cycle mode, osaka

today was cycle mode - the main industry event in japan. I hoped it would fulfill but let's face it - the chances of a keen cyclist who is also an exhibition designer not enjoying a trade show with bikes would be pretty difficult. thankfully the show was really good - mainly due to the fact that it wasn't precious. you could try out just about everything - just grab a bike and jump off to the indoor circuit: 20,000 yen foldables or 400,000 yen colnagos. you had to queue for the italian stuff right enough. mr armstrongs face adorned most stands, with them thriving off his connection. his clothing company, his bike company, even his energy bar supplier and toilet roll maker. fair dues.

the highlights for me were: the cateye vibration activated, solar-powered light (spring 2006) and the ingenious foldables. given I'm looking for one I gave them close attention: in terms of all round value the best was probably the handybike from bridgestone. at only 33,000 yen or 160 pounds it's a great deal though the small wheels mean that cornering can be tricky. a bit more clever, and with suspension but more moving parts was the koma from smartcog. at 89,250 yen this is a fair hike up in price. I was happy to see that the strida now has a distributor in japan although their web site gives little away.

it was a very good mix of mountain bikes and road bikes. even recumbants and bmxs. no kick bikes though, I don't think. trek was the most popular stand probably due to it's links with the yellow band man and it was nice to sample the pinarellos and de rosas although I think I'll need to rely on my lungs and calfs for the mean time.

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