18
Oct
2011
Japan has a great bike culture but recently there has been a Police Crackdown on riding fixed gear bikes. It is now illegal in Japan to operate a bike without front AND rear brakes. We have been told that it is also illegal to SELL a fixed gear bike without brakes or even wrench on a fixie at a established shop. This all stems from a recent accident in the Shibuya district of Tokyo (like Tokyo’s Time’s Square), where a fixie rider hit a 69 year old woman and she ended up dying from her injuries.
Read the whole story HERE…
What gives Japan? We contacted one of our rider friends in Tokyo, Itta, and here’s what he had to say about it…
In Tokyo also getting very hard now. I mean, the policeman checking the fixed bike all time. If you have no brake they give a traffic violation ticket immediately. That’s why recently people get brakes now. I mean both of brakes (Front & Back). That is crazy.
How much is the ticket, try 50,000 yen, about $650!!!!
What do you guys think about this? When did riding a bike become a crime?
