Japanese Steel: Classic Bicycle Design from Japan

To be honest, I’m not normally much of a book guy. It’s not that I don’t like books, I just don’t have time to sit down and read them most of the time. That means that long leisure reads are typically not going to happen for me. On the other hand, I love a good coffee table book that I can browse through for a bit every now and then. In the interest of full disclosure, I have known about this book for quite some time now. The author, William Bevington, has reached out to me several times regarding the Panasonic segments within this book as I'm the Founder of the Panasonic Bicycles Virtual Museum. He’s truly a man with a passion for these bikes and a great stickler for detail. The majority of the bikes featured in this book happen to belong to my friend Nick. Upon first inspection you’re struck by just how much meat there is to this book. It has 240 beautifully printed pages in full color. The layout is very crisp and clean and the photography is visually stunning. As a lover of Japanese bicycles this book does not disappoint. It is a bit like a multi-layer cake with a lot of information being presented in each section. It is evident that the author spent considerable time doing research and trying to nail down the facts and specifications for each presented model. Having focused on just Panasonic bicycles here on the Virtual Museum web site, I cringe at the amount of effort required to pull off an undertaking of this magnitude while meeting publishing deadlines etc. Featured marques include: Araya Bridgestone Centurion Nishiki Panasonic Miyata Fuji San Rensho Lotus Tsunoda Kabuki I was fortunate enough to do a pre publication review of the Panasonic content of this book for the author and was impressed by the depth of his research in terms of the people he had already been in touch with prior to contacting me. When I saw the page layouts and photography I had a very good feeling that this book was going to turn out nicely and I was correct. The finished book IS absolutely worth adding to your collection. If you love a good coffee table book that is more than just glossy photographs with captions you should definitely pick up a copy of this book while it is still available.

Excellent presentation, pictures, and documentation of Japanese frame makers with lots of interesting details. Well written and organized, with great pictures and stories from a unique part of cycling history. Would have been nice to see some of the original mountain bikes some of theses companies made included in the book, but it focuses on the road bike market and is still a big impressive book. Excellent shipping, protected in plastic wrap and cardboard, no damage at all.

Until this book, the most beautiful, and enlightening work about bicycles I ever saw is Jan Heine's "Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles". But... that book described nirvana for the few in a faraway land and time, while this book features those bikes we all know and grew up with. And, it is just as beautiful while being more sweeping in scope and substance. Bicycles are Art. And those vintage steel bikes shown in this book best embody that art.... a gossamer lightness married to a rare mechanical perfection. Ah, and the riding...they just vanish under you as you float over the road. This book celebrates all this in it's fabulous photography and featured bicycles, while offering history lessons about Japan's bicycle industry and those everyday makes...Nishiki, Fuji, Miyata, Panasonic, etc, we know so well. The photos just POP. If you love bicycles, like to look at them, and have at least a casual interest in the industry and creativity that made them, BUY THIS BOOK. It is an incredible visual and educational bargain in the overpriced and hyped world we live in. I would like to thank Messrs Bevington and Ryder, and the band of brothers who helped for this great book. Such wonderfulness under $40 is proof that there is a loving God. May they do it again, with British Steel I suggest.

I just spent a couple of days perusing this book. It looks sharp right out of the box. The design and photography in the book emulates the clean, modern, innovative vintage bikes it documents. While artistic enough to use as a slick coffee table book, the book also has incredibly detailed information that makes it equally appropriate in a reference library. Besides its obvious visual appeal given the subject matter and nicely executed layout and sharp photography, it holds a treasure trove of vintage bicycles sure to intrigue and delight enthusiasts—this book presents some forty stunning examples. For those interested in learning more about the individual brands and the makers, this book will be a solid resource. Finally, for those interested in Japanese design and industry, or in the greater history of the evolution of bicycles, there are interesting tidbits and compelling stories throughout, plus a timeline....in other words, there is lots of “meat on the bone” whether you’re into bicycles, Japanese design, etc.

Nick Ozerov - the owner of half of the bikes in this book and a friend of mine - kept reminding me to pick up a copy. So I finally did. My only regret is that it took me so long to get the book in the first place. This book does it all. There are phenomenal pictures in the style of The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles, but it also has exceptional documentation on each individual bicycle - not only the model's history for the manufacturer, but ownership history and component originality. There's also a section on Japanese tubing in here as well, and other goodies to satisfy the most critical lugged steel connoisseur from BikeForums.net's Classic & Vintage subforum. It's all wrapped around the historical story of how Japanese bikes came to be, so you're really getting three books in one, depending on how you approach it. One can educate themselves on '70s and '80s Japanese road bicycles exceptionally well just reading this book alone, and I'd recommend it as the #1 resource of choice for anyone looking to do just that. I might add: Among the bonkers 3Renshos and sublime, top-end Panasonics, there are a number of more "attainable" Japanese machines here. By no means am I suggesting they are inferior, but it is nice to see a bicycle book show respect to mass-produced framesets, presented here for their importance and quality. It is a nice feeling to know that there are still bicycles in a book like this that mere mortals can obtain and enjoy.

When I was first introduced to this book as a design student, I was told to inspect the contents of the book for its’ beautiful and exemplary use of grids, layout design, and the excellent use of typography. In buying a copy of William Bevington‘s Japanese Steel: Classic Bicycle Design from Japan I found myself not only delightfully enchanted with the beautiful photography but in-addition, the depth of information presented to the reader, the wonderful well-written and benevolent storytelling for each page (and subsequently each chapter) led me to place this book with great prominence on my coffee table for my guests to see and peruse. A great purchase! I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a passion for anything Japanese, Japanese Steel Bicycles, bicycles, or for someone who may just want to broaden their knowledge base =). Well-done and a standing ovation to the author and photographer!

I started making enough money to buy a nice bike in the 1980s, and Japanese makers were making some very nice bikes in the 1980s (one of which I still ride). I dream of acquiring a real classic from that era, and this book has made me no less enthusiastic about that dream. The author's collection is awe inspiring. The photography and the company histories make this book a joy to thumb through.

Perhaps the best picture book as well as subject history for a specific time period of and type of bicycle. The book is astounding in the quality of production and clarity of design. Thoroughly modern printing techniques deliver crystal clear close ups, no detail is left out of the many pictures of Shimano, Suntour, Sugino, and Campagnolo components. The featured Japanese concerns are well represented, most interesting Panasonic, a somewhat less known maker. The frame colors and design cues step out of the page and give the reader a concrete understanding of the quality and excellence on display. Whole-heartedly recommended. Excellent reference material included as well with timelines and tubing specification history.