January 8, 2024

Style:

There is no greater indicator of cool than style. Cool is a feeling, you know it when you feel it. Style is the foundation for cool and my current favorite is Blue Lug. This Japanese company is made up of 4 different shops, a restaurant, and a barber shop in Japan. The founder, Toshihiro "Toshi" Ashikaga, started the first shop in Tokyo in 2006. He spent some time in San Francisco and learned of California based companies creating beautiful and useful parts. He has built up a world wide following based on a clean bicycle aesthetic using steel frames and mostly USA made components. When you first see a Blue Lug built bike you realize they have a discernible elegance that pulls your eyes to every part of the bike and then you see the sum of beauty and cool combined into a delectable machine.
We're clearly bombarded with race marketing on a daily basis in the bicycle industry. The innovation and performance of bikes is constantly evolving with new standards and bolt patterns and materials that will never cease. There is a definite need for this level of progress to push the boundaries of speed and suspension however there is an undercurrent in the cycling world of people that just like to ride bikes without a starting line or band at the end of the ride. The party pace ride is growing in popularity and I think is just getting going. The marketing department will be late to the party (no pun intended) and if anyone starts selling a Party Pace branded bike at Target I’m going to be irritated. The race marketing is legit, I like racing bikes. There is no bigger adrenaline rush when you get to the start and you’re ready and fit, your bike is dialed, and you can hammer hard and get what you want out of the event. Stop for a moment and think of the simplicity of just going for a ride without an agenda. No speed, no workouts, just ride your bike. This is where the Blue Lug style comes into play.
The details of the Blue Lug bike builds are simple and precise. Nothing is left untouched. The result are bikes that are meant to be ridden at a nice pace, not bombed down hills, not jumped at the skatepark, but rather cruised on roads and gravel with an attitude of "I'll get there when I get there" and nothing more. It's all about the ride with a dash of maker style blended with Japanese vision, not about race pace. When they update their Instagram @BlueLug with new bikes they always knock it out of the park. Using White Industries cranks and hubs, or Paul Components from Chico, CA the end result is just a fascinating show bike that you can just sit and stare at. They are genuinely works of art that should be ridden. The bikes feature disc brakes and modern wheel sizes and flat pedals. Overflowing with panache in the way only they can do makes me look forward to everything they put out. No suspension forks, just solid clean lines with plenty of blingy billet to go around. I urge everyone to check them out and see if that's what's for you. Maybe you need to slow down off the rat race and build up a bike meant for riding at 12 mph and stopping to eat a burrito instead of racing at 190bpm to get a top 10 on Strava?

Enjoy this frigid week with some hot coffee and slow down for a minute or two.

Thanks for reading.

Peace,
Paul