Cooper T200 Reims

alfalad

Hey, I'm currently in Sydney and the beloved bike is at home and I miss cycling.
I was thinking of getting a nice steel bike for nipping round the town, to the beach etc. Something that would be well built and last. Also want to try a steel bike. I know a lot of people ride fixed but I've never really liked the idea, and Sydney has a lot of hills. Hence the 5 speed hub which I figured would be low maintence could be a good solution. Anyone own one or ride one? Or do they have any thoughts on it or could they offer any alternatives as it's pricey enough, but I don't see many options.

Link to the bike here

Thanks in advance.

alfalad

Anyone have any suggestions for a hub bike that would be nippy enough round towns?

Lumen

I suggest you familiarize yourself with the hubs and Sheldon's gear calculator.

SA hubs tend to be very gappy which you'll notice if you're coming from a modern road bike.

Gear Ratio

• Overall Range - 256%
• Gear 1 - 62.5% (-)37.5%
• Gear 2 - 75% (-)25% (Gear 1 + 20%)
• Gear 3 - 100% Direct Drive (Gear 2 + 33%)
• Gear 4 - 133.3% (+)33.3% (Gear 3 + 33%)
• Gear 5 - 160% (+)60% (Gear 4 + 20%)

With the 44T/17T your kph @ 80rpm will be 17.4, 20.6, 26.1, 33.0, 39.1.

The downtube shifter might be an indexed SA one or maybe a friction shifter.

Try and get a road test before buying, I wouldn't mind know what it's like.

You will get some drag from the hub but it won't feel slow on skinny tyres.

I have a 11sp Alfine hub geared drop bar road bike with 35mm slicks and mechanical disc brakes. It is very heavy (>13kg) and noticeably slower than a proper bike, but I like it. As an only bike it would drive me nuts.

alfalad

Lumen wrote: »

I suggest you familiarize yourself with the hubs and Sheldon's gear calculator.

SA hubs tend to be very gappy which you'll notice if you're coming from a modern road bike.

Gear Ratio

• Overall Range - 256%
• Gear 1 - 62.5% (-)37.5%
• Gear 2 - 75% (-)25% (Gear 1 + 20%)
• Gear 3 - 100% Direct Drive (Gear 2 + 33%)
• Gear 4 - 133.3% (+)33.3% (Gear 3 + 33%)
• Gear 5 - 160% (+)60% (Gear 4 + 20%)

With the 44T/17T your kph @ 80rpm will be 17.4, 20.6, 26.1, 33.0, 39.1.

The downtube shifter might be an indexed SA one or maybe a friction shifter.

Try and get a road test before buying, I wouldn't mind know what it's like.

You will get some drag from the hub but it won't feel slow on skinny tyres.

I have a 11sp Alfine hub geared drop bar road bike with 35mm slicks and mechanical disc brakes. It is very heavy (>13kg) and noticeably slower than a proper bike, but I like it. As an only bike it would drive me nuts.

I'll have to investigate if anywhere sells them down here so. Thanks for the info.

Tonyandthewhale

I like the idea of pairing an IGH hub with drop bars and a more-racing bike style. It means you get a cockpit that you can actually use as well as the advantage of a reality low-maintenance drive-train.
Having said that, it's very faux vintage so I imagine you're mostly paying for image so it's probably not worth the price unless you really like how it looks. Also, it doesn't have proper drop brakes which I think I would find annoying although it's probably the sort of thing you'd get used to.

I've ridden 531 frames before and they're very nice, comfortable and springy. They're not stiff like a race bike but I like the way they roll as do a lot of people.

I don't know of any similar bike (although I haven't really looked) I could reccommend as an alternative. You could possibly look for an old steel-frame road bike and rebuild it with a SA hub if you know you're way around a bike tool-wise. That would probably work out cheaper and depending on the frame you find and how you spec it you could easily wind up with something as nice if not nicer.

alfalad

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I like the idea of pairing an IGH hub with drop bars and a more-racing bike style. It means you get a cockpit that you can actually use as well as the advantage of a reality low-maintenance drive-train.
Having said that, it's very faux vintage so I imagine you're mostly paying for image so it's probably not worth the price unless you really like how it looks.
I don't know of any similar bike (although I haven't really looked) I could reccommend as an alternative. You could possibly look for an old steel-frame road bike and rebuild it with a SA hub if you know you're way around a bike tool-wise. That would probably work out cheaper and depending on the frame you find and how you spec it you could easily wind up with something as nice if not nicer.

There in lies the main issue that I have with it. It is a very nice looking bike but I feel there is a very good mark up on it, possibly too much, but with the lack of anything else like it, I think I may have to bite the bullet with it! Although not yet, maybe in a couple of months if i can test ride it.