Vicious Cycle
Finally riding a big boys bike
I think the decal is appropriate "BS"
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Why did Schwinn not ship bikes to Canada?
- Thread starter 62typhoon
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I have a few Schwinn bikes and they were brought up from the US as we didn't have Schwinn dealers here. C.H.Harness the biggest CCM bike seller in Canada back the the early days (he was distributor of CCM in the west and maybe eastern Canada) had the Whizzer franchise here in Winnipeg. He sold some Schwinn Whizzers and maybe got a few without motors to sell. A friend used to play in his shop basement on Whizzers. He learned a lot about them and later motorcycles. As for why Schwinn didn't sell here it could be the tariffs that CCM pushed the government into applying to non British empire bikes. Raleigh and other British made bikes didn't pay tariffs. Sekine tried to bring bikes here before 1973 and had to pay 25% tariffs forced by CCM. Sekine found a loophole and started production in Rivers Mb in an old air force base in the native owned buildings. They hired reserve members to build the bikes with Japanese watching over the production. 2 years later the tariffs dropped to 15% and other manufacturers sold in Canada. Sekine bikes were one of the nicest bikes made back then. CCM begged the government for handouts for years until they closed and the new company took over. CCM has been down hill since the early 70's.
Eatons sold Rollfast bikes from before WW11 and into the 50's, prices were higher than CCM bikes they sold. Hawthorne was sold here also through someone as they are found all over, usually very plane bikes. There were other stores that sold some US bikes but no Schwinn sellers.
Eatons sold Rollfast bikes from before WW11 and into the 50's, prices were higher than CCM bikes they sold. Hawthorne was sold here also through someone as they are found all over, usually very plane bikes. There were other stores that sold some US bikes but no Schwinn sellers.
The Goodrich badged bikes were CCM made from what I remember, I did sell a Goodrich badge to Barry a year or 2 ago. I had a Goodrich tricycle with same badge, smaller but same look. I gave trike to a friend, I will try to get a pic of it when I see it. They may have been sold at Hudson Bay stores, Ashdown stores, Macleods, or other department stores. I don't have any info or catalogues to show that. I have not seen a CCM catalogue with Goodrich bikes in it.
Andrew Gorman
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Definitely a commonwealth tariff issue, with a whiff of Canadians treating bikes as transportation for adults rather than just toys for children. When Bristol was building cars in England and wanted to buy American V-8s, the tariffs were prohibitive until they found a Chrysler factory in Canada building industrial hemis. Problem solved!
GTs58
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Schwinn built bikes for Goodrich until 1961 I believe, and then they were made by other manufacturers.
I know that Schwinn dealers were not necessarily just "Schwinn" dealers. Many "Schwinn" dealers sold other non-competing items. At least three that I know of in Virginia sold motorcycles. One in Portsmouth sold Honda motorcycles and a full line of Schwinns. One in Norfolk sold Indian motorcycles and and a full line of Schwinns. In Richmond, I believe the dealer sold Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a full line of Schwinns. I think but I am not sure that Colley Ave. Bike Shop sold Schwinns in the "60's in Norfolk and they also sold Schwinn and other brands bike accessories, parts and they serviced all brands of bikes.
My 1967 Schwinn Deluxe Stingray came from the Portsmouth location. That location later dropped the Schwinns in the late '70's and concentrated on the Honda motorcycle sales and service and eventually became a distributor for Honda in the late '70's when they dropped Schwinn. The name of the company was Givens Bike Shop on High St. They also started a trucking company as a Honda distributor to pick up the motorcycles at the port and deliver them up and down the Mid-Atlantic East Coast to Honda dealers. When they became a distributor, they stopped selling and servicing the Honda motorcycles due to conflict with other Honda dealers. The Givens Bike Shop burned down in the early '80's and all that is left is the old black and white checkerboard pattern tile still on the concrete slab. Givens Trucking is still in business but only does general freight hauling regionally. Givens is no longer a distributor for Honda.
A little more info. Ralph "Skip" Ferebee owned the Givens Bicycle Shop for twenty-eight years. He passed away in 2018.
My 1967 Schwinn Deluxe Stingray came from the Portsmouth location. That location later dropped the Schwinns in the late '70's and concentrated on the Honda motorcycle sales and service and eventually became a distributor for Honda in the late '70's when they dropped Schwinn. The name of the company was Givens Bike Shop on High St. They also started a trucking company as a Honda distributor to pick up the motorcycles at the port and deliver them up and down the Mid-Atlantic East Coast to Honda dealers. When they became a distributor, they stopped selling and servicing the Honda motorcycles due to conflict with other Honda dealers. The Givens Bike Shop burned down in the early '80's and all that is left is the old black and white checkerboard pattern tile still on the concrete slab. Givens Trucking is still in business but only does general freight hauling regionally. Givens is no longer a distributor for Honda.
A little more info. Ralph "Skip" Ferebee owned the Givens Bicycle Shop for twenty-eight years. He passed away in 2018.
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locomotion
Cruisin' on my 1897 Comet
I have also wondered why I have not seen more Schwinn bikes in Canada.
I have seen 1000's of collector bikes in Canada in the last 25 years but rarely found any Schwinns.
And of the Schwinns that I have seen, most had been imported from the US by the seller/collector.
I have never heard or seen an old bike shop selling vintage Schwinns in Quebec or Ontario. Except for Canadian Tire or Walmart selling crappy Schwinns.
I have seen 1000's of collector bikes in Canada in the last 25 years but rarely found any Schwinns.
And of the Schwinns that I have seen, most had been imported from the US by the seller/collector.
I have never heard or seen an old bike shop selling vintage Schwinns in Quebec or Ontario. Except for Canadian Tire or Walmart selling crappy Schwinns.
Brian R.
Wore out three sets of tires already!
In the research I've done on the Canadian automobile and bicycle industries, it's been said that Canadians (1900-1960 period) were more frugal consumers than Americans. It's also possible that our standard of living back then was not as high as it was in the US. A Schwinn with balloon tires, 2-tone paint , fake gas tank, and electric horn was an expensive bike wasn't it? Add the problem of tariffs on top of that, and I think we have the answer - too pricey for the Canadian market.
With the sole exception of one listing in the 1922 Hyslop catalogue, tank "motobikes" were never built in Canada. CCM sold modest bikes, and Sunshine-Waterloo which built Schwinn DX copies didn't offer fancy add-ons either. S-W made these Schwinn copies from the late '40s to 1953, and then switched to making school lockers and steel office desks. Not enough buyers of Schwinn look-alikes to keep going after a run of under 50,000 (going by serial numbers) over maybe 7 or 8 years? How many bikes a year did the Chicago factory turn out for the US market in the early '50s?
From Sunshine-Waterloo 1953 catalogue:
With the sole exception of one listing in the 1922 Hyslop catalogue, tank "motobikes" were never built in Canada. CCM sold modest bikes, and Sunshine-Waterloo which built Schwinn DX copies didn't offer fancy add-ons either. S-W made these Schwinn copies from the late '40s to 1953, and then switched to making school lockers and steel office desks. Not enough buyers of Schwinn look-alikes to keep going after a run of under 50,000 (going by serial numbers) over maybe 7 or 8 years? How many bikes a year did the Chicago factory turn out for the US market in the early '50s?
From Sunshine-Waterloo 1953 catalogue:
GTs58
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Did Ford export cars and trucks to Canada years ago? Back in the old days, what we call Snow Birds flock down from the cold regions and spend the Winter months here in the Phoenix Metro area. In the 60's I can remember seeing Canadian Fords cruising the streets and parked at the grocery stores.
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