New Country, New Bike in Kobe by Minh and So
Heads Up: Here is another guest articles. This time by Minh that you might also know as Paul or @vxarea who was in Kansai for about a month, to see some friends but also pick up a new bike!
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Like many fixed gear fans out there, a trip to Japan always felt inevitable. The hype, the arts , the roads! A chance to soak in the culture, visit my friend So (you might’ve seen him featured here before), and finally pick up a frame I’d been looking forward to for months.
Me and @_s0.ft. had been chatting back and forth about a certain frame, and when the opportunity to buy it came up, I just couldn’t pass it up. So I had this steel beauty shipped from Korea straight to Japan, all thanks to So, who made it happen. Big shoutout to him and @_s0.ft. for the support.
Landing in Osaka, I found myself in a new country with a brand-new bike. And there’s no better way to start fresh than rolling into the unknown.
So how did it all happen?
Well, first off, I didn’t need another bike. I already had my trusty Parallax with me, a bike I’ve always considered a “forever” build. But this new frame felt like the perfect variant. It’s steel instead of aluminum, but the oversized tubing keeps that lively, snappy feel I love. Raw and clean, with external Chris King cups, it actually reminded me a bit of a No. 22, hence the little “Fake Wing” decal on the top-tube.
As for the Parallax, I still brought it with me to Japan with the idea of passing it on to a local rider. That way, I could make space for this new build, which was quickly going to become my new daily. Now, I don’t have too much info about the frame itself. From what I gathered, it was a small prototype run commissioned by a shop called DopeZone based in Seoul, South Korea. They had plans to develop a frame for production, but the project didn’t quite materialize. Still, four prototypes were made, and this is one of them. I’m not even sure what tubing it uses (Columbus, maybe? It’s surprisingly light), or when exactly it was built. But what I do know is that it keeps that steep Parallax geometry we all love… Except for one detail that I’ll talk about later.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Korean Custom Steel 55x55
Chainring and Cog 49T Saturn x EAI Gold 18T
Crank Sugino 75 165mm
Seatpost and Saddle
Thomson Elite, Selle Italia SLR Boost
Stem and Handlebar
Extralite Hyperstem Stealth 12* 120mm, Spank
Wheels Zipp 30 laced to Lazarus Raptor hubs
So how does it feel? I’ll admit! I don’t ride hard or super often. But I’ve been lucky enough to try a fair share of frames over the years (NJS, GTB, BMC, etc.), which gives me a decent sense of how this one stacks up. And as Kobe itself is a chill, laid-back city, it doesn’t have the hustle and chaos of Osaka, which made it the perfect place to slow down and really pay attention to how the bike feels.
The short answer? It feels pretty damn good. Heavier than aluminum, for sure, but with that comes more comfort and better shock absorption. I also suspect the stack is slightly taller than on my previous setup. The angles are steep, and overall it’s an absolute joy to ride… except for one thing: the fork.
One of the reasons I love the Parallax so much is its tight geometry paired with the 28mm rake fork. Unfortunately, this build doesn’t have that, it’s running a slacker fork, and that kind of kills the aggressive feel for me. Visually, it also loses some of that compact tightness I love.
My friend So keeps telling me it doesn’t change much. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s all in my head. But placebo or not, I still think a 28mm rake fork would make a difference, and it’s definitely something I’d consider swapping in the future.