T200 Reims: An owners review
07/2010 Review by Wes Curtis
“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.”