Renseignements généraux

Nº de série

XZ 8532

Nº de partie

1

Nombre total de parties

1

Ou

S/O

Brevets

S/O

Description générale

metal frame, headset, handlebars, forks, stays, crankset, chain, parts/ leather saddle/ synthetic tape hand grips/ rubber tires

Dimensions

Remarque : Cette information reflète la taille générale pour l’entreposage et ne représente pas nécessairement les véritables dimensions de l’objet.

Longueur

167,0 cm

Largeur

41,5 cm

Hauteur

93,0 cm

Épaisseur

S/O

Poids

S/O

Diamètre

S/O

Volume

S/O

Lexique

Groupe

Transports terrestres non motorisés

Catégorie

Vélos et cyclisme

Sous-catégorie

S/O

Fabricant

Ou

CCM

Pays

Inconnu

État/province

Inconnu

Ville

Inconnu

Contexte

Pays

Canada

État/province

Inconnu

Période

C. 1935-1936 and after

Canada

A professional racing bicycle custom made in 1935-1936 for use in a velodrome by the Canadian bicycle manufacturer Canada Cycle and Motor Co., which was well known for manufacturing professional racing bicycles. The bicycle was custom made for Quebec cyclist Lawrence Borris, of Montreal; the name of the cyclist is inscribed on the body. He became famous in Canada through racing as an amateur. In 1932 he was selected for the Canadian cycling team for the next Olympic Games but despite his good performance, he was judged too young. He became a professional in 1933. In 1935 and 1936, he participated in Six Day bicycle races in Minneapolis, Montreal and Ottawa. No information has been discovered about his subsequent career. The Canada Cycle & Motor Co.was the largest manufacturer and supplier of bicycles in Canada until the mid 1950's. C.C.M. was formed in 1899 through the amalgamation of the five largest bicycle manufacturers in Canada: Massey-Harris Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Toronto, H.A. Lozier and Co. of Toronto Junction, Gendron Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Toronto, Welland Vale Manufacturing Co. of St. Catherines and Goold Bicycle Co. Ltd. of Brantford. These companies had all started producing bicycles in Canada in response to the bicycle craze in the 1890's which had reached Canada by 1895. High tariffs on imported bicycles and parts encouraged manufacturers to enter the field and/or upgrade their factories. Goold and Gendron were producing bicycles before 1890, H.A. Lozier, Welland Vale and Massey-Harris by 1895. By the late 1890's, the demand for bicycles was beginning to weaken and the five largest Canadian producers, which together accounted for about 85% of the market, decided to bring order to the market by controlling the supply of cycles and in 1899 joined their cycle making operations together to form CCM. Their object was to reduce production and competition in order to maintain prices, as well as modernizing their plants and equipping a factory to produce automobiles. The collapse of the bicycle market in 1899 and questionable financial management led to a reorganization of the company in 1902. It survived until 1911 until bicycle sales stabilized and began to climb again. By 1914 business was much improved and a new facility was built in Weston, ON which opened in 1917. C.C.M. became the largest bicycle manufacturer in Canada and maintained that position until after WWII thanks to the post-war baby boom and modernization of its production until the 1960's. After that time outside factors such as economic instability, high interest rates and foreign competition as well internal problems such as poor labour relations, failure to modernize the plant and unsuccessful changes to the marketing policy led to the eventual bankruptcy of CCM in 1983 (Refs 1-2). In 1982 Procycle Group Inc. of St. Georges de Beauce, PQ, purchased the assets of C.C.M. and manufactured bicycles under that name. As of 2009, Procycle no longer owned the C.C.M. brand name. The bicycle was bought by Mr. Farmer from collector Gilles Bisson who had purchased it from Marcel Lang, another collector. M. Lang had obtained it from his brother, Gerald Lang of Ste. Julie, around 1993-1994. The latter had acquired it around 1978 in Quebec but didn't remember the exact provenance. The bicycle's previous history is still unknown.

Fonction

A human-powered personal transportation for one person, in this case used to participate in a professional bicycle races.

Technique

An example of a custom made professional racing bicycle for use in a velodrome, with one speed, no brakes, adjustable racing handlebars, adjustable hubs, saddle and other components. Few North American manufacturers were interested in producing racing bicycles. CCM was one of the few and was considered a pioneer in this area, selling bicycles to American and Canadian professional cyclists, and a few in Europe. A small plant was devoted to making these bicycles by order. The production of racing bicycles was a good promotional tool for CCM and enabled it to try out new materials and designs. CCM produced professional racing bicycles from 1921 until around 1955. They were the most dependable bicycles of the era. The design of the Flyer racing bicycle did not change from its introduction in the 1920s until around 1952. They were very light because they used an alloy called Chromol for the tubing. They had no brakes and the handlebars were adjustable. Bicycle racing began in Canada with the introduction of the boneshaker bicycle in the late 1860s. But it was not until the appearance of the high wheel or ordinary bicycle that they became popular across Canada. Six Day bicycle racing originated in England with the ordinary bicycle and was introduced into the U.S. around 1878 in roller skating arenas. In Canada, the first Six Day race was held in October 1912 at Toronto's Arena Gardens. These races were popular and were a major social event. By the end of the 1930s, the races were becoming less popular and after WWII never achieved the same popularity despite attempts to revive them in Canada.

Notes sur la région

Inconnu

Détails

Marques

silver cut-out plate on head tube reads 'CANADA CYCLE & MOTOR CO. LTD./ CCM/ WESTON, ONT. CANADA'/ partially illegible label on seat tube reads 'CANADA CYCLE & MOTOR CO. LTD./ CCM/ WESTON….CANADA'/ almost illegible serial number 'XZ8532' incised on seat lug/ almost vanished gold and white lettering on down tube reads 'LAWRENCE BORRIS'/ raised lettering on either side of saddle reads 'BROOKS'/ red label on tires reads 'CLEMENT 50'

Manque

unknown

Fini

frame painted white and red, red painted stem/ seat and chain stays painted white/ black saddle/ plated handlebars, forks, crankset and pedals, seat post, rims/ white tape on handlebars/ black and white tires

Décoration

red painted stem with red extending along adjacent portions of top and down tubes, ending in a point/ fine red striping on top tube, down tube, seat tube, chain and seat stays/ white stripe on tires