CCM is a Canadian

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

manufacturer based in Montreal, Quebec. "CCM" was originally an

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd. However, the company would eventually split into two separate entities both maintaining the CCM trademark, one maintaining bicycle manufacturing and the other, CCM (The Hockey Company), producing hockey equipment.

History

The formation of C.C.M. came at the same time as an American bicycle industry consolidation: the American Bicycle Company was formed by 42 manufacturers, and soon afterwards announced plans to open a branch plant in Canada called the National Cycle Company. C.C.M. was established upon the amalgamation of the operations of four major Canadian bicycle manufacturers: H.A. Lozier,

Massey-Harris Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

, Goold, and Welland Vale Manufacturing. The company then accounted for 85% of Canadian cycle production. Around 1899, many smaller bicycle makers went out of business, and C.C.M. soon became Canada's industry leader.

Russell Motor Car Company

In 1903, weakness in the

market prompted C.C.M. to acquire the assets of Canadian Motors Ltd. (CML), a failed automobile producer. Tommy Russell, C.C.M.'s new general manager, saw an opportunity to diversify his company's product line.Vance, Bill.
Russell: a truly native Canadian car
'' Canadian Driver. Retrieved 2010-07-08. In 1904, anticipating the growing market for motorcars, C.C.M. established the Russell Motor Car Company in Toronto.

C.C.M. Weston Factory

In 1895, H.A. Lozier & Co. opened a bicycle manufacturing plant on

St. Clair Avenue St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road (the Third Concession), north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street. St. Clair Avenue ...

in the Town of Toronto Junction (as the town was then officially called).

and Gendron Bicycles also moved some bike manufacturing to the Junction in the HA Lozier factory. Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, were originally part of a diversified network of C.C.M. manufacturing processes. By 1917, C.C.M.'s bicycle manufacturing operations had moved into a larger factory on Lawrence Avenue West east of what is now called Weston Road in Weston, Ontario where manufacturing continued until 1980. From 1939-1945, during the Second World War, C.C.M.'s cycle's manufacturing facilities were taken over by the Canadian government and declared an essential war service. Two simple, one-speed bicycles were manufactured and then shipped in wooden packing crates to the Canadian army.CCM cycle - Past and Present
Retrieved 2010-05-05. They produced motorcars, which have allegedly been used as light

military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles; both specifically designed for, or significantly used by military and armed forces. Most military vehicles require off-road capabiliti ...

s. Due to a rubber shortage in 1942, the pedals of C.C.M. Rambler bicycles had wooden blocks. According to WWII veterans, the Rambler was popular with U.S. and British armed forces as well as Canadians. By the late 1970s, the company was experiencing yearly losses and had to rely on the government for loans to keep itself solvent. At some point, an updated company logo (but not name) was introduced wherein ''C.C.M.'' became simply ''CCM''. In 1982, the name was officially changed to the CCM moniker long in use by the public. A change of ownership failed to improve matters and the company declared bankruptcy in January 1983. Today, the site of the former C.C.M. factory in Weston is the location of a Tim Hortons coffee shop The community continues to honour CCM with bicycle themed lampposts.

Procycle Group Inc.

Shortly after C.C.M. declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1983, all of the assets of the Company were purchased by Procycle Group Inc. of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

who retained the bicycle division and sold off the hockey division to Montréal businessman David Zunenshine. Procycle has acquired rights to a number of cycling brands for use on various lines of bicycles. At some point, Procycle renamed CCM to 'CCM cycle' to better differentiate the brand from the separate CCM Hockey business. In 1999, the CCM brand turned 100 years old. After a 101-year history, over 10,000,000 bikes had been manufactured in Canada bearing the CCM name. As of 2004, Procycle was the largest bicycle manufacturer in Canada, building 200,000 CCM-branded bikes per year across Canada and the USA. The 'CCM cycle' website remained online until February, 2008, then displayed an under construction message until the end of May, 2008 when it went offline. In an Industry Canada company directory profile updated in February, 2010, Procycle lists only two bicycle brands and divisions, Miele and Rocky Mountain, as reflected on the Procycle website.

CCM Holdings (1983) Inc.

CCM is a registered trademark of CCM Holdings (1983) Inc./ Gestion CCM (1983) Inc. and continues to be used under licence by separate companies for both hockey and bicycle products. CCM-branded bicycles continue to be sold in big-box stores in Canada including

Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

Models

C.C.M. manufactured a wide variety of bicycles. The C.C.M. Motor Bicycle was manufactured between 1910 and 1911. Only three are known to exist. Double or twin bar bicycles were produced from around 1917 to 1962. In 1922 the Company introduced the Joycycle, a new three-wheeler. Around 1932, C.C.M. introduced the Light Delivery Bicycle, a

cargo bike A cargo bike (also known as a box bike, carrier cycle, freight bicycle, cycletruck, or freight tricycle) is a human powered vehicle designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads. Cargo bike designs include a cargo area consisting o ...

with a stronger frame made of heavier gauge tubing and a basket. Previously, bicycles had been used as "commercial vehicles, either in a tricycle configuration or as modified touring tricycles.

In the late 1940s, a "Pixie" bicycle motor was installed to assist with heavy loads and climbing hills. One Ottawa greengrocer was seen using one of these delivery bikes from the 1930s until the early 1960s. C.C.M. introduced the aviation-inspired Flyte, designed by Harvey W. Peace, in 1936 and sold it until 1940. The Flyte advertising poster described a frame of aeroplane seamless steel tubing, a C.C.M. Triplex Hanger crankset, a C.C.M. Hercules Coaster Brake, Dunlop "Fort" Tires and other high-grade equipment. Most CCM bikes were simple mass-market bicycles. According to an old CCM cycle website, the CCM Mustang Marauder was the popular children's wheelie bike similar to the Schwinn Sting-Ray or the Raleigh Chopper. The CCM Scamp was another children's model. During the 1970s, the company produced the popular and inexpensive CCM Targa road bike, as well as higher-end road bikes including the Silver Ghost and the

Campagnolo Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets (gruppi), and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagsh ...

-equipped (custom built) Tour du Canada.Smith, Ken (1972). The Canadian Bicycle Book (page 29) (D.C. Heath Canada Limited) City- and touring models included the Calico, Capri, Centennial, Concorde, Elan, Elite, Encore, Galaxie, Grand Sport, Imperial, Sunspot and Targa. The CCM Ranger resembled the CCM Rambler, but with 26" wheels.

Notes

References

External links

CCM Flyte
Ken Martin's website about the CCM Flyte. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
Procycle
Retrieved 2010-05-03.
About CCM's Roots
Retrieved 2010-05-03.
1918 CCM Catalog
Retrieved 2010-05-03. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ccm (Cycle) Motorized bicycles Cycle manufacturers of Canada Canadian brands Manufacturing companies based in Ontario History of manufacturing in Ontario