Cherry Bicycles is a custom frame shop owned by John Cherry located in Lafayette, Indiana. John makes only steel and titanium mountain and road frames. The workmanship on all of his frames is stellar. The Dear John is a steel hardtail. It is made from Patco aircraft tubing and has wishbone seat stays, non tapered chain stays and geometry set up for a suspension fork. The workmanship and the frame geometry are what makes this frame outstanding. John has managed to dial the bike in so that it is a superb single track bike that also handles descents and fire roads without a hitch. The rear end is a little more compliant than most steel frames and is very comfortable in the rough stuff. I don't notice any huge loss of comfort or control over the Pro-Flex 755 I have been riding for 3 years. It is nice to be back on a well built steel frame. You can trust it, ride it, and not have to screw with pivots or rear suspension set up. If you are in the market for a steel or titanium bike, check out the Cherry bikes. The titanium frames are as nice as any I have seen. John has his own dropouts made and they are works of art. John will take the time to talk to you about the frames and will not dish out the BS that a lot of builders do. All of the bikes are made by John in his shop ( unlike some so called custom builders who farm their frames out and only check and finish them). The Dear John is powder coated tractor green and has wrap around decals in black and yellow with the Dear John logo. I have mine set up with a red Bomber Z2 and love it. I suspect Steel hardtails will make a comeback when consumers get tired of the short life span of aluminum and being used as test rats by the big companies full suspension designers. I think steel hardtails fell by the wayside because they are so basic. You can't charge more for the latest miracle frame material or the newest fad in suspension design. A good steel bike does most things very well . It just doesn't have the bells and whistles that attract the public to buy the latest and best frame every year or two.
Give Cherry Bicycles a look. They won't let you down.