Features

City Bike Stories
City Bike Stories
City Bike Stories is a reflection on urban cycling, craft, and community, written by our longtime friend Tim Scott. For Tim, who worked in the shop while he was an... Read more...
ALAN Restoration
ALAN Restoration
Through the 70’s and into 80’s the top cyclocross racers and several pro road racers, used Italian made Alan frames as the bonded aluminum frames were some of the lightest... Read more...
Celebrating Women's Professional Cycling: Breakaway Femmes Screening in Toronto
Celebrating Women's Professional Cycling: Breakaway Femmes Screening in Toronto
A documentary on the 1980s women's Tour de France that includes some notable Canadian and American pioneers of women's cycling Breakaway Femmes, is a film that tells the story of... Read more...
BEHIND THE MOTOR
BEHIND THE MOTOR
"Motorpacing is the only way to truly simulate a race in training. Over the last few months, to help our son, Ashlin, train for the World Championships in Zurich Switzerland,... Read more...
Fast Talk Femmes Podcast: The Evolution, Controversies, and Future of Female Gravel Racing
Fast Talk Femmes Podcast: The Evolution, Controversies, and Future of Female Gravel Racing
In this episode, Betsy Welch joins us to discuss the evolution and future of gravel racing, shedding light on the obstacles the community must overcome to get there. Besty Welch,... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Lugano. Paris. 1950
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Lugano. Paris. 1950
In the seventies, we had a good number of regular visitors to our shop on King Street in downtown Toronto. One of the regulars was a Frenchman, named Jean, who... Read more...
Gravel Racing: Its Origins and Its Evolution
Gravel Racing: Its Origins and Its Evolution
By Michael Barry In the hotel restaurant, teammates sat quietly around the table as the rising sun sliced a shaft of light through the window. Some sipped coffee, others munched... Read more...
Roaring Crowds & Whirling Cyclists in Six Days of Track Racing
Roaring Crowds & Whirling Cyclists in Six Days of Track Racing
By Michael Barry In Ghent, Belgium, the low thunder of the cyclists racing into the wooden banking of the velodrome is unheard over the festivities in the track center. A... Read more...
Youth Rising
Youth Rising
By Michael Barry Traditionally, the path to becoming a professional cyclist with a long and successful career followed a structured progression. Skipping steps in that process was thought to be... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Praderio. Gallarate, Italy. 1950
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Praderio. Gallarate, Italy. 1950
Gino Bartali's frustrations with the Italian back-peddling derailleurs encouraged him to approach the Vittoria Company, makers of the Margherita derailleur, and propose that he finance the production of a derailleur... Read more...
Summer Books: Cycling
Summer Books: Cycling
A history of the machine’s evolution, a dive into the thrills of bicycle racing and a meditation on the two-wheeled life. By Michael Barry for the Wall Street Journal A... Read more...
Inspiring The Next Generation
Inspiring The Next Generation
(Photo of Ashlin Barry and current Australian Road Champion and Ineos Pro Luke Plapp) Sporting idols and the events that bring them into town are essential to the growth of... Read more...
Hell of the North
Hell of the North
The gravel racing season wrapped up last weekend with one of Canada's original gravel races, The Hell of the North. It was founded by Mike Barry Sr. in 1986 and... Read more...
Track Racing
Track Racing
The NCIM launched a new 12 race track series October 16 and the Canadian Junior National Track Championships will take place this weekend at the Mattamy Velodrome in Milton, Ontario.... Read more...
Cappellino, Cap, Casquette....
Cappellino, Cap, Casquette....
Rain tapped against the Team Sky bus window. The eight of us sat quietly in our chairs, some with their eyes closed and headphones on, others studying the race book... Read more...
INSIDE ROUBAIX
INSIDE ROUBAIX
This Sunday, professional cyclists will compete in the 2021 Paris-Roubaix classic. With severe rain and wind in the forecast and kilometres of cobbles, it is bound to be a dramatic... Read more...
Shifting Gears: Life and Work in the Bike Lane
Shifting Gears: Life and Work in the Bike Lane
By Daniel Sandler Photography by Jody Wilson Last year, my annual physical revealed that I’m in the best shape of my life (since high school, anyway). Not bad, I thought,... Read more...
The Thrill of a Criterium
The Thrill of a Criterium
By Dede Barry Photography by Alan Moore Passing the barriers neatly placed on each corner, I walked with my Father and dog on a humid summer evening to the Lixx... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Princeton CarbonWorks makes wheels that feature a sinusoidal rim pattern. What does that mean,... Read more...
Recipe: Tartiflette
Recipe: Tartiflette
Chef Chris Mathias of Cafe Domestique spent the last few years in France and some of that time, he was cooking at a restaurant in Alpe d'Huez. Tartiflette is a... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevent. It seems that, finally, we can expect the return of the women’s Tour de... Read more...
Winter Beginnings
Winter Beginnings
In a tight formation, we rolled over the Majorcan countryside. A dozen riders paired up in matching outfits, inches between our wheels while our elbows touched, our legs ticking over... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevent. Recently two young American pro cyclists, Quinn Simmons and Chloe Dygart were reprimanded by... Read more...
Made in Toronto: The stylish and iconic Mariposa Bicycles
Made in Toronto: The stylish and iconic Mariposa Bicycles
by Clare Shrybman for TRNTO The staff at Toronto local, Mariposa Bicycles, have been constructing hand-built bicycles since 1969. The company, applying an artisanal process to bicycle construction, crafts each... Read more...
THE RISE OF GRAVEL AND ITS GEAR
THE RISE OF GRAVEL AND ITS GEAR
With a lifetime of riding bikes, and a father who brought muddy riding to Canada, a bike maker looks at how equipment has changed where and how we ride. By... Read more...
Bikepacking Adventure: Syrian Hospitality
Bikepacking Adventure: Syrian Hospitality
The best rides aren’t always the longest or the hardest – they’re the ones you remember. I’m glad I remember this ride, because it’s one you definitely can’t do it... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Why do North American's waste so much time in cars when bikes are more... Read more...
Summer Books 2020: Cycling - Wall Street Journal
Summer Books 2020: Cycling - Wall Street Journal
By Michael Barry for the Wall Street Journal. As a young boy who dreamed of riding the Tour de France, I devoured any cycling-related book or magazine I could find.... Read more...
In The News
In The News
A collection of stories, news and information that we thought you might find interesting and relevant. Canadian Cycling community mourns the passing of the manager of Milton Velodrome and former... Read more...
Shifting Gears: A brief history of derailleurs
Shifting Gears: A brief history of derailleurs
Multiple gears, whether they are the internal hub variety or the derailleur, are the most complex mechanisms on bicycles. An internal hub gear can be interesting enough, but to fully... Read more...
Stagiaire.
Stagiaire.
An excerpt from the book Mountains: Epic Cycling Climbs by Michael Blann. This chapter was written by Michael Barry, about his experience on the Cormet de Roselend, in the French... Read more...
BMX: Escape, Freedom, Relief...
BMX: Escape, Freedom, Relief...
Three dots in the distance, bounced, swayed, and jumped as I pedaled along the bike path, heading home from work. The park, which follows a ravine and a river that... Read more...
Ken Smith's Memoirs: Balmy days of the Balham CC
Ken Smith's Memoirs: Balmy days of the Balham CC
As spring nears and buds are on the trees, thoughts turn to club rides, racing for hill tops, stopping at coffee shops, and sprinting for town signs. Many of the... Read more...
Luke, Nestor & A long day in the saddle
Luke, Nestor & A long day in the saddle
In the neighbourhood, snow remained on the lawns in spots where the sun had yet to hit, or where it had been piled high after the last storm. Buds were... Read more...
The Best Of Rides: Watching The Tour De France In The Pyrenees
The Best Of Rides: Watching The Tour De France In The Pyrenees
By Michael Barry A few years ago, a friend asked my father if he could recount his most memorable cycling experience. Having spent a lifetime on his bike, he had... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1973 Eisentraut Road Bicycle. Oakland, USA.
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1973 Eisentraut Road Bicycle. Oakland, USA.
Built for British cycling journalist and randonneur, Jock Wadley. Albert Eisentraut acquired an appreciation of hand built bicycles at the elbow of legendary Paramount maker Oscar Wastyn in Chicago, and... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Gardin. Canada, 1983.
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Gardin. Canada, 1983.
Joe Gardin came to Canada from Italy as a young boy. He settled in Toronto and later established successful business manufacturing material handing equipment. But Joe’s passion was cycling and... Read more...
The Off Season
The Off Season
By Michael Barry for Soigneur Journal Floating in the belly of the peloton, my thoughts drifted to the off season, as they often did during late autumn races. A team... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: c1968 Cinelli S.C.
Vintage Bicycle Feature: c1968 Cinelli S.C.
Cinelli Bicycles was founded in 1948 by Cino Cinelli, (born in Montespertoli, Italy, 9 February 1916, died 20 April 2001), a former professional road racer and president of the Italian... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Griffon Paris Mixte Touring. France 1948
Vintage Bicycle Feature: Griffon Paris Mixte Touring. France 1948
This Griffon is an example of a 1950s French mixte bicycle. The term mixte indicates that it is suitable for both sexes but outside of France, the mixte type frame... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1965 Hetchins, England
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1965 Hetchins, England
This frame is an excellent example of the ornate lugged Hetchins. The Hetchins "Vibrant" stays were claimed to make the bike more comfortable and resilient. Campagnolo Record derailleurs, hubs and... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: André Bertin "Type Special" French Racer Vintage Bicycle
Vintage Bicycle Feature: André Bertin "Type Special" French Racer Vintage Bicycle
This circa late 1940s André Bertin "Type Special" French Racer was built by André Bertin, a former professional cyclist. At Bicyclesport and Bicycle Specialties, we sold Bertin over the years... Read more...
On the bike, slogging through mud, suffering from the effort, and smiling.
On the bike, slogging through mud, suffering from the effort, and smiling.
A look back at cyclocross over the years with a selection of photos from the World Championships at Crystal Palace, in 1973. By Michael Barry. Photos by Clare Barry, Mike... Read more...
Soigneur: Racing The Worlds
Soigneur: Racing The Worlds
As the World Championships unfolds in Yorkshire this week, here is a reflection, by Michael Barry, on the unique aspects of the race and on competing for Canada . Published... Read more...
Soigneur - La Vuelta
Soigneur - La Vuelta
By Michael Barry for Soigneur Journal As we neared the start area in the team bus, riders had started cutting holes in their jerseys and bib shorts. Outside the air-conditioned... Read more...
Building Bicycles
Building Bicycles
By Michael Barry for Soigneur Photography by Ian Patterson The rising sun breaks through the trees, as we thrash across the open fields. Beneath us, our bikes absorb the undulations... Read more...
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1982 Mariposa Child's Road Bicycle
Vintage Bicycle Feature: 1982 Mariposa Child's Road Bicycle
By Michael Barry A good steel frame can be used repeatedly, for decades. It can be ridden, crashed, fixed and adapted. In the shop, old bikes come in constantly that... Read more...
Vans
Vans
By Michael Barry The van revved with ferocity as we crested the rolling hills on the eastern side of Lake Superior. They weren’t hills so much as slopes but my... Read more...
A Life With Bicycles Book Launch Party Photo Gallery
A Life With Bicycles Book Launch Party Photo Gallery
Photography by Timothy Austen Thank you to everyone who attended “A Life With Bicycles” book launch party last week at Amsterdam Brewery. It was a wonderful tribute to Mike Barry... Read more...
Creemore Springs Turas Mor 2019
Creemore Springs Turas Mor 2019
By Dede Barry Photography by Jody Wilson Rain, dirt, mud, gravel, sun, quiet country roads, spring flowers, good food and camaraderie will make for a good bike ride with memorable... Read more...