The 2014 Tour de France is about to descend upon the Yorkshire Dales, coinciding fortuitously with a greatly anticipated holiday to the UK to visit my wife’s family. It’s been a great opportunity to meet with some of the characters and locations that inspire the world of The Spoken, including London’s Kinoko Cycles, where I encountered a striking example of Shin-ichi Konno and Cherubim Cycles.
Shin-ichi Konno is somewhat of a visionary Japanese framebuilder with molten steel in his DNA. His father has been building Cherubim frames for over thirty years, while the legendary 3Rensho was founded by his uncle. Kinoko Cycles have made Cherubim more readily available to the western public by representing and distributing their frames in London.
This Cherubim Racer was revealed at the 2013 NAHBS and is now on display at Kinoko. The Kasei-tubed frame was designed specifically for Campagnolo’s EPS system, incorporating internal wiring that thread through the bottom bracket shell. A binder bolt is hidden between the junction of the top and seat tubes. The stem completes the streamlined design, available as a very expensive option.
Special thanks to Max at Kinoko.
