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FRAME: Johnny Berry road frame No. 721891 (1972), Reynolds 531 double butted tubing, Prugnat Type-S lugs, wrap-over seat stays with decorated flat top eyes, Gargette (RGF) bottom bracket shell, Campagnolo 1010 drop outs, straight brake bridge, domed-end stays, and domed-end fork blades. 24 ½" seat tube, 23 ¼" top tube, 17" chain stays, 40 ⅓ - 41" wheelbase, 73˚ seat tube, 74˚ head tube, 1 ½” fork offset. Black with green seat tube panel. Gold lug lining. Braze-on pump and bottle fittings. Braze-on stops for gear cable housing and gear lever clamp.
WHEELS: Super Champion Arc-en-Ciel sprint rims & 23mm tubular tires on 36H Campagnolo Record large flange hubs. 14-21T 5 speed Suntour Perfect freewheel currently fitted. Tied-and-soldered spokes. Campagnolo quick release skewers.
CHAINSET: Campagnolo crankset with Record double 45/42T chainrings. Early model Phil Wood sealed bearing bottom bracket.
PEDALS: Campagnolo Record SL Strada with Christophe toe clips and Binda toe straps.
GEARS: Campagnolo Nuovo Record front - rear (Pat. 1972) derailleurs. Campagnolo Record clamp-on down tube shifters.
BRAKES: Campagnolo Nuovo Record side pull brake calipers. Campagnolo Nuovo Record brake levers.
STEM/BARS: Cinelli 1A forged alloy stem (Milano in oval). Cinelli Giro d’ Italia handlebar (badge and shield).
SADDLE: Ideale 90 Speciale Competition on a 27.2mm twin bolt Campagnolo Record seat post.
EXTRAS: Silca pump with Campagnolo steel head. T.A. bottle holder. Painted and lined alloy mudguards.
WHEELS: Super Champion Arc-en-Ciel sprint rims & 23mm tubular tires on 36H Campagnolo Record large flange hubs. 14-21T 5 speed Suntour Perfect freewheel currently fitted. Tied-and-soldered spokes. Campagnolo quick release skewers.
CHAINSET: Campagnolo crankset with Record double 45/42T chainrings. Early model Phil Wood sealed bearing bottom bracket.
PEDALS: Campagnolo Record SL Strada with Christophe toe clips and Binda toe straps.
GEARS: Campagnolo Nuovo Record front - rear (Pat. 1972) derailleurs. Campagnolo Record clamp-on down tube shifters.
BRAKES: Campagnolo Nuovo Record side pull brake calipers. Campagnolo Nuovo Record brake levers.
STEM/BARS: Cinelli 1A forged alloy stem (Milano in oval). Cinelli Giro d’ Italia handlebar (badge and shield).
SADDLE: Ideale 90 Speciale Competition on a 27.2mm twin bolt Campagnolo Record seat post.
EXTRAS: Silca pump with Campagnolo steel head. T.A. bottle holder. Painted and lined alloy mudguards.
I ordered this bicycle from Johnny Berry in autumn, 1971, when I was living in Sheffield. No. 721891 was designed for criterium racing, but has been suitable for general road use. The sales receipt from May, 1972 is shown below. The bicycle was originally equipped with Campagnolo Record gears, pedals, bottom bracket, bar end shifters, and chainset. To reduce costs, Universal Super 68 brakes were mounted at the time of delivery. Later, I switched to to Campagnolo calipers/levers for better braking and easier pad centering, Campagnolo down tube shifters for improved shifting performance, and to a Phil Wood sealed bottom bracket for less maintenance. The original Regina Oro block was replaced by a Suntour freewheel for improved shifting and easier removal.
No. 721891 was originally painted and lined by C & G Finishes, Liverpool; the top eyes carry their usual painted decoration. The frame was repainted in original colors by Trisha Stevenson of Olympia, Washington in 1984. It was restored in 2013 by frame builder Bill Stevenson of Olympia, Washington and Mark Brandt of Spectrum Powder Works in Colorado Springs. Corey Thompson of Olympia, Washington built the wheelset.
Many construction details of No. 721891 are representative of Johnny Berry’s meticulous and easily recognizable style, including fully wrapped seat stays, flat top eyes, diver’s helmet-type gear cable stops, domed-end stays, domed-end fork blades, and brake bridge reinforcers. Berry’s usual slotted round stop for the gear lever clamp is brazed onto the top of downtube. Long point Prugnat Type-S lugs and long reinforcers on the inside of the upper fork blades are found on No. 721891, as well as on many of Berry’s later frames.
Many construction details of No. 721891 are representative of Johnny Berry’s meticulous and easily recognizable style, including fully wrapped seat stays, flat top eyes, diver’s helmet-type gear cable stops, domed-end stays, domed-end fork blades, and brake bridge reinforcers. Berry’s usual slotted round stop for the gear lever clamp is brazed onto the top of downtube. Long point Prugnat Type-S lugs and long reinforcers on the inside of the upper fork blades are found on No. 721891, as well as on many of Berry’s later frames.
Atypically, this Johnny Berry frame has a steep head tube, reflecting its design for criterium racing. Most other Johnny Berry road frames have shallower head tubes. Unusually, too, No. 721891 uses Campagnolo clamps on the top tube to position the brake cable housing, solely because I requested them. Most other Johnny Berry road frames have curved-end cable stops brazed onto the lower part of the top tube. Others, (including Berry’s last frame, No. 741913) have diver’s helmet stops brazed onto the top of the top tube. No. 721891 lacks oiler nipples for the lower headset race and bottom bracket that are found on most Berry road bikes; the need for them was alleviated by mudguards, front flap, and sealed bearings.
Above: The seat cluster has long, thinned lug points, a reinforced seat binder, and, for visual balance, a vertical tang. Top eye decorative striping is in the style of C & G Finishes of Liverpool, the original painters. Beginning in the mid 1960s, most Berry frames were built with Prugnat Type-S lugs.
Above: “BERRY” in block letters was the last downtube style, appearing in the early 1960s and adorning most later frames. Thinned lugs, crisp shorelines, & elegant fork crowns are features of Berry frames, indicative of the amount of effort invested into each one.
Above: Johnny Berry’s craftsmanship and building style is evident at the junction between the stays and dropout. Domed-end stays, diver’s helmet gear cable housing stops, and, beginning in the 1950s, Campagnolo 1010 dropouts are often found on Berry road frames.
Above: The “JB”-on-globe badge was the last style of badge used by Johnny Berry. Quality reproduction transfers are now available again through commercial painters.
Above: Thinned and extensively reworked Gargette bottom bracket shells were found on many Johnny Berry road frames. Also note the diver’s helmet-type gear cable housing stops, a characteristic of many Berry road frames.
Above: No. 721891 being held by Johnny Berry in front of his 193 Wilmslow Road shop on May 20, 1972, delivery day.
Above: The receipt for No. 721891. The frame set cost £40. The original wheel set used tubular tires on sprint rims. It was built on large flange Campagnolo hubs.
Above: No. 721891 in 1972. It was originally equipped with Universal 68 brakes and Campagnolo bar end shifters, not the Campagnolo brakes and down tube shifters that are now fitted. Otherwise, components are mostly as they were in 1972. Mudguards are now attached.
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