# MADE IN CANADA, Eh? Canadian bicycles



## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

Let's have a thread for some bikes current and vintage we know, that are Canadian.

This could be Miele, CCM, BRC, Steve Bauer, Argon, etc...

From my youth... Miele (I always wanted a Miele, then my best friend got one, a-hole)
View attachment 278049


I had a Talisman, which was pretty awesome for a 16 year old (mine was just like this one, but green and without the stupid seat, and stolen from my house):
View attachment 278050
View attachment 278051

I really wanted a Bauer, but couldn't afford it on a 16-year-old's salary.

After that, I had a BRC mountain bike (black, could have been this model, also stolen from high school):
View attachment 278052


I might have had a Supercycle, never had a CCM, but more recently lusted over an Argon (should have picked that up), or an Opus
View attachment 278053




I hear DeVinci are good... *please post more, new and old too!!*:thumbsup:


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

My 1991 Miele is still being ridden around Toronto, now by my son.

Guess we should be seeing some Marinoni, and True North bikes here.

Nothing against Opus, in fact I think they're excellent value, but they are about as Canadian as Pinarello is Italian


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## daniel007 (Mar 13, 2013)

Here are the one I know:

Marinoni..............made in Mascouche QC
GURU..................made in Laval QC
DeVinci................made in Saguenay QC
Cervelo...............made in Toronto ON
Raleigh...............made in Waterloo QC

Prettty sure i'm missing a few......


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

I remember that the Raleigh factory in Montreal is ceasing production (well, assembly) of bikes, but don't you notice that almost all the brands from the past even 25 years are in Montreal? How did that happen?


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## aa.mclaren (Jun 25, 2008)

Back in the early 90s I had a couple of custom frames built by Tamarack Cycles in Halifax. Still have one of them currently stripped down to frame/fork/hs but hoping to rebuild with modern parts someday.

Tamarack was always a small shop, started up by Mark Beaver and Makl Thomson in the late 80s. They had half of a little brick building down near the Halifax container pier. Mark carried on for a number of years, but now as a co-owner of Cyclesmith in Halifax, doesn't have any time for the framebuilding biz.


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

Mariposa

https://www.google.ca/search?q=mari...aKcgKAE&ved=0CEMQsAQ&biw=1752&bih=998#imgrc=_


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## wabasso (May 18, 2012)

daniel007 said:


> Here are the one I know:
> 
> Marinoni..............made in Mascouche QC
> GURU..................made in Laval QC
> ...



There is an important difference between where a company says it's registered office is, and where it makes the bikes.

As an example, apart from an occassional test frame Cervelo never made anything in Toronto ( and by the way - Cervelo was sold to a dutch company two years ago).


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

I like the Canadian-based companies a lot, and was hoping for some fancy Cervelos and Argons, but was looking for something that used to be, or still is, made here. I guess we have to count Taiwan-made frames being assembled here as domestic product?

Whenever I go to Ottawa I see a lot of DeVincis and some Marinoni as well (also quite a lot of Motobecanes, since it's not far from the border). All the rent-a-bike places had DeVincis.

Were Steve Bauer bikes good bikes?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

I have a 1999 Rocky Mountain Vertex. It makes me sad that Rockys aren't made in Canada now.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

The one I've kicked myself many times for not getting was a Lovell. Jocelyn was the perfect cyclist in his day and dominated Canadian cycling so much that one year he won *all* the gold medals at the national championships - from the sprint to the road race. He won silver at the world championships Kilo too. He built frames in Toronto for a while before being reduced to a quadriplegic when he was run over by a dump truck when out training. He sold his frame business to Mike Mulholland who re-named it Cyclops.

But the nicest Canadian frame I ever saw was this Marinoni. I've owned a few of them but nothing as nice as this one. When I saw this I asked them if they would build another one as they had gone Tig in recent years. Their reply was "No. It's Tig only". What a damn shame. After I found this pic on the 'net I saw its brother hanging up at out local indoor velodrome - exactly the same only a track frame. I didn't know who owned it (and neither did anyone else) or I would have paid the guy whatever he asked. Everything has its price.

View attachment 278330
.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

These are made in Ontario True North Cycles


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## Skinner222 (Aug 31, 2012)

That Marinoni frame is simply gorgeous.


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## wabasso (May 18, 2012)

Chris deKerf is still building frames in Richmond, BC. ( www.dekerf.com ) and Sam Whittingham is building on Quadra Island (www.timetogetnaked.com ). Also, Cunningham in New Westminster ( www.cunninghamcycles.com ), a ton of frame building experience in that group.


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## r1lee (Jul 22, 2012)

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Norco.


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## pete2528ca (Jun 17, 2011)

What about Gardin and Cyclops.


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

Back when I was buying that Talisman, there were Gardin in the shop. Gardins were good bikes, iirc. (edit - just a little more expensive than that Talisman, just out of my $325 price range)

Louis Garneau seems to make some good bikes. I could outfit my self head to toe in helmet, jersey, shorts, leg warmers, arm warmers, shells, sunglasses, socks, shoes, and bike, all LG.


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## aa.mclaren (Jun 25, 2008)

Joe Gardin's frames had mixed reviews, sometimes he used cast lugs marked "Guerciotti" if I recall. He must have got a job lot from Italy when he ordered his tube sets. I guess he did some high-end custom work, but a lot of the later production frames apparently weren't so great.

Aquila was another Toronto-based bike/framebuilder, whose products were not always well received. They did market Titanium frames though I'm not sure if they actually made them.

Cyclops made by Mark Mulholland as mentioned above, I think these were mostly custom builds, I never heard any complaints about cheap-and-nasty brazing like the other two.

Another Toronto outfit that sent out a lot of flyers in the mail back in the 90s was called "Thin Blue Line" and they marketed bikes with that name. Pretty affordable, seemed like good value though. They also sold Cervelo frames back in the early days of White and Vrooman's product line.

Also the distributor, Cycles Lambert, I seem to recall they had a frame branded under their name. Back in the 80s or so. But this may just be labelling.

Last but definitely not least were the Mariposa frames made by Mike Barry Sr (father of the recently retired pro racer, also Mike), now retired. Those were also made famous by the Canadian artist Greg Curnoe (1936-92), who rode with the London Centennial Wheelers bike club. Curnoe made paintings of the custom Mariposa bikes that he bought from Mr. Barry, these were quite well known in the 70s Canadian art scene. I remember one painting where he made annotations about where each part of his bike was made. Curnoe was killed when a car crashed into a group ride, the driver was diagnosed as having some mental disorder. That was a loss for Canadian cycling and Canadian art.

Can't think of any others not already mentioned.


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## aa.mclaren (Jun 25, 2008)

Caveat about Gardin frames, some of what I say could have been the opinion of my (ex) framebuilder friend Mr. Beaver (Tamarack) who like many in the business has an opinion about everything! But I did wrench for a few years myself (Trail Shop Halifax while they sold bikes, then briefly at Cyclesmith) and recall seeing some sketchy made-up-for cheap deals with low-end Gardin frames, and Shimano Exage or similar parts, along with unbranded bits that were just too cheap to sell. I think that's where I noticed that the BB shells were stamped "Guerciotti". The shop got two or three of them, possibly at the time Mr. Gardin was going out of business, maybe those were made by an assistant training on the job.


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## pete2528ca (Jun 17, 2011)

I forgot about Eclipse bikes. I don't believe they are made in Canada, but the owner is based out of Ottawa. Nice looking bikes. I think it is Pecco's shop in Ottawa that owns the brand.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

> Aquila was another Toronto-based bike/framebuilder, whose products were not always well received. They did market Titanium frames though I'm not sure if they actually made them.


Aquila is not a framebuilder, and never has been to my knowledge.

It is the "Store brand" of Racer Sportiv. They import frames from Taiwan, China, Russia etc and put stickers on. Their Ti frames were Russian, I had one. It broke.


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

One of your posts prompted a search, which turned up this interesting page: Bicycles of Canada - Contents


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## pete2528ca (Jun 17, 2011)

That website is owned by a guy in my home town. Been to his garage, unbelievable the stuff he finds. 

Velo Sport was another Canadian brand.


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

*Cannondale and Schwinn*

These are as Canadian as everything else made in Taiwan. These brands are owned by Dorel Industries of Montreal. They also own GT, Mongoose and Sugoi.

So, the iconic American symbol of cycling, Schwinn, and one of the most successful teams in pro cycling, thanks to Peter Sagan, are Canadian


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Brad Proctor in Edmonton was the only 753 certified builderI know of in Canada. He repaired my Gios in 81 or 82, made it better than new! Unfortunately I think his business went bust and he got bought out. He made frames under another name because he couldn't use his own.
Ken Legge at Carlton in Vancouver, almost Burnaby made me a nice 531SL frame in 79, which I stupidly sold to get the Gios mentioned above.
I'm putting a Dekerf Generation back together after a renovation by Dekerf himself. He's the Pegoretti of Canada, dude.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

aa.mclaren said:


> Mariposa frames........made famous by the Canadian artist Greg Curnoe (1936-92), who rode with the London Centennial Wheelers bike club. Curnoe made paintings of the custom Mariposa bikes that he bought from Mr. Barry, these were quite well known in the 70s Canadian art scene. I remember one painting where he made annotations about where each part of his bike was made. Curnoe was killed when a car crashed into a group ride.


I rode with, raced against, knew well and was in the same club as Gregg for a while and drank a few beers in his studio after week-night club races. I have a print of that Mariposa bike (titled Mariposa TT) and my name, in a club race result, was in one of Gregg's paintings titled "For Martin" - the winner of that event, Martin Walsh, was also mowed down and killed, as Gregg was too, by a vehicle driver.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

There was Julian Edwins, a framebuilder from Owen Sound, Ont around 1990'ish. He built and painted frames in his basement. I went to visit him in the early 90's when I wanted a new frame. I didn't place an order.

There was also Tony Beek of Toronto. Tony was the painter at Mariposa bikes before Noel Rosen (Velocolour frame painting fame) and he wanted to go out on his own to build frames. When I was looking for a framebuilder he was still making his frame jigs and wasn't in production. I never did see a finished product so I don't know if he got off the ground or not.


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## wabasso (May 18, 2012)

Funny reading this and having it bring back names that I haven't thought of in donkey's years.

No question, many of the names mentioned here, although they may be Canadian companies do not make the bikes in Canada. Rocky Mountain was mentioned, their steel frames are still made in the Vancouver frame shop that once housed the likes of Joe Murray, Derek Bailey, Paul Brodie and Chris deKerf.

Brodie is still in business by the way. Brodie bikes is based in Vancouver and Paul himself teaches framebuilding courses at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Chris of course, we all know is still in business, does a lot of custom work but also does small production run work for boutique bikes - such as Chromag. ( I still have, and ride my Generation hard tail. I still haven't got Chris to build me one of his Tuning Forks, maybe this year)

Their was a guy outside of Calgary, whose name I can't remember ( began with an "A" I think) and did just steel. I don't think he is still at it.

Dion Bikes is or was in Coquitlam, BC - just aluminium. Primarily TT and Tri bikes.

Peyto was in Vancouver until he went back to finish his Masters. Steel HT MTBs. And very nice.

Knolly is based in Vancouver as is Cove Bikes. Both are MTB brands. 

Everti is based in Victoria, Russian and Chinese Ti frames. 

God I forgot all about Ken Legge, Used to ride with him back in the '80's when I was in Vancouver. I will have to apologize.

I will think of more.

Geez - I forgot three more ...

Runout in Calgary, Cycles Golem in Beauport, PQ and Steelwool in TO.


How could I forget Steelwool???


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## aa.mclaren (Jun 25, 2008)

Actually Mark Beaver at Tamarack (Halifax, see my post above) did get his 753 certification. The second frame he built for me in '93 was mostly Reynolds 731OS a tubeset which includes 753 seatstays and chainstays. He customized that a bit more with a Tange Ultimate Ultralight MTB top tube for the downtube, and something else for the top tube. I had some Trek OCLV forks salvaged from somebody's wreck on the front end. That was a nice ride, fairly light, although there are lighter, about 2.45 kg frame/fork for 57.5 cm C-C. Maybe slap some parts back on it next year.


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## carveitup (Oct 25, 2008)

aa.mclaren said:


> Another Toronto outfit that sent out a lot of flyers in the mail back in the 90s was called "Thin Blue Line" and they marketed bikes with that name. Pretty affordable, seemed like good value though. They also sold Cervelo frames back in the early days of White and Vrooman's product line.


This was/is Silent Sports. I have a Thin Blue Line Hurricane F/S mountain bike from around 2000. When I bought it, I was told straight up that it was a sample frame from their Asian supplier. It was painted locally by Karl's Custom Paint. I'm pretty certain they didn't build any frames in Canada. But they did offer some pretty good value bikes with well thought out builds.

I remember a rider in my club had a steel Jester frame around the same time. I think those were made near St. Catharines.


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## cale262 (Apr 28, 2010)

My Leggero...








View attachment 279295


I also have a nice RMB Turbo Signature frame hanging up...I should build it up.


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## brokentiller (Feb 28, 2012)

View attachment 279305

I still have my 1992 Marinoni Special custom made for me by Marinoni in Montreal when I lived in Ottawa. My daughter is now riding it while I now have a BMC. I still love taking it our for a "cafe spin" on a casual day. Beautiful lug work on the Columbus SL fame and forks. Marinoni wanted to build it up all Campy, but I was eager to get the brand new Shimano 600 Ultegra STI ( first generation brifters).


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Cycles Bertrand from Hull or Gatineau (I think) was featured in Bicycle Guide.
BG actually asked if it could be the best North American made frame!


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## blakcloud (Apr 13, 2006)

Some one can correct me if I am wrong but there was a small builder in Ottawa who built Giro frames about 25 years ago. I forget his name but he built a nice frame.


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## daniel007 (Mar 13, 2013)

Keep in mind that all Marinoni bikes are pieces of art......mind you I'm a bit bias here...............lolll

Beautiful ride you have there guys.......


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## CafeRoubaix (Sep 11, 2012)

Runout Industries in Canmore, AB.

Custom steel, stainless steel, and Ti. All TIG. I have had one of his frames on display in our shop.

I build frames but do not sell them per se, my shop keeps me too busy to do that over the Spring and Summer (so far).


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## golem builder (Jul 19, 2013)

Thanks for telling about me!


wabasso said:


> Geez - I forgot three more ...
> 
> Runout in Calgary, Cycles Golem in Beauport, PQ and Steelwool in TO.
> 
> ...


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## BikeInCanada (Jul 23, 2013)

There is a LBS in Ottawa that has a house brand of steel bikes:

Steel Wool Bikes | Tall Tree Cycles & Steelwool Bikes


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## redadair97 (Oct 28, 2013)

Anyone heard of Brooks bikes? Has a maple leaf on the front
High-end Campy Road Bike - $420

Desmarais is another....


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

redadair97 said:


> Anyone heard of Brooks bikes? Has a maple leaf on the front
> High-end Campy Road Bike - $420
> 
> Desmarais is another....


Brooks is a common English name, so I don't know if the maker here is the same one. Would take a bit more research, but see this Classic Lightweights UK


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## redadair97 (Oct 28, 2013)

bikerjulio said:


> Brooks is a common English name, so I don't know if the maker here is the same one. Would take a bit more research, but see this Classic Lightweights UK


cool site thanks.....logo isn't the same but I know that doesn't mean much....I emailed the seller, we'll see if he know anything about it.....


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Back in the 90s in the early days of the MTB craze there was Jim Moulden of Moulden Bike Works in Edmonton. He also owned and operated the Hardcore Mountain Bike Store. He built mostly steel frames, did some pretty eclectic stuff back in the day. I remember he was a big fan of fillet-brazing. Never owned one, the worksmanship was sometimes a little lacking. I recall seeing bikes with the seatstays joining the seat tube asymmetrically (not by design), and a road frame delivered that did not have a cable stop on the chainstay (oops!).

There was also Proctor as mentioned earlier out of Edmonton, then those bikes became Proctor-Townsend I believe the guys were Greg Proctor and Bob Townsend. I forget the details, but I think Proctor did all of the actual building and Townsend was the guy who resurrected the company.


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

Just remembered to add another: Vitess, a custom builder in CF. Vitess translates into speed

They're expensive, though, their customers are pro cyclists, and of course business people and doctors, etc.
Best broadly know unfortunately for this.


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## RHankey (Sep 7, 2007)

Many Sekine Cycles (a Japanese company) were made in Manitoba for about 10 years - a brand that was around from the 1970's to perhaps the 1990's. They produced low end up to pretty decent high quality bikes.

Acquila has been mentioned. I am 99.99% sure that Racer Sportif on Bloor simply rebranded stock frames they obtained from various vendors, be they Ti or CF frames.

Gardin has been mentioned. Some suggest they were "high end" frames. They charged premium prices for custom frames, but the frames were in my opinion very poorly and crudely made. The alignment of their frames was terrible, causing most of their bikes to dog trot down the road. I felt sorry for those who bought Gardin frames when for similar money you could get a very nicely built custom frames from Cyclops, Marinoni or one of several other locally or Canadian companies at the time.

Silent Sports only manufactured Thin Blue Line frames in Thornhill for a short time before I believe they transferred most of their production overseas.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

> Aquila has been mentioned. I am 99.99% sure that Racer Sportif on Bloor simply rebranded stock frames they obtained from various vendors, be they Ti or CF frames.


I'm 100% sure.

I lived just down the road and was a regular during the period when I associated with them.

Their "branded" frames and wheels were sticker jobs.


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## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

I was at a bike shop that sold that brand, and they said that was how they made them.

I wonder if the alu frames are available, I would like to build an alu second bike. Kijiji and Pinkbike prices are stupidly high for used goods.


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## gut bikerash (Jul 21, 2016)

*Giro Bike Ottawa*



blakcloud said:


> Some one can correct me if I am wrong but there was a small builder in Ottawa who built Giro frames about 25 years ago. I forget his name but he built a nice frame.


You are correct about Giro, Larry Routley is the name of the builder. Bruce Goett has a listing of Canadian builders with pictures of their work & welcomes more names. 

Maple Leaf Bikes - Canadian Bike Builders - La Bicycletta

My bike is the one pictured.


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## 8toes (Feb 28, 2010)

Opus?


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

8toes said:


> Opus?


Brown's in Bloor West Village sold (sell?) these. Montreal outfit I believe, who appear to be importing fairly generic Chinese frames. NTTAWWT. They looked OK and good value.


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## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

8toes said:


> Opus?


I have an Opus. I love it. Well priced, well made.


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## RhB_HJ (May 10, 2020)

I just bought a Devinci MTB hardtail. They also make roadbikes DEVINCI.
BTW my MTB does double duty e.g. on the roads around here that are too rough and/or too steep for my Nishiki "Comp" (1981) and my not so young body. 
There's one climb on the bucket list; 18 km of up hill with an elevation difference of 1100m. There's even same gentler grades in there to get a bit of a rest. :lol: :lol:


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## strathconaman (Jul 3, 2003)

I just picked up a frame with Steve Bauer decals, but it has a "Beek Custom Refinishing" label on it. I assume that is Tony Beek. The lugs, dropouts and fork match this bike:





Mystery Steve Bauer bike - Bike Forums


Classic & Vintage - Mystery Steve Bauer bike - Hi there, I recently bought a bike off of kiji and I was hoping to get some information on it. The guy I bought it from has had it since '92. He bought it at John's Cycle and Sports in Orangeville, Ontario and I have an estimate they did on the bike...



www.bikeforums.net





But the decals are different. It has a "Vortex Equipe" label on the top tube, and a Bridgestone head badge/decal. Here are the down tube decals:










It has reflective tape on it, and was likely turned into someone's super-commuter at some point. I plan on building it up, riding it, and if I like it, taking it into Noah at Velocolour to get a one colour special done on it. I suspect it is Tange Prestige (the fork is for sure). 

I have pinged Steve Bauer on twitter to ask about it, but with nil response. If anyone knows anything about it, I would love to hear it.


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