War Time CCM Bikes

Submitted by OldRider on Mon, 10/07/2013 - 20:57

 

Did CCM do what the American bicycle manufacturers did during the war years with blackout hubs, cranks and chainrings? I came across an old ladies loop frame bike that has no screw holes for a badge( I know they used decals during the war) and what appears to be all un chromed parts. I'll send pics to John and hopefully he can post them for me. Thanks for any info.

5 Comments

Submitted by T-Mar on Tue, 10/08/2013 - 09:00.

I don't know what CCM did in the later war years, but they were still using chromium plating as late as 1941, per that year's catalogue. I would think that there would have ben e some some sort of protective coating on the steel components, like phosphating.  That rrar hub looks like a it may be a zinc phosphate coating but the crankset looks like untreated steel. Are sure this wasn't just stripped by the previous owner?

Submitted by OldRider on Tue, 10/08/2013 - 16:55.

Thanks TMar! The crank and chainring are pretty much untreated steel, my friend and I went over the whole thing with a fine tooth comb and can't see any evidence of chrome or anything else. I bought it off the back of a scrap pickers truck so I don't know her life before she fell in my hands. The red frame paint is housepaint but other then that I see no tampering with anything else. A very strange bird I've found!

Submitted by portdalhousie on Tue, 10/08/2013 - 20:17.

Hi, 

A number of members have these Wartime CCM bikes.  There were two or three of them for sale at the Brantford show in June.  They seem to appear beginning in 1943, and the only chrome permitted was on the seat post, quill and the top nut on the headset.  Hubs, chainring, pedal hangers, front fork tops and handlebars were blackened steel.  My bike owner worked very  hard to remove the blacking and shine the steel. Bits of black and a grey undercoat (chemical blackening?) remain to tell the tale.  Some examples have wooden pedal rubbers, not rubber.  No headbadge, just a decal.  The bike was a basic Rambler model, and this was the bike available for sale for the latter part of the Second World War.  

The frames were supposed to be painted black, with some pin striping allowed.  That said, I have seen maroon painted ones that look like a factory finish.  There is a photo of some of these bikes being finished prior to shipment off to Canadian troops overseas.  They look like they have a black finish. See p.p. 199-200 in John's book, The CCM Story.

I have seen lots of 1940 to 1942 CCM bikes that all seem to have full chrome and decorative paint details.  I am a bit surprised by how slow restrictions seem to have been introduced.  Perhaps there was a stock of older plated parts that was used, but I rather doubt that. 

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if there is a CCM archives or large paper collection of VIM magazines, etc at any university, museum,  or other institution.  This would be an invaluable resource for collectors, and could add to this discussion. 

--David Webb

Submitted by OldRider on Tue, 10/08/2013 - 20:49.

Thanks so much David! That tells me then at some point my bars and stem were changed out. Everything else matches what you said, right down to the unchromed fork tops. Now I guess the hunt is on for blackout bars and stem :)

Submitted by portdalhousie on Wed, 10/09/2013 - 16:42.

Hi, I just remembered that Wayne Gilles posted his photobucket album on this site, and the link includes a 1943 lady's war grade ccm.  The link is in a post in this forum dated 4-27-11, titled "Help to Identify A Survivor."   Click on the 1943 bike on the left side of the page.  Wayne also had some reproduction decals for sale, and may still have some. --David