[ebay.co.uk] 26" Cook Bros Forks

[CTK]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COOK-BROTHERS...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item230bfd0bcc

 

[DM]

Cruiser fork AND clamp-on stem?
In the UK? :shock:

I can see this one getting a bit serious...

 

[MCsanandreas]

£255 and still four days to go? why? what is so good about these forks?

 

[DM]

£255 and still four days to go? why? what is so good about these forks?

CBR is about as legit as it gets.

http://www.mombat.org/Cook_Bros.htm

You've seen the big money that the MTB cranks go for?
The seat posts?
Dog bone stems?
Skewers?
Anything / everything CBR related?

The BMX stuff can fetch WAY more. Which sucks, because I would LOVE a proper CBR 3-bar cruiser, rather than my Kona rip-off.

When their bikes and components (like this fork and stem) were still fabricated by the actual Cook brothers, they were a BMX company. With hugely innovative ideas (their clamp-on stem was made 30 years ago/ tubular Ti cranks; cartridge bearing hubs & BBs); amazing welding; limited availability; focus on racing development rather than hype; parts often unobtainable... even in the U.S., let alone overseas.

And hand made by men in a shed, which is always a recipe for retro collector fever.

Then the brand name was sold on & Jack Witmer successfully moved CBR into MTB stuff. So the name has great appeal and crosses over from BMX to MTB.

And the Cook brothers were pretty much the contemporaries of the Mert Lawill / Koski / Breeze / Ritcheys of MTB folklore. Except BMX collectors have MUCH deeper pockets than the MTB market - At least up to now.

Of the BMX bikes they made, probably 99% were 20-inch, rather than cruisers. And the clamp-on stem is a "grail" item for many BMX collectors.

And this auction is for the paired "threadless" cruiser fork AND the stem.
And I've very rarely seen ether item outside of U.S. auctions - where they go for huge bucks.

Some of the above might be slightly wide of the mark, but you get the idea.

I'd say the current price is just a warm-up.

 

[DM]

Even with something like our little retro bike hobby, some stuff almost never turns up for sale or is so rare that people aren't actually sure what it looks like; Or whether a rumored product actually made it into production.
Then, when it does turn up... :shock:

Like the £1300 Cook pedals last weekend:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127110

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

 

[Dr S]

I will be keeping a keen eye on this

 

[MCsanandreas]

its a rarity/history thing then? that makes sense to me. will watch and see how silly it all becomes.
if i find ten of these in the back of the shed thats my pension money sorted?!!