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Blue Lug bike shop Japan

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Blue Lug bike shop Japan

Old 08-27-21, 02:41 AM
  #1  
Lazyass
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Blue Lug bike shop Japan

I wish there was a shop like this around here. They have tons of cool bikes and parts. There's an Independent Fabrications SS frameset on their wall I'd kill for. If you look at their channel they show some nice bike builds.

They do ship overseas and have a bunch of stuff in stock hard to find here.

https://global.bluelug.com/

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Old 08-31-21, 01:00 AM
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They're one of the best shops in the world.
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Old 08-31-21, 01:43 AM
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That shop reminds me of what shops in the USA used to be like in the 90's with tons of cool parts you could spend all day browsing. If I lived in that town I'd probably never buy stuff online.
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Old 08-31-21, 06:17 AM
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Here's my $.02 so take it for what it's worth. If there was a demand for and support for the types of shops described, then they probably would still be around. Some shops, such as Retrogression are doing their best to cater to "serious" fixed-gear and singlespeeders. They do both walk-in and online business. No reason why anyone can't do business with them. So if you want them to continue, think about buying something from them, yes? I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, just in case someone wonders. They are just the first that comes to mind.

So if you are one of the luck ones that has a decent bike shop in town, you know what you need to do. If you prefer to buy everything from online discounters, then someday when you are in a fix and need that part today, guess what...
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Old 08-31-21, 09:29 AM
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You're exactly right, TugaDude


I try to buy from "brick and mortar" stores whenever possible--preferably the locally owned ones. If what I need is not available, I go online, first to boutique shops like Retrogression. If they don't have what I need, I check with the big corporate chains (Jensen USA, Modern Bike, Backcountry, REI, etc.) As a last resort, I'll occasionally buy from the evil galactic empire, Amazon. My reasons for prioritizing in this way are not altruistic, but actually kind of selfish. I mean, I could save a few dollars by doing it in exactly the opposite order... but good service is worth a lot to me, and I'm looking out for my own interests in the long term. REI and Jensen care nothing about you, outside of how much revenue and market share you bring them. Big A will never have your back. Retrogression and Saturday Cycles will, assuming they're still in business when you need them.

That Blue Lug shop looks like an outstanding place.
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Old 08-31-21, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
I wish there was a shop like this around here. They have tons of cool bikes and parts. There's an Independent Fabrications SS frameset on their wall I'd kill for. If you look at their channel they show some nice bike builds.

They do ship overseas and have a bunch of stuff in stock hard to find here.

https://global.bluelug.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH07rceWHVQ
Oh my god, this place is a DREAM.
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Old 09-01-21, 01:45 AM
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Originally Posted by nimoWS
Oh my god, this place is a DREAM.
You ain't kidding. I want to take a trip to Japan just to go there. They have really good videos. I watched the one below and finally learned about skid patches. I run brakes so I don't need to worry about it but it's good information. For those who don't know, a 17T cog is the best to run if you don't have brakes.

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Old 09-01-21, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
For those who don't know, a 17T cog is the best to run if you don't have brakes.
Umm... okay.

From Sheldon Brown:


" f you make a habit of doing "skip stops" you will wear your rear tire out considerably faster than if you use your front brake. This problem is exacerbated by certain gear ratios, because you may tend to repeatedly skid on the same section of the tire.Riders who plan to do a lot of skip stops should consider the ratio when selecting their chainring and rear sprocket. The mathematics of this is actually fairly simple:
  • Simplify the gear ratio to the smallest equivalent whole number ratio. Let's call it p/q.
  • if the numerator, p, of the reduced gear ratio is even then the number of skid patches is q. Skid patches are evenly spaced around the tire if there is more than one.
  • If you are an ambidextrous skidder, and the numerator is odd, the number of possible skid patches will be doubled. The skid patches with one foot forward fall halfway in between those with the other foot forward.
Examples:
48/12 simplifies to 4/1, so there will be only 1 skid patch
45/15 simplifies to 3/1 so there will only be 1 skid patch, or 2 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.
42/15 simplifies to 14/5, so there will be 5 skid patches.
44/16 simplifies to 11/4, so there will be 4 skid patches, or 8 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.
43/15 can't be further simplified, so there will be 15 skid patches, or 30 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.

Explanation: let's look at 45/15, or 3/1. The rear wheel turns exactly 3 times for each turn of the cranks -- so, if the same foot is forward, the same place on the rear tire is always down. 1/2 turn of the cranks places the other foot forward, and turns the rear wheel 1 1/2 times. Then, the opposite place on the tire is down. Similarly for higher numbers, if the numerator of the reduced fraction is even, skid patches will be in the same places with either crank forward, but if the numerator is odd, the number of skid patches with each crank forward will be odd, and skid patches will interleave.
John Allen's Excel spreadsheet calculates the number of skid patches for any sprocket combination."


In other words, the size of cog isn't what counts, but the ratio of chainring to cog.
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Old 09-01-21, 01:05 PM
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I patronize my LBS by paying a premium for parts and having them do all my service. In exchange, they'll go out on a limb and help me out when I'm really in a pinch. The good service more than pays off for the premium IME.

The pandemic has been a bit rough since QBP and other distributors have been having supply chain issues. It's a bit weird for me to get told to go on Amazon to buy chains, but hey I still ask them each time. Recently they had some M8000 brakes for my new MTB build which I was surprised about, given their difficulty online even. It took me about 2 milliseconds to decide to purchase them.
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Old 09-01-21, 04:11 PM
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Oh man, I would love to be able to go to and check out a spot like that.
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Old 09-02-21, 01:20 AM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by Broctoon
Umm... okay.

From Sheldon Brown:


" f you make a habit of doing "skip stops" you will wear your rear tire out considerably faster than if you use your front brake. This problem is exacerbated by certain gear ratios, because you may tend to repeatedly skid on the same section of the tire.Riders who plan to do a lot of skip stops should consider the ratio when selecting their chainring and rear sprocket. The mathematics of this is actually fairly simple:
  • Simplify the gear ratio to the smallest equivalent whole number ratio. Let's call it p/q.
  • if the numerator, p, of the reduced gear ratio is even then the number of skid patches is q. Skid patches are evenly spaced around the tire if there is more than one.
  • If you are an ambidextrous skidder, and the numerator is odd, the number of possible skid patches will be doubled. The skid patches with one foot forward fall halfway in between those with the other foot forward.
Examples:
48/12 simplifies to 4/1, so there will be only 1 skid patch
45/15 simplifies to 3/1 so there will only be 1 skid patch, or 2 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.
42/15 simplifies to 14/5, so there will be 5 skid patches.
44/16 simplifies to 11/4, so there will be 4 skid patches, or 8 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.
43/15 can't be further simplified, so there will be 15 skid patches, or 30 if you are an ambidextrous skidder.

Explanation: let's look at 45/15, or 3/1. The rear wheel turns exactly 3 times for each turn of the cranks -- so, if the same foot is forward, the same place on the rear tire is always down. 1/2 turn of the cranks places the other foot forward, and turns the rear wheel 1 1/2 times. Then, the opposite place on the tire is down. Similarly for higher numbers, if the numerator of the reduced fraction is even, skid patches will be in the same places with either crank forward, but if the numerator is odd, the number of skid patches with each crank forward will be odd, and skid patches will interleave.
John Allen's Excel spreadsheet calculates the number of skid patches for any sprocket combination."


In other words, the size of cog isn't what counts, but the ratio of chainring to cog.
To quote you... "Ummm", a 17T cog has 17 skid patches with almost every chainring size.

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Old 09-02-21, 06:19 AM
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Originally Posted by TMonk
I patronize my LBS by paying a premium for parts and having them do all my service. In exchange, they'll go out on a limb and help me out when I'm really in a pinch. The good service more than pays off for the premium IME.

The pandemic has been a bit rough since QBP and other distributors have been having supply chain issues. It's a bit weird for me to get told to go on Amazon to buy chains, but hey I still ask them each time. Recently they had some M8000 brakes for my new MTB build which I was surprised about, given their difficulty online even. It took me about 2 milliseconds to decide to purchase them.
That's the beauty of relationships. Over time, whatever "extra" you might pay for convenience is repaid through kindness. Cultivate relationships and you'll never be poor.
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Old 09-02-21, 07:43 AM
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We should all kick in like twenty bucks and open up a shop like that somewhere.
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Old 09-02-21, 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
To quote you... "Ummm", a 17T cog has 17 skid patches with almost every chainring size.
Okay, good point.

So if you want to skid your rear tire but also want it to last a long time, it’s a big benefit to spread the wear over 17 spots instead of only 16, 15, or fewer. I guess the more the better, eh?

Last edited by Broctoon; 09-02-21 at 08:11 AM.
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Old 09-02-21, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Broctoon
Okay, good point.

So if you want to skid your rear tire but also want it to last a long time, it’s a big benefit to spread the wear over 17 spots instead of only 16, 15, or fewer. I guess the more the better, eh?
That's specifically why the skid patch is calculated when considering what gearing to run with no brakes.
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Old 09-02-21, 12:31 PM
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I discovered Blue Lug about 2 years ago, and have salivated over their instagram feed since. I have purchased many parts from them - despite it taking time to ship from Japan.

If I even opened a bike shop, it'd be like that.
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