Frequently Asked Questions

-What is the history of Heron Bicycles?

Heron Bicycles was started in 1997 as a joint venture between Waterford Precision Cycles, Rivendell Bicycle Works, and Rona Components. Waterford manufactured the frames in its Wisconsin factory while Rivendell sold them through its mail order operation.

Eventually Ted Durant, owner of Rona Components, bought out the other joint venture partners and became sole owner. Waterford continued to manufacture the frames for Ted on a contract basis while Rivendell became an official Heron dealer along with several bike shops.

In early 2001, Ted decided to halt production of the Heron frames to focus on other matters. Todd Kuzma, owner of Tullio�s Big Dog Cyclery � a Heron dealer, began discussions with Ted to purchase the company and resume production.

Heron Bicycles was sold to Todd Kuzma in January 2002, and production at the Waterford plant began soon thereafter. Subsequent to that, in 2007, Heron production ceased due to Todd selling his bike shop and changing careers. At about that time, Bicycle Classics purchased Heron Bicycles, and a complete re-design and overhaul of the products was begun. Now, in 2016, there is a new Heron frame: The Heron Sportif. Still built by Waterford Precision Cycles, The Sportif provides all-day comfort in a traditional, non-oversized-tubing, lugged steel package. Designed primarily for a front load, with low-trail geometry, a low center of gravity, NOS British-made Reynolds double-butted 531 tubing, and the great Toei Special fork blades from Kaisei, along with stainless steel vertical dropouts, beautiful investment-cast lugs and BB shell, (NOS) Cinelli investment-cast fork crowns, and a host of braze-ons, the New Heron Sportif is a do-almost-everything design. Short of Expedition Touring, you could set up one of these framesets to do almost anything else, in our humble opinion. Fender-friendly, sensible but not sluggish geometry, and the highest-quality fit and finish, brought to you without compromise by the wizards at Waterford Precision Cycles.

-How do the Herons ride?

This is difficult to convey in writing, but I�ll do my best. Our tubing specifications are fairly conservative. It is thick enough to resist frame twist from sprinting or climbing. It also allows the frame to track straight and true even when hauling a load. We could make the frame slightly lighter by further reducing the wall thickness, but this produces a frame that is too whippy, in our opinion.

The Heron Sportifs are frames that feel fast. Their handling is fairly quick but not so much that you feel uncomfortable reaching for a water bottle, descending a steep hill, or both at once. They have a bit longer wheelbase than most road frames today which gives you greater tire clearance and smooths out the ride. Like the old sportcars that racers would drive to and from the track, the Heron Sportif can be raced but will also allow you to fit larger tires and racks for less "competitive" rides.

-What is Heron�s relationship to Waterford Precision Cycles?

Heron is an independent company, but we contract the building of our frames to Waterford.

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What are the frame specifications?

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