The HELMZ is a new genre of bicycle known as the Speed Cruiser targeting street riders,
and it represents the fourth model developed to commemorate Bridgestone Cycle's 60th anniversary. It has been designed to promote the concept of [FASHION + BICYCLE] for both companies.
Background Behind the Development of the HELMZ
The market for bicycles is experiencing growth in the field of sports bikes, and the appearance and growth of casual, apparel brand bicycles as combinations of "street bicycles" and "street fashion" are attracting much attention. Japan's leading apparel brand bicycle company, nari/furi and the country's top bicycle manufacturer, Bridgestone Cycle Co. Ltd., have joined forces to establish a new cornerstone for the concept of "Street Riding" in developing this new brand.
It is neither a mountain bike conceived from mountain riding, nor a road bike conceived from circuit riding, nor a cross bike that provides a midway alternative to these bikes, nor a PistBike that places the emphasis on simplicity and fashion sense... It is newly-proposed genre known as the "Speed Cruiser" conceived from the streets. This fusion of creativity possessed by the street-wise nari-furi and the engineering capabilities possessed by Bridgestone has resulted in the world's first street bicycle in a manner than only Japan's manufactures are capable of.
Features of the HELMZ
1. HELMZ Original Aero Frame (Aluminum)
All design work was carried out with the full cooperation of nari/furi, and we adopted a special design for the frame skeleton and a special manufacturing method for expanding the pipes to produce an aluminum frame that is perfectly matched to street riding and that personifies our design image. The tires nestling into the frame and the gently-angled "Reverse-Sloping" crossbar provide a strong sense of "aggression".
2. Wheels
The front wheel has a silver metallic aluminum rim with a thickness of 25mm, and the rear wheel has a black aluminum rim with a thickness of 38mm. A completely original design using different textures and thicknesses for the front and rear wheels.
The tires are 700 x 32C semi-block tires that were designed especially for street riding, and they incorporate night-time safety specifications with fitted reflector lines.
3. Thumb Shifter
The Thumb Shifter was developed to enable the gears on the rear wheel (9-shift) to be operated near at hand. In addition to simple external appearance, this allows the rider to experience a new style of operations that provide full manual control over the bicycle.
4. Coloring
Four individual colors that are not racing colors or bright colors, but that match up perfectly with urban environments are available.
5. Etymology of the Name HELMZ
The word "helm," as in "take the helm," to represent being in total control.
6. SBAA Standards
Conforms to the "Sports Bicycle Association Approved (SBAA)" standards enacted by the Bicycle Association of Japan, which are based on the EN Standards enacted in advanced countries in Europe for sports bicycles, but that take Japan's road conditions and the differences in sizes for Japanese people into account, etc., and that use environmentally-friendly materials.
HELMZ
[nari/furi]
The brand was inaugurated in 2007. As the name nari/ furi implies (casual apparel for cycling), this brand was started up to appeal to people who enjoy both fashion and cycling. The company came up with a range of cycling apparel that is both streetwise and casual in the same sense as the comfortable racing and training ware, which is already available on the market, and promoted its style under the catchphrase "chose your bicycle as you would your clothes, and be as picky about your clothes as you would your bicycle", and this has turned it into a company that leads Tokyo's cycling fashion scene.
www.narifuri.com
Overview of the HELMZ
1. Product Name: HELMZ H1
2. Product Configuration and Price
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4. Date of Release: Date of Release: April 2010
5. Sales Target: 500 units (within one year of release)