The Radavist

Kenjitsu’s 2015 Cinelli MASH Parallax

Words by Morgan Taylor and photos by Stefan Feldmann

Some builds come together quickly, while others are more of a slow roast. This one falls into the latter category: a collection of carefully matched parts coming together over a few months. The wait was worth it, though, and Kenjitsu’s (known as 21 Ninjas on Instagram) Parallax project has finally come to fruition with everything in its place.

The simplicity of track bikes is no doubt what led many of us down the road of parts upgrades, but Kenjitsu’s bike goes beyond simply matching colors for the sake of it. The Campy Record Pista crankset and Izumi chain are classic track bling, but this build is firmly situated in the modern era with the Cadence x Ritchey C260 stem, Cinelli NEOS carbon bar and post, and MASH x San Marco Concor rounding out the contact points.

However, it’s the wheels that stand out here. The purple Phil Wood Tsunami Relief hubs – set #02 of five – feature artwork by Wakako from Blue Lug laser engraved by Grayson Yokota. The 90mm flanges are laced to H Plus Son Archetype 32 hole rims via Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, making for a truly drool-worthy wheelset.

Kenjitsu capped off the build with a purple Radavist top cap and a pair of NOS Time ATAC World Champion Carbon MTB pedals. Look for Kenjitsu and the Parallax on the streets of Vancouver this spring!

Rider: Kenjitsu
Build credit: Matt Braun / Skyland Cycles

Full build spec:

2015 Charcoal Cinelli MASH Parallax 54cm
H Plus Son 32h Archetype
Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes
Continental Grand Prix 4 Season 23mm
Phil Wood & Co. purple anodized Limited Edition Tsunami Relief 90mm Track Hub Set #02/05
Phil Wood & Co. Track Cog 15t
Campagnolo Record Pista Track Crankset 49t
Campagnolo Record Pista cartridge BB
Izumi Track Chain
NOS Time ATAC World Champion Carbon MTB Pedals
Cinelli NEOS Carbon Seat Post
Selle San Marco MASH Concor Saddle
Ritchey x Cadence Airflow C260 Stem
Cinelli NEOS Carbon drop bars
Radavist purple anodized top cap

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190 days. That’s over 6 months. For Doug D, that’s how long he’s been living in and on this bike: a custom Brooklyn Machine Works tourer. This frame is in fact the only custom bike the Brooklyn framebuilders have made over the years. Sure, there have been numerous prototypes and one-offs, but Doug’s touring bike is the only completely custom ride they’ve made.

For good reason. A touring bike like this weighs around 100 lbs and carries everything Doug needs to tour all over the east coast and northeast during the harsh winter months. It has specific engineering requirements and plenty of custom details.

It features custom-designed and laser cut dropouts, as well as an integrated cable sheath at the seat tube cluster. Doug specifically requested BMW’s signature double plate fork, with aero blades, specifically drawn to hold the weight of panniers. Then, to top it off, the decals are the first ever die-cut vinyl logos the brand has done.

All in all, it’s a rather straight forward build. Pieced together with whatever spare parts Doug had on him at the time. Take for instance the Dura Ace cranks and Ultegra front derailler. Yet the 48h Phil Wood touring wheels, Paul Touring Cantis, Brooks saddle, hand made front panniers and Arkel bar bag are very much touring specific.

So what’s Doug been doing for 6 months? He’s been visiting various factories and facilities where companies still make goods in the USA. Everything from Easton hockey sticks, to boot makers, military equipment, stand up paddle boards and yes, even bicycle frame builders.

I caught up with Doug briefly in Austin yesterday, shot his bike, took him to my favorite bar and heard stories about stealth camping, staying sane and most importantly, warm during the winter months. He has tons of film and digital photos, which he hopes to put into a book at some point.

Follow Doug on Instagram for more stories and photos. If you see this man on the road, say hello!

Selecting the appropriate bicycle for an event like Eroica California can be daunting if you don’t know what you’re doing. While these three bicycles don’t represent your only options, they do present some interesting notes. Ranking these noble steeds in rarity (i.e. cost) helps put things in perspective. As stated however, these are not your only options…

You’ve got exactly two months to find yourself a bike. Start by looking local. Craigslist, your local shop, swaps, flea markets, classifieds and eBay. Don’t go overboard. If this is going to be a one-time deal for you, why not ask a collector friend to borrow their bike? Or, if you want to go down the vintage bicycle rabbit hole, there are two options in this trio that are sure to whet your whistle. Or bell…

Something I’ve been saying a lot this past year is how the crit track bike has become its own character within the world of “fixed gear”. Now, I don’t want to generalize too much (I’m guilty of that) but unlike track bikes used to actually race at the track, the crit track bike takes on more eccentric personality. Think of them like a racing machine found in F1 or Nascar. Bright colors, patterns, excessive details that jump out and catch your attention in the four or five seconds of each lap.

The most compelling example in recent months being the Stanridge Speed x Death Spray “magnetic” design or the hyper neon Dosnoventa bikes. Call it what you will but I’ll call it exhibitionist extravagance with two wheels. Case in point are the new Division 1 Cinelli Vigorelli frames. These are full blown, over the top, lightweight race machines.

Custom painted ENVE wheels laced to pink Phil Wood hubs, custom anodized PAUL cranks, custom anodized Thomson stem, Thomson post with a matching Thomson collar, Painted ENVE bars, custom Busyman saddle and bar tape. The guys went all out to match the Cinelli Vigorelli “Giro” pink paint scheme.

Would I ride it? No but I’m a little more reserved when it comes to paint. Besides, I’m a purple kinda guy. Do I think it works in the context of one of the most exhibitionist track bike criteriums of all time? Of course. It’s fun, colorful, will look great at night (in the rain nonetheless) and will match the Division 1 team’s Pee Wee Herman skinsuits to a T. Yes, they even have bow ties.

Call them what you will but Colin Strickland, a local racer, or beast have you, is sitting pretty at number 5 in the Red Hook Crit standings and he isn’t even warmed up yet… Now, if the rest of the team can work together, one of these machines might make it to the podium.

At any rate, a race is a race, a bike is a bike and you can check out more of this excessively extravagant track bike crit machine in the Gallery!

This bike has been in the works for a while now and I’m not talking about the weeks the frame sat in the box while I accumulated the parts. I’m talking about since I first saw one in person, at Post Bikes in Brooklyn. The original Sword wasn’t what I would consider a true track geometry. It was more of a fixed cruiser, marketed not only at the kids wanting a street bike to thrash, but also to the older BMXrs who wanted a quicker way around town.

Steve and John Paul began working on the Sword SQ. They talked to various people in the “industry”, including Josh “Big Red” Hayes and Kyle Kelley, who worked on the Sword’s geometry, making it what it is today. This Sword SQ represents a lot of things to me. Mostly, a company, who in the wake of Taiwanese fabrication, still make their bikes in America, for an affordable price and have never taken a penny from an outside investor.

While I’ve already got a kick-ass track bike, this Sword will go through many variations. I’m already planning on putting a Cetma on it to carry my photo bag in the summer and will probably throw risers on it at some point to encourage some throwback FGFS. It’s a little small, compared to what I’m used to riding, so the saddle to bar drop is much more race-fit than my Icarus. I’ve dialed in the fit now and it looks a lot more reasonable than the first Instagram photo I posted.

I tried to use as many American companies as possible. Profile Fix / Fix hubs laced to H+Son Archetype rims (fucking love these rims!) and a 18t Phil Wood SLR cog. Thomson stem, post, 1960’s Unicanitor Saddle, Ritchey Classic Curve bars and Newbaum’s tape. I was tempted to buy a set of the Phil Wood cranks, but went with the tried and true SRAM Omniums with an extremely rare, purple 44RN 144#47 ring. My White Industries pedals got a new life and the Toshi single straps are just right. Finally, a black KMC Cool Chain and 28c Continental Gatorskins finish off the build, with a 3/4″ mini Viking decal on the stem.

I’m very happy with this bike and it’s been nice to ride a track bike around, since my Icarus’ fork has been at the painter’s for a few weeks.

Many thanks to FBM for this beast and I can assure you, this won’t be the last time you see it here on the site!

At first glance, Ross’ custom Nagasawa track bike looks very similar to how it did two years ago. In the time that he’s had it, the bike has lightened up considerably due to the various titanium upgrades. A Ti seatpost, Ti stem, Ti Chris King, complete Phil Wood titanium kit and new wheels definately wasn’t cheap but it changed the overall feel of the bike. Since Ross commutes, he opted for front and rear brakes and I think that adds to the radness, especially on a custom built Nagasawa! Check out more in the Gallery!

When I first moved to Austin, I met up with Ross to shoot his Nagasawa track bike. Then I shot photos of his Speedvagen and now, the other day, we took his Richard Sachs cross bike out for some lens love. This bike is race pedigree through and through. There are no cable stops for a front derailleur and no bottle cages. Not ideal for a daily rider but when Ross saw a local selling it, he hopped on board. Wanting to do something a little different with the build, he opted for TRP mini v-brakes, a Ti Chris King headset, Tune ‘Bigfoot’ square taper cranks and a Phil Wood Ti BB. Oh and Campagnolo 10… How’s that for a bike suffering from an identity crisis? Personally, I think it’s bad ass and he’s on it every day when we ride. Ride what you love…

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

Melbourne has so many nice track bikes on the street at any given moment. It became kind of overwhelming. To the point where I just stopped trying to shoot photos of them. Then I saw Tristen‘s Guerciotti at Saint Cloud and had to shoot it. The build is a mix of old and new, with a peculiar grip situation on the bars. The Phil Wood hubs to Velocity Deep V’s are a wheelset we’ve probably all had at one point but this noble steed gets ridden and locked up everyday, not hung on a wall. Click the image above for the gallery.

Out of all the bikes I saw while I was Down Under, this one was hands down my favorite. Maybe it’s because I love 29’r / 700c bikes with big, fat tires or the fact that it’s built up with American-made products. Whatever the reason, when Dan finally got around to overhauling and building up his design for a Gellie Custom-built, fillet brazed, single-speed Monster Cross again, I had to take it for a spin around the block.

The second generation Sibex titanium fork, chopped-down, stainless faced Surly track ends and lightweight Columbus Life tubeset, paired with the massive tire clearance makes this every off-roader’s dream bike. But it doesn’t end there. Dan machined the canti bosses so the Paul brakes sit as close to the stays as possible, matched the Phil Wood ‘kidney bean’ cut out to the BB-shell, curved the brake bridge to match the stays and sized the bike around a spacer-less head tube. We like to call this “slammed” nowadays. He did all this, years ago.

The White Industries drive train means he never has to worry about the bike breaking down while out in Woods Point. As one would expect by now with Shifter Bikes, no detail was overlooked here. With 42c tires, it sits right at 8kg, or around 17lbs. But see for yourself below. Just try not to drool on your lunch ok?

Click the image above to launch the Gallery.