Back up out of the rabbit hole... AKA, never mind about Independents, I'm buying more GS

The green GMT is a beaut.

When you find out @HotWatchChick69 rides and knows components - - > 🤯 further knows the faults of the Nissan CVT - - > 😮

It’s a shame this post can only be given one - - > ❤ by me. Why? Multiple areas covered, and Grand Seiko’s rule.

This begs a question. Is Giant the Seiko of bicycles?

Yeah, I saw it yesterday at an AD. Only issue is that I have a really nice green shell cordovan strap that I'd love to use, but maybe the forrest green of the strap will clash with the olive-ish green of the SBGM247?

Oh, dude, I used to ride. Lived in Logan, UT for a couple of years, and they have this 201-mile race, called Logan-to-Jackson, that came about because a couple of friends decided to do the route one year, and it's become a real thing! So, EVERYONE there trains like mad, doing crazy mileage, to prep for the race each year. I was doing something like 1,000 miles a month at one point!

I even got my Litespeed Siena custom-painted. Because just like watches, at the time, I was constantly, obsessively checking out bikes all the time! And I figured that if I got my bike custom-painted, it would prevent me from ever selling it, which would mean that I couldn't also then buy yet another one!

But, that was like over a decade ago! Since then, the only exercise I get is lifting cocktails from the table to my mouth.

Hmmm...

Based on 10 seconds of thought:

• I would say "no"

• Cadex only makes some components here and there, right?

• For the perfect analogue, we would want a company that does EVERYTHING and is vertically-integrated

• So, they would make everything from the wheels to the handle bars to the saddles, plus frames, but most importantly, they would also build drive trains, AND sell to consumers via their own brand

• I don't know of any bike company like that - for it to work, I think Shimano would need to expand their offerings into frames and sell Shimano-branded bikes

There is a fascination in watch circles with in-house movements that I reckon these independents are trying to tap into. Reality is, I do wonder how many people who parrot the, "In-house movement! In-house movement!" mantra have ever had a watch serviced? Like, properly, pulled into its component pieces and rebuilt, serviced? When it comes to tiny, obscure brands - which, let's face it, might not even exist in 5 years time - it's way better for them to have workhorse ETA, Selita, Seiko, etc movements.

It's funny, but when I first got into watches, I saw an ad for the Breitling Premier B01 Bentley in green, and thought, "Wow! Gorgeous. I have to have it." 1 month into ownership, the in-house B01 chronograph movement broke!

So, I started doing research about how mechanical movements work, the key failure modes, and how much it costs to do a service! And, that's how I landed on Omega. Their co-axial architecture addresses the key failure mode - oil degradation from heat and friction.

This, however, then led into researching Seiko and the Spring Drive! No escapement, so no friction and oil degradation in the fiddliest part of the movement!

Like, if the Atelier Wen Perception were to somehow break outside its warranty period, what would I have to do to get it fixed? Have my aunt call them up in China, so that she can explain to them in Mandarin that it makes a weird "scritch, scritch" sound when I wind it?

Precisely! It's one of the most straightforward things to consider, yet so many don't. Which is what leads me to believe they've never done a full service on a watch like that (or had any issues), otherwise it would bring the situation into sharp relief for them. Going microbrand? Don't go in-house movement.

You and me, right now...

That would look good as it is dark enough. Ditto with a tobacco brown padded suede strap.

That is super impressive and far better than I could ever muster for myself. Primarily, because I couldn’t road bike for more than a few miles. I have friends that are super hard core in to it. Plus I didn’t like competing on roads with cars and breathing their exhaust. Those Litespeed’s are really well built.

All this said, it’s why I stick to mountain biking. I’ve thought of entering amateur races and wanted to start road biking to help train for cross country events.

I'd also say nope. Starters, Giant is Taiwan, not Japan.

'Shimano is the Seiko of the cycling world' works not too badly. Both are 800lb gorillas of industry with low spec components you can see at a shopping mall, and high spec components that are crazy pricey and niche. No-name cheap Shimano all the way up to DI2 and Seiko goes from 4R35 up to 9RA5.

Get on Zwift for some safe, easy, and super inspiring training!

Awesome, that looks great! I’ll check it out!

Wow, yeah, they look amazing! Unfortunately, I've never seen them in-person. Would love to check them out!

Damn them! It's like Pokemon! Once you think you've caught them all, they just introduce more!

I used to have the same concern then i watched a kudoke interview and he confirmed its a valjoux 7750 so even local watchmakers should be able to work on them. Maybe not the fancy decorated hand work but otherwise fairly simple components. Im into habring dead beat second these days and besides a few habring components its just a 3 hander version of the 7750. Clever stuffs.

Same here, would make a nice souvenir for a Japan trip! On my list of things to do: money pending.

Like all things in life... money pending.

Nice paint job. I have/had a couple pretty crazy painted bikes over the years.

That's it, I'm redoing a post about specs. Lots of posts on this topic lately, the algorithm is working!

But seriously, Omega and GS are my two top purchases in the next two years precisely because I like the movement tech they use. My only gripe with GS is they don't make enough dress watches with spring drives. They seem to mostly come in their sports collections. The SBGY011 is the closest I can see and it is as pricey as the GMTs which I think are more worth the money. prove me wrong, please!

Pics or it didn’t happen!

Here are the ones I still have:

This one too though you have to see it on person to notice the small details.

And the ones I've sold.

Yeah, I think until very recently, any spring drive watch would have been way too thick to be able to fall into dress watch territory. If I'm not mistaken, the SBGY007 was the first "affordable" spring drive dress watch of theirs. Like, the Snowflake is 12.5mm thick, and the knock on GS watches has always been that they're too thick, right?

And, yeah, the moment you get into the GMTs, those are always 14mm+!

You know what's funny though? I actually like thickness in my watches. Is that weird? Like, I prefer 13mm+. I know that's the opposite of what most folks want, though!

Have you tried on a titanium GS GMT? In those cases, because the titanium is so light weight, you don't feel the thickness. And there are some gorgeous GMT watches available in titanium.

That's pretty awesome, man. Did you paint them yourself???

The SBGE285 is also on my radar. But I'm the opposite of you I suppose. I don't like the lightweight of titanium, I like the heft of steel and it's color. For light weight I prefer resin.

Ultimately, as of now, I really like the SBGY series. The 013 is perfect dimensions and the 011 is a better design but slightly bigger. I'm a sucker for simple, clean dials and reliable specs, those dress watches nail both of those things in spades. I think an Omega SMP and an GS SBGY may be my grail watches all around.

My sister and I went to an AD tonight. Saw the SBGY013. It's gorgeous.

Thanks. Most were painted by John Slawta at land shark bikes. The Fat Chance that was in the magazine was painted by his daughter Sara.

If we are going off piste with custom bikes.....