This isn’t a review or anything. Just wanted to write down a little story.
Something recently brought back a flood of memories, so I figured I’d share a little throwback.
I first discovered the Steamroller back when I was completely obsessed with track bike culture. I was digging through all kinds of footage from around the world, famous riders, unknown riders, you name it. I just couldn’t get enough of it.
One thing about my taste in riding: then and now, I’ve always loved riders who are insanely good but have this slightly awkward, almost clumsy-looking style.
You know, that kind of beautifully rough, not-quite-perfect riding. A little weird, but full of character.
There were a few riders like that who always caught my attention.
And one of them was riding this bike with a purple frame and a white unicrown fork.
That was my first encounter with the Steamroller.
I remember trying so hard to figure out what the bike was from some incredibly low-resolution footage. After digging around, I finally figured out that it was a Surly, and the model was called the Steamroller.
Man, those were the days…
Back when I was riding every chance I got, barely sleeping or eating because I was so obsessed with bikes, none of my friends rode Steamrollers. Honestly, it wasn’t a bike I was very familiar with.
It was more like one of those dream bikes I’d only ever seen on a screen.
Sometimes I’d spot someone riding one around Shibuya or Harajuku, or see one at BLUE LUG, and I’d think, “Wow, so this is Tokyo!”, haha.
Fast Forward to 10 Years Ago…
Not long after I joined BLUE LUG, about ten years ago, a batch of Steamrollers arrived at the shop.
And then…
(Kaneyan-san)
“Tommy-chan, hey, don’t try this at home! Hahaha!”
CLANG!!
Right there in the Hatagaya shop’s workshop, Kaneyan-san was taking a massive pair of bolt cutters to the rear dropout eyelets and cutting them clean off.
Yep. Literally chopping them off.
↑chopped off this part
↓with this thing lol
(Kaneyan-san)
“Well, the one I used to ride didn’t have those! What if I end up regretting this so much?! Hahaha!”
I believe those eyelets were added sometime around 2015, though don’t quote me on that.
Anyway, this guy had just built up his brand-new Steamroller after ten years, and the first thing he did was start hacking away at it.
As a rookie, I remember thinking:
“What kind of crazy person have I ended up working with…?”
Haha.
2026…
And then, all these years later…
Turns out there’s someone with exactly the same energy on the other side of the ocean.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
この投稿をInstagramで見る
So, earlier today, our videographer, Mile, asked me:
“Hey, can you find that Steamroller footage you mentioned during the YouTube recording? The one with the trick fork? I’m really curious to see it!”
I told him, “Oh, that’s easy! I watched that stuff so many times back then. I can find it in no time!”
And sure enough, there it was.
“Ahhh, THIS one! Haven’t seen this in ages!”
I started watching it again, enjoying the nostalgia.
But then something felt a little strange…
“Wait a minute… why does this feel so familiar?”
And then it hit me.
KANEYAN-SAN!!!
The rider I’d been watching all those years ago was actually a much younger Kaneyan-san!
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!
I couldn’t believe it, haha.
So yeah, that’s my little Steamroller story.
(And here’s a little secret: I also knew about the footage of Chuyan-san doing wheelies, rollbacks, and other tricks back in the day. Don’t tell anyone!)
この投稿をInstagramで見る
Anyway, here’s some footage of Kaneyan-san and me (Tommy) from back in the day.
Enjoy the throwback!
