Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Nagasawa bikes are high-end, custom-built bicycles that are handmade in Tokyo, Japan. The brand was founded in 1967 by Osamu Nagasawa, a former professional keirin track racer who began building bikes as a hobby.

Today, Nagasawa bikes are considered some of the finest and most sought-after bicycles in the world, with a reputation for exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Nagasawa bikes are typically built using traditional techniques and materials, such as lugged steel frames and hand-filed lug work. The bikes are often finished with ornate paint schemes and intricate detailing, making them works of art as well as high-performance machines.

While they are not cheap, Nagasawa bikes are considered to be an investment in quality, craftsmanship, and performance that is rarely matched.

The Blood of the Samurai: Nagasawa Special

The Blood of the Samurai: Nagasawa Special

There are many correlations that can be drawn between Japan’s keirin racers and the samurai’s code of Bushidō — the way of the warrior. Essentially, Keirin racers are trained in the art of racing for sport, but they are constantly faced with defeat and rejection, which they must accept with honor. As well as their…

Nagasawa Road

If you look closely at the Nagasawa head badge, there’s an Italian flag alongside the Japanese flag. Yoshiaki Nagasawa has a strong connection with the Italian bicycle frame building industry, beginning his career at Sante Pogliaghi’s workshop before starting a six-year internship with Ugo De Rosa. A return to Japan brought his experience to the…

Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

CWMD Nagasawa

Mr. Nagasawa is one of a select few Japanese builders who are licensed to produce NJS approved frames for keirin racing. I have always been…