Background

Koichi was trained as a Master framebuilder at the legendary 3Rensho company in Japan, building bicycles for professional Keirin riders

Keirin

is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....

 (notably, the ten-time Sprint World Champion Koichi Nakano

Koichi Nakano

of Japan is a former professional racing cyclist and ten-time world champion track racing cyclist. He is among the best track sprinters of modern times. He won an unprecedented 10 consecutive professional sprint gold medals at the UCI track world Championships from 1977 to 1986...

).

In 1987, Koichi came to the United States and founded his own bicycle building company, Yamaguchi Bicycles

Yamaguchi Bicycles

Yamaguchi Bicycles is a custom bike framebuilder in Rifle, Colorado.Yamaguchi Bicycles was founded in 1987 by Koichi Yamaguchi .Mr Yamaguchi began at Japan's 3 Rensho company building frames for...

, based in Rifle, Colorado

Rifle, Colorado

The City of Rifle is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 6,769 at the 2000 census. Rifle is a regional center of the cattle ranching industry located along Interstate 70 and the Colorado River just east of the Roan Cliffs, which dominate the...

. He began working closely with the US Cycling Federation

USA Cycling

USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX and collegiate racing...

 as the National Team Mechanic in 1988 and, in 1989, his projects included prototype frames for the US National Cycling Team. That same year, Koichi became the official framebuilder for the United States Olympic Cycling Team

Cycling at the Summer Olympics

Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics.-Track cycling, Men:-Track cycling, Women:-Road bicycle racing, Men:-Road bicycle racing, Women:...

.

Koichi was honored for his contributions to competitive cycling as the first framebuilder to become an Olympic Flame

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...

 runner at the 2002 Winter Olympics

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

.

Koichi Yamaguchi's bicycle designs have been ridden by winning competitive bicyclists and bicycling teams:

• 1992 United States Professional Racing Organization Criterium Champion Mike McCarthy
• 1992 World Championship winners - US Women's 50 km Team time trial
  Team time trial
  A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
  
   squad
• 1995 Madison National Champion Steve Hegg
• 2000 Paralympic Games
  Paralympic Games
  The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
  
  Time Trial Gold Medal and World Record time winners, Team USA Tandem members Al Whaley and Pam Fernandez