Anyone tried one yet? I was up in London last week and really wanted to go for a ride and test one of these Barclays cycle hire bikes out. All in a clean line waiting to be ridden. But as I hadn’t signed up, I couldn’t ride one until I had received a special key for the bike. They’re quite chunky rides compared to the single speed I ride but I’ll definitely give one a go when I’m next in London. They will soon be introducing pay on the day facilities, so if your not from London or don’t fancy signing up or not going to be using them much you can just pay on the day.

*On my way back to Liverpool Street station round 6pm all the bikes were gone from their docking stations,  Maybe they should swap the Barclays bikes for some classy looking Coopers.

Gwenno & the NEW T250 Aintree

The Pipettes & the NEW T250 Aintree with Reims

Check out more pictures at www.facebook.com/cooperbikes

Langham Place 5th Anniversary

Back in May Cooper Bikes helped Langham Place, Mongkok (a large shopping mall in Hong Kong) to celebrate it’s 5th year anniversary. Limited collectors bicycles were made for the display.

• Improve cycling conditions for people who already commute by bike
• Encourage those who don’t to take to pedal power and keep fit
• Help cut congestion
• Relieve overcrowding on public transport
• Reduce emissions

“Way back in October 2009, I visited the London Cycle Show. I had nothing particular in mind – just an afternoon grazing the stands, seeing what’s what. Steel framed “classics” always appeal but what I saw on the Cooper stand was special.

Manned by Mike Cooper & his team, their modest stand was the stand-out of the show… not just because of the passion showed by Mike for his products and for cycling, but for the fact that the bikes on show said it all. Simple, classic, classy with subtle branding from one of the coolest British brands around. On sight of the T200 Reims, I immediately had something in mind… How much and when can I get one?

The good news was “Under £900″ but the bad news was “March next year”. Every cloud has a silver lining: March 2010 marked a significant birthday for me, which equaled a perfect excuse to indulge.

A couple of phone calls to Cooper saw them invite me down to the factory for a closer look and a test ride. Gosh… Cooper… Minis, Monte Carlo, Race cars, The Italian Job. Boyhood dreams and grown-up reality coming together.

The Cooper factory, like their Cycle Show stand, is understated. A few heritage photos in the reception area, along with the new range of bikes lined up and a self effacing apology from the eponymous Mike that he was in a tracksuit made me feel welcome right away. No pretense, no flashy sales pitch, just bubbling enthusiasm for the company and it’s products…

… So to the bike: I ordered mine as soon as I could get to my dealer Evans the next day. Early March turned to late March, into early April into May…  Finally, the day came…

Classic cream with Brooks Swallow saddle & leather bar-tape, Sturmey-Archer crank set  (with a particularly tasty chainring), front hub & 5 speed rear hub, narrow bars and decent Mavic rims. Pretty much everything that you’d specify if you were building your dream classic fixie but with the flexibility of gears. The component and build quality is excellent, although Evans need to learn about aligning rear wheels in horizontal drop-outs, adjusting hub gears and noting that the supplied tyres are direction specific. Luckily, I’m pretty handy with a spanner so could quickly add the value that Evans overlooked.

Allow me to get the niggles out of the way first: There are no bottle bosses, although Klickfix and others make adaptors and the gear cable runs from under the bottom bracket shell to quite wide of the chain-stay at the back. I reckon it could get clipped by people with wide feet – my size 8s only just miss. A standard Sturmey-Archer clip on the chain-stay would help.

On the road, these things are soon forgotten. The ride & handling are nice and relaxed but with enough stiffness to accept a thrashing if you really want to turn it on. Despite the simple, clean aesthetics, it’s not a bare-bones race bike – it’s a lovely, fluid, easy going ride that rewards smooth inputs with surprising pace and long haul comfort. It’s naturally calm and stable handling don’t prevent it from feeling alive and responsive. The gearing is “wide ratio” – the gaps between gears 2, 3 & 4 are closer than those between 1 & 2 and 4 & 5. It may be my significantly aged legs but with the stock sprocket, the gearing feels pretty high overall. The chainring is too delicious to change so I fitted a 22 tooth sprocket to shift everything down, giving a great low “granny” gear, a perfect 4th that I can push all day and a handy “overdrive” top. The Tektro brakes do the job and the cyclocross-style levers work well. The narrow bars take a while to get used to (they’re great for navigating the narrow gaps in traffic-heavy urban riding) but the shallow drop and smooth radiuses look good and give plenty of unimpeded hand positions.

All told, the T-200 Reims hugely satisfies the eye and the body – it rewards discernment in both with a simply beauty and a great ride. Pride and satisfaction in ownership and use are off the scale. Top notch.”

1951 BIANCHI Paris-Roubaix

A combination of gallery, shop and café, the Cycle Club is a meeting place and hub for road riders. Unlike most ‘pop up’ stores, the Rapha Cycle Club is more than just a retail space. With live screenings of road races and a full calendar of exhibitions and events, the Rapha Cycle Club is a home for the sport and culture of road racing. The perfect place for London cyclists this summer.

An extensive range of Rapha products including a limited edition collection of Cycle Club items, as well as food and drink. Various screenings and exhibitions take place including every stage of the Giro and the Tour, and exhibitions celebrating Fausto Coppi and the centenary of the Col du Tourmalet. The 1951 BIANCHI Paris-Roubaix bicycle is worth a visit…

146-148 Clerkenwell Road, London.

146-148 CLERKENWELL RD, EC1R 5DG

Tel. +44 (0)207 278 2186

Opening Hours

_{The Rapha Cycle Club is open until Saturday 31st July.}

NEW PREVIEW: Polished Chrome fixie with 30s style track bars & Brooks racing green bar tape & saddle

Loving the NEW T250 Aintree! It’s our first unisex bike with a sloping top tube, Reynolds 531 tubing & lugged frame. More pics to come…

NEW PREVIEW: Powder blue frame with sloping top tube & dropped handle bars

The doors to the Trekstock Pop-Up Store are open until 15th July

The Trekstock Bicycle comes with a Brooks Team Pro Classic saddle in black, sloping top tube & straight handle bars. The frame is from our T250 range which will be previewed at BikeRadar Live from Saturday at Brands Hatch.

Sophie Epstone (Director & Founder of Trekstock)

‘What if you ride a stylish single-speed but you also want to carry bags & groceries?’

By integrating the basket into the handlebar, the bike porter offers a sublime transport option which works as part of your bike as well as introducing an evolution in style. The bike porter is made from heat-treated alloy tubing and rod making it lightweight and robust. www.copenhagenparts.com

A host of celebrities and designers were asked to design their dream bike for the Bike Week. From Alan Sugar to fashion designer Giles Deacon, they created an array of brilliant bikes that went up for auction to raise money for charity.

For more info on the events taking place and to check out the bikes for auction visit online at bikeweek.org.uk

Simplicity and style have always made one-geared bikes popular for city cyclists.

There will always be people who deride singlespeeds and fixed-gear bikes as ‘one trick ponies’ or fashion items, but that doesn’t paint the full picture. Sure if you want a ‘do it all’ bike, or have racing/touring pretensions, then a one-geared bike isn’t for you. But in a largely flat urban environment, they do have their plus points. Lack of derailleurs, chain rings, cassette, cables & levers mean the bikes are lighter, easier to maintain and there’s less to nick when you leave it locked up. London Cyclist magazine (The London Cycling Campaign)

The London Cyclist took our Cooper T100 Monza for a spin, check out their verdict:

T200 Reims 5 speed

Lookin good.

Bicycle Buyer May 2010

Bicycle Buyer magazine test out T100 Monza

'Minimal graphics & old-school frame offers something a little different for the prospective single speed buyer'

Tony Yang CEO of Velo Citizen in South Korea with our first female customer of the T200 range.

www.velocitizen.com

The Reims is about to hit the streets of England very soon and with our heat wave about to start back home, I can’t wait to get back there & on my bike! I hope we’ll be seeing people at next years London Tweed Run on their Reims. Watch this space…..

Film by Donald Christie to celebrate 30 years of Ally Capellino. The film is on show at Shoreditch House in East London & the exhibition at The Wapping Project till 6th June 2010.

London & Brighton’s new mag: Spring/Summer 2010 EggMag -Culture with conscience… Check it out!

Cooper Bikes in April edition of MILK magazine (China)

Cooper bikes T100 range: Monza & Sebring

Location: The Wapping Project

Wapping Wall, London. E1W 3ST

Council gives bikes more space than cars

Motorists are being driven potty by Britain’s widest bicycle lane, which gives bikes MORE room than cars, trucks & buses. The stretch, which runs up a steep hill for nearly 500 yards, allows 2.04m for cyclists & 1.4m for drivers.

The council of Dorset said: “The markings are advisory & are there primarily to remind motorists to give space to cyclists.”

Trekstock’s official launch Party took place on 17th March 2010 to celebrate becoming a registered charity. The evening officially began in London’s No 11 Downing Street with guest including MP Alistair Darling, Mark Ronson & Henry Holland. Guests were picked up on a red Trekstock coach and taken to an exclusive location in Soho for an indoor music festival. I was very kindly invited to go & got to meet the founder & director of Trekstock, Sophie Epstone.

The charity donates it’s profits in support of Cancer Research Uk’s researches into cancers that affect children & teenagers. They raise funds by creating the best music events, fashion collaborations & treks. Their little blue badges can be seen all over the place. Visit www.trekstock.com for more info. We will be working along side Trekstock in the near future on some great projects…So watch this space!

One from The County Archives....Mr Cooper back in the day....

Many thanks to Chris Philps for sending this pic over to us..Love it!

The unisex Cooper bikes will be available very soon & with names like ‘Oporto’, named after the famous race track in Portugal, we can’t wait to see the finished product. Below is a picture from the Oporto track & a little bit of Cooper history.

Jack Brabham – Oporto (Portuguese Grand Prix) 14th August 1960.

Oporto, a road circuit in the fullest sense, was to be the scene of the World Manufacturers’ Championship having already been won by Cooper’s ‘works’ cars. For more information on the history of Cooper’s..Check out our history section at the top of the page ..

Bike Japan: Dont try this at home!