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<\/a><\/p>\nA mountain bike called the FALCONER \u201cChukar\u201d<\/b>, inspired by vintage cruisers, and a rather unfamiliar-looking Rivendell named the \u201cNouveau Rambouillet.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Two bikes that, in my own way, are packed full of BLUE LUG\u2019s 20-year history and my own personal obsessions.<\/p>\n At least, that was the intention!<\/p>\n We asked Ishigaki-san of TOYO FRAME<\/strong>, one of Japan\u2019s proud frame builders, to make them.<\/p>\n Handmade bikes, built in Osaka specifically for this show.<\/p>\n Yes, both frames are made in Japan. BLUE LUG has always leaned pretty heavily toward America, so the fact that we\u2019re showing up to a European-born bike show for our 20th anniversary with two Japanese-made bikes feels kind of funny.<\/p>\n For anyone who\u2019s been riding bikes for a long time, you might already have an idea why we asked TOYO FRAME<\/strong> to make these two bikes.<\/p>\n But let me explain a little about TOYO.<\/p>\n TOYO FRAME is a legendary builder that has been selected to produce frames for some of America\u2019s biggest brands since the early days of mountain biking in the 1980s.<\/p>\n Some famous examples I know are Specialized Stumpjumpers and generations of RITCHEY mountain bikes.<\/p>\n The GT Avalanche, which younger riders are rebuilding and riding again these days, was also made there, and TOYO was deeply involved in the birth of GT\u2019s triple-triangle ATB design as well.<\/p>\n Then in the 2000s, during the period when Rivendell frames were made in Japan, TOYO FRAME was the company building them.<\/p>\n (Catalog from the time)<\/p>\n When Atlantis production could no longer continue in the U.S., production moved to TOYO.<\/p>\n A model Japanese riders may remember from old distributor catalogs is the road model called the Rambouillet<\/b>.<\/p>\n In Japanese catalogs it was written phonetically as \u201cRanburetto,\u201d so that\u2019s what I used to call it too.<\/p>\n When I asked Grant about it, he had no idea what I was talking about and was surprised.<\/p>\n Apparently he wants it pronounced properly in French: Rambouillet.<\/b><\/p>\n That bike was also made in Osaka by TOYO.<\/p>\n Apparently there were also TOYO-made versions of the BOMBADILL, which later became the Hunqapillar, and the Glorius, which came before the Cheviot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This \u201cJapanese-made era of Rivendell\u201d still has a lot of fans among Rivendell riders overseas.<\/p>\n Even at the show, a lot of people reacted with things like:<\/p>\n \u201cTOYO made!? Wow!!\u201d![\"BESPOKED](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/55618917303_63172ea252_b.jpg\")
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