At Point Reyes Station
Hi, it’s Issue from Kamiuma store.
Have you watched the video uploaded the other day? The one features our visit to Black Mountain Cycles is the topic when our customers talk to us at the shop.
Mike-san, who was long-haired but now is short-haired.
The living legend of the bike scene has been working on making/designing bikes even before I was born. I listened to his words very carefully. We visited Rivendell, MASH and so on and Black Mountain was the only maker we all ride so we were so excited to see him.
monstercross (52)
My Black Mountain Cycle is Monstercross, the symbolic and one of the first models of them. (We recently restocked a bit of 52 size) 
While we were having pizza, I showed him my bike saying “This one! This is my Black Mountain!!!”. The high-light of the visit was when he gave a compliment on my built.
“What happens in Point Reyes Station stays Point Reyes Station” right?
By the way, this pizza restaurant is located right next to Black Mountain Cycles and Mike’s favorite is Limantour on the right in the picture.
Wait, maybe the high light was when I saw his fixed-geared Monstercross for his commuter. I got quite obsessed by this bike featuring the idea only bike mechanics come up with such as the mismatched brand’s pedals and the hand-made crank guard with shaving chain ring’s teeth. I don’t need to mention that I customized my bike to a fixie when I’m back in Tokyo, do I?
I reinforced of my thought how to keep the mechanic-pit at Kamiuma shop after seeing this tidy room. Mike-san does everything about the shop and the brand just by himself by the way. It is so cool that not only current White Industries parts are displayed in the glass case but also there are lots of vintage parts in the case on the other side.
Actually I have seen quite a few American bike shops sell old parts as well (perhaps staff sell their own parts?), so I wonder if we want to do that at Kamiuma store as well. Maybe at the corner of the mechanic-pit and customers can negotiate to the mechanic directly, something like that.
I couldn’t stop chuckling when I saw a can of “Modelo”, which is the idea of the name “Mod.Zero”. Wasn’t it there on purpose?
One of the things you can’t miss at Black Mountain Cycles is his huge collection of vintage bikes. Please enjoy his collection on the YouTube video with his own commentary.
Let me talk about the BMC’s track frame we talked about in the late part of the video.
We found a matte-black painted track frame which has Black Mountain’s decal on it at another legendary bike shop KING KOG, the day before our visit to BMC.
We were startled to find the same at BMC’s shop because we were like “well, it must have been a fake one but let’s ask Mike-san!” on the way to see him. It’s made by him actually.
Mike-san put decals on them since there were none. We shouldn’t have let him to pack them but he kindly proposed to do it to bring them to Japan.
We were saying “Well since it’s Mike-san’s size and no one can ride this bike frame. Let’s display it at Kamiuma shop!” but…
Track (62)
Thankfully, we could find the owner immediately and let this frame running in Tokyo.
This is a very simple track frame features short-reach caliper brakes and tight tyre clearance. I couldn’t find a picture or information of this frame on the internet. Not at all.
Apparently, there might be single-speed MTB, one of BMC’s first products out there. All I can do is just dreaming about it from the other side of the world. We have another track frame (size56) stocked at Kamiuma store (only available at the store).
(An embarrassing guy wearing the T-shirt for the occasion on the left haha)
We stopped by Mike-san’s favorite gelato shop after the visit. You can order at the butcher counter inside the supermarket. Please have it if you are planning to visit Black Mountain Cycles.
We headed to Bolinas Ridge trail, Mike-san’s favorite ride spot where he posts photos there on the social media. My current dream is to ride there with my own Monstercross. (Note for myself : there were lot of cow’s poop)
Fin.
