By James Hickman, former USA Cycling Expert Coach and Masters racer. James has coached riders of all levels, including Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team In Training century riders, and is a Platinum finisher at El Tour de Tucson.
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1970s Cherubim Model “V” Sportif: Hitoshi Konno’s Fillet-Brazed Classic

Every so often a bike crosses my desk that makes me stop scrolling and actually lean forward — this week’s feature is one of those. It’s a 1970s Cherubim Model “V” Sportif, hand-built by Hitoshi Konno, one of the most respected names in Japanese custom frame building. This particular example, a 21″/53cm frame measured center-to-center on the top tube and center-to-top on the seat tube, was displayed at the 2024 Classic Bicycles Auburn show and recently offered for sale by eBay seller stuck_seatpost, whose listing photos and documentation form the basis for this profile.

Who Was Hitoshi Konno, and Why Does Cherubim Matter?

Cherubim is one of the small handful of Japanese frame builders whose work genuinely stands alongside the great Italian and French constructeurs of the same era. Hitoshi Konno founded the shop and became known for fillet-brazed construction — a technique where tubes are joined with brass filler and hand-filed into smooth, lugless transitions rather than hidden inside ornate lugs. It’s unforgiving work. There’s nowhere for a sloppy joint to hide under a lug shell, so every seam on a Cherubim frame is a direct window into the builder’s skill.

Frame Details and Unique Features

This Model “V” Sportif carries two details that tell you Konno was building this frame with a specific rider and purpose in mind. First, it uses Cherubim’s proprietary rear dropouts — not off-the-shelf Campagnolo or Suntour dropouts, but shop-made pieces that mark this as a genuine custom build rather than a production frame with a Cherubim head badge.

Second, the frame has brazed-on centerpull brake bosses specifically fitted for MAFAC calipers, front and rear. Brazed-on centerpulls were the “correct” way to run this brake style on a quality frame in the 1970s — cleaner than a strap-on setup and a clear sign the builder was thinking about braking performance, not just tube mitering.

The 21″/53cm sizing (square geometry, CTC top tube and CTT seat tube) puts this squarely in sportif territory — a frame meant for spirited club rides and fast touring rather than a dedicated racing bike or a loaded tourer. That geometry choice lines up with every other spec on this build.

Full Build Specifications

Coach James: The drivetrain here tells a story on its own. Suntour Cyclone shifters and rear mech paired with a Superbe Pro front derailleur and a TA Pro triple-pin crank is a genuinely thoughtful mixed group — riders in this era weren’t loyal to one brand’s full gruppo the way we think of “complete group sets” today. They picked the best part for the job. That 48-38 chainring spread with a 6-speed Maillard freewheel tells you this bike was set up for rolling terrain, not the high mountains.

Provenance and Condition

This example has solid documentation behind it. It was shown publicly at the 2024 Classic Bicycles Auburn show, one of the better-regarded vintage and classic bicycle gatherings on the West Coast circuit, and the listing and photography come from eBay seller stuck_seatpost. If you want to see the bike in more detail or are considering it for your own collection, that listing is the place to start.

Why This Bike Matters

Frames like this Cherubim Model “V” sit at an interesting intersection in Japanese bicycle history. By the mid-1970s, Japanese frame builders were no longer working in the shadow of European constructeurs — shops like Cherubim, Toei, and 3Rensho were producing frames that matched or exceeded the fit-and-finish of their French and Italian counterparts, while developing their own construction signatures. The brazed-on MAFAC mounts and shop-made dropouts on this bike aren’t decorative flourishes; they’re evidence of a builder solving problems for a specific rider rather than assembling a catalog frame.

For collectors, a documented, show-quality Konno-built Cherubim with correct-period components is a genuinely significant find. Bikes like this don’t turn up often, and complete, unmolested build kits from this era are getting harder to source every year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who built this Cherubim Model “V” Sportif?
The frame was fillet-brazed by Hitoshi Konno, founder of Cherubim, one of Japan’s most respected custom frame shops.

What makes fillet brazing different from lugged construction?
Fillet brazing joins tubes with brass filler that is hand-filed into a smooth radius at each joint, rather than hiding the joint inside a decorative lug. It requires more skill to execute cleanly since there’s nowhere for an uneven joint to hide.

What size is this frame?
It’s a 21″/53cm frame, measured center-to-center on the top tube and center-to-top on the seat tube.

What brakes does this bike use?
MAFAC Competition centerpull brakes, mounted to frame-brazed bosses rather than a strap-on adapter — a detail specific to this build.

Where was this bike shown or documented?
It was displayed at the 2024 Classic Bicycles Auburn show, and the reference photos and details for this profile come from eBay seller stuck_seatpost.

Related Reading

Bicycle of the Week Discovering The Koga Miyata Full Pro-A

Bicycle of the Week TOEI Randonneur

Bicycle of the Week Sakae Ringyo Litage

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Introducing a Unique Two-Wheeler

By James Hickman — Former USA Cycling Expert Coach, Masters Racer
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This week’s featured bicycle is a TOEI Randonneur — a technically advanced touring build with a detail worth noting up front: it’s the first TOEI Randonneur completed without the long build delays the workshop is known for. The owner specified a French-influenced parts list, and the result shows how a Japanese frame builder interprets a design tradition that originated on the other side of the world.

Frame Construction and Geometry

The frame is a TOEI B Cut Lug, a traditional lugged steel construction sized at 560mm for this build. TOEI’s lugged joints are hand-filed rather than left as cast, a labor-intensive step that’s largely disappeared from production frame building but remains standard practice among Japan’s boutique steel builders.

Steering runs through a Grand Bois Small Vintage headset, chosen for its classic profile, paired with a Tange LN7922 bottom bracket supporting the drivetrain. The stem is a custom TOEI unit built without a cable-routing hole — a small detail that reflects how this build’s cable routing was planned around the rest of the touring kit rather than adapted to a stock part.

Check your chain now — What costs pennies to maintain today could save you hundreds tomorrow! Great deals available here.” Shimano, Sram Plus.

Up front, a Grand Bois French-type handlebar in 420mm width sets the hand position, and a TOEI front carrier (6mm tubing) adds cargo capacity for randonneuring or light touring. A Grand Bois PJ700 mudguard set keeps road spray off the rider — a non-negotiable on a bike built for all-weather distance riding.

Drivetrain Configuration

Power goes through a TA Cyclotourist crankset — a French-made part with a long history in touring and randonneuring circles, prized for its serviceability and wide gearing range. It’s paired with TA chainrings in a 48×36 setup, giving the rider a meaningful spread between spinning gears for climbing and taller gears for open road.

Shifting is handled by a Huret Jubilee derailleur, one of the lightest and most recognizable French derailleurs of its era. The chain is a Shimano HG71, running against a Shimano Dura-Ace 7400-series freewheel spanning 14-26 teeth across seven speeds. Christophe toe clips and straps complete the pedaling system, working with the crankset to keep the rider’s foot properly positioned over long distances.

Wheels, Tires, and Braking

The wheelset is built around Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo quick-release hubs in 100/126mm spacing, laced to Grand Bois Papillon rims in a 700C, 36-hole configuration. Grand Bois tires in 700x28c width round out the wheel package, striking a balance between rolling resistance and the comfort a randonneur bike needs on rough or unpredictable pavement.

For roadside fixes, Electric Mini Pump is a handy companion. This vintage TOEI Randonneur pairs Grand Boa tires and handlebars with Eure Mahach Ideal specs — a combination rarely seen on bikes today.

Braking comes from MAFAC Competition centerpull brakes, a classic French design known for strong stopping power and symmetrical pad wear — a favorite among randonneur builders for decades. Campagnolo brake levers control them from the bars.

Finishing Details and Touring Accessories

The rider sits on an Idéale #90 lightweight saddle, a classic French leather saddle chosen for long-distance comfort. This TOEI Randonneur is fully equipped for after-dark riding, running a dynamo-powered lighting setup with a pin-bulb headlight and a rear taillight, backed by a bottle dynamo for power — no batteries required. A Silca Impero frame pump handles roadside repairs, keeping the bike self-sufficient on longer routes.

Abaleaf Men’s 3D Padded Bike Shorts is a solid pick for warm-weather rides — The 3D padded bike underwear for men is made of lightweight and breathable fabric with moisture management. It wicks away moisture quickly to keep you dry and cool.

TOEI Brand Context

TOEI is one of Japan’s respected lugged-steel frame builders, working in the same tradition as shops like Cherubim and 3Rensho but with a particular focus on touring and randonneur geometry. Frames like this one reflect a builder-client relationship closer to custom tailoring than production manufacturing — specs are worked out directly with the customer, and turnaround has historically run long, which is part of what makes this particular build notable.

The combination of Japanese frame construction with French componentry (TA, Huret, MAFAC, Idéale, Grand Bois) is a hallmark of serious randonneuring builds worldwide, and this bike is a clean example of that formula executed well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What frame material and construction does the TOEI Randonneur use?

It’s a lugged steel frame — TOEI’s B Cut Lug construction — sized at 560mm for this build. Lugged construction joins tubes with hand-filed lugs rather than direct welding, a traditional technique still used by boutique Japanese frame builders.

Why does this bike use French components on a Japanese frame?

French componentry — TA cranksets, Huret derailleurs, MAFAC brakes, Idéale saddles — has a long history in randonneuring, the French tradition of long-distance, self-supported cycling. Pairing a Japanese-built frame with these parts is a common approach among builders and owners aiming for an authentic randonneur build.

What wheel and tire size does the TOEI Randonneur run?

700C wheels with 700x28c tires, built on Grand Bois Papillon rims and Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubs.

Does this bike have lighting for night riding?

Yes. It runs a dynamo-powered lighting system with a front headlight and rear taillight, eliminating the need for batteries — a standard feature on randonneur bikes built for all-conditions, self-supported riding.

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Discovering The Koga Miyata Full Pro-A

By James Hickman — Former USA Cycling Expert Coach | Bicycle of the Week: Vintage Japanese Road Bikes
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This week’s Japanese Bicycle of the Week is the The Koga Miyata Full Pro-A, the top-of-the-line racing model from a brand built on an unusual partnership: Dutch manufacturing and marketing under Koga, paired with Japanese frame-building and component sourcing through Miyata. That combination is what let Koga Miyata build a genuinely competitive racing bike around Shimano’s parts group at a time when most European pro teams were still riding Campagnolo.

The Full Pro-A sat at the top of the Koga Miyata lineup for the 1984 and 1985 model years only, which is part of why surviving examples are relatively scarce today. It wasn’t a mass-production frame — it was the brand’s technical showcase, built to demonstrate what fillet-brazing, chrome plating, and aerodynamic tube shaping could do for a steel race bike before carbon and monocoque construction existed.

What the “A” in Full Pro-A Stands For

The “A” stands for Aero. Aerodynamics became the dominant engineering trend in road racing in the early 1980s, and Koga Miyata built the FULL PRO-A specifically to compete in that conversation. The frame uses drop-shaped, aerodynamically profiled tubing rather than the round tubes typical of the era’s racing steel, and the whole bike — tube shaping, cable routing, brake and pedal design — was engineered around reducing drag rather than just reducing weight.

This wasn’t marketing dressed up as engineering. Koga Miyata’s own 1984 catalog quantified the aerodynamic gains, and the brand backed the claim by building a nearly identical model, the Aero Miyata, for the export market — evidence this was a deliberate design program, not a one-off show bike.

Frame and Construction: Hardlite FM-A Tubing

The Full Pro-A frame is built from Koga Miyata’s Hard lite FM-A triple-butted tubing, fillet-brazed rather than lugged. Fillet brazing lets the builder smooth the joints into continuous, seamless curves — a more labor-intensive process than lugged construction, and one that shows up clearly at the head tube and bottom bracket junctions on a well-preserved example.

Geometry followed what Koga Miyata called Full-Power-Drive: a 55cm seat tube that, combined with the raised foot position of Shimano’s Dyna Drive pedals (more on those below), put the rider’s effective saddle height closer to what you’d expect on a 56cm frame with conventional pedals. It’s a detail that trips up collectors trying to size a Full Pro-A off the seat tube measurement alone.

Fully Chrome-Plated Perfection

The signature visual feature is the double-layer chrome plating over the entire frame — not just the fork and stays, as was common on lugged steel racers of the period, but the full frameset. Chrome plating on a fillet-brazed frame is unforgiving of imperfect joint work, since there’s no paint to hide inconsistencies in the brazing. A clean chrome FullPro-A is as much a statement about the builder’s confidence in the joinery as it is about aesthetics.

Practically, the chrome layer also protects the tubing from corrosion far better than the paint of the era did, which is a real part of why so many surviving FullPro-A frames still present well four decades later.

Shimano Dura Ace AX: An Aero Groupset Ahead of Its Time

The FullPro-A was built around Shimano’s Dura Ace AX groupset, introduced in the early 1980s as Shimano’s answer to the industry’s aero push. AX componentry reshaped nearly every touchpoint on the bike for reduced drag: an enclosed rear derailleur pulley cage, aero brake levers with internally routed cables, and a crank and brake caliper design that moved away from the exposed, drilled-out look of contemporary Campagnolo and SunTour parts.

AX never became a commercial mainstream success — it was more expensive and more specialized than most riders needed — but it’s become one of the more sought-after group sets among collectors specifically because it represents a genuine engineering dead-end: an ambitious idea that didn’t stick, executed at a very high level.

Shimano Dyna Drive Pedals

Paired with the AX group set, the Dyna Drive pedal system moved the pedal axle up under the ball of the foot rather than below it, lowering the rider’s effective foot position by several millimeters. The idea was a more direct line of force from foot to pedal and a slightly lower center of gravity. It required proprietary shoes with recessed cleats, which limited adoption outside of AX-equipped bikes — another example of Shimano experimenting boldly in this era, whether or not the idea caught on long-term.

Saddle and Wheels: The Concor Profile and Wolber Profile 18

Period-correct Full Pro-A builds typically ran a Cinelli Unicanitor Concor saddle — a favorite among professional racers through the early-to-mid 80s for its support and low weight — mounted on Wolber Profile 18 aero rims, which used a rounded rim profile intended to reduce drag at speed, a wheel-design trend that would resurface decades later with modern aero rim shapes.

Why the Full Pro-A Still Matters to Collectors

The Full Pro-A’s real legacy isn’t that it won races outright — it’s that it captured, in one production bike, the exact moment steel construction and early aerodynamic theory intersected before carbon fiber made most of these solutions obsolete. Fillet-brazed, fully chromed, aero-tubed race bikes built for only two model years don’t turn up often, which is exactly why a clean FullPro-A remains one of the more desirable finds in Japanese vintage road cycling today.

A Note on This Bike’s Current Build

This particular example stays close to its original 1984/85 catalog spec, with two small deviations worth noting for collectors: it now runs Ritchey tires in place of the original Wolber Record Route tubulars, and Christophe pedal straps in place of the factory Koga Miyata straps. Neither change affects the bike’s authenticity in any meaningful way — they’re the kind of practical, period-appropriate swaps you’d expect on a bike that’s actually been ridden and maintained rather than kept as a static display piece.

Frequently Asked Questions

What years was the Koga Miyata FullPro-A made?

The Full Pro-A was produced for two model years, 1984 and 1985, as the top model in the Koga Miyata racing lineup.

What does the “A” in Full Pro-A stand for?

It stands for Aero. The Full Pro-A was Koga Miyata’s dedicated aerodynamic racing model, built with drop-shaped tubing and an aero-focused Shimano Dura Ace AX group set.

What tubing did Koga Miyata use on the FullPro-A?

The frame uses Koga Miyata’s own Hardlite FM-A triple-butted tubing, fillet-brazed and finished with double-layer chrome plating over the full frameset.

Why did Koga Miyata use Shimano instead of Campagnolo?

Koga Miyata built its bikes in partnership with Japanese manufacturing, and Shimano was the natural component partner. The Dura Ace AX group set also let Koga Miyata differentiate the Full Pro-A with an aero-specific parts group most European brands weren’t offering at the time.

Are Koga Miyata Full Pro-A bikes valuable today?

Well-preserved, catalog-correct examples command strong interest among vintage Japanese and aero-era steel collectors, largely because of the short two-year production run and the labor-intensive fillet-brazed, fully chromed construction.

Related Reading

Maruishi Exploring the Innovation: Maruishi Bicycle Drive Shafts

Bicycle of the Week Shimano 600 AX: The Pioneering Aero Bike of the 1980s

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Enjoy More Cycling and Bicycle Features

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