Cherubim is a Japanese brand offering handbuilt, custom-made frames from builder, Shin-Ichi Konno, whose father started the business more than 30 years ago. The Sticky is an all-steel road bike.
The frameset is fashioned from custom-drawn Kasei tubing, with a diameter of just 25.4mm at the downtube and so far removed from the carbon fibre bikes normally sent to us for review.
The pencil-thin pipes have already divided opinion among riding buddies, with some comparing it to road bikes of the 1980s, and others impressed by the fillet brazing. Up front, we find a unicrown fork with an inch-wide steerer tube made from the same Kasei tubing. The frame has some nice touches, including an elegant lug at the top of the seat-tube.
The components on our test bike are from Shimano’s new-ish 6800 Ultegra groupset and it rolls on Mavic’s Ksyrium Elite S aluminium clincher wheels, shod with Continental Grand Prix Classic tyres in a 25c profile.
The finishing kit is from SRAM-subsidiary, Zipp: a Service Course bar, and a Service Course SL seatpost, topped with a Fizik Kurve saddle. The stem is from Zipp’s Service Course SL selection too, and has a 17-degree negative rise.
We weighed the Cherubim Sticky at 8.29kg with LOOK Keo Classic pedals: not light by the standards of contemporary carbon race bike, but will it offer different advantages? Check back soon for a full review.
Price: From £2300 (frame and fork)
Size: Custom
Colour: Custom
Website: Cherubim
Distributor: Kinoko Cycles
