by Christian C. Casparian
In the last five years, John K. Cherry III has
drawn on a wealth of in-the-saddle experience along with the expertise of manufacturers
and fabricators to create Cherry Bicycles, his custom frame-building company. The
Cherry line reflects John's determination to build bikes that are functional, stylish
and well-constructed.
Cherry, a former professional BMX and motocross racer, builds between 40 and 50 road frames a year, and he recently introduced a line of mountain frames as well. Cherry designs are the result of extensive analysis of other builders' failed frames brought to his Project Bike Shop, along with research on the metallurgical qualities of different tubesets and realworld experiments with prototype test frames. For example, Cherry once tested two identically equipped bikes with different head-tube angles by switching mounts every lap in a race. "It became clear pretty quick which bike handled best," he said. Cherry believes that his research and development has resulted in the perfect combination of agility, geometry and stability in his bikes.
Cherry bicycles come in steel and titanium versions.
The 31-year-old builder is based in Lafayette, Indiana–a hub of metallurgical information
ranging from Purdue University to a race-car parts fabricator who helped him develop
his titanium working skills. Cherry has shared information with other frame builders,
including Tom Kellogg and Gary Helfrich.
Cherry bicycle frames feature innovative designs and tubing combinations. The ultimate goals of all the frames are comfort, stiffness and structural integrity. "Above all, I want features that work and that make the bike work right " Cherry said. These considerations dictate the frame-building choices he makes. If the design he seeks is not commercially available, he fabricates it. He recently developed a straight-blade fork, for example, which is now standard equipment on most Cherry road models. It features Columbus blades (which he says are stiffer than other tube brands) mated to a threadless, butted mountain bike steerer tube. He cuts angled sockets for the steerer and fork blades into the crown, so they can fully seat without play. This fork assembly, John claims, is at once stiff, comfortable, light and safe.
All Cherry bikes feature Henry James dropouts,
even if they're not always visible. Because Henry James does not manufacture a rearward-facing
track dropout, Cherry reversed Campagnolo long road dropouts for the track specimen
and welded them to Henry James tabs which were inserted into the seat- and chainstays
and are almost invisible in the finished product. The result is a very sleek, elegant-looking
dropout.
John Cherry's cautious approach to frame-building design extends to his choice of tubing and construction as well. Cherry said he "absolutely refuse[s] to believe there's one ultimate tubeset." The deep, cobalt blue track frame sent to us features a tube mix similar to Cherry's workhorse, the TIG-welded Cherry Bomb road model– with Ritchey Logic OS top tube and down tube, Tange seat tube and Tange taper gauge chainstays and seatstays. The track model substitutes Tange Prestige track fork blades as chainstays (because of their light weight) and a Tange swaged and butted seat tube for a stiffer bottom bracket. The result is a svelte design that weighs 3 pounds 11 ounces for the 54cm bare frame, with the fork adding 22 ounces to the total.
Cherry offset-miters the down tube and the chainstays, "which significantly increases the weld surface area, resulting in a stronger weld" than a centered junction, he said. The welds are very tidy and clean, forming vermicelli-sized beads at the tube junctures.
Not every frame-building decision obeys the "form follows function" maxim on Cherry bicycles. The top tube slopes downward and joins the head tube several centimeters below the top headset race, unlike traditional frames. The wishbone seatstay bridge attaches to the seat tube well below its top. When asked if this design was intended to further enhance frame stiffness, Cherry said, "Well, a little bit, but mostly it's just for style. I like to build the Cherry Bomb to make [it] look like a wedge, to make it look like it's jacked up like a dragster."
Cherry's collection includes the $900 to $1000 Cherry Bomb TlG-welded road and mountain frames, the flagship Fat Boy road model at $1400 and the $1200 Wild Cherry dual-suspension and $750 Dear John mountain frames (the latter was named for the many requests Cherry received for an inexpensive frame). Cherry also offers a traditional lugged road frame, titanium road and mountain frames as well as a full array of custom options and Imron colors.
In the 1950s, the word "cherry" applied to something, usually mechanical, that worked perfectly and looked very good. John K. Cherry's line of bicycles just might live up to his given name.
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Last Updated: September 11, 2004