You may have noticed in the past couple weeks the sudden appearance of hundreds of like bikes.  Dark blue and yellow, light blue, and silver and orange bicycles have popped up everywhere.  Dozens clutter corners and street sides no matter where you are in the city.  So who’s bikes are these anyway?

These bicycles belong to three separate companies that have launched on-the-fly bike share programs.  The three bike share programs that have launched within Chengdu are 1 Step Bike, Youon and Mobike.  The first two, 1 Step and Youon are utter garbage, which we’ll explain further in a separate review.  However, after reviewing each program and it’s bikes our professional endorsement is behind Mobike.

Below we’ll discuss the merits, the utility, and the setbacks of the Mobike program as well as provide concise directions for downloading, installing, registering and making use of it all.  Furthermore we’ll take a look at some of the other rules and regulations that users should be aware of, some of the grey areas users should be aware of, and easily our favorite part, a detailed look at the design and practicality of the bikes.

Read more

Winter’s here.  This means cold weather and short days.  And for the first time ever, it also means shortened hours at Natooke.  Starting the first week of December our hours will be as such.

Monday/Tuesday – CLOSED

Wednesday through Sunday – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For individual events please refer to the times included with the event listing.  Some events, such as the Friday Night Ride and other morning/evening rides will still operate outside of our standard shop hours.

Any questions about our operating hours or other sales and services we may be able to provide or schedule for you, please contact the shop.

Join us this Friday for our beloved FNR.  It’s also our shop manager, Anne’s last ride in which she’s required to help us outfit our friends with rental bikes and beer.  Unfortunately for the Natooke team she had to go and get a real job!  Despite the fact we will tease her constantly she’ll be sorely missed!

Stop by early to wish Anne well and stick around for a fresh mix of new music and cool vibes to match December’s cooler weather.

Finally, if you haven’t already voted, check out Chengdu Expat’s current “Best of Chengdu” competition and be sure to choose “Natooke Friday Night Rides” as Chengdu’s “Best Reoccurring Event”! Read more

At this time of year the days are at their shortest, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still get out and ride.  For December we’ve got a couple of special events going on that we are really looking forward to.  Our fourth ever Santa-saturated Christmas ride, a full moon ride, and a ride in collaboration with Blue Roof art gallery.

Also, in a first for our shop we’ll be trimming back our hours for the winter.  Starting the first week of December we’ll be closed both Mondays and Tuesdays and closing an hour earlier.  Our adjusted hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Read more

Looking to get out of the hustle and bustle of the citystreets?  Sign up for this Saturday’scountryside ride.We’ll be starting out from nearby the LOHAS green way justsouth of the city and near to Flower Town .Our route will take us through thesleepy rolling roads of Chengdu’s untouched countryside before ending up in thesatellite town of Taiping at the edge of the Longquan mountains.

Winter is settling in on us but cooler weather makes forgreat riding!  Don’t expect to sweat oroverheat.  Ride and stay warm in the brisk weather.As usual this ride is paid ¥240 but cost covers transportationto and from the ride, water, snacks and a post-ride meal.  Need to borrow a bike?  An additional ¥100 will reserve a touringbicycle, purpose-built for this type of ride.

Be sure to arrive at Natooke by 7:30 a.m and for departure by 8 0’clock onSaturday the 26^th.  Come with breakfast in your belly and if you’re riding your own bike see to it that yourbike is in good riding condition! Read more

This new pursuit bike is perfect for anyone looking to aggressively assault the streets of Chengdu or beyond. Built on a steel 52cm frame with metallic silver finish, this frames set has a peculiar curved seat tube to help shorten the wheel-base and get the rider both lower and further back over the rear wheel. Why, you ask? Speed and aerodynamics, of course.

It has flip-flop single speed/fixed gear rear wheel to match whatever drivetrain suits your riding style. This machine is light and fast, regardless.

The mixed and matched red and silver wheel set complement the silver of the frame well and the steep angle on the stem keeps the riding posture comfortable. Some high quality used parts (pedals, champion chain, brake calliper, and Flying Banana hubset) on this great entry-level bike help soften the blow to the wallet too. Come by and give it a test spin! Read more

Friday is upon us once again. Join us for some good times, good music, and even better company among friends. We’re all conscious of the low air quality lately but lets not let it dampen our spirits or FUN!! Read more

At Natooke Chengdu, we love bells and whistles. Especially when folks decide to put some on a custom Source Cycles bamboo bicycle. Christian is just one of those very special kind of people.

In from Germany on business, he decided to pay us a visit a while back to place his order. As we got out our measuring tape ready to get his body measurements to customise his new bamboo frame Christian educated us on the inseparability of Germans from high quality. Not surprisingly he continued to outfit his new bike with all sorts of nice stuff.

Shimano Alfine internally-geared 8 speed hub for smooth, precise shifting through thousands of kilometers. Internal gear hubs are great because all the moving parts of the gear system are sealed inside the casing of the hub. This allows them to stay free of the dirt and grim and water that causes pre-mature wear and tear. Also, since the chain doesn’t have to change positions when changing gears the whole drivetrain lasts longer. If these benefits weren’t enough, regular maintenance decreases to an absolute minimum in that all you have to do is make sure the shifting cable stays clean and properly adjusted. Perfect for any bike that will be riden in varying conditions. Read more

Since we launched our “Natooke Riders Club” at the onset of October we’ve been quite pleasantly surprised by its reception among both our most loyal patrons and new friends and customers. Even with the service, free bike maintenance, and discounts club members enjoy we still keep getting inquiries for more workshops. Continuing the series we’ve put together these past few months, November includes the ins & outs of everything BRAKES.

Whether you’ve got disc, V-brakes, canti’s, or callipers; cable-pull or hydraulic, pads or shoes, or just want to know what all these words actually mean, this weekend’s bicycle maintenance workshop is for you. The workshop is FREE to attend and should take a bit more than an hour. We’ll provide examples of each of the brake types and go over maintenance, some part replacement, and how to make adjustments so your bike will safely stop when you expect it to.

Come by this Sunday, November 13, at noon for action packed instructional journey about all the ways bicycles stop. Read more