Road cycling in Canada is a huge past time despite long and harsh winters. Once the snow melts and the sunshines, thousands of Canadians hop on two wheels to ride our countries varied and beautiful roads. Road cycling culture in Canada is continuously developing and behind that burgeoning passion are Canadian brands that are building dedicated road bicycles for riders and racers in Canada and around the world.
Despite being a relatively small road cycling country, Canada is home to a staggering number of companies building traditional, state of the art and unique road bicycles. If you want to buy a road bike with a Canadian connection, here are Canadian brands for you to consider.
Altruiste Bikes
Altruiste Bikes has received big accolades for winning the Best Mountain Bike and Best in Show award at the 2018 edition of the North American Handmade Bike Show (NAHBS). The Notre-Dame, N.B. based company offers hand made custom steel gravel, road, kids and mountain bikes. The small companies road frame is Le Corbo.
Argon 18
Founded by retired cyclist Gervais Rioux in Montreal in 1989, Argon 18 has grown to distribute bikes across the world and sponsors a number of professional cycling teams and triathletes. In 2019, Argon 18 sponsors Hugo Houle’s UCI WorldTour team Astana.
Aquila Cycles
Aquila is the in house brand of Oakville and Toronto based bike shop Racer Sportif. The company offers carbon road, triathlon and track bikes that have been ridden by Canadian development squad Team RaceClean as well as by Canadian track athletes on the international circuit.
Berg Bikes
Al Bergman began building bikes in 2005. A promising young mountain biker, he was injured when he fell off a cliff while fighting a forest fire in 2000. He became a paraplegic after the accident but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing his passion for sport competing in the wheelchair marathon at the 2004 Paralympics in Greece. Berg Bikes based in Victoria offers road, dual suspension mountain bikes and city bikes.
Bonavia Cycles
Ross Allan is the builder behind Bonavia Cycles. The company has been building lightweights and bespoke bicycles since the 1970’s. Allan took over the building operation in 2007 after an 18 month apprenticeship with Clive Bonavia in South West London. Bodavia builds lugged or fillet brazed road, ‘cross and touring frames in Vancouver.
Brodie Bicycles
Founded by Paul Brodie in 1986, Brodie Bicycles began manufacturing custom steel hardtail mountain bikes in Vancouver. They expanded into making complete bikes and working with aluminum to expand their offerings. Brodie now has a catalogue of dozens of models from trail to commuter through to road and cyclocross.
Cannondale
Connecticut based Cannondale was opened in 1971. Today the company distributes a range of aluminium and carbon bikes is owned by Canadian company Dorel Industries which is headquartered in Montreal. While the bike company holds onto its American roots, it’s been owned by Dorel since 2008. Cannondale supplies road frames for WorldTour team EF Education First. The company also produces a range of mountain bikes, cyclocross bikes and urban bikes. Dorel also owns bike companies GT Bicycles and Pacific Cycle who in turn own Iron Horse Bicycles, Mongoose, Roadmaster and Schwinn Bicycle Company.
Cervélo
Cervélo was founded in 1995 by engineers Gerard Vroomen and Phil White. The company started by making high-end aerodynamic carbon race bikes. Cervélo bikes continue to be used in top level competitions by Team Dimension Data on the WorldTour and professional triathletes while the industry as a whole has followed the emphasis on aerodynamics. The company’s headquarters are in Toronto but it is now owned by Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings.
Circa Bicycle Company
Circa was founded by Moise Bensimon of Toronto who also owns a company that designs and builds upscale custom carpentry for residential and commercial properties. The company offers titanium city single speeds, road, track and cyclocross models in sizes 52, 54, 56, 58.
Cycles Golem
Guillaume Desy is the welder and owner of Cycles Golem. It is a small bike company with the frames built in his Québec City workshop. Trained a mechanical engineer, Desy builds steel bikes based from his passion for mountain biking, road and cyclocross racing. Golem builds road, mountain, cyclocross, touring and fat bikes with a host of custom options and add ons.
DaamBuilt
Peter Daam started DaamBuilt bikes during his 10-year career as a mechanical engineer. Since then, Daam’s relocated from North Vancovuer to Montreal and left engineering to build frames full time. DaamBuilt creates full suspension mountain bikes, road, track bikes, and bike packing rigs. With his engineering background, Daam will custom build your bike to your riding style, down to fine-tuning the suspension linkage and progression.
Dekerf Cycle Innovations
Chris Dekerf is the frame builder behind Vancouver-based Dekerf Cycle Innovations. With 0ver thirty years in the business, Dekerf produces frames, forks, bars, stems and complete custom bikes, as well as doing paint and OEM frame building for other brands. At NAHBS 2016, Dekerf was recognized with the shows Artisan Award.
Devinci
Devinci was established in Chicoutimi, Que in 1987 by two engineering students and have expanded to headquarters in Saguenay under new ownership. The company makes road and mountain bikes. Steve Smith was one of the company’s sponsored athletes at the time of his passing. The company also sponros Unior Devinci Factory Team which competes in Enduro events. Devinci also make Montreal’s Bixi bikes and the ones for Toronto Bike Share.
Kermode Cycles
Kermode Cycles is a boutique operation making custom bicycles of all kinds. Kermode is now located in Vancouver, B.C., but the name maintains the brands connection to its northern B.C. roots. With experience building track, mountain, and all other kinds of bikes, Kermode’s Instagram is always documenting the next unique build.
KindHuman
KindHuman is a made to order bike company based in Toronto that offers complete bikes. Kindhuman offers stock sized frames and gives customers the controls on choosing the groupset and components the bike is built with. Kindhuman have road, gravel and cyclocross models to choose from with the frames painted in Canada.
Landyachtz
Vancouver-based, Landyachtz are new to the bike building scene launching in the summer of 2016. The company that was building longboards, skateboards and skateboard accessories have decided to enter the cycling industry thanks to the founders Mike Perreten and Tom Edstrand interest in the sport. The company makes city, touring, road and custom bikes.
Louis Garneau
An apparel company founded in 1984 in Quebec City by former Olympic cyclist Louis Garneau, the Garneau has expanded to offer a range of sports products that began including bikes about 20 years ago. They now offer a range of time trial, cyclocross, road, adventure and fat. Customers can have their frames painted to their liking through the Garneau Dream Factory.
LT Wiens Fabrications
Lyle Wiens has been building bikes in Altona, Manitoba under the LT Wiens name for four years now. Wiens first started building to meet his own needs: at 6’8” he couldn’t find a bike that fit him properly. Having built everything from road bikes to dual suspension mountain bikes, Wiens is comfortable with all kinds of projects but admits he has a particular knack when building for other extra tall riders.
Marinoni
Giuseppe Marinoni started building frames in the early 80s after a lengthy career as a cyclist. Over 40 years ago he started building steel bikes in Montreal and the family business continues to this day. While known for the bikes, the founder himself has captured headlines in recent years. In 2012, Marinoni broke the 75-79 age group hour record with a 35.728-km ride at a velodrome near to where he was born in Brescia, Italy. In 2017, he broke the 80 to 84 hour record with a 39.004 km ride in Milton, Ont.
Mariposa
Since 1969, Mariposa has been hand-making frames in Toronto. The company was founded by John Palmer and Mike Barry, the father of former professional cyclist Michael Barry Jr. who now operates the business with his wife Dede since the brands relaunch in 2012. The company makes custom classic steel frames.
No. 22 Bicycle Company
Owned by two Canadians and named after the atomic number of the company’s favoured material, No. 22 make hand-made titanium frames in their Johnstown, New York facility. With seven models, custom options and ready-made complete bikes, No. 22 have been growing rapidly in recent years. The company also offers in-house anodized finishes. No. 22 won the People’s Choice Award and Best in Show at the 2018 edition of NAHBS. In 2017 they took the award at NAHBS for Best Campagnolo Build.
Norco
Norco opened its doors in 1964 as Northern Cycle Industries and was founded by Bert Lewis. The company changed its name but has grown considerably from its humble roots. The company introduced the first full suspension BMX bike in 1973 and in 1975 began making 10-speed road bikes. The company expanded into mountain biking as the sport became more popular and continues to have the strong Norco Factory Team of pro riders who race internationally in various disciplines.
Opus
Opus began in Montreal focused on building road bikes but has expanded in recent years with particular emphasis on commuting and urban riding in mind. They also offer e-bikes, trail and youth models in its line-up.
Rollingdale Cycles
Rollingdale Cycle was established by Dale Marchand. The Alberta-based frame builder primarily focuses on building custom titanium frames, trailers and components (including stems and seatposts).
Schön
Schön Studio is a Toronto welding shop that tackles a wide variety of projects including bikes. Schön builds custom frames, forks, lugs, stems, racks and repairs from mostly steel.
Spherik
Spherik is based in Quebec City and offers a full catalogue of bicycles built from carbon and alloy. There are fat bikes, hybrids, tri bikes, MTB and road bikes. The company also sells wheels.
Squad Cycles
Squad bikes are assembled in Montreal. The company that offers different models of road and triathlon bikes with custom paint, builds and are constructed to the riders desired fit.
T-Lab
T-Lab builds titanium bikes in Montreal. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and finishes their bikes at their facility. T-Lab currently offers two road models and two adventure frames. The brand came together lead by founder Tony Giannascoli after Guru bikes folded in 2016.
True North
Founded in 1993, in a farm workshop in Alma, Ont. by Hugh Black, True North history began with mountain bikes. Now based in Belwood, Ont., True North build steel and titanium frames ranging in riding styles from touring to mountain biking.
Velos Levesque
Alain Levesque has been building custom steel bicycles in Toronto under the Velos Levesque name since 2011. Focusing primarily on road and gravel bikes, from race light to rugged, Levesque will build both lugged and fillet-brazed steel frames. Each bike is purpose-built for its future owner, and no two bikes are the same.
Wildwood Cycles
Wildwood Cycles bikes are custom built from steel in Victoria. The company was founded in 2013 by Jesse Hildebrandt who is a Red Seal welder by trade. He’s also a very skilled and experienced BMX rider. Hildebrandt builds all sorts of bikes using a range of tubing and joined together using different methods to deliver custom bikes.
