You can never forget your first times. In everything. First kiss, first salary, first time you managed to stay balanced on a bike, anything else. And on this case, my first discovery of a feature that will be incorporated on every wheels I built in the future.
Keirin race is a track cycling event in which six to nine sprinters raced for victory, and it began as a betting sport in Japan in 1948. To ensure that no rider will have any advantage or disadvantage based on equipment, every bicycle used on the Japanese Keirin race must conform the strict rules set by the Nihon Jitensha Shinkokai (NJS, or Japanese Bicycle Association). The NJS stamp visible on the frame or the components signifies that they are built within the NJS guidelines.
Arioso "Ochiewz" Hadipuro is one of the old names in Jakarta's fixed gear culture. Being one of the early adopters, he's been through a number of track frames: Eighth Inch Scrambler, Leader 722TR, Leader Kagero, and the latest is this NJS-certified Giro Keirin frameset.
Those frames might come and go but some components remain retained, such as the Sugino RD2 crankset that runs on Phil Wood bottom bracket and those pair of wheels. This particular Velocity Aeroheads laced to Phil Wood hubs are important for me since they are one of those wheels I built long before I set my own shop, and significantly the first builds that incorporates my signature: valve stem aligned to the hub label. It took me a while just to figure out how to do that.
You can see some road grime apparent on this bike because it's been used on a daily basis. A daily driver with true racing heritage, what's not to like?
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