A friend emailed me over a copy of  ‘The Ride Journal’. (Thanks Aimee). The magazine is fairly new and the idea was to create a journal of personal stories.

What is the ride? (from the editors)

‘We know that most people who share our obsession with bikes don’t want to be pigeon-holed as roadies, freeriders, track racers, BMXers, XC riders or even commuters. Thery are just riders. So we wanted to create something for them, and also for us. Something that crosses both cycling & international borders.

Bikes have changed people’s lives in so many ways and we wanted to gather a small selection of theses tales. We didn’t want to give reveiws or race reports, we wanted to get under the skin and expose the passion that flows through riders veins’.

Here are a few pages from Issue 1:

Performances start at 2pm.

Check out the website below for more information.

East Festival

LOCK IT OR LOSE IT

Buying a good lock is the most important accessory that you will need to buy after you purchase your new Cooper bike. There are so many on the market but which are the best?

Never leave it unlocked in a public place.

D locks are said to be the most secure but can be heavy to carry. ‘Kryptonite’ do a really good range:

‘New York Fahgettaboundit chain & padlock’ costs around £119 and is the ultimate chain lock for high theft areas.

Check out ‘london cycling campaign’ website. They have a great deal of information on cycle advise.

http://www.lcc.org.uk

Bike locks come in secure standards, ranging from bronze/silver/gold…The more money you spend, the stronger and more secure it will be.

...You can never be to care...

The T100 Sebring & Monza

Bike build

Ready to hit the road... Mike Cooper checks everything over!

The finished product is boxed up & ready to be dispatched

The brooks swallow chrome saddle is really comfy and the gear change effortless. I found the brakes to be in the perfect position as I like to ride it with my hands on top rather than in the dropped racing position. I’m looking forward to it’s next outing, hopefully a longer ride and no rain!

Cooper Bikes wins GQ's 2010 Best Brand Extention

For your chance to win a new T100 Monza, named after the Italian track on which Cooper drove to victory, answer the following question:

Name the driver who won the 1959 & 1960 F1 World Championships for Cooper?

a) Jack Brabham

b) Jack Daniel’s

c) Jack Sparrow

Send your answer, name, address, telephone number & e-mail address on a postcard to:

GQ Cars/Cooper Comp, Vogue House, Hanover Square, London W1S 1JU

email to : gqcars@condenast.co.uk

Brighton cyclists are being invited to take part in a midnight cycle from London to Brighton to raise funds for The Martlets Hospice.

Cyclists will leave Hyde Park Corner from midnight on Friday 26th March and cycle under a full moon until they reach Ditchling Beacon in time to see the sun rise. There will be a stop off halfway back to Brighton for coffee & bite to eat, then cyclists will cycle downhill to Brighton’s seafront where they will receive a hot breakfast.

There are 50 places available and is being organised in conjunction with Cheam & Morden cyclist’s touring club. You can register for free but need to raise as much money as possible for The Martlets Hospice based in Hove.

Check out www.themartlets.org.uk for more details.

1946 'TheSun'

Love this bike! My favourite part is the Miller 53 dynamo light. (the bigger the better)!

We bought it on ebay a few months ago. . The sports bicycle was made by Sun Cycles in 1946. The frame is in a remarkable condition and still has ‘The Sun’ logo on it. The grips are original and the bars are from the 1950s. It’s a bit of a stiff ride, but expected for 64 years old! It’s inspiration is endless and will inspire many of our bikes to come!

Design Awards 2010

‘Best Rides’ for T200 Championship 50

DESIGN AWARD

What a busy week! Charlie went along to the Wallpaper Design Awards on Thursday as we received an award for ‘Best Rides’ 2010 for the T200 Championship 50 bike. He sipped on champagne and nibbled mini hamburgers and listened to the likes of John Galliano and others giving speeches.

We’ve been busy in the office discussing the new ladies bike that will launch this year and loving the colours we’re looking at…All very exciting!

PAUL SMITH & 50 YEARS OF MINI

Back in May last year we celebrated 50 years of Mini at a great event hosted by Mini United. While at the event we bumped into Paul Smith, himself an enthusiastic cyclist. Thought I’d share a few pics with you when he came and looked at our first proto type, speaking with Mike Cooper. The T100 Sebring later appeared in the Paul Smith shop in Notting Hill during the launch of Cooper Bikes.

Mike Cooper with Paul Smith

Mike Cooper with Paul Smith

Paul, Mike and myself

T100 Sebring in Paul Smith Shop, Notting Hill, London

T100 Sebring in Paul Smith Shop, Notting Hill, London

T100 Sebring in Paul Smith Shop, Notting Hill, London

The West Pier Brighton

This week it has been so cold and not much fun cycling. So I thought I’d attach a link from ‘The Sartorialist’.  Get us in the mood for some stylish cycling when the weather gets better..(hopefully)!

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/search/label/Bicycles

Check out the detail in the frame and the cool 1930s style track bars.

'Gold edging to all bike frame lugs'

We will be making more bikes like these through our custom shop coming soon.

The bike is based on our T200 frame design and the paintwork is finished in Fortnum & Mason’s own Eau D Nil colour.

Cooper Bikes Stand at the Cycle Show 2009

T200 Championship50 at the Show

Here are a few other highlights of things we saw at the show and liked:

Swarovski crystal studded Ben Wilson Low-rider bike

The Gocycle BlackR – We were lucky enough to ride some of the Gocycle machines and not only are they probably the best looking electirc bikes on the market they are also very good handlers. The BlackR shares most of its construction with the regular Gocycle launched earlier in the year, but with a careful selection of components, Karbon Kinetics have got the weight down from 16.2 to 12.9kg. Not sure this would burn off the weekend calories on Monday morning as effectively as riding my fixie to work though!

Gocycle BlackR

Lugged Frame Detail from Condor

Brompton Cycle Park - Why can't these be all over town?

Demon Cycles stand

Pashley Prototype

“A fixed-gear bicycle or ‘fixie’ cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving. The sprocket is screwed directly on to the hub and there is no freewheel mechanism.”

Sounds simple but this traditional and simple form of bicycle transport is provoking strong opinions.

‘Fixie’ Bashing

Riding a fixed wheel bike has become fashionable. From what started as an underground movement with the bike couriers is hitting the mainstream. But many things about ‘fixies’ is pissing people off.

DANGEROUS

Fixes are associated with some mad cycle couriers whose often daring and crazy traffic avoiding manoeuvres frustrate motorists and pedestrians. In fact Germans are so fed of with Fixie-riders that they’ve banned fixed gear bicycles in Berlin.

INDIVIDUALITY

The individuality of ‘fixie’ bikes is also causing offence. Some claim that this underground fashion is being taken over by pretentious wannabees veering away from the once edgy bike couriers from the 90s.

NOT PROPER CYCLISTS

It probably feels like a fashion-dream come true for skinny jean wearing, messenger bag carrying hipsters everywhere. The problem is, now the rest of us have to put up with even more guys wearing skinny jeans and faux-messenger bags.

WALKING A BIKE

With the single gear element, riding a fixie can be difficult in hilly areas. How often have you seen a malnourished hipster walking their fixie around like it was a new pet?

SADDLES AND HANDLE BARS

Surely those handlebars can’t be safe. And as for that rock hard old fashioned Brooks saddle – why would anyone want to ride on that?!

As the number of people riding fixies grows so does the hate towards them. Wired magazine recently published an article bashing fixie fashions (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/04/five-inexplicab/)

But Fixies are great…

Ok, so wanting to follow a fashion by riding a ‘fixie’ is definitely not cool but there are many creditable reasons to ride one!

There is a reason why the couriers have ridden them for years. Fixed wheel bikes go back to the first ever bikes. Because the rider’s feet are connected to the rear wheel, which drives the bike forward, the pedal stroke becomes perfect with no dead spot in the stroke. Riders have to pedal constantly and concentrate on bike control rather than fiddling with shifting mechanisms. In fact competitive road cyclist have ridden fixies for years to train on fitness and cadence. Here is a clip of Lance Armstrong riding a fixie in his home town of Austin: