Bicycles have been on my mind this month. I’m trying to ride 1000 km to raise money for the Great Cycle Challenge in memory of my mom. One of the photos I use to describe her features her on her bike with her little brother in the basket.
The photograph is dated 1956 and there are some unusual elements about the bike, beyond how easily my uncle fits in that basket.
The first odd-looking thing is the license plate on the seat. Turns out that Toronto, where they lived, forced cyclists to buy license plates between May 20, 1935 and February 4, 1957. According to the City website,
The licensing process was quite complicated:
- An individual was first required to apply for a license at City Hall.
- They were then required to bring their bicycle to a police station, where a police officer would inspect the bicycle and complete the required paper work.
- The paper work was returned to City Hall and a license was granted.
- The individual would then submit a duplicate license to the same police station where the bicycle was examined.
- Finally, a metal plate was issued for the year and affixed to the mudguard of the bike.
Moving to a new address, or transferring or exchanging a bicycle would require an individual to file updated information with the City. The cost of the yearly license was 50 cents, while the fine for not having a license on their bicycle was $5.00.1
The other interesting element is how hard it is to tell which manufacturer created this bike. Today, it would have at least one key decal to identify CCM, Humphrey, Schwinn, Standard Cycle or Raleigh. Still, I suspect it was probably a Canada Cycle and Motor Co. (CCM) product, given that that company purchased most of the other Ontario-based bicycle manufacturers in the preceding years.2
I remember when I wanted to get my first bike, my parents spoke about CCM as though there were no other choices for a solid bicycle. Given their preference, my first bike was a CCM, and we got it at Canadian Tire.
According to John McKenty, author of Canada Cycle & Motor: The CCM Story, the company began in Toronto in 1899, when Massey-Harris Manufacturing Co. president Walter Massey “bought four Canadian bike companies and merged them into one.”3
By 1983, interest in the company’s products had waned and it declared bankruptcy. The brand still exists, but it now belongs to Adidas.
My first bike had three wheels, one of which was huge. My second bike, and the first one I chose for my self had tall handlebars and a banana seat, something I can’t imagine riding these days.
It’s astonishing how radically the style of bicycles has changed in the last fifty years, and yet how modern styles are significantly closer to the practical one that my mother rode.
Sources
1Toronto, City of. “Bicycle Licensing.” City of Toronto. City of Toronto, November 17, 2017. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/cycling-in-toronto/cycling-and-the-law/bicycle-licencing/, accessed August 13, 2024.
2Vintage CCM | Forum | Canadian Bicycle Manufacturers 1927-1959.” Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.vintageccm.com/content/canadian-bicycle-manufacturers-1927-1959.
3Olafson, Karin. “The Story of Canada’s World-Class Bike Company – CCM.” Momentum Mag (blog), December 12, 2014. https://momentummag.com/story-of-canada-world-class-bike-company-ccm/.
