History of Samurai Cycle Works…
After Koh and his family moved to Houston from Japan in the summer of 2007, he began
working at Houston’s busiest bike shop as a bike mechanic. Half a year later, he decided
that he wanted to open his own shop and get into something he was very passionate
about. He toyed with the idea of offering KEIRIN NJS parts and still has connections with
vendors for anyone who needs NJS parts. But, what he really wanted to do was
something deeper than just buying and selling parts. He wanted to learn how to build
frames by hand, all custom, just as he had bought and raced his whole life. Specifically,
he wanted to show people the beauty and workmanship that goes into a handmade steel
frame bicycle.
He began to research the handmade frame building business in the USA. He first
attended the Nov. 2008 Portland Manifest Show, and then the Feb. 2009 North American
Handmade Bicycle Show. He met vendors and suppliers, visited with other successful
framebuilders, and took classes and seminars to gain insight into the business.
Meanwhile, he made several trips to Japan to maintain his relationships with many of the
master framebuilders in Japan that he once ordered from as a professional KEIRIN racer.
In Dec. 2008, it was time for Koh to take a hands-on framebuilding class. He chose to
learn from Japanese master builder, Koichi Yamaguchi in Rifle, CO (Yamaguchi Cycles).
Alas, in the spring of 2009, Samurai Cycle Works LLC was registered with
the State of Texas and officially started the company. Koh chose his father’s last name,
ANNOURA, as his brand, and his family crest as his logo. All of 2009 was used
procuring equipment, instruments, jigs, and tools necessary to build the caliber of bicycle
Koh aims to build. Word of his business has spread around Houston and we
are excited that he has orders coming in from out of state and from different countries.
