From the pits: A sparkling VéloColour painted Cherubim at Canadian championships

Handcrafted perfection makes this steed an absolute dream bike and that was precisely the intention of its owner. Nothing was overlooked, no expense to rich to ensure every single detail was just right. From the spectacular paint job, the beautiful custom Japanese steel frame and a meticulously thought out build. It didn’t quite seem in its element in the sloppy conditions at cyclocross nationals. That didn’t matter to master racer Colin Matthews who races for the  VéloColour team because nice bikes are meant to be ridden, not left sitting in the garage at home.

This sparkled up steel bike caught our eye in the pits at the Canadian Cyclocross Championships in Peterborough, Ont. and rightly so because it’s pretty special. It features a stunning sparkling VéloColour paint job that’s even better in person, a head tube you could spend all day admiring, a crazy support that runs from the left side seatstay to the left side chainstay and a fully custom build.

Matthews faced a couple of curious enquiries about whether he actually planned to race his brand new beauty in the snowy, slippery and muddy conditions at ‘cross nationals. Of course he did, what else would a bike, no matter how fancy, be for? He only did a couple of laps of the course on his pit bike, opting to ride his equally drool-worthy Mosaic cyclocross bike for most of the championship race on Saturday in the massive Master 45-54 field and the entire race on Sunday.

The Cherubim All-Road/Gravel has a custom geometry that was dialled in at Blacksmith Cycle in Toronto. The tall and deliciously curvy head tube is particularly attractive. Matthews specifically wanted generous clearance on the frame, room for 35 mm tires, so he could mount cyclocross and gravel tires for all season riding. It’s Cherubim’s first bike to have clearance for over 30 mm tires. There are also fender eyelets and of course matching VéloColour painted fenders. Other nice details are the lovely chromed spike on the inside of the headtube to hold his matching Silca frame pump in place. This bike is all about attention to every single detail.

The custom frame is finished with a top-end build with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset. Oversized Ceramic Speed pulley wheels make everything run just a little bit smoother, even when covered in an inch of mud.

The star of the show is the VéloColour paint job which features an array of beautiful sparkles that shimmer in the light atop the glossy finishing base. Bit of the chromed steel underneath peek through at the right chainstay, on the Cherubim logo and on the ‘C’ on the headtube. The bike is affectionately named Mr. Sparkles for pretty obvious reasons. The inspiration for the paint job came from Matthews first bike he got when he was four-years-old which was purple and covered in sparkles.

Click through the gallery to appreciate all the beautiful details that make up this dream bike from Cherubim, VéloColour and Blacksmith Cycle.

Before Matthews meticulously cleaned the bike. You know, the type of guy who holds up the whole line-up.

Stylized supports that matches the arc of Shimano Dura-Ace calipers with Cherubim stamped into the chainstay.

Matching VéloColour painted bar and stem finish off the build with a Spur cycle bell to be heard in urban areas.

The oversized Columbus steel frame is chromed beneath the paint but it peaks out in paces like on the Cherubim logo.

CNC tapered headtube for 1,1/4" crown with chrome peeking through the paint for the logo

Xentis Squad 4.2 tubular rims with SRAM two piece rotors.

Vittoria Terreno Mix tires were dialed in at 19.2 psi.

An integrated seatmast with a custom topper and a Specialized Romin Evo Pro saddle.

A Columbus Futura Gravel Disc Fork

Ceramic speed pulley for efficiency, even in the mud. Crankbrother Eggbeater pedals for cyclocross.

All bikes deserve equally to be ridden in muddy conditions.