« Décathlon Cobra » : différence entre les versions
Aucun résumé des modifications |
Aucun résumé des modifications |
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For a number of European cheapskates searching for readily available frames that are not terrible but still | For a number of European cheapskates searching for readily available frames that are not terrible but still reasonably priced, the Cobra line of bikes from the 1990s made by/for Decathlon are a very good bet. Most of them use the most common standards and can come in great tubing. The downside is the sizing : a lot of low-end Cobras are very poorly sized, usually 2 to 3 different sizes for a single grade of frame. | ||
Regardless, this page stands to give as much information about these frames as possible. | Regardless, this page stands to give as much information about these frames as possible. | ||
| Ligne 5 : | Ligne 5 : | ||
= History = | = History = | ||
Decathlon made bikes a long time before making the Cobra series of bikes | Decathlon made bikes a long time before making the Cobra series of bikes, they first started making bikes in the early 1980s, with few different models of bikes that all had different names, one of which was called "Cobra" but this page isn't about this specific frame. The true genesis of the Cobra line of bikes is the "Vitace" line of bikes. They were largely identical to the "first generation" of Cobras, with the latter keeping the naming convention of the Vitace. Some of the Vitace bikes had an additional brazing, namely "Decathlon" written in the steel. I could find the Vitace 315, 320, 530, 535, 540 and 750. | ||
It's hard to tell when the first Cobra bikes were released, an educated guess would point towards the early to mid 1990s. But it's only towards the end of the 1990s that they started heightening the grade of their bike by using Columbus, Dedacciai or "exotic" materials like Titanium. It's at that height that they took the opportunity to market this grade of bike. | |||
Because the Cobras didn't have much reason to stand in the face of performance, they never were raced and Decathlon was an enthusiast-level bike seller. In 2000, Decathlon struck a deal with the AG2R La Mondiale team and provided them with bikes. This launched the R-series of bikes. The only similarity with the consumer bikes was the branding on the down tube as the race bikes and only a very few premium offerings were made out of the same mould. I mention this because Decathlon probably didn't have their own bike factories so to speak, their bikes had to be assembled somewhere and Cyfac, for example, or others are prime target when you're aiming to pinpoint who made certain of their frames. Not their low-end but their high-end Cobra bikes. | |||
= Visuals = | = Visuals = | ||
There are at least | There are at least 3 different "generations" of visuals used for the Cobra line of bikes. The very first examples of Cobras have the same visual aesthetic as the Vitace line : they have Cobra written on the top tube in a single colour, with the model being carved out of a rectangular sticker of the same colour. The visuals that came after that are easy to spot as their decals are usually unicolour, with an aggressive font for the "Cobra" logo, the all making for cheap looking bikes. And the last kind of visual aesthetics of Cobras have the most refined decals, they are visually class : being sober but keeping an insight into how high the grade of the bike is. For example, they clearly say what kind of steel was used : Hi-Ten, CrMo and the likes. The most telling sign is a two-tone decal where the number designing the grade is written. | ||
= Bikes = | = Bikes = | ||
| Ligne 35 : | Ligne 39 : | ||
== Cobra 530 == | == Cobra 530 == | ||
The telling feature of this rare frame is the wishbone seatstay. | The telling feature of this rare frame is the wishbone seatstay. It's also one of those "very first examples" of the Cobra line up, having that characteristic visual aesthetic. | ||
:'''Colourway''': Black with Orangish Yellow decals. | :'''Colourway''': Black with Orangish Yellow decals. | ||
| Ligne 69 : | Ligne 73 : | ||
== Cobra 580 == | == Cobra 580 == | ||
:'''Tubeset''': | :'''Tubeset''': Dedacciai Zero Tre | ||
:'''Fork''': | :'''Fork''': | ||
:'''BB Thread''': | :'''BB Thread''': | ||
| Ligne 87 : | Ligne 91 : | ||
== Cobra 620 == | == Cobra 620 == | ||
Dedacciai | |||
== Cobra 630 == | == Cobra 630 == | ||
| Ligne 93 : | Ligne 97 : | ||
== Cobra 640 == | == Cobra 640 == | ||
Dedacciai, very similar to the 580 | |||
== Cobra 660 == | == Cobra 660 == | ||
| Ligne 135 : | Ligne 139 : | ||
=== 3rd generation === | === 3rd generation === | ||
Orange, | Orange, Dedacciai | ||
== Cobra 780 == | == Cobra 780 == | ||
Version du 18 novembre 2024 à 10:26
For a number of European cheapskates searching for readily available frames that are not terrible but still reasonably priced, the Cobra line of bikes from the 1990s made by/for Decathlon are a very good bet. Most of them use the most common standards and can come in great tubing. The downside is the sizing : a lot of low-end Cobras are very poorly sized, usually 2 to 3 different sizes for a single grade of frame.
Regardless, this page stands to give as much information about these frames as possible.
History
Decathlon made bikes a long time before making the Cobra series of bikes, they first started making bikes in the early 1980s, with few different models of bikes that all had different names, one of which was called "Cobra" but this page isn't about this specific frame. The true genesis of the Cobra line of bikes is the "Vitace" line of bikes. They were largely identical to the "first generation" of Cobras, with the latter keeping the naming convention of the Vitace. Some of the Vitace bikes had an additional brazing, namely "Decathlon" written in the steel. I could find the Vitace 315, 320, 530, 535, 540 and 750.
It's hard to tell when the first Cobra bikes were released, an educated guess would point towards the early to mid 1990s. But it's only towards the end of the 1990s that they started heightening the grade of their bike by using Columbus, Dedacciai or "exotic" materials like Titanium. It's at that height that they took the opportunity to market this grade of bike.
Because the Cobras didn't have much reason to stand in the face of performance, they never were raced and Decathlon was an enthusiast-level bike seller. In 2000, Decathlon struck a deal with the AG2R La Mondiale team and provided them with bikes. This launched the R-series of bikes. The only similarity with the consumer bikes was the branding on the down tube as the race bikes and only a very few premium offerings were made out of the same mould. I mention this because Decathlon probably didn't have their own bike factories so to speak, their bikes had to be assembled somewhere and Cyfac, for example, or others are prime target when you're aiming to pinpoint who made certain of their frames. Not their low-end but their high-end Cobra bikes.
Visuals
There are at least 3 different "generations" of visuals used for the Cobra line of bikes. The very first examples of Cobras have the same visual aesthetic as the Vitace line : they have Cobra written on the top tube in a single colour, with the model being carved out of a rectangular sticker of the same colour. The visuals that came after that are easy to spot as their decals are usually unicolour, with an aggressive font for the "Cobra" logo, the all making for cheap looking bikes. And the last kind of visual aesthetics of Cobras have the most refined decals, they are visually class : being sober but keeping an insight into how high the grade of the bike is. For example, they clearly say what kind of steel was used : Hi-Ten, CrMo and the likes. The most telling sign is a two-tone decal where the number designing the grade is written.
Bikes
The nomenclature is simple : the bigger the number, the better.
Cobra 500
- Tubeset: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- Fork: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- BB Thread: BSA
- Seatpost diameter:
- Dropouts: Vertical with eyelets
- Sizes available:
Cobra 520
- Tubeset: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- Fork: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- BB Thread: BSA
- Seatpost diameter: 25,4mm
- Dropouts: Short horizontal with eyelets
- Sizes available:
Cobra 530
The telling feature of this rare frame is the wishbone seatstay. It's also one of those "very first examples" of the Cobra line up, having that characteristic visual aesthetic.
- Colourway: Black with Orangish Yellow decals.
- Tubeset: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- Fork: Unnamed Hi-Ten steel
- BB Thread: BSA
- Seatpost diameter: 25,4mm
- Dropouts: Short horizontal with eyelets
- Sizes available:
Cobra 540
- Tubeset: Columbus Gara tre tubi
- Fork: Unnamed CrMo steel
- BB Thread: BSA
- Seatpost diameter:
- Dropouts:
- Sizes available: S/M, M/L, XL
Cobra 545
This is a rebranded Look KG
Cobra 560
- Tubeset: Columbus Thron tre tubi
- Fork: Unnamed CrMo steel
- BB Thread: BSA
- Seatpost diameter: 26,8mm
- Dropouts: Vertical
- Sizes available: S/M, M/L, XL
Cobra 580
- Tubeset: Dedacciai Zero Tre
- Fork:
- BB Thread:
- Seatpost diameter:
- Dropouts:
- Sizes available:
Cobra 600
- Tubeset: Columbus Gara tre tubi
- Fork:
- BB Thread:
- Seatpost diameter:
- Dropouts:
- Sizes available:
Cobra 620
Dedacciai
Cobra 630
Cobra 640
Dedacciai, very similar to the 580
Cobra 660
Cobra 680
Cobra 700
Cobra 720
Thron custom
Cobra 740
1st generation
made by TVT
2nd generation
White, Genius
3rd generation
Yellow, Genius
4th generation
White, Genius custom
Cobra 760
1st generation
Carbon, Vitus frame
2nd generation
Red, Altec
3rd generation
Orange, Dedacciai
Cobra 780
Cobra 1000
- Tubeset:
- Fork:
- BB Thread:
- Seatpost diameter:
- Dropouts:
- Sizes available: