What's new

Bikeshop recommendation - Shinagawa/Tamagawa area

maverick_1

Warming-Up
Aug 24, 2008
52
0
hi guys...

im looking for a bikeshop to have some new bike components fitted (well actually they are 11spd comps)

was at Fitte @ Kitasenju yesterday but Masayoshi san (the nice friendly mechanic) is no longer working there..
spoke to one of the chaps there and he told me it will cost Yen32k to get the comp fitted on my existing bike.

is there any place that anyone can recommend, perhaps cheaper in comparison? 32k is a tad too expensive i believe:eek:

thanks
 
Positivo

I don't know if this shop is conveniently located for you, but try POSITIVO on Meguro Dori close to the Kinokuniya supermarket. The owner, Nagai-San is quite friendly, very component and he used to work for several years for the Fassa Bortolo Pro team doing the Tour de France, Giro Italia and so on.

I don't know precisely how much he will charge, but last year he assembled my complete bike (I bought the frame and all components in Europe) for less than 25.000 Yen.

http://www.new-cycling.co.jp/nagaipstv.htm

A lot of riders from our team POSITIVO ESPRESSO go there to fix their bikes, so far no complains. I normally don't buy major components there as he is rather on the expensive side here, but repair and adjusting is reasonable.
 
I don't know if this shop is conveniently located for you, but try POSITIVO on Meguro Dori close to the Kinokuniya supermarket. The owner, Nagai-San is quite friendly, very component and he used to work for several years for the Fassa Bortolo Pro team doing the Tour de France, Giro Italia and so on.

I don't know precisely how much he will charge, but last year he assembled my complete bike (I bought the frame and all components in Europe) for less than 25.000 Yen.

http://www.new-cycling.co.jp/nagaipstv.htm

A lot of riders from our team POSITIVO ESPRESSO go there to fix their bikes, so far no complains. I normally don't buy major components there as he is rather on the expensive side here, but repair and adjusting is reasonable.

hi mob,

thanks for the reply.
yep, most of japan bikeshop prices are on the high side and for major components, most often is significantly cheaper to purchase outside of japan (unfortunately).
i would love to support the local bikeshops here but looking at prices which is twice as much, it's quite difficult :eek:uch:

i will pay a visit to Nagai san.
hopefully he speaks some decent english as my Nihongo is pretty bad:eek:

cheers!
 
You bring up a good point about shopping outside of Japan. I am from the US and bought most of my cycling items from shops in the states. However, after looking at some of the online shops out of England I can get better deals than what I could in the states. Looks like I will be helping out the British economy in the future, well for cycling needs.

James
 
You bring up a good point about shopping outside of Japan. I am from the US and bought most of my cycling items from shops in the states. However, after looking at some of the online shops out of England I can get better deals than what I could in the states. Looks like I will be helping out the British economy in the future, well for cycling needs.

James

yep..

i'm still wondering why prices in Japan are so expensive!
are the taxes here very high for bike components?

as a matter of fact, even Shimano prices in Japan are higher than those from other countries, when in fact Dura Ace components are supposedly manufactured in Japan. (although i understand that Dura Ace wheelsets are currently being manufactured/handbuilt in Malaysia - and quality is still top notch nonetheless)

i do try my best (although still ridiculously expensive) to buy some stuff from the local bikeshops here..mostly winter clothing, gloves etc.
just to show some support.:)

cheers
 
High Component Prices in Japan

That prices are so high in Japan is due to the multi-layered distribution system mainly. In Europe many bigger stores or internet shops buy directly from the manufacturer or importer and sell to the general public. In Japan, in many cases there are two, three or four distributors between the manufacturer and the retail shop. As a rule of thumb, something can be produced at the cost of 1US$ and is sold for 4 US$ in Japan, while something is produced for 3 US$ and sold for 4 US$ in the US.

This is not necessarily a bad Japanese system if one is considering the service provided in addition for the customer. Only if there is enough margin made, shops can give free repairs, fittings and refunds. If sold in a price war at low margins, shops are usually reluctant to provide anything except the sole product. One has to ask although if really all the service is required.

If something cost more than 10.000 Yen AND I can wait for it I normally buy it in Europe. Of course sometimes I desperately what to have something and I spend the money here. I bought my frame and all the components in Europe, then I asked Nagai-san to assemble it.

I doubt that (in my case) many German bikes hops would do this for me. Many bikeshops don't even service bikes if they are not bought in the shop.

Nagai-sans English is OK I guess and he is used to foreigners who do not speak Japanese. I think his Italian must be quite good actually.
 
astroman, mob,

thanks guys for giving me the links and advice on the bikeshops.
highly appreciated.

i'll post a pic of my ride once it's fixed:rolleyes:.

cheers..:)

PS: i'm really looking forward to the day where TCC members can ride together, perhaps for an easy ride to Sagamiko etc.
 
I second what nearly everyone has said here. I just bought and assembled a completely new bike. The prices in Japan are around twice those found overseas, UK online shops are super cheap - cheaper than used goods here or Ebay, and Positivo is good shop and Nagai-san is good at what he does.

Maverick, I strongly recommend putting the parts together yourself. I have alomost done all my own maintenance since the 90s, and I can tell you that assembly has never been easier or better. I only Shimano, and you`re talking campy if it`s 11sp, but I doubt the latter is any less awesome to work with. About the only thing you can`t do with a set of allen wrenches and the internet is installing the headset races or facing the headtube or bottom bracket. All the stuff that used to be a pain in the arse 10-15 years ago (headsets, brake toe-in, bottom brackets, cranks, chains, shifter/derailleur set up) is now sooooo easy! I recommend the Park Tool website and youtube for instructions, and `assembly compound` for carbon parts.
 
I second what nearly everyone has said here. I just bought and assembled a completely new bike. The prices in Japan are around twice those found overseas, UK online shops are super cheap - cheaper than used goods here or Ebay, and Positivo is good shop and Nagai-san is good at what he does.

Maverick, I strongly recommend putting the parts together yourself. I have alomost done all my own maintenance since the 90s, and I can tell you that assembly has never been easier or better. I only Shimano, and you`re talking campy if it`s 11sp, but I doubt the latter is any less awesome to work with. About the only thing you can`t do with a set of allen wrenches and the internet is installing the headset races or facing the headtube or bottom bracket. All the stuff that used to be a pain in the arse 10-15 years ago (headsets, brake toe-in, bottom brackets, cranks, chains, shifter/derailleur set up) is now sooooo easy! I recommend the Park Tool website and youtube for instructions, and `assembly compound` for carbon parts.

thanks for the advice.

well, the reason i'm planning to get a good mechanic to fix the comps is that i don't have proper tools (e.g 11sp chain requires new campy tools), BB, Crankset etc.

prefer not to mess around with something i'm not really good at:eek:

another thing is that the new 11sp adjustment maybe a tad more sensitive than 10sp perhaps due to closer ratios between gears (only my assumption, i could be wrong:D)

cheers
 
I don't know if this shop is conveniently located for you, but try POSITIVO on Meguro Dori close to the Kinokuniya supermarket. The owner, Nagai-San is quite friendly, very component and he used to work for several years for the Fassa Bortolo Pro team doing the Tour de France, Giro Italia and so on.

I don't know precisely how much he will charge, but last year he assembled my complete bike (I bought the frame and all components in Europe) for less than 25.000 Yen.

http://www.new-cycling.co.jp/nagaipstv.htm

A lot of riders from our team POSITIVO ESPRESSO go there to fix their bikes, so far no complains. I normally don't buy major components there as he is rather on the expensive side here, but repair and adjusting is reasonable.

hi mob and everyone,

just to update you guys that i just got back fr POSITIVO and got a quote from Nagai san..
Price is Yen 22.500, plus he mentioned something about the handlebar thingy which i dun quite understand.
anyway, he's a nice chap and very friendly:)

i'm just wondering how he got into Fassa Bartolo as a team mechanic back then.
btw, there's a brand new Colnago Extreme Power with Record 11 hanging at POSITIVO..talk about bike lust!

cheers.
 
Positivo

Hi maverick,

good to hear that you are happy with Nagai-San. He is a nice guy and he has to make a living with his relatively small store. I wouldn't claim that he is the best mechanic in Tokyo or something like this, but he knows his trade, is helpful and open to suggestions.

His English is probably not very good - but so was probably also the English of all other guys working for Fasso Bartolo. Being an Italian team they spoke Italian, not English. As did Nagai-san.
 
Actually, my friend who works for Shimano in Osaka told me two months ago that Nagai-san IS the best mechanic in Tokyo!
 
just to update you guys that i just got back fr POSITIVO and got a quote from Nagai san..
Price is Yen 22.500, plus he mentioned something about the handlebar thingy which i dun quite understand.

Maverick,

Has Nagai-san built up your bike yet (that is, if you ended up going with him)? I'll be taking my parts to him once I have everything, and was curious to hear about your experience.

Deej
 
Maverick,

Has Nagai-san built up your bike yet (that is, if you ended up going with him)? I'll be taking my parts to him once I have everything, and was curious to hear about your experience.

Deej

Hi Deej...

Sorry, been pretty bz with work lately, and yet to find time to go over to Positivo to have my parts changed..
btw, im wondering whether Positivo is open for business on Sundays??

my plan is to have the components replace before the Yatsugatake Hill Climb race..so it should be within the next 1-2weeks..and possible another month to get use to the new components.

I will update you once everything is fix..perhaps will add some pics as well..:D

cheers
 
CWS in Kichijoji is da bomb! Ask for Taku, Nihon jin but with a Boulder CO. accent. A1 Mechanic and great range of road components.
 
Deej,

Just to update you that i went over to Positivo today at 12pm, however Nagai san's schedule is full up until 15th March.
I was there wanted to get my 11s comps fitted :(

Btw, i checked with him and he informed that the price to have a complete frame+comps (basically a complete bike built up) is Yen 30k.
For components installation, it will cost Yen 22.5k.

Please pay him a visit or contact him to make an appointment in case you need his services. You may have to leave your bike there for a couple of days as well.
As for me, i went to another bikeshop to get comps fitted instead.
Wil post a pic once it's done.

cheers.
 
Btw, i checked with him and he informed that the price to have a complete frame+comps (basically a complete bike built up) is Yen 30k.
For components installation, it will cost Yen 22.5k.

Thanks for the update, Maverick.

Once I get my frameset, I'll call him up and see what kind of timeframe I'm looking at. Quick question (and pardon my ignorance here if the answer is obvious): what's the difference between a "complete build-up" and "components installation"?

Deej
 
Back
Top Bottom