Company: Nagasawa is part of a small group of bicycle builders whose status borders on the legendary. In the design of track bikes, what sets a Nagasawa apart is the way that his frames come together, every detail meticulously positioned, every feature designed by the man himself and refined over the years. The dropouts and lugs are Nagasawa designs, not stock pieces. Nagasawa selects every tube based on your riding style and weight. He meticulously checks his tubes out of the box from the factory checking for perfect profiles and minor defects. The man is a true perfectionist.
Nagasawa learned his trade under Ugo De Rosa in the early 1970’s. He returned to Japan in 1976 where he opened up shop in Osaka as a Keirin frame builder. Nagasawa says it was in Italy he learned the importance of beauty in bicycles. Nagasawa’s frames have been raced by some of Japan’s fastest Keirin riders, including the indomitable Koichi Nakano, the ten times winner of the UCI Track World Championship. It’s Nakano’s history of success for which Nagasawa frames hold the world champion stripes. His frames are still ridden primarily in the top Keirin class and are often the choice of world-class racers invited to race Keirin in Japan such as Matthew Crampton and David Daniells.
Classic Rendezvous, who deal with the history and palmares of the greats of cycling, have an excellent page on Nagasawa’s vaunted past. You can read it here.
Accolades: Reviews and appraisals are for new builders, people with a point to prove about their skills, Nagasawa’s skills are beyond question. Nagasawa built for Merckx, studied under De Rosa, and has built bikes that have been winning international competitions for 40 years. Nagasawa frames are the benchmark of quality that other builders hope to achieve, a true legend among racers and frame-makers alike.
“Yoshiaki Nagasawa is renowned as a framebuilding heavyweight, a genius in the art of hand brazing and clearly an influence on Sachs (who also happens to own several Nagasawa frames) ” – Guy Andrews, The Custom Road Bike Book
Ordering a Nagasawa: Nagasawa lead times are currently about 10-14 weeks.
Nagasawa builds with a selection of specially butted Tange tubing. The tubing is selected depending on the riders weight & riding style. Nagasawa is currently primarily building lugged track frames but will take requests for road frames depending on his schedule. Track frames are built using Nagasawa’s signature bottom bracket shell, lugs & dropouts, in traditional track geometries only.
Custom Options: We do not currently currently hold any Nagasawa frames in stock for sale but we do have a Nagasawa display bike store to view.
• The only frame options are drilling for front and rear brake, a choice of Italian or British bottom bracket and the choice of JIS or standard crown race diameter. When you’re getting something like a Nagasawa, there’s little reason to mess around.
• All frames are sprayed to match your colour choice. Hand painted fill in the lugs and fork crown is optional. Gloss, satin and metallic finishes are also available.
• Nagasawa’s standard decal set is a fiery orange with a dark blue outline. Custom colored decals are available, including your signature on the top-tube.
