Dear Cyclofiend,

Attached are some photos of my Alps bicycle, designed and made in 2004 by Hiroshi Hagiwara of "Sports Cycles Alps", Tokyo, Japan. It was made to measure from Tange Prestige steel with Italian Cut lugs. The rims are by Ukai on Ultegra hubs, the tyres are Mitsuboshi 650A. Dura Ace front and rear derailleurs and downtube shifters, and a TA crank. Handlebar is the Nitto Randoneur, 38cm, and the stem is an Alps-branded Nitto. Brakes are Dia Compe with Salmon pads. The mudguards are by Honjo, modified by Alps to be quick release to enable the bicycle to be disassembled and bagged for traveling by train.

If its interesting, a little history of Alps ..

Alps cycles was founded by Taku Hagiwara in 1918. Shiga Naoya [ the famous Japanese author, 1883-1971 ], mentions Taku in his novel "Bicycle". At this time, Alps made practical use bikes, selling wholesale from Kanda in central Tokyo. In 1946 ownership passed to the 2nd generation, Shinichi Hagiwara . He changed the style to focus more on sports cycles. Now it is in the ownership of the 3rd generation, Hiroshi Hagiwara, and it still based in Kanda.

-Paul

marshallworld@gmail.com