King of the Road

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A lot of people think that we only do single speed and city bikes.  Truth is: We do it all.  Recently someone was interested in getting a lightweight road bike for doing regular distances at a quicker pace than your standard around town machine.
Based off of another stock city option built around a Deore group set, we built up this aluminum frame with a Shimano Sora 9 speed group set, Uno cockpit and a handbuilt wheelset with sealed bearing Deore hubs.
For extra stopping power in all conditions we elected to use Avid BB7 disk brakes.  Mostly black on black, this frame is stealthy save for a few red accents.  Quick and nimble it offers our friend Ian the choice to get down out of a headwind and really hammer.
To top it off we take rider fit as a serious part of the experience.  Working with Ian we not only selected his parts based on his wants, but also his needs.  This leaves him with room to raise or drop his handlebars, and adjust the reach on the bike.  Not to mention stand-over is perfect!
Interested in a bike like this?  Depending on the build, pricing goes from ¥4800 up.  Contact the shop today about taking home your own noble ride.

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October Events Schedule

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As usual, the start of a new month marks the beginning of a month of rad events.  Though we haven’t got any countryside rides to expect, there’s a variety of other things to look forward to, including gold sprints and an especially special Friday Night Ride.  Favorite our schedule so you can pull it up whenever!

10/7 FNR Panda Ride

What says more about Chengdu than pandas.  To spice up the ride a bit we figured a panda theme would be fitting and fun.  We’ll provide a little bit of panda for everyone who joins in this ride but we strongly encourage going full force and wearing anything panda related, black and white you might have.

10/7-10/21 Women’s Riding Competition

Our women’s riding competition starts.  Be sure to read up our post on rules and requirements for participating.  There’s an awesome raffle prize up for any participant and four categories to compete in.  Take home a title for bragging rights and more awesome prizes.

10/12-10/14 China Bamboo Cultural Festival And Sichuan International Bamboo Product Trade Fair

We’re off to Meishan to represent our wares.  Keep your eyes peeled for shop hours or more info regarding our sojourn down to Meishan.

10/16  Full Moon Ride

Our pal Peter’s famous full moon ride has returned for this month’s iteration.  Setting out from Tianfu Square at 10:30 p.m., be sure you don’t miss it!

10/21 Friday Night Ride
Sets out at 8 p.m.from Natooke!
10/23 Goldsprints
We’ll be setting up gold sprints at an active lifestyle event.  Stop in to participate in any number of courses, including yoga and martial arts then take on your friends in a one-on-one sprint match.

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Exit Interview

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Our head mechanic has decided to pack it in in search of greener pastures.  It’s been a real honor working with Wen Chen over the past year and it’s tough to see him go but we truly do wish him the best in his next steps.
If you have a chance we’d recommend coming by sometime this week to wish him well.  If you can’t make it in, then read the below interview to get Wen Chen’s scoop on some of the interesting the things he saw and did while wrenching at Natooke.
1. What’s the coolest thing for sale in Natooke?
 All kinds of Bamboo bikes. Such as MTBs, road bikes, touring    bikes and gravel bikes.
2. What’s your favorite tool in Natooke?
Chain Tool
3. What’s your favorite activity in Natooke?
Halloween Ride
 
4. What’s the coolest bike you saw in Natooke?
Salsa fargo, Tall Bamboo bike,Touring bike
5.What’s the coolest bike you built in Natooke?
LKLM bike for Jack, bamboo bike for Todd

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Natooke Chengdu 4th Anniversary Party

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Can you believe it? It feels like we opened our doors just yesterday. Alas, we’re fast approaching our our 4 year mark serving the community.

To celebrate we’ll be partying at the shop. Stop in Friday evening, September 30. We’ll be running specials on beer all night. From 7 to 8, Asahi is only ¥5 per pint. From 8 to 9 it’s only ¥10 per pint. Don’t fret, after 9 it will still be discounted to ¥15 per pint. We’ll also be running the same special on wine if beer’s not to taste.

Start off your Golden Week right and join us for some fun. Read more

Friday Night Ride

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This week marks a special occasion. With our beloved mechanic Wen Chen leaving our ranks this will mark his last Friday Night Ride before departing Chengdu. In honor of the occasion Wen Chen himself will act as the master of ceremonies and lead the group.

As for the rest? Expect the same good old fashioned fun. Show up a bit in advance to have a frosty beer and socialize before we depart and be sure to catch Wen Chen to wish him well in his future endeavors. Read more

Gravel Grinder

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Our pal Todd has an extensive history with bicycles. From a young age he’s been an ultra avid rider, has raced road and still to this day, despite being a family man that’s also often caught up with business, makes regular time to ride.

Over the past few years we had the fortune to service a few of his bikes which naturally meant we got to pick his brain about anything bikes. An integral figure in the early Chinese recreational bicycling scene he’s responsible for helping Trek get their foot in the door as well as cooperating to help build a bevy of local clubs, races and organizations.

His collection of bikes is also nothing to scoff at. Everything from custom hand built steel race frames to former pro race rigs we’ve seen and heard of half a dozen of his prized rides. And finally, we get to join the ranks. Read more

Patience Pays

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As we approach our fourth anniversary we’ve got an increasing amount of experience with which types of bikes people are looking for, whether they’re new to riding or are interested in exploring a new area of cycling.

One thing we always recommend is that if you’re interested in getting a new bike that it’s best not to rush your decision to purchase. On the market anymore there’s hundreds of brands, styles, materials, you-name-it and with so many choices it makes getting a new bike pretty daunting.

It helps to first loosely familiarize with what type of bike would suit your needs, the sizing, the cost and most importantly the ride quality. If you invest the time in these things you’ll get far more out of your purchase in the long run.

This may mean taking a couple trips to a few different shops to scope out whats on offer. The internet also offers an enormous amount of information for the budding bicyclist. And when you’re ready, you won’t be buying any old bike, but what you’ll be getting is your bike.

And honestly this is our favorite thing to do for our friends. Take for instance this recent rig and its owner. She took her time considering bikes and only got one when she knew she was ready. When the bike resembles the rider and the rider’s grinning from ear to ear, you know that her patience has paid off. Read more

Twin Bikes, Low Price

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As you may recall, the last pair of bikes we pieced together and put up for sale managed to find their way out the door before we even had a chance to hang them up.

In keeping with the spirit of getting more butts on bikes, we’re continuing our focus to bring quality rides to the table at a fair price. Up for grabs now we’re got this complementary pair of single speed city bikes.

The frame is a lightweight chromoly steel. The eyeleted aluminum rims are a broader profile than the usual, which when paired with a lower profile tire creates better contact with the road, even in tight corners. This keeps the wheel weight down and also means you roll fast and far with minimum effort.

The rest of the parts selection insures a comfortable and quick ride. But the best part is the paint.Available in a ruby red or a royal blue, these bikes are beautiful with a more traditional style.Both have a 52cm seat tube, a size suitable for anyone between 170 and 180 centimeters tall.

Interested? We recommend hitting us up quick because these are bound to disappear fast. In fact, a red ones already out the doors! At only ¥1888 it’s no wonder why. Read more

Friday Night Ride

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Join us again this week for September’s first Friday Night Ride. All the same as ever, with a special surprise for the end.  This week we’ll be stopping off at Aw Yeah! Diner located at Dave’s Oasis to celebrate it’s grand opening.

Expect some awesome specials on drinks, American comfort foods and an awesome vibe:30RMB Carlsberg Draft pints, 20RMB Bud Heavy, 15RMB sampler size Chicken and Waffles, Banh Mi sandwiches, and poutine.Now that Autumn’s here get out and cruise the cool streets with us. Read more

Fix Your Bike Up

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When it comes to having nice stuff, the most important thing is caring for it. This means that you keep up with all the little things. Keeping it clean, checking its condition, and having them repaired whenever a problem occurs.

This same idea applies to anything, whether its shoes, a television, a car, a washing machine, your apartment and yes, even bicycles. Although bikes are simple machines and relatively easy to fix, you can prevent serious problems from happening by having a professional mechanic look them over on a regular basis.

A big part of our offerings at the shop are our repair services. We take fixing bikes very seriously. Why? Because no one likes being caught out on the road with a broken bike. This is why customers at our shop all get a free check up with their new bike.

This is also why we suggest that anyone with a bike brings it to a professional shop for regular service. At Natooke, we offer a full variety of repair services and packages to keep your bike rolling like new. These include a basic check up, a complete tune up and a total overhaul depending on the condition of your bike.

The check up is your standard repair service. Our mechanics will run through all the major systems on your bike including the brakes, shifting and bearings to insure everything is in normal working order.

The tune up is a little bit more involved. Beyond the brakes, shifting and bearings we’ll replace all the cables and housing and make sure things are good and greased.

For the bike that needs the most love, we recommend a complete overhaul. This is a total rebuild of your bike. We’ll take your bicycle apart piece by piece for a complete cleaning before reassembling with all the necessary new bits included at no extra charge.

The type of service your bike may need depends on how well maintenance has been kept up. Wanting to see what new life you can breathe into your bicycle? Stop by and have our mechanics give it a look over to see what kind of work you need to make it like new. Read more