Our Friends - Circles/Simworks Japan

We interviewed Makoto, who works as the chief mechanic/wheel builder at Circles, a bike store in Nagoya, Japan. Makoto also builds frames for Doppo, an original frame line for SimWorks, Circles' original brand. Circles and their crew are tremendous supporters of the handbuilt/small brand segment of cycling across the globe and we're enormously thankful for our growing partnership.

Without further delay, here's what what Makoto had to say!

Tell me about your life in cycling. How’d it start, where’d it take you and what does it mean to you?

My first encounter with bicycles was at the age of three when my grandfather bought me a bike. That was the start of my journey with cycling. However, in Japan, due to cultural differences, cycling is often seen as merely a means of transportation rather than something to enjoy.

In that sense, I truly began engaging with cycling as a way to enjoy it during my college years. From then on, I was completely hooked with cycling. I started with long tours, using the long summer and winter breaks to travel all over Japan, to the point where I nearly failed out of college. During my studies, I also participated in downhill racing, which led to countless injuries and left my body battered.

After miraculously graduating college, I started working at a bike shop where I had been involved during my college years. I continued downhill racing for about seven years while working there.

Later, I spent three years as a bike messenger, followed by a year and a half in Whistler, Canada, dedicated to mountain biking. When I returned to Japan, I began working at Circles, where I’ve now been for about 16 years.

Cycling is the longest-standing part of my life. It’s one of the few things in my life that I have neither a reason nor the intention to ever quit.


How about Simworks? Tell us about the origin of the brand both in Japan and USA.

I think it would be more correct for my boss Shinya to answer this question, not me.

But as far as I am concerned, Simworks, like many other brands, started as a result of a group of cyclists and mechanics getting together and talking about what they would like to see, and then trying to give shape to that idea.

The words “sim” and “shim” are used interchangeably, and just as "shim” adjusts and helps something between parts, I believe our brand can adjust and help cyclists and mechanics.

When and why did you become involved in the company?

I was there when SimWorks started the first chit-chat in the mechanic's zone of Bike Shop Circles, and now I am involved in the manufacture of the original Doppo frames

Describe your approach or philosophy to cycling both as a business and a participant.

I think that riding a bike is the most fun part, although tinkering with and building a bike is fun too.
However, riding a bike is a very solitary activity, which is why you need the help of friends and bike stores.
Therefore, although it may be a bit exaggerated, we also want to be a shop and brand that people can rely on to help them in various aspects of bicycle riding.


If I consider the brand or the shop as a whole, it is definitely Shinya Tanaka (our boss).
If it were me personally, it would be my boss and the American frame builders.
They gave me guidelines not only for making things, but also for how to act and live.

Finish these:

1. My favorite product Simworks has created to date is…
   Mowmow Bar. This handle is filled with my favorite things.
   

2. If I could only ride one bike for the rest of my life it would be…I think I'll say Mountain Bike, but it's a question I don't really want to answer (need more bikes) haha.

3. Bikes have soul if…
   
   Of course I feel it in the styling and simple construction of the bike, but when I feel that sense of togetherness when riding through traffic on a fixed-gear bike, or the feeling of accomplishment when climbing a steep hill on a road bike, or the relief when landing safely after a jump on a mountain bike, I feel the moment when the bicycle becomes a partner instead of a mere machine.

   

4. Riding bikes is about…A part of my body, I guess.
I can't deeply imagine it going away.
I'm sure I'd ride it even if the law banned it, kind of like jazz during prohibition?



5. The best bike rides start with…Having a good coffee and breakfast.

6. The best bike rides end with…Having a cold beer and a taco or pizza.

7. We’ll keep doing this as long as…As long as it is possible to pedal, I will continue to ride, and as long as my hands can move, I will continue to touch the bikes and to build frames.

8. I want people reading this to know that…I think everyone here already knows how great bicycles are, so let's ride together when you come to Japan!