Five innovative new Canadian brands pushing bike design
From road to very custom mountain bikes and some unexpected places in between
Photo by:
Bridge Bike Co
Canada has a long history of pioneering bike development across categories. From the many mountain bike brands that helped develop the sport in the 90s (and have continued since) to brands like Cervelo pushing road development and the many custom fabricators winning awards and acclaim from coast to coast, Canada’s bike industry is, in its own quiet way, always up to something interesting.
Here are five new Canadian brands that are up to something interesting right now. From custom builders to production bike lines, and from Quebec to B.C. and all places between.
Bridge Bike Works
Not long ago, making carbon fibre bikes in Canada – not just designing, but manufacturing them – seemed like a distant reality. Kamloops, B.C.’s We Are One led the charge in mountain biking. Now, Bridge Bike Works is bringing made-in-Canada carbon fibre to the road. And Bridge is doing so right in the heart of Toronto, showing it is possible anywhere.
Landyachtz (Vancouver, B.C.)
Landyachtz isn’t a new company, you may have run across it over the 20 years it’s been making skateboards, but the B.C.’s forray into bikes is more recent. Landyachtz now has a line of production bikes and costum designs, all made in-house in Vancouver. It’s not just the Made-in-Canada approach that sets Landyactz apart. The AB, short for Adventure Bike, comes in steel or aluminum and uses a long reach and massive tire clearance to help prepare for anything from commuting to trails to bikepacking.
Panorama Cycles (Quebec)
Panorama Cycles makes its line of steel and carbon fibre gravel, touring and fatbikes in Granby, Que. Since expanding to carbon fibre, the brand’s been looking for a way to responsibly deal with waste materials from the notoriously difficult-to-recycle material. Panorama is now partnered with C7 Composites to deal with its prototype, test and some production frames from its two carbon fibre frames.
Kruch Customs (Calgary, Alberta)
Kruch Customs has a few interesting projects to the newer Calgary custom builder’s name, but the Shrimpalicious stands out. It’s not the only steel full-suspension bike made in Canada, but it has a few distinct features.
“The Shrimpalicious was designed to provide confidence on steep, loose, fast terrain like what we have here in the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains,” says Corey Kruchkowski. It can accept the widest 29er tires, the longest dropper posts, and is very low-slung with massive standover and is long in wheelbase for stability. Everything about the bike is designed for the newer style of trails we see here these days, where mastery of steep terrain is key.”
If you want to know more, like, way more, Kruch dives deep into what makes the Shrimpalicious stand out in his blog.
WZRD Bikes (Victoria, B.C.)
WZRD bikes works at the very specific and obscure edges of bike design, without being weird for no reason. If you want a steel frame for gravel, cross (or tracklocross) or mountain biking that is exactly what you want it to be, nothing else, and maybe a little different than what anyone else wants, WZRD can likely help. WZRD recently displayed at Philly Bike Expo after receiving a SRAM inclusivity scholarship.
