First Orlowski frames are soon arriving to Finland, to the Kumiluoti shop to be specific. And again, I like plenty the way they look.
Apparently Mr. Orlowski had the honor of being the first (and so far still the only?) western / gaijin frame builder granted with the prestigious NJS certication in Japan. So the quality should be top-notch. Just waiting to hear about the prices now...
Ok, maybe Orlowski was never a NJS certified frame builder, I've no ways of finding out whether it is true or not but the rumor certainly persists on the interwebz and everyone probably agrees that it doesn't hurt his brand and reputation in this game.
"A common misconception regarding NJS is that it is a mark of quality, when in fact it is simply a mark of standardisation."
ReplyDeleteSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihon_Jitensha_Shink%C5%8Dkai
That is correct but it's the good Japanese standardization, right?
ReplyDeleteafter cinelli and campagnolo got kicked out by the jka (japanese keirin assoc.) meaning njs, nobody out side of japan got an njs logo again, and as far as i know will never ever again. orlowski was never a njs-framebuilder and will never be a njs-framebuilder. the laws are strict, very strict. orlowski frames were raced in japan though, but during the international keirin series. every year 9 internationl riders get invited to race keirin in japan, on there own frames. i dont know you spreads the rumours about orlowski frames beeing njs, but i heard it before and i can only laugh about it...
ReplyDeleteWell, its the good standard for japanese betting.. Anyway, one better thing to agree on: better not ride an NJS frame at footdown challenge tomorrow evening! ;D
ReplyDeleteStevie, I didn't know Cinelli venturing into the Keirin business? Did they really? Campagnolo yes, but only for a short period and I also read somewhere that they were not "kicked out" but rather gave up voluntarily because the whole thing was too much of a hassle, which sounds very believable.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rafu: yes, we can agree on the footdown thing. ;)
yep, cinelli used to have an njs logo too, check this: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/2302310947_bd3e116726.jpg
ReplyDeleteonly for parts though, not frames. and the picture is not fake !
the japs kicked them out, its a big economy thing, only japanese parts, about 3500 racers, that need new parts all the time and dont care about cash...and it is japan, it is a lot about trust and so on, the italians were slacking and got kicked out...
but we all can agree on one thing, keirin frames are to precious to do tricks on. get a cheap alloy taiwanese thing for that.
foreign riders are allowed to run their own bikes. theo bos rode a (steel) look during his year riding international keirin.
ReplyDelete