I scratched the NJS Track bike itch around summer 2014 with this beautiful candy red Stratos bought straight from NJS Export in Japan. It arrived wrapped in Japanese newspapers and with the charictatistic dent in the top tube which meant it couldn’t be used in competition any more. NJS frame are written off for racing once they’ve taken a hit so a lot end up in the second hand market for discerning fixed gear wankers like myself. Notice the wrap of black tape around the top tube protecting the dented area from further damage.

This build featured one of the first nice wheelsets I built myself, and a set of compact drop bontrager bars of which I polished the centre section to fit , well with the silver stem and give them a classic look. I’d have liked to go in on the full NJS spec build, but none of that stuff is street practical and it costs an arm and a leg. More recently i’ve been revisiting stripping anodised parts for retro mountainbikes, and will write a post on the process of stripping and polishing coloured parts.

Fun fact, the Hatta R9400 Loose ball square taper bottom bracket that came with this frame is still in use in my current track bike. it’s likely covered nearly 10,000 miles by now and is smooth as butter, despite being designed for use indoors and being regularly subjected to rain.