Constrictor Honking Rubber Brake Lever Hoods: 1950's - RARE!!! (Usable & Supple!)

These may very well be the last fully usable pair of these hoods in existence. These obscure hoods appear in the 1955 Constrictor catalog as "Honking Rubber" hoods. Honking is a British term for climbing out of the saddle on the hoods, and these big round rubbers were easier to grip than stock hoods.  They are an early aftermarket hood. They claim for them to fit any hooded brake levers on the market in that era. I haven't found any reference to them on the web aside from this catalog, a sparse velobase listing, and a Flickr photo of them decimated and useless on a lever.  Very popular for GB Hiduminium levers, and should fit Universal 51 /61 and Mafac just fine too.

Earlier competitor honking rubbers from the 1940's were essentially lever body sleeves and lacked the part that goes over the cable hole. These include Shockstops and Vittoria Le Grimpeur which Gino Bartali rode to win the 1948 Tour De France. 

The Constrictor Tire Company started out early turn of the century making only tires. They shortly branched out to highly popular wood and then alloy rims such as the Conloy Asp, Viper, Boaloy and then pedals like the Boa, Cobra, & Viper.  

Condition

Remarkable shape! These are fully squishable! Flex them deeply and you hear zero crackling sounds. They're not sticky or obviously deteriorating.  Micro-cracking on ~3/4 of the surface.  These are fully show worthy, and you'll have no issues getting them on hoods without damage. 

Details

• Cream white
• Pair