Murray Missile 

Seriously, it's a "Cherry" manufactured by Nissan Cycles. It was $45 and had 2 brand new Kenda gumwall K35's on it, I couldn't pass it up at that price. Plus it's my size and is in pretty decent shape over all. Mid-70's maybe? I'm going to clean it up, replace the bar tape and cables and keep it the way it is, poofy saddle and all. It really isn't all that heavy either.








And check out that awesome pillow where the saddle should be LOL, the tool bag is sewn to the saddle.



There was at least one other out there:

repechage

Like the proto Medici bands and stars seat tube graphics.

gthomson

I've never seen a saddle like that before?

jamesdak 

Nice, that is going to clean up beautifully!

noglider 

Not a bad bike, but that saddle wouldn't last a minute under my butt.

OldsCOOL

Looks like a fun project!

Murray Missile 

It's a first for me too, as is the "Cherry" brand. The saddle has about an inch of soft padding, I can't imagine it being very comfortable for more than a couple miles, if that LOL but it's so different I'll probably keep it on the bike. I won't ride it much anyway but it was so obscure I couldn't resist and it really is in pretty decent shape. I wish I knew the year it was built. I tried the Asian SN guide but it's not making sense for me.I can't reconcile the "R" when "C" is supposed to correlate with 1980. The V - T luxe rear derailleur was made from '73 - '76 and the Compe-V front from '74 - '78 so I'm going to venture a guess at '74 to maybe a '77. When it quits raining I'll look for date codes on them.

steelbikeguy

My first 10 speed was a Montgomery Wards model that was equipped with Cherry centerpull brakes. They were pretty poor... a long way below proper brakes such as Weinmann. I wonder is this is the same Cherry??

There is (was?) an American framebuilder that used the Cherry brand. I clipped a magazine article about him. Not sure if this is from Bicycle Guide or Bicycling....



I've seen a frame from Cherry Bicycles on the "Hilly Hundred" bike ride in Bloomington, Indiana. Wonderful "bi-laminate" head lugs.








Steve in Peoria

Murray Missile 

If it was they must have felt the same way LOL, this has Dia-Compe center pulls.

jethin

That "saddle" is freakin' hilarious.

noglider 

I got a used bike that came with a gel-padded saddle. It didn't look as ridiculous as this one, but it was pretty cushy. I tried it without prejudice. It didn't cause any problems while riding. Then I had achy balls the following day. I didn't put the two together for weeks or months. I had to report it to my doctor, and he suggested a saddle with a cutout. I decided any change might do the trick. It turns out I need a hard saddle.

Murray Missile 

While not "correct"on a C&V bike I have become a big fan of the ISM Adamo saddles. I have 6 of them, 2 MTB and 4 road.

mrv 

John Cherry used to have Project Bike shop in Lafayette, IN.
I was on a very small team out of Louisville, KY and he built 4 Cherry Bomb race bikes for us (early 1990s). We had them all painted the same. - actually powder coated, 2 colors.
If I scrounge real hard I might have a picture of it somewhere. I had to retire the frame. I was going to have it re-painted about 6 years ago. After the coating was removed there were a number of holes in the frame from rust - chainstays, downtube, maybe the seattube.
I used the frame and fork for powder coating practice at a local "tech shop", repurposed the fork to a single speed frame that I picked up cheap for powder coating practice (and sold....).
And the original frame is sitting in my basement, sans fork. My wife won't let me hang it on the living room wall. Which I find weird.... that she would object! of course.....

cheers.