PETER LEISS, 40.573 km (25.211 miles) recently set a new Canadian Men’s Age 70-74 record. This was Peter’s 2nd time riding the One Hour. Previously, he did 39.619 km to establish a Canadian Men’s Age 65-69 record. This was also at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre during the Day of the Hour event on August 24, 2019. On that day, he had to restart due to a flat tire after four minutes but he bettered Michael Kolesar’s Canadian Age 65-69 record. Peter Leiss is the 8th fastest Canadian male in the One Hour event and 4th fastest male globally in the Age 70-74 group. Peter, you’ve been a keen cyc ..read more

This 1957 Peugeot PLX10 was restored in the Bicycle Specialtes – Mariposa Bicycles workshop in the summer of 2023. SPECIFICATIONS Frame:  “Spéciale Course Inoxy Modèle Championnat du Monde Compétition PLX10” with Vitus tubing, Nervex lugs, chrome lower stays and forks, “bleu transparent” colour with yellow head lugs and top eyes, and reproduction decals Handlebar and stem:  AVA Bar tape:   shellacked cotton Bar-end Plugs:  G. Blassieaux Paris Headset:  Stronglight Chainset:  Stronglight 57 wth 46 X 50 chainrings Bottom Bracket:  Stronglight Rear ..read more

I decided to get a bike to go on my smart trainer when I take my 2017 Mariposa gravel bike off to ride it outside.  About 2008 or 2009, I bought a Marinoni turismo from Mike Barry after he had retired and was no longer building.  I used that bike as a commuter and really liked it.  It would have been good for the trainer, but I had given it to my grandson, Max.  Recently I dropped into Mariposa and Dede showed me a nice-looking Marinoni that a customer had turned in for sale on consignment.  It was circa 2000 and a great yellow colour, equipped with a Campagnolo 9-spee ..read more

  In April the thoughts of the tifosi turn to the spring classics.  The cobbled classic, Paris Roubaix would have been run last weekend if it hadn’t been cancelled due to Covid.  Among the greatest of Roubaix’s winners is Roger de Vlaeminck.  Linking him to Gios Torino, the bike I rode today, are chewing gum, gypsies and a very particular shade of blue. First, the bike.  My Gios, a mid-80’s “Professional” model, was refinished a few years ago by Bicycle Specialties. The Gios cobalt/indigo blue is iconic and it’s tough to get it exactly right in a repaint.  Appar ..read more

A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevent. An interesting new study explores how the human neural network controls a bicycle: It Takes Two Neurons To Ride A Bicycle  A new study: “Sleep Is Literally a Deep Clean for Your Brain”, demonstrates how sleep washes away toxic gunk that builds up in your brain. Post-pandemic cities will need more open space. Landscape architects PUBLIC WORK say we can find it by remaking streets – starting with Toronto’s University Avenue.  Read Rebirth of the promenade: A proposal for “Canada’s st ..read more

Multiple gears, whether they are the internal hub variety or the derailleur, are the most complex mechanisms on bicycles.  An internal hub gear can be interesting enough, but to fully understand it, one has to pull it all apart. A derailleur, on the other hand, is totally exposed and pretty easy to understand. What could be simpler than a mechanism to push the chain laterally to engage a different size sprocket and a spring device to tension the chain?  Yet over the years, there have been hundreds of different designs to accomplish his feat. I became very interested in cycling and bi ..read more

The Chris Chance frame we recently restored was built in the late 70’s by Chris. The story goes, that he built a couple of frames and then  traveled across the USA to show his workmanship to shops in the hopes they would buy his bicycles.  This frame was one of those bikes and recently came to the shop for a repaint and reassembly. The workmanship is remarkable and it’s a lovely frame. Chris is a master framebuilder who learned to build frames at Witcomb USA, a shop that Richard Sachs and Peter Weigle worked for in the 70’s.  He began building his own road bicycle frames in 1977 ..read more

Built for British cycling journalist and randonneur, Jock Wadley.  Albert Eisentraut acquired an appreciation of hand built bicycles at the elbow of legendary Paramount maker Oscar Wastyn in Chicago, and Albert, in many ways, is the dean of modern (post Korean War) USA custom frame builders. His frames, especially the famous “Model A” frames of the 1960s and 70s, had a special sculptural aesthetic and unorthodoxy in their shaping. This set Eisentraut bicycles apart from the European mimicry that influenced other builders at that time. Albert Eisentraut grew up with cycling in his blood. F ..read more

An excerpt from A Life With Bicycles by Mike Barry.  Photography by Walter Lai The Canadian Cycle and Motor Company was formed in 1898 through the amalgamation of several smaller Canadian and American bicycle companies.  In 1921, CCM began producing its top-of-the-line racing model, the Flyer. It remained in production with very few changes until 1940, when the factory turned its focus to manufacturing armaments for Canada’s armed forces in the Second World War. The Company kept some of the Flyer frames in storage and sold them after the war ended in 1945.  The Flyer was a top-c ..read more

This Legnano Bicycle was made in Italy in 1948 and it is very similar to the bike that Italian bicycle racer, Gino Bartali used to win the 1948 Tour de France.  Professional cycling teams in those days were expected to use equipment from their home country.   Bartali turned up to the start of the Tour with a Legnano bicycle fitted with a Campagnolo Corsa Derailleur.  To change gear with the Corsa, the rider had to back pedal, reach back tot he longer of the two levers mounted on the seat-stay, twist the lever to release the rear wheel, move his hand to the smaller leve ..read more