Sources: www.fatbmx.com, www.vintagebmx.com, www.ababmx.com, www.golfinstruments.com, www.bmxmuseum.com, BMX Action, ...
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| www.ababmx.com: Gary Cook and his brother Craig produced some of the highest quality bike products during the 80’s. Was one of, if not thee, first “high quality precision” part makers. Could be credited for lighten’ing up BMX a bit Their company introduced many “firsts” for BMX, such as built-in chain tensioners and a “A-Head’ish” clamp-on stem years ahead of its time. With the selling of Cook Bros. (which still exists, making mountain bike components), Gary has gone in and out of the BMX scene, with CQP (Cooks Quality Parts), maker of a 2-speed system for BMX. |
| www.golfinstruments.com: Craig Cook first learned about materials and design from his perfectionist/inventor father, and after graduating from college with an Industrial Arts degree in 1972, began Cook Bros. Racing. The company pioneered. the sport of Bicycle Moto-Cross in Southern California with their Alpine Mountain Bike, which was one of the first mountain bikes in the world. (It is on display in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in Crested Butte, Colorado.) Other innovative Cook Bros. Products included sealed bearing BMX hubs and the 7075 billet aluminum crank arm. The company is still a holder of two United States Patents for component designs. Continuing the tradition, in 1987 Craig started a new company called C.D. Products producing a line of mountain bike frame sets. |
| www.bmxmuseum.com: An amazing company with MANY bmx innovations; first with built in chain tensioners, first with the threadless stem, first with the braced layback post ? ... |
| 1980 |
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2005: The A-Head system has been a great invention for the BMX bike. The goosenecks from the early days followed by the Tuf- and Pro Neck type of stems had a few flaws. First of all, with a little force you could move the stem in the forks, especially if you ran it high. The biggest problem was the headset getting loose all the time. When you were out for a BMX session, you always saw people grab the headset and turn the big nut and bigger ring to get the forks tight. Keep in mind that we did not have the right tools to counter lock the big nut and the ring. But even with the right tools, the headsets seem to get loose from time to time. This changed with the invention of the Aheadset. I believe it was used on mountain bikes first and then got adapted on BMX bikes. Standard Byke Co were one of the first ones to change to this system in the early '90-s. Rob-O had to take the heat for the MTB item on his BMX, but looking back he was helping all of us because this was the end to loose headsets. Now check this photo from the 1980 May issue of BMX Plus! It shows a similar system designed by Cook Brothers. Can't believe it didn't become standard issue back then.
Gary and Craig Cook, BMX Action july 1980: DUMP THE STUNTS
This letter refers to your article in the April issue dealing with stunt riding ("The King of the Skateparks, Tinker Juarez"). Cook Bros. does not condone stunt riding with BMX equipment. Our effort in the BMX field is RACING, not circus acts. Furthermore, we tool these stunts should not be exposed to the younger riding public. Tinker may know how to jump over five cars end-on-end and land on both wheels, but a less experienced. Impressionable young rider may not be so lucky. Let's get back to racing and leave the clowning around to the circus.
Product analysis: Cook Bros Uni-clamp in BMX Action september 1980.
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