browngw 

Some of the English Three Speed group suggested we should have a unique thread for the Canadian marketed Supercycle. I currently own two including a 1976 Supercycle Excalibur.


The Canadian Tire Corporation or CTC or to some simply "the tire" sold bikes from the 40's to this day. Modern ones tend to be BSO's but through the past there were lots made by CCM, Raleigh, Bridgestone and others. They were the bikes of my childhood and I will featuring mine in this thread as well.


Hope we get lots of input!

browngw 

This one is a recent acquisition found in completely original condition. It was made in Japan circa 1974 and was equipped as a stem shifted ten speed with 26X1 3/8 wheels. The shiny shifters and Shimano Lark SS RD are being used on another project and the Supercycle will be built with a Shimano three speed.

markk900

I posted a similar picture in another thread, but here's a couple of mine: Huret derailleurs (they're OK but don't shift all *that* well, CLB brakes (they are pretty decent), chrome rims (27"). Bars were changed to upright by the previous owner....

browngw 

Sorry I didn't check to see that you had already started a Supercycle thread @markk900 . You had a great idea. I guess now we have two!

clubman 

Ask the mods to merge the two

markk900

Actually mine started going a little sideways, so perhaps I will direct folks over here.....

browngw 

The sales blurb says it all:
"Excalibur is our best 10 speed and it's loaded withfeatures. It's built
by Bridgestone and comes with their super lightweightTechnart die-cast
frame. Wide ratio,multiple gearing gives everything from low-low to
extra-high for cross-country work. Shift leversare ratchet type for
positive selection. Reflectors all round. Blackpadded saddle. Lots of
features in good looks department, two chromed forktips anda beautiful,
pearlescent mariner blue finish. It's a SUPERCYCLE to compare with the
best. 71-1085X -Men's 21" or 23" frame; 27" wheels.".

browngw 

Another Supercycle to add to the list, a 1972 Raleigh built three speed racer (dropbar). Acquired in a rusty and unused state last summer it is now set up with inverted Bridgestone bars and a thorough cleaning and refurbishment. The frame is a 21" as most of the Raleigh Sports derivatives seemed to be and sold originally for $69.95. The original Wrights saddle was brought back to life but the tires, chain, cables etc. were all replaced. The Sturmey Archer hub was cleaned and oiled and still works well.

browngw 

In the late eighties and early nineties the "All Terrain Bike" (ATB) became a popular consumer choice by emulating the mountain bike which was developing at an enormous rate. This Supercycle Ascent ATB was made in Canada, likely by Raleigh, with a welded steel frame and 26" wheels. The original bars were the bull moose type with the smaller 21.1mm stem.
This example was rescued from a local junk pickup and was fitted with alloy wheels and various parts from my parts bin. It could still provide pleasant riding on trails, paths and streets. I'm hoping to find a new home for it soon.

TenGrainBread 

Oof. MIG welded

jessec

I just picked up a 10-speed Excalibur with working cable speedometer on it too for $60 CAD.

Happy to search around and find out they were made pretty well!

T-Mar

The absence of a traditional binder bolt on the seat lug indicates this bicycle was contract manufactured by Bridgestone of Japan using their Technart process in which the lugs were die cast around tubes that had their ends flared and plugged. The die cast lugs were more brittle than traditional stamped or bulge formed lugs, so the seat lug ears were prone to cracking when the binder bolt was tightened to clamp the seat post. Consequently, the ears were eliminated sometime in the late 1970s and a expander bolt style of seat post was employed. Another identifier of the Technart frames are faux spear points cast into the lugs. This one appears to be very late 1970s to early 1980s but the serial number will tell us the exact year of manufacture.

jessec

Thanks for the info!
I've been curious about year range.. it starts with X982*** if that helps - I'm not totally comfortable putting the whole number out there publicly

I actually swapped the wheels (for now) from a Raleigh Grand Prix I have since they were converted to QR so I can use it on my trainer.. perhaps I'll convert these ones over the winter to QR and get them back on to keep it closer to original.

I was planning to finally get it out for a ride today since we've already had snow and I've been busy.. but it'll need some new tires soon too since they're cracking hah.

You're dead on that it's Bridgestone, still has the sticker on it just under top post


Here's a few other photos I took when I first bright it home

T-Mar

Your bicycle is a 1980 model manufactured in very late 1979. Thxs for the additional pictures. Enjoy your new acquisition.

clubman 

Hey T-Mar, IIRC, those faux lugs were also found on the early 70's models, you know the lime green models with the yellow headbadge sticker. Does that mean they were also Bridgestones?

OP, your bike looks like it was barely ridden in 40 years so ride the heck out of it!

Here's one example of a circa 71 model (one of Randy's) but I can't make out the lugs.

jessec

Even better, I was born in '80 so it matches me well 🤣

jessec

Yeah if that odometer is even close to accurate, that's 784km.. it'll be fun to clean it all up and get riding on it more!

clubman 

I've seen bikes with 84 kms that look much more the worse for wear than yours. It was certainly cleaned and stored dry.

T-Mar

I consider the lugs with faux spear points to be a reliable indicator of a Bridgestone product with the die cast lugs. I've seen earlier samples of Supercyles having them, but only back to the mid 1970s. The early boom era Supercyle lightweights that I've seen seem to have been sourced primarily from Motobecane and Raleigh. Bridgestone models with the die cast lugs were definitely around even before the boom, primarily branded as Itoh and Kabuki in Canada and the USA. That photo enlarges pretty well and I can't see the faux spear points.

Miele Man

That bicycle looks to be in excellent condition. A friend of mine had a Bridgestone with the quill-type seat-post binder bolt. He loved it and did a lot of of logging/mining road touring on it with 27" x 1&1/4" tires.

If you wanted to, you could get rid of those auxillary brake levers, modify the stubs and put the stem shifters where the auxillary levers were like this.





Cheers

clubman 

Lower the stem before your test ride, kk?

browngw 

Another few shots of my beloved 76 Excalibur.

browngw 

Very hard to make out, but I think B681256 is the serial number of my Supercycle Excalibur. The previous owner had etched his SIN number in the frame back in the day. Local police had told him it was the best way to get back a stolen bike. Today we would be worried about identity theft!

Miele Man

Anyone have any images of the Excalibur circa 1986? They were white with brown bar tape and brown suede-like saddle. Alloy rims, handlebar and stem.

Cheers

markk900

browngw suggested I post some pictures here of the finished Motobecane/Supercycle. I see that the originals vanished with Photobucket so you'll have to guess what it looked like when I got it

Handlebars and seat are replacements, but the rest is pretty much stock. Decals had faded to shadows on the frame so I had Velocals make up "supercycle" equivalents of the Motobecane Nomade decal set, since that appears to be the bike the Supercycle Tour de France was based on.

Anyway - here are the photos:


Atom hubs and MB wing nuts

Head badge with “distributed by Canadian Tire”

My first Allvit derailleur - not super impressed!



CLB Racer brakes....