“Has the Japanese bicycle industry lost not only their production power but imagination as well?”  –SimWorks custom bicycles,  Imagination and Creation of Your Quality of Life

“We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

I’ve been busy, so I’m catching up on designating my bike org. of the month for April 2016.  I read about SimWorks in an article on handcrafted bicycles.  I checked out their website and was impressed by their narrative.  I’ve been wanting to write about them for months.

SimWorks suggests bicycles create a kind of social fabric between craftspeople and customers.  They think a quality handbuilt bicycle can “guide the next generation” into being a more conscientious consumer.  It’s bicycle manufacturing with personality and an intentional continuity between the manufacturing process and the user of the product.

The English translation on the website is not perfect, but the essence of the story still comes through.  SimWorks taps into the cycling roots of Japan and builds products that communicate history and meaning with their style.  As a sustainable enterprise it makes a lot of sense, with product quality and distinctness helping people be happier with what they have.  Craftsmanship like this takes time and cultivates highly valued and skilled artisans.

The diversity and variety custom bikes offer make the world more interesting and exciting, and they seem to generate a virtuous cycle between the maker and the consumer.  Cycling creates bridges to the future in a lot of ways, from rebuilding bonds between people and the environment, to connecting us to the integrity and identity of a manufactured product.

SimWorks sees themselves “changing the system”, encouraging us to look with precision and make decisions with care.  Their products are imaginative, dreams on wheels, and humanely empower the life they carry forward.   It’s never too late to build the kind of world we want.

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pictures from recent travels–

Bicycles and Reading are both grand adventures

the New Mexico sky up close, in person, is definitely worth seeing

the Sandia Crest road is great cycling