Canadian-made bikes a thing of the past
Raleigh Canada's decision to shutter manufacturing signals the end of an era
In the market for a bike labelled made in Canada? Good luck with that.
Globalization is increasingly taking its toll on the Canadian bike manufacturing market as the country’s largest bike builders find it more difficult to compete with cheaper offshore labour costs.
The latest company to pull out of the Canadian market is Raleigh Canada Ltd. In 2014, Raleigh will no longer build bikes in Canada – and with its withdrawal comes the end of an era.
The company is the last major bike manufacturer to actually build frames in Canada. But in mid-January Bicycle Retailer reported after 30 years of making bikes at its facility in Waterloo, Quebec, Raleigh will shut down the facility, throwing 100 people out of work.
Chris Enoksen, Raleigh Canada’s president, told Bicycle Retailer: “In the context of our global competitive market where offshore suppliers offer fierce competition, Raleigh has taken the difficult decision to cease bicycle manufacturing and assembly in Canada, as this activity is no longer economically viable.”
Guess that means the company, founded in 1887, will need to change the wording on the front page of its Website soon, where it boasts: “Made in Canada means your Raleigh is manufactured with the love and care you and your bike deserve.”
As it stands, other companies checked out some time ago, and it’s to Raleigh’s credit that it hung on as long as it did.
Quebec’s Procycle Group Ltd, for instance, at one time had eight brands under its umbrella, including Canada’s oldest bike manufacturer, the iconic CCM, as well as Peugeot and Oryx. Today, its remaining Rocky Mountain and Miele brands are manufactured in Asia (although they’re designed and assembled in Canada).
At this point Cycles Devinci remains the largest manufacturer in North America, partly because of the success of the Bixi bike, which is used in bike-sharing programs in Canada, and beyond.
Beyond that, custom bike builders will always offer a Canadian-made-and-built alternative, but the mass-produced Canadian bike will soon be a quaint memory, an artifact of the past. Undoubtedly, they’ll meet all the quality assurance checks, but it seems just a little wistful that your next bike won’t arrive with that little extra bit of Canadiana: “all the love and care that you and your bike deserve.”
