About Us

-IDEAL QUALIA-
We realize "ideal qualia" for all people involved with track bikes.

While "quality," including the product's worth and processing precision, depends on how it is manufactured and managed, "qualia" refers to the human experience and sensory value felt by the five senses in every action, such as seeing, touching, griping, carrying, using, and setting aside an object.

Beyond the concept of high quality, we believe the significant value of the Runwell brand lies in creating products that bring pleasure to the maker, the customer, and all users.

Our brand logo represents the mechanics' wish for machines, "run well." With our slogan IDEAL QUALIA, the initial "ラ (la)" in the Japanese spelling of RUNWELL was adopted with the determination to be proud of "Made in Japan" in this international society.

Creating socially valuable objects with our ideas, designs, and technologies from a lump of steel, we will continue to devote ourselves to becoming a leading company in the future.

 

 

Our Missions

Create the Best

Competing for 1/100 of a second, bikes used by world-class athletes are developed with aerodynamic profiles which are designed by professional designers and engineers utilizing the most advanced technologies and materials. These machines are maintained by our partners, the mechanics, to keep riders safe in a perfect condition for the best performance. Runwell's mission here is to create the best tools to support the mechanics with those responsibilities. You are a mechanic if you have even one tool, whether you are a masters, a student athlete, a bicycle enthusiast, or a garage mechanic. We will continue to make products that mechanics around the world can use with confidence.

Provide an Environment

In recent years, the world is connected via the Internet, and information can be shared on the SNS, allowing us to daily communicate with people anywhere on the earth. As long as we post our tools on the social media, it is our natural responsibility to make them available to people everywhere in the world.　Runwell will be a manufacturer that not only makes products, but also provides an ideal environment where all customers can access them.

Build a Bond

There are so many different goods produced and overflowed these days, and the values for them also vary depending on the person. As a Japanese manufacturer with limited natural resources, we believe that our goal is in craftmanship should be to make excellent quality tools that satisfy our customers. Transforming the limited metal resource into an ideal form with techniques inherited from our predecessors, we will do our best to be a manufacturer that make customers feel happy to have encountered. Runwell will contribute to the vitalization of the track cycling industry by building a bond between users and manufacturers and together creating better products through innovation and improvement in technology, quality, qualia, and service.

 

 

　

Hot Forging

Hot forging, in which heated metal is hammered into an desired shape. During the forging process, the coarse-grained metal structure is broken down and replaced by finer, more uniform grains, resulting in a strong tool with adequate flexibility.

This forming method was originally brought to this region in 1625 to produce Japanese nails, and over the past 400 years, the technique has been developed into the current manufacturing process that features an air-stamp hammer. A metal material is heated to 1,200 °C, then forged between dies. The force and rhythm of hammering is a craftsmanship that can only be achieved through experience, and it is only possible by forging today with an air-stamp hammer. Hot forging is in the very core of our tool manufacturing.

 

 

Tsubamesanjo

Tsubamesanjo is the name of the region that combines the two industrial cities of Tsubame and Sanjo, located in the middle of Niigata Prefecture. Tsubame City has prospered in the production of Western tableware, while Sanjo City in hardware. The local industry is accordingly composed of a wide range of businesses, including material suppliers, metal fabricators, plating surface companies, polishers, blade manufacturers, packaging suppliers, and wholesalers, in which more than 90% are small and medium-sized companies. No other region is so blessed for manufacturing, even if the population of the two cities is less than 200,000 in total.

Manufacturing in this area began in 1625, when farmers struggling with frequent flooding were encouraged to produce Japanese nails. The skills inherited from craftspeople visited from Edo (old Tokyo) were passed on to the next generation, and over a period of 400 years, eventually created the current industrial area known as Tsubame-Sanjo. Runwell is located here, a city with a 400-year history of manufacturing surrounded by the natural beauty of Japaese four seasons.

The following video was made by Sanjo City in 2021, in which Runwell also participated in a small part. It shows the attractive aspects of Tsubame-Sanjo, such as its rich nature, outdoor activities, and manufacturing, filmed mainly in the Shitada area where the headquarters of Snow Peak, a company known for its camping equipment, is located.

 

 

Environmental Initiatives

Much energy is used to produce products. In order not to waste that, we not only provide high-quality, long-lasting tools as a manufacturer, but also pursue environmentally friendly approaches. These may be small actions of a local factory, but we would like to do all we can toward a major social issue.

Zero-Plastics Development

Taking the micro plastics pollution more seriously, there has been a worldwide movement to de-plasticize in recent years. Runwell is also promoting the Zero-Plastic development, and our products are currently made without plastic. It can be lighter or easier to shape a comfortable grip with plastic, yet we will continue to produce all of our tools completely out of metal as much as possible.

No Distribution of Paper Catalogs

A paper catalog of our products had been printed and distributed annually since Runwell's establishment, but when we learned that it was being thrown away after each updating, we decided to no longer make it. We fully understand convenience of papers, but now that smart phones have become so widespread, we offer the our website as an alternative.

Sustainable Packages

While blister or paper packages are commonly used for tools, our products are packaged in PVC cases designed for long-term use. This allows the product to be shipped without damage and to be used as a storage or portable case even after delivery. Recognizing that packaging is an important part of design for a manufacturer to make a product clearly visible and attractive, but at the same time, it should also be a part of our environmental initiatives, we will keep on improving our packaging.