Originally Posted by randyjawa

I weighed my Tour du Canada the day I got and assembled it. As found and in original condition, the bike came in at 21 pounds 9 ounces, as pictured...

Once built up and as pictured, the Tour du Canada came in at 24 pounds 8 ounces...

I also had a CCM Mistral, for a while, but never really got into it. As found, the Mistral came in at 28 pounds 10 ounces - not the 26 pounds reported in the CCM comparison chart from the mid seventies. Sorry, no picture of the Mistral.

Originally Posted by randyjawa

I weighed my Tour du Canada the day I got and assembled it. As found and in original condition, the bike came in at 21 pounds 9 ounces, as pictured...


Once built up and as pictured, the Tour du Canada came in at 24 pounds 8 ounces...


I also had a CCM Mistral, for a while, but never really got into it. As found, the Mistral came in at 28 pounds 10 ounces - not the 26 pounds reported in the CCM comparison chart from the mid seventies. Sorry, no picture of the Mistral.

Originally Posted by Erik XL

Originally Posted by beicster

12 year old me would have been in love with that bike. That blue paint and the chrome fork would have been all it would have taken. I would have been terribly jealous.

Originally Posted by randyjawa

For anyone interested, another forum member has a CCM Tour du Canada (the good one not the eighties POS) frame and fork set. List on the for sale forum and ask for a TdC. You might just get what you seek. I gave thought to buying/trading it myself but I already have two bikes, three if you count my Bianchi in Jamaica.

This, incidentally is the later (eighties) Tour du Canada, not something that I would want...

Originally Posted by randyjawa

Having little interest in the eighties TdC, I spent no time researching it. As for how did it differ?

The original TdC featured Reynolds chrome moly tub set, ....

Originally Posted by randyjawa

Having little interest in the eighties TdC, I spent no time researching it. As for how did it differ?

The original TdC featured Reynolds chrome moly tub set, Campagnolo Record high flange hubs, crank set, transmission and seat tube. The eighties model was not chrome moly, did not sport high end components and did not offer a very good ride quality, compared to its sophisticated predecessor.

Originally Posted by Erik XL

Great tip! Thanks.

Btw, what's the history behind the 80s version of the Tour du Canada? When was that made? How did it differ?

Originally Posted by T-Mar

The Tour du Canada model name was resurrected by Procycle when they bought the CCM brand name in the 1981 bankruptcy. While the 1973-1976 version would have been considered lower high end, the revised TdC was entry level based on the hi-tensile frame and steel rims. The CCM brand was still highly recognizable but its reputation was severely tarnished in the 1970s and Procycle decided to designate it as an entry level brand. They didn't need another full range brand, as they were the Canadian manufacturer/distributor for Peugeot and also had their own full range Velosport brand. The people who were still willing to buy CCM, were the lowest common denominator market, who weren't abreast of what happened in the 1970s and wanted a inexpensive but brand name bicycle.

Originally Posted by T-Mar

That Corsa XL would still be a heavy bicycle as it used the standard hi-tensile steel frame and steel rims. While it has some upgrades over the Corsa, I'm only seeing 1-2 lbs difference.

The price difference between the Corsa and Corsa XL was only $23.50. Typically, that small of a price difference isn't going to buy very much weight reduction and some of that would have been year to year inflation.

While the decal scheme is the same as that used on other 1979 models, we don't know if this scheme was carried over. One noticeable difference is that the rear brake uses cable stops, while other 1979 models use full length cable housing and plastic cable clamps. While I don't have evidence to show that cable stops were used in 1980, they are shown in the 1981 literature. Consequently, unless a 1980 catalogue surfaces to prove otherwise, I'm leaning towards a 1980 model on the basis of the cable stops and serial number, despite the colour discrepancy.

Originally Posted by Erik XL

The Corsa and Corsa XL did differ in other ways, including moving the gear selector to the stem, and upgrading the brakes to centre pulls. Not huge differences, but good catalog fodder for a 20% increase in price.

From what I have found by poking around and looking at pictures, the decals on the 1979 and 1980 were the same, while the 1981 decals were different. And it seems that in 1980 or 81, the gear selectors on the regular Corsa also got moved to the stem.

While I could have bought mine and in July 1979, or1980, I could not have bought it in 1981.

Do you know if CCM build to order also? Could they have built one last leftover blue one? Mine was ordering direct from CCM, with an agonizingly long wait of probably a few weeks. Hey I was 13.

Originally Posted by T-Mar

Every Corsa I've seen has had centre-pull brakes. I've seen a mix of down tube and stem mounted shift levers but some of those could be owner modifications. Both centre-pull brakes and stem mounted shift levers would be considered downgrades over side-pull brakes and down tube mounted shift levers.

To reiterate, the Corsa did not exist in 1979-1981. According to factory documentation, it was replaced by the Corsa XL for those years. However, there is a good probability that CCM had leftover 1978 Corsa stock that they cleared in 1979 and an even higher probability that some dealers had 1978 Corsa models sitting on the showroom floor well into the very early 1980s.

Your bicycle is definitely not a 1981 model. With the exception of the colour, it appears to be a 1980 model.

It's improbable that CCM was building to order in 1980, given that their entire range was entry level.

BTW, what is the weight of your bicycle?

Originally Posted by T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. CCM's Corsa XL was a 3 year model (1979-1981). It was the replacement for the 1978 Corsa and was 3rd in CCM's line of four "lightweight models" (i.e. derailleur equipped bicycles with 27" wheels and drop handlebars). MSRP in the summer of 1980 would have been ~$200 CDN. In 1979 it was offered in four colours (jasmine, silver, white and blue). White and blue were dropped in favour of black for 1980 and jasmine was dropped for 1981.

The big upgrade over the Corsa was an aluminum, cotterless crankset replacing the cottered, steel crankset. While this certainly lightened the bicycle, by most standards it was still only an entry level model, having a hi-tensile steel frame with stamped dropouts, stem mounted shift levers, safety brake lever levers and steel rims. While there may have been some minor variation from year to year, the major components were typically Shimano Altus derailleurs paired with Dia-Compe centre-pull brakes and an SR Silstar crankset.

CCM was on it's last legs during this period, having been in trouble ever since the influx of foreign ten speeds during the very early 1970s. There were a multitude of problems including labour unrest, poor workmanship, a dated factory and an aversion of young people towards domestic corporate entities. This last aspect took a huge toll on their lightweight market, as the teenagers and young adults gravitated towards foreign market models. CCM was left with primarily a children's and middle aged market. Remaining lightweight sales were heavily skewed to the entry level models. Consequently, CCM management made the unfortunate decision to downscale the lightweight line, eliminating all the high end and mid range model over a two year period. By 1978 the lightweight line was all entry level models. There were no models with 700C wheels or frame better than hi-tensile steel. In my opinion, the absence of a high grade "showcase" model only further eroded the image of brand and hastened their demise. The company went bankrupt at the beginning on 1983 with Procycle buying the rights to brand ( for bicycles only) and the bicycle brand currently being licensed to Canadian Tire.

From the 1981 catalogue:

Originally Posted by Radlers

T-Mar,

I had the Empire equivalent of the black Corsa XL that I bought at Kmart as a kid. I only discovered this recently looking at a black Corsa XL ad. it was just a sticker change. Oddly, I'm considering this XL, but I'm wondering why, as the original rims had a hard time staying true for any length of time.

Last year I scored a near mint CCM Monza (red). Finding those these days is so rare, and this one appeared for $35. Done! Future bike for my daughter. I don't remember which year this was. Early 80's for sure.
My first post, so no pics allowed...

Originally Posted by Radlers

...Empire was a British bike company, no? I've looked, but I can't find any pictures of the Empire variant anywhere on the net so far.