CCM rebuild | kinrosscordless

Heather has told the back story of the CCM cruiser she purchased from a Kingston antique dealer — and now the bike itself has arrived at kinrosscordless headquarters, ready for restoration.

Each bike has a million stories to tell. A quick mechanical assessment will coax some more clues related to this CCM’s origin and use. Some expert advice from CCM enthusiasts will fill in the blanks and solve some mysteries. And the bike’s next rider, Quinton, will help us plan the road ahead for the restoration by sharing some of her preferences for this classic’s new lease on life.

We’ll start with the curb appeal. Then we’ll assess some specific areas such as the drive train before moving to the big reveal: carbon-dating the bike.

The curb appeal

At first blush, Quinton’s CCM Cruiser is a solid-state city bike with two-tone red frame and white fenders.

The wide fenders are funky and functional – you can ride the bike in the rain without getting the proverbial stripe up the back. They’ve been repainted once in their original white.

Several scratches on the frame reveal the original dark blue metallic tone underneath a more recent coat of red paint.

The bike is equipped with a one-speed coaster hub. Unlike the fixed gear one-speeds that have become popular again recently, the CCM hub lets the bike coast freely while the rider stops pedalling, and contains an internal brake that’s applied by back-pedalling. The related absence of hand brakes, a shifter, gears and cables gives the bike a clean and simple look.

The seat post is a bit short – just like more adults were back in the day when this bike was made.

The top tube on the frame has a u-shaped curve and is set lower, indicating a women’s (ladies’) model. This design maintains the integrity of the frame and allows a lady rider to seat herself on the bike with decorum and efficiency – unlike men’s bikes with their straight and high top tubes requiring an ungainly leg-over to get seated.

The bike will be great for city trips – it’s not going to compete on the steep hills of the Alpe d’Huez , but will be a comfortable and classic ride to school, work or around the neighborhood.

The drive train

The CCM logo is an integral part of the chain ring, blending physics and fashion. It’s cool that the company logo is actually transferring power from the pedals to the back wheel. Perhaps the CCM marketers took the engineers for coffee? Each letter has parallel vertical bars that give extra integrity — and look a bit like dollar signs, evoking an era when CCM was King of the bike business in Canada.

The chain is gunked up with oil and dirt and moves stiffly. Likewise for the wheel bearings that allow the bike to float on its axles – you can hear and feel some crusty crunching while spinning the wheels.

Wiping away grime on the rear hub arm reveals a New Eadie logo, and the hub is attached to a rear Dunlop wheel. Both of these are UK-made.

The bike has heavy-duty 28” wheels on a straight frame. The wheels are tall and wide, allowing big wide tires that enhance the bike’s suspension. Many spokes are seized and the result is the wheels are slightly out of true.

The rubber tires and tubes are functional but mismatched and showing some cracks in the sidewalls.

The pedals look to be original and spin nicely on their bearings.

Despite some aches and pains, the bike had been well-used and maintained, and was still roadworthy many years after it rolled off the CCM assembly line.

The fine details

The stylized CCM logo appears in chrome detail on the fork caps, and as a badge on the headset.

The seat and handgrips are more recent additions – a sturdy made-in-Japan black seat, and some soft black handgrips.

The rear fender sports a small red reflector light for safety.

Scratches on the headset reveal the bike used to have a front basket.

Carbon dating the bike

The bike reminds me of some of those owned by “the adults” in my Don Mills neighbourhood growing up, so my first guesstimate of the model year is late 1950s.

The headset badge shows the bike was made at the CCM plant in Weston, Ontario (in Toronto’s west end), at the huge CCM plant that operated from the late 19^th century to the early 1980s.

Heather has found a vintage CCM website, so I sign on to the discussion forum and post a picture of the bike and some of its components.

Within a couple of hours I am joined by several CCM enthusiasts who are keen to provide information and help pinpoint the date of manufacture.

A discussion-forum participant named Wayne notes that the bike is likely early to mid-1960s: “the CCM-marked cap on the forks was only used for a couple of years: ’62 to ‘64 I think.”

I’ve tied myself into knots trying to find the serial number on the usual spots on the bottom bracket or seat tube, to no avail. Wayne sets me straight: “Look on the rear dropouts,” he advises. Sure enough, a clear serial number starting with the letter D is revealed when I wipe away grease on the left rear dropout (the part of the frame that holds the rear axle). I eagerly update my discussion post with the serial number.

A gent with the handle ccmusclebikes weighs in: “D sounds like a 1964 bike to me.”

Soon another enthusiast named Carl posts a picture of the serial number and dropout on his 1965 Ladies CCM. The 1965 models start with the letter “E” and his photo is a dead ringer for the 1964 dropout that’s hanging in front of me. The only difference is the coaster brake and arm – Quinton’s bike should have a Hercules coaster hub but instead it is equipped with a New Eadie model – a UK make linked to the famed BSA company.

A final post comes from William who hypothesizes that “your New Eadie brake and back wheel may have been replacements to keep the bike going.”

The road ahead

Heather and Quinton, along with Heather’s sister Susan, drop by to have a look at the bike during the check-up.

Getting ready for deconstruction.

Together we write the checklist for the upcoming restoration:

Return the paint on the frame to its original dark blue tone.
Find some matching accessories including a seat and handgrips that will enhance the bike’s original look.
Tune up some of the mechanics including bearings and straighten the wheels for a truer ride.
Install some new rubber to get the best suspension out of the bike’s big, wide wheels.
Replace the seat post and adjust the handlebars for today’s taller adult – namely Quinton Bradshaw
And finally… add a basket that will carry Quinton’s textbooks. (Okay, that sounds way too studious, but this bike mechanic once carried textbooks in his bike basket).

The CCM 1964 Ladies one-speed has shared a few stories. The kinrosscordless workshop is stocked with bike tools and some strange potions including chrome polish.

Let the restoration begin!

First in a series chronicling the discovery and rebuild of a classic CCM cruiser bike. Posts are co-authored by Heather Blue and Ian Kinross. In this first post, Heather discovers the bike…

It was a perfect afternoon in early September; the sun was bright and warm, the sky a brilliant blue and a soft autumn breeze filtered through Kingston’s Old Market Square. The Sunday Antique Market was unusually busy, with tourists, university students and locals wandering about. There was good energy in the air as everyone seemed to be savouring this idyllic day, taking pleasure in the waning days of summer’s splendour. Shoppers of all ages perused the well-worn items, forgotten treasures, junk and gems. The regular antique vendors were there, casually engaging with the browsers who lingered a little longer over their tables.

Our vintage CCM cruiser – needing a little work to bring back to form. The original colour was blue but along the way it was painted red.

My daughter Quinton and I had made an impromptu decision to come downtown. We weren’t really looking for anything in particular but as we always do when we stop by a garage sale or flea market, our eyes scanned for something interesting, quirky or special. Something from another time and place that was well used or cherished, that we could adopt, take home and give new life. We shuffled through the busy marketplace, checking out the old jewelry, albums and furniture and then, we saw it.

There it was, leaning up against a table of old books; a vintage red women’s CCM one speed cruiser. It spoke to us, drawing us over by its fashion sense, practicality and simplicity. We hustled over, wanting to get our hands on this classic before someone else scooped it. As we approach the bike, I got excited. It really WAS in good shape, not much rust, the chrome actually shiny in spots and the tires had been updated. I wasted no time in hopping on.

We had recently talked about trying to find an old bike just like this and, low and behold, here it was. As I passed the bike over to Quinton to try it on for size, the antique dealer slid over to my side. He said it fit her perfectly and invited her to take it for a spin. She reluctantly wondered if that was okay given how busy the market was and since we were “just looking.” With a little encouragement, she took off around the block, testing its brakes and handlebars. These old bikes have an interesting way of adjusting our expectations of steering manoeuvrability and comfort. There’s a fun awkwardness about them in their uprightness, but the key word here is fun. Quinton came back unscathed and with a smile on her face. Our bike had passed the drive test.

Of course the next step was to agree on a price. I seem to recall the sticker said $60. My emotions were telling me that this was a fair price especially for such a fine bike that my daughter would love and use as her ride to school. My practical, sensible side told me that I should never pay the sticker price, that I should talk him down, at least a little bit. We settled on 50 bucks cash. In the world of antique hawking, cash is king, you know — no cheques or credit cards accepted. It was at that moment I remembered we had not stopped by the bank on our way downtown and if I was lucky, I had at most $20 in my purse. Our deal was in jeopardy! I asked him if he would hold it for us on a minimal deposit so that we could run to the bank. “No problem,” he said, assuring us that he would keep it for us and not sell it to anyone else.

After we returned with the balance and completed the transaction, he gave us the sales pitch. His timing seemed a bit odd given that we had just paid, but we listened enthusiastically. He told us that this had been his mother’s bike and she had enjoyed riding it for many years. He had been storing it in his garage for a while but it was now time to let it go, to become part of someone else’s family. His mom, Margaret, had won this bike in a contest back in the 50s. Apparently there had been a matching pair of bikes to be won, a women’s CCM and a men’s CCM. When the contest was over, the prize winners met. The young man who won the other bike took a fancy to Margaret and, long story short, they fell in love and got married! What a great story. Was it true or was he just trying to make us feel good about over-paying for an old bike needing some TLC? This antique dealer was either a darned good salesman or, as we prefer to believe, a romantic with a wonderful story to share of how his parents had met. For Quinton and me, it was the icing on the cake for finding a great bike on a beautiful day. This bike was now ours and we were taking it home.

Heather — December 16, 2013

This blog is co-authored by Heather Blue and Ian Kinross

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Category Archives: CCM rebuild

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