Lucky Penny – My Handmade 3Rensho Tribute Fixed Gear

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In the fall of 2015, I embarked on a project to build myself a fixed gear bicycle using a set of the famous 3Rensho Modeulo lugs.  The build is chronicled in this Bikeforums thread, where I kept a photo diary of the process.  At the time, I didn’t know this would be the last frame I’d build for several years.  I’ve been riding and loving this bike for years since then, but I never got around to photographing and writing about the finished product.  This is my favorite bike, and I finally have some great photos of it.  Read on to learn about the inspiration for the frame, the copper plating, and the build.

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Nagasawa Special NJS Track with Dura Ace 7500

The Nagasawa marque sits at the apex of Japanese Kierin bicycles, recognized worldwide for impeccably designed and executed frames, each hand made by master builder Yoshiaki Nagasawa. This particular Nagasawa, built in May of 1985, came to me as a frameset by way of Yahoo JP auctions. It has a 53cm seat tube (center-to-top) and a 54cm top tube (center-to-center). It has a beautiful, but hard to photograph deep green / blue paint scheme with rainbow sparkles and yellow highlights. I built it up with a period-appropriate Shimano Dura Ace track group set. Read on to learn more about this bike and the back-story of Nagasawa bicycles.

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