Frame and Origins

The Zunow KYGM dates from the early 1970s, built when Kageyama was taking individual full-custom orders rather than running production lines. The frame uses Nervex lugs — a French lug set favored by constructeurs for their long points and cleanly filed transitions — and is designed around 650B wheels, the standard diameter for classic French randonneur bicycles. This is not a road frame adapted for touring duty. The Zunow KYGM was engineered from the ground up for long-distance loaded riding, with geometry that prioritizes stability under a front bag.

This particular example was sourced via Yahoo Japan Auctions in 2020 — still the most reliable market for locating pre-production-era Zunow customs — and professionally repainted in 2024 in dark blue sparkle with yellow accents before a full component rebuild.

📌 Coach’s Pick — Brake Pads: Cantilever brakes are only as good as the pads behind them. Kool-Stop Thinline Cantilever Brake Pads deliver consistent stopping power in wet and dry conditions — exactly what you need on a loaded randonneur bike with full fenders and long cable runs. → Kool-Stop Cantilever Brake Pads on Amazon

Components: Pantographed Details and Campagnolo Mix

The Zunow KYGM carries frame-matched pantographed parts that mark it as a genuine full-custom build: the seatpost, headset, and bottom bracket all bear Kageyama’s Zunow stamp. The crankset is a Sugino Pro Dynamic S — original to the frame — updated with modern SunXCD chainrings for compatibility with the current drivetrain without altering the visual character of the build.

The drivetrain mixes Campagnolo generations with intent: a 9-speed Racing T rear derailleur, Chorus Ergoshifters, Athena hubs, and a Centaur front derailleur. Cross-generation Campagnolo compatibility is well established in practice, and this combination delivers reliable shifting on a bike designed for loaded touring miles. The 650B wheelset pairs Soma Weymouth rims with the Athena hubs, shod with Grand Bois Hetre tires — a 42mm folding clincher that remains the benchmark for 650B randonneur use.

📌 Coach’s Pick — Chain Lube: A touring bike doing wet-road miles under full fenders needs a lube that runs clean between long service intervals. Muc-Off Bio Dry Bike Chain Lube  — zero black buildup on the drivetrain, holds up in mixed conditions, and won’t attract grit into your chain on gravel sections. →Muc-Off Bio Dry Bike Chain Lube

Brakes, Fenders, and Frame Details

The braking system uses Grand Bois cantilever brakes — originally sold by Velo-Orange as the MK3 Grand Cru cantilever in 2012 and no longer in production. Brake response is refined with Yokozuna compression-less brake housing and Kool-Stop brake pads, a pairing that delivers consistent lever feel regardless of cable run length — a meaningful detail on a fully fendered setup with longer housing runs.

The fenders are Lefol “le martele” hammered mudguards, a French-made set with a design history dating to 1938. The No. 17 plate-forme raised section on the rear fender is a period-correct detail that modern fender manufacturers rarely replicate.

Cockpit and Lighting

The stem is a Nitto Tallux with a 225mm quill — a longer-than-standard option chosen for a more upright randonneur riding position. Handlebars are Nitto B135 Grand Raundoner bars wrapped in Handlebar leather tape, finished with hemp twine. Saddle is a Brooks C17. The front bag is a Gilles Berthoud handlebar bag mounted to a stainless low-rider rack.

Lighting is handled by Kylie’s LM-018 USB-rechargeable bullet headlight — the only rechargeable bullet-style headlight currently on the market — with a LM-017 rear light on the seat stay.

The Zunow KYGM represents Kageyama’s early edge: a full-custom touring frame built in the French tradition by a Japanese framebuilder who had not yet scaled for volume. Among significant Zunow builds, it stands apart.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Zunow KYGM different from other Zunow models? The Zunow KYGM is a full-custom randonneur frame from the early 1970s, predating the Hummingbird-series road and track bikes that made the brand widely known. Unlike production Zunow models, the KYGM was built to individual specification in the French constructeur tradition, with Nervex lugs, 650B wheels, and pantographed Zunow components throughout. Only a small number are known to exist outside Japan.

What is 650B and why did Kageyama use it on the Zunow KYGM? 650B is a wheel diameter that was standard for classic French randonneur and touring bicycles, sitting between the smaller 26-inch and larger 700C sizes. French constructeurs favored it for the combination of tire volume, rolling efficiency, and fender clearance it provides on a loaded touring bike. Kageyama used 650B on the Zunow KYGM to remain true to the French randonneur tradition the frame was built in.

Where can I find a Zunow KYGM for sale? Yahoo Japan Auctions is the most reliable source for locating rare early Zunow customs like the KYGM. A proxy bidding service such as Rinkya allows buyers outside Japan to participate. These frames appear infrequently and move quickly when they do, so setting up keyword search alerts is the most practical strategy.

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