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Canadian Bicycle Manufacturers 1927-1959
Attached is a chart compiling all bicycle manufacturers listed in the domestic bicycle industry reports issued annually by the Canadian government for the period of 1927-1959 inlusive. The reports were concerned primarily with economics but did include other statistics such as production volume and number of employees. Before anyone asks, none of the statistics are broken down by mannufacturer, so there is no indication of how many bicycles CCM produced in a given year.
It should be noted that there were no lists of manufacturers in the 1931 or 1942 reports. However, the 1931 report did state that there were three manufacturers and I assumed they were CCM, Kay and Planet. who were active long before and after that year.
The 1942 stated there were four manufacturers in Ontario, three in Quebec and one in BC. The four Ontario companies were assumed to be CCM, Kay, Planet and Standard Cycle Products due to their activity before and after 1942. Similarly, the one BC company was assumed to be Fred Deeley, due activity before and after 1942. One of the Quebec companies was assumed to be S.M. Cycle due to activity before and after 1942. However, there are three other possibilities for the remaining two Quebec firms. These companies had activity either before or after 1942 but not both. They are indicated by question marks.
Anomalies in the reports include the absence of Cycle Equipment for 1951 and, the absence of Acton Vale in 1951,1953 & 1954, given that both companies are listed in reports both before and after these dates.
The reports provide some interesting insight on activity of three CCM subsidiaries, which has long been in subject of conversation.
Standard Cycle is first listed in 1934. This is also the first year of mention in the Toronto directories (as Standard NRA Products), so it appears the compny started sometime during 1933-1934. Now we have the dates for their origin, CCM's takeover (1946-1947), factory closure (1962-1963) and the last year of SCP bicycles (1973).
The last year listed for Planet is 1949. The company is known to have survived until at least 1957 but clearly was downgraded after 1949. The implication is that Planet had been at least assembling up to 1949 and ceased or scaled down assembly significantly for 1950.
Notably absent from the list is Humphrey, another company that CCM acquired during 1947-1948 and surviving to 1957-1958. Humphrey's absence from the reports, while both Planet and SCP are included both before and after their acquisition of CCM, would seem to imply that Humphrey was not operating in the same capacity as either Planet of SCP. This would appear to support the view of some members that Humphrey may only have been a retail operation or had very limited production.
While the reports establish a known production period, it may not be all inclusive for either dates or manufacturers. For instance, extant Werlich literature claims high grade bicycle production commenced in 1949 but they are not included in the reports until 1951. Similarly, Victoria Precision claims industry production started in 1946 but are not included in the reports until 1949.
The chart is interesting for displaying a couple of industry trends. Notable is the doubling of manufacturers during 1941-1942. After the start of World War II, many companies saw sales decline significantly as the consumer shifted to buying only "essential" products. The lucky ones got government contracts, shifting production to supplies for the armed forces. Others had to shift into essential products. While material conservation efforts curtailed bicycle production to a couple of basic styles, the number of bicycles manufactured actually increased from 70,576 in 1939 to 100,838 in 1941. Automobiles had been put on blocks due to gas rationing and the bicycle was the most efficient use of available raw materials for transportation. Consequently, bicycles were deemed "essential" by the government and the bicycle industry was permitted to largely regulate itself.
Similarly, there was a another large influx of eleven manufacturers post war, during 1947-1953, likely due to the baby boom and anticipated market increases for tricycles and children's bicycles. However, this would seem to have saturated the market, as a similar number exited the industry during the same period, with five companies being in the industry for only one or two years. Obviously, the bicycle market was not easy pickings during the post war period.
Of course, the big questions are the criteria for report inclusion, specifically the definition of a "bicycle manufacturer", if there was a minimum volume requirement and whether the submission of data was mandatory or voluntary. Unfortunately, the reports provide no answers, though the inclusion of a "$ value added" figures suggests that strictly assembly operations were included.
So, some answers and some more questions but definitely an interesting spotlight on the Canadian bicycle industry.
Sorry, it looks like the forum format won't allow landscape display, due to the width of the chart.
Very Interesting TMar!
I see that Dynamax Ltd. was listed for 1953. Dynamax was a name used by the French maker Motobecane. For about a year they were producing high quality racing bikes in Quebec under the name "Dynamax Canada". These were very high quality bikes with frames that used Reynolds 531 tubing and Nervex Professional lugs. Derailleurs on these bikes were Huret Louison Bobet twin cable. The fact that Motobecane was prepared to make and sell these bikes in Canada prompted CCM to upgrade the Flyer 51 and offer the Prolite Flyer in 1954. However, the Dynamax Canada may have been a better racing bike than the Prolite Flyer. The market for these bikes was limited. It seems that Dynamax lasted only a year (1953), while the CCM Prolite Flyer was probably around until 1959.
Thank you very much for going to the trouble of finding this information.
John Williamson
John,
Thank-you for the additional information. While my 1950s CCM literature is far from complete, there are no Flyer models listed in 1958 catalogue, so I'm assuming they were discontinued by at least the end of 1957.
CCM did not put any of the Flyer models in the 1958 catalogue and very little in the 1956 catalogue. Lorne Atkinson, who ran Ace Cycle in Vancouver, and sold the Prolite Flyers through his shop, told me that 1959 was the last year that he saw any. Actual information on the Prolite Flyer is very hard to come by and most of those who new anything about them have passed away. There are no pictures of 1950's Prolite Flyers on the web even though someone had posted a picture of a bike that he claimed was a Prolite Flyer, but was really a Flyer 51.
I'm wondering if the reason that the Prolite Flyers weren't in the 1958 catalogue but were stll available is because CCM was trying to liquidate old stock? I've seen similar cases with discontinued models from other marques. Though still in stock, the product wouldn't be put in the current catalogue as it was no longer in production. Instead, availability would be made known to dealers through a flyer, letter or similar literature.
You may be right. In the beginning CCM stressed that it was a custom model and was made to order. The frames were made by a CCM employee by the name of Hallie Lemmen, although I am not sure if this is the correct spelling. Sometimes special features were added to the frames, such as long rear drop outs or a reinforced crank on track bikes. The parts used to make the frames (tubing and Nervex lugs) were purchased before 1955. CCM could also have been drawing from existing stocks for the hubs, gears, rims, and other parts.
Thank you T-Mar for posting this, and thank you John for the extra information. I would like to suggest the possibility that inclusion annually was by self-declaration, or by answering a survey that was mailed out. I say this because of the presence of Kay on the list. In the Toronto City directory, Alex Kay's shop was listed at the same address from the turn of the 20th Century to about 1948, when I suspect he passed away. It's on Queen East, a little bit east of the Planet Cycle Co's building. I've driven by this address, and I can say with confidence that the same building is still there. It may have been built as a house originally, or as a reatail shop with an apartment above. The last time I drove by was a few years ago, and it was an Italian restaurant. The point is, that it was a very small building that could never be honestly described as a "factory." I know very little about Kay, but my guess is that he at the very least assembled bikes from parts and sold them. He might have welded frames somewhere in the building but haven't found that as of yet. He does have a couple of patents to his name. I have two bikes with Kay decals, and a third I believe to be built by Kay, and all of them have 4-digit serial numbers.
Therefore, I think that if someone in the government was in charge of compiling the list of manufacturers, he/she would likely not have included Kay, and Kay included himself because he wanted to be known on the record as a manufacturer. This suggestion of mine, of self-inclusion, might also explain the one year gaps of some on the list. They might have just failed to answer or mail-in the survey in that year.
I was very interested to see Jones on the list, the manufacturer of saddles of their own patented design. I notice their last year was 1952. They clearly had a contract with Sunshine Waterloo to supply saddles for their bikes, so I wonder if it is not a coincidence that they disappeared just prior to SW stopping production of their bikes. If, after starting up in 1947, SW was the only buyer of their saddles by 1952, they would have seen the writing on the wall as SW closed down production and switched to building school lockers and office desks.
I'm also very interested to learn about other makes on the list that I'm not familiar with. For example, I have an Acton Vale badge but have never seen one of the bikes. I will post a photo of this badge in a different thread.
Thanks again.
Picked up this vintage Dynamax today. It will need a full restore but the pain is in near perfect condition with no scratches, dings or rust anywhere. Interesting history of these Dynamax bikes in Canada opposite CCM.
Oserblue, sorry that I didn't see this when you originally posted. After Dynamax discontinued manufacture, Motobecane retained the brand name for marketing their product in Canada. The subject bicycle is a rebranded Motobecane Le Champion, circa 1970-1973, which was their top model at the time. If you clean off the derailleur, there will be a patent date stamped on the top, next to the entry for the cable housing. This date will typically be the same as the model year of the bicycle or one year earlier. The bicycle appears be OEM with the exception that the original, tubular wheelset has been replaced with a lower grade wheelset having more durable wired-on tyres. This was a common occurance back in the day, after owners experienced the frustation of high performance, tubular wheelsets. While the wheels themselves were fast, light and strong, the tyres were more susceptible to flats, had to be glued onto the rim and were more expensive. Few cyclists, other than racers, were willing to tolerate them. If you still have the bicycle, I'd appreciate knowing the serial number, as I have a database which I'm compiling, in an attmept to de-code the format. TIA.