Coast to coast: Brooks celebrates 150 years with a Tokyobike collaboration

Old meets new in a collaboration between the Japanese cycle brand Tokyobike, and archetypal British saddle maker Brooks.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the latter, Tokyobike (a city bike specialist founded in 2002) drafted in master Keirin bike builder Osamu Fukuda to help create the snappily titled Limited Edition Brooks Bicycle. The model – a Mini Velo in an extremely limited edition of ten – is made from lugless cro-mo steel in a single 50cm size, painted in a muted RAL 3012 beige red and distinguished by its copper highlights and components.

Thus, the bicycle is fitted with a classic Brooks Anniversary Swift saddle and leather grips replete with copper rails, rivets and flanges, but also with a copper headset, chainguard, pedals, crank dustcaps, seatpost clamp and even valve caps. What sounds like potential overkill in reality makes for an elegant, timeless build.

That's thanks in no small part to the contribution of Fukuda. A frame builder with almost four decades of experience – and head honcho of Kiryu's RAIZIN workshop – Fukuda is an esteemed maker in a country known for its expert bicycle craftsmen. Each of these limited edition frames was handmade by the man himself, and is suitably immaculate. You'll have to be very quick to get your hands on one.

This teaming of an old hand and young buck of the cycle world represents, Tokybike and Brooks collectively state, a 'mutual appreciation of craftsmanship, high production standards and the joy found in the details'.

INFORMATION

The limited-edition bikes will start at £2,100. For more information, visit the Tokyobike website