on 12/5/03 5:04 PM, Steve Dahlquist at steve@velochrome.com wrote:
> Anybody heard of a Kobe Cobra? Year? Made by? Serial number information?
> Other information?
Oooo! Oooo! I know this! Pick me! Pick me!! I OWN a Kobe Cobra.
Back in the late 70s, my Schwinn Continental II was stolen, and I replaced it with a Kobe Cobra. I still have it, although it now sports a Krylon paint job and is set up as a fixed gear. Kobe was a Japanese company that sold a small selection of models in the US. They had a "motocross" kids model, a boys and a girls "hi-rise" banana seat model, a couple basic "10-speeds," and the Cobra, their top model in the US.
According to the catalog that I have (which doesn't exactly match my bike so it might be a year off from mine), the Cobra was described as such:
- Fully lugged frame - double butted, high tension, light steel tubing - Smooth taper butted column forks with chrome tips and crown - Sakae Custom P-3 alloy seat post - Sakae Custom 390-L alloy engraved bars - SR alloy stem with recessed allen bolt - Dia-Compe center pull brakes with gum hooded levers - Araya light alloy rims - IRC 27x1-1/4 hi-pressure gum-side tires - 90 lbs. - Suntour SL and VGT-Luxe derailleurs - Suntour Bar Con fingertip shifters - Suntour 14-30T pro compe gold freewheel - Sugino cotterless Maxy II crankset with 52x40T chainrins - MKS quill type rat trap pedals with reflectors - Elina Super Pro saddle - CPSC approved wide angle reflector set - Frame sizes: 19", 21", 23", 25"
My Cobra had downtube Power Ratchet shifters and a Shimano 600 freewheel (that fell apart in several hundred miles). I don't think it had the chrome fork crown (it could be under the paint, but I DID mask of the lower chrome portion of the fork). Mine also had Christophe clips and Lapize straps although I might have added those later.
I changed the brakes to sidepull Dia Compe G brakes, the rear derailleur to a Cyclone, the freewheel to a 15-19 Regina d'Oro straight block, and some other minor things.
It was a nice bike, and I still enjoy riding it.
Todd Kuzma
Heron Bicycles
Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery
LaSalle, IL
http://www.heronbicycles.com/
http://www.tullios.com/