A couple of months ago i came across a frame on pink bike, the da bomb cherry bomb.

http://www.dabombbike.com/cherry_bomb6.html

I was riding a specialized pitch, my first full suspension bike, i could instantly ride it, it felt really good, was really impressed with how easy I adapted to it. It however had a couple of drawbacks to it which were becoming more prominent the harder i was riding it. It felt at times i was reaching its limits in strength and stiffness. Was also astounded at how little it weighed, lighter than a new yeti 575. I was doing drops and gaps i would not consider doing on such a bike, for piece of mind i wanted a stronger bike.

This is the result-

Bike is used for all the riding i do, 5+hr peak rides, trail centres, uplift days, freeriding, DH. So a bike that is literally used for anything, well just mountain biking to me, it’s all the same.

The frame is 2lbs heavier than the pitch. The pitch build was 30lbs, the da bomb build is 32lbs, that is with a reverb too.

I must say the frame is sublime. The suspension action is more supported AND supple. On loose fast choppy stuff, i have more grip, on big hits it is more composed, the suspension is progressive enough to make the bike feel lively, one of the comments from a friend is that “it jumps like a hardtail”, that’s the level of support it has. I really don’t get how the suspension deals better with both smaller and bigger hits whilst not becoming a bouncy castle. The bike doesn’t feel squishy, you can pull up and manny without any womp, you can pop it off of small things, it hops real easy, it pumps the terrain seriously well, but yet manages to maintain good levels of grip and no harshness on bumps.

Pedaling is so-so, it however suits my pedaling style, it has the 4 bar squat, pedals ok in the saddle, (but which bike doesn’t?), i generally ride out of the saddle, i time my pedal strokes with the squatting to aid the pedaling action (something that dw links won’t comply with), it’s perfectly acceptable in terms of pedaling. I also firm up the shock compression on XC rides.

The frame stiffness is high. On the pitch on some hits, it would be feeling like the headtube wanted to rip off, lines wouldn’t be held on steep, bumpy DH. The da bomb has instigated a lot of DH confidence as i know it will hit the lines i want it to.

Geometry is subjective and down to personal preference. However i prefer the geo in the da bomb than the pitch. I was worried about the long cs (430 vs 421), but the suspension action meant the da bomb picked up well. The pitch with 160mm forks would of had about a 66* HA, the da bomb has a 67*, i actually prefer the slightly steeper HA on the da bomb, it feels less lazy.

I work in a bike shop, so i get to demo all the “best” new things. So i have a good base for comparison.

I just thought an under dog should maybe get some recognition, it has seriously surprised me how good it is. Bikes in the similar travel range i have tested are pivot firebird, pivot mach 5.7 carbon, yeti 575, spec pitch, spec enduro, transition covert. Dependant on riding style and preferences, this frame holds its own easily. There isn’t a frame in that list that i feel actually rides better than this one, but of course that’s purely subjective, everyone wants/needs/likes different things.

I doubt anyone will really care, but i put the suspension geometry into linkage suspension software, generated some data, compared the results to various frames.

Turns out the suspension operates in a manner incredibly similar to a santa cruz nomad.

Wheel paths are the same, leverage rates are very similar shapes, anti squat values are very similar (the vpp does something a little more special), same amount of chain growth and pedal feedback.

So, strapped for cash? Want something that can handle abuse? Want something with a good suspension design? Maybe the cherry bomb is worth a punt?

It also looks like a dog doing a poo, just like a Nomad!

😀

Looks good, there are a few smaller brands out there putting out nice stuff but people hardly ever seem to stray from the big names, pity