The world’s best frame number holders producer settles in Girona

K3 Pro Cycling is everywhere in the professional peloton. The company that produces strong and durable frame number holders for bikes, is for the vast majority of competitive cyclists the number one go-to for equipping the bike with race numbers. Its founder has now relocated to Girona, to continue his business from here.

Kevin Kaneshiro has traveled the world over and always had the dream to live abroad, and after the Covid-19-crisis, that hit his home country, the United States of America, pretty hard, he decided not to wait any longer. He sold his house, his bikes, and said goodbye to all of his friends and family. Kaneshiro stepped on the plane with six big bags to arrive twenty hours later at Barcelona Airport. “It was really time for a change”, he says.

Race pro, look pro

The founder of K3 Pro Cycling, from Portland Oregon, was a graphic designer for footwear companies like Nike and Adidas. It was at the Tour of California when he realized that frame numbers in cycling races were attached to the bike in an inefficient and unprofessional way.

Kaneshiro saw professional cyclists use tie rips or tape around their seat posts to attach their numbers. “If you race on an expensive bike, worth sometimes over 10.000,- euro, then the way your number is displayed should have a pro look. Simply, if you race pro, you should look pro”, Kaneshiro says.

Handmade

With his experiences with design and the use of 3D printers, Kaneshiro started producing the number holders that we see so frequently today. EF Education EasyPost, Israel – Premier Tech, Team Jayco AlUla, EF Education Tibco SVB, Canyon/Sram Racing and many more teams rely on the handmade and lightweight products from Kaneshiro.

“K3 Pro Cycling started as a hobby in 2011”, Kaneshiro says, “helping cyclists look pro as they raced their bikes. My passion for the sport kept the momentum going. I am happy to say that we are ‘holding numbers for pro teams in races around the world’, including Olympic and Paralympic pelotons.”

Moved to Girona

Kaneshiro will continue working passionately in his business, from now on Catalan soil. In those six bags that he brought all the way from Portland, the 3D printers did not fit. Now that he has properly settled in the old town, Kaneshiro is investing in new 3D printers, lasers, and other shop equipment.

“After a long process of moving, I am finally where I want to be”, Kaneshiro says. “It was a big step to move from Portland to Girona, and everything is new for me, but I am enjoying every moment. I am meeting new people, I ride, and I work on the orders for custom-made frame number holders that I receive. It is the best life decision I have made.”