Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Corima Cougar: A world hour record holder

Corima Cougar

By guest author Rangga Panji, Pancalen Cycles.

When it comes to building a bicycle, inspiration can come from anywhere. A page in a magazine or a book, for example. When Mr. Felly Imransyah of Rocket Company recently get his hands on a classic Corima Cougar frame, immediately a concept sprung in his mind: he wanted the bike to resemble an article featured in a book called Smart Moves.

Corima Cougar

The Corima Cougar itself is no ordinary frame. Approximately only a thousand units were ever produced, its monocoque frame was made of carbon fiber in late 1991, apparently to be raced at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.

Since it was intended to be professionally raced, each of them is precisely built to suit the athlete’s needs, while the rest of the frames are manufactured strictly in a few sizes only. According to the Smart Moves book, Chris Boardman broke the world Hour Record using one of these in 1993.

Corima Cougar

Originally painted in yellow, this frame was cleaned, stripped of its worn-out parts (the previous owner welded the bottom bracket cups shut with epoxy glue), and repainted in white, just like what’s featured in the book. The decals were also remade and repositioned in their exact places.

Corima Cougar

Remember the wheels I built with Hoshi bladed spokes a while back? Here they are. The lacing pattern and bladed spokes are still conforming to the book, although the choice of Campagnolo Sydney 2000 aero rims and Record Pista low flange hubs are not.

Corima Cougar

The Sydney 2000s are the last of the Olympic Games-named rims/wheels made by Campagnolo. Hook-end spokes, radial pattern, heads out. Campagnolo Record Pista crankset, bottom bracket, and Record pedals combine nicely for the drivetrain setup.

Corima Cougar

The build is not entirely Euro, as you might already notice. Other than the spokes and Izumi chain, you can also find a slight Japanese taste in the cockpit: Nitto B123AA track bars, Shimano Dura-Ace AX stem (with its hidden clamp mechanism), Tange Levin NJS headset and Soyo Strong-V grips.

Corima Cougar

The Corima Cougar was originally equipped with a special aero seatpost, also made from carbon fiber. It’s available for this build, but since the seatpost doesn’t come with the appropriate size adapter we just have to go with this 25.0mm Campagnolo aluminum aero seatpost. A black Selle Italia Flite completes the build.

Corima Cougar
Corima Cougar