The Gold Coast now has some very desirable fixie steel in the shops, in the form of Cooper Bikes.
Cooper Bikes are distributing through Mike’s Bikes and Bicycle World. I dropped into Bicycle World yesterday and had a sneak peak at the floor stock.
 |
| T100 Sebring |
Cooper Bikes set themselves apart from the rest of the fixie crowd by leaning on a bit of British heritage. The “Coooper” in Cooper Bikes is the famous Cooper company that tuned tuned Formula One racing cars and is no synonymous with the Mini Cooper, having turned that funny little brick into the fastest thing on four wheels. The Mini Cooper even won Bathurst, back before the racing organizers rigged the competition to prevent anything other than big dumb V8s from racing.
 |
| T200 Championship 50 |
Further cementing the British history is the use of British-made components, from the Reynolds 520 steel down to the Sturmey Archer hubs and cranks and the highly coveted Brooks saddle. I’m a big fan of Reynolds tubing. I’ve banged on about this before, this notion that all steel is equal and so long as you quote 4130 you’re right in the pocket of the fixie enthusiast. A good dose of heritage should do a world of good to our young fixie hipsters and hopefully they’ll look at the Cooper Bikes and inform themselves of what the names and numbers mean.
Prices are ranging from $1,200 to $1,800, which looks like good value to me. You’re getting a top quality frame and some great components. I love my $200 Mojo Bike fixie frame but would think nothing of spending $1,000+ on a decent frame. What you get here is such a frame and all the components and all wrapped up at a price you can afford. (If anyone has ever thought of buying a Brookes leather saddle they’ll realise that those along cost $400+.)
The distributors of Cooper Bikes in Oz have promised singlespeedgoldcoast.com a test ride on a Cooper Bike so stay tuned for my thoughts and ramblings on the Cooper Bike of choice in the not too distant future.
If anyone has any thoughts on which bike they’d most like reviewed please send me a line here. I can’t promise anything because I’m leaning heavily on the generosity of Cooper Bikes Australia, and such things are subject to size and availability, but I will endeavor to please where I can. I’m inclinded toward the Sebring, shown below.
|
| T100 Sebring |
