Tokyo Bike

Founded in 2002 in the quiet Tokyo suburb of Yanaka, Tokyo bike is a small, independent bicycle company. Carving a unique place in the market with simple, classic designs, Tokyo bikes bring life back into the ride – the journey just as exciting as the destination. Baked on the concept of ‘Tokyo Slow’, Tokyo bikes were designed with a light ride and an emphasis on comfort. Their dedication to producing high quality bikes is second to none, resulting in bicycles that fit, perform perfectly for the job intended and are a joy to ride as well as being beautiful works of art. We caught up with Neil, the owner of tokyobike London.

Question: Who has the biggest influence over the bikes you make?

Answer:

The bikes are designed at the headquarters in Tokyo. It’s a small team led by the founder Ichiro Kanai who originally came up with the name first. Thinking about mountain bikes and how they were designed for their specific environment he imagined tokyobike and went about designing the perfect city bike.

Question: What gives you pleasure about what you do?

Answer:

Seeing people’s faces when they come to pick up their bikes. I remember getting my first bike as a grown up and it really is a child-like joy.

Question: Is this career what you initially planned on doing?

Answer:

I have always worked in design but I am a relatively recent convert to cycling. There is something about bicycles. They are on the one hand a completely functional tool but people are instinctively attracted to their form. The fact that have changed very little since their invention (which changed society forever) puts them up there with the greatest inventions ever.

Question: How long does it take to make a Tokyo bike?

Answer:

We spend a bit longer than others when assembling our bikes tuning and adjusting them in our own way. We either use Japanese mechanics from HQ or local mechanics that have been trained by them.

Question: Which bike is your favourite?

Answer:

Right now I’m into the Salmon red (or coral as I call it) CS.