CCM Sterling?

This made-in-Canada Sterling brand is on Kijiji. The owner thinks Sterling was a CCM name. I'm not going to buy it, but I am curious. Does anyone know anything about it?

22 Comments

Yes, Sterling was a CCM owned brand. I've traced it back as far as 1932. The subject bicycle appears to be 1960s based on the two tone saddle, Endrick rims, etc.

Thanks for the reply T-Mar. The collector in me feels like I need to have at least one example from each of the different Canadian bike makers, so I'm glad it's a CCM because I don't have much more space in my garage! Why Sterling? Was it a regional nameplate or one for a hardware or department store chain?

I don't know the story the behind the Sterling name. All I know is that CCM owned the name so it's not a private label for a department or chain store, along the lines a Black Hawk, Garry Glider or Supercycle, However, it may have been a generic brand name that CCM used for bicycles sold in Mom & Pop type stores. This would have gotten around the protected territories of proper CCM dealers.

There was a Sterling in the 1890s in the USA. It's possible that this was one of the dozens of companies bought out by the American Bicycle Company, in which case CCM could have acquired the Canadian rights when it bought out National (the Canadian divison of ABC). This is how CCM acquired the Canadian rights to Columbia. Sterling certainly wasn't one of the seven major brands of National but it could have been a dormant brand that passed hands. Please note that I have no objective evidence to substantiate this and that it is only speculation.

 

ABC had nothing to do with the USA Sterling brand, nor did CCM

bicyclecollector  I'm curious as to how you arrived at that conclusion.

Records indicate that the Sterling Cycle Works became part of the American Bicycle Co. in 1899 which, as T-Mar points out, would have made it one of the brands to which CCM acquired the Canadian rights when it bought the National Cycle & Automobile Co. in 1903.   

John

The Cabe boy, do a little research on a real site!!!

I will, if only to correct whatever is there. That the Sterling Cycle Works was bought by the Pope Manufacturing Co. in 1899 and became part of the American Bicycle Co. is a historical fact. Any claim to the contrary is nonsense.

Mr or Mrs Bicycle Collector? ,right or wrong on this todays particular topic, you might want  to reconsider your evaluation of this very for Real site,which has served so many for so long, yourself included let alone being Canuck based ,respect comes to mind,John our faithful leader deserves much betterThanks JCCM friends of Mustang Sally.

Mr or Mrs Bicycle Collector? ,right or wrong on this todays particular topic, you might want  to reconsider your evaluation of this very for Real site,which has served so many for so long, yourself included let alone being Canuck based ,respect comes to mind,John our faithful leader deserves much betterThanks JCCM friends of Mustang Sally.

Not sure why my reply doubled up? Not that it matters, makes me laugh though reminds me of Kijiji when someone puts 4 adds in for their rusty cycle,YJNKnow,Regards

I second that Jamie

Thanks lads. bicyclecollector is actually Max whose name change does little to change his usual condescending tone. Not worth anyone getting upset over. 

John

Here's an October 09, 1899 announcement that the Sterling factory, among others, had been bought by ABC.

sterling_abca.jpg

Thanks for the post T-Mar. 

 

While doing some other research, I uncovered more objective evidence that Sterling was, in fact, an ABC brand. This ABC advertisement from a 1900 cycling periodical mentions Sterling as being one of their brands.

 

 

abc_ad_1900.jpg

Thanks T-Mar!

This is great reference material.

 

Mark

That bike frame and fork is 100 percent a CCM built bike.

This site is the only one I need and use.

Keep up the great work !

Some members may be  perplexed by seeing the Cleveland brand appearing in the above 1900 American Bicycle Co. advertisment, when they know that the Cleveland brand was included in the original formation of CCM, the previous autumn. The reasons for this make an interesting story, not covered in John's book.

When Pope and Spalding formed the American Bicycle Co. (hereafter referred to as ABC), one of the first companies they proposed to buy was that of H.A. Lozier, who manufactured the popular Cleveland bicycle in his Toledo and Toronto Junction factories. The original deal included the cash purchase of both factories. However, ABC's aggressive purchasing of numerous USA bicycle companies left them cash strapped and unable to honour the original agreement. A revised deal of cash and stock was offered. Most companies accepted the revised deal due to the industry recession but Edwin R. Thomas, the brother-in-law of H.A. Lozier and his managing partner in the Toronto Junction facility, opposed the new deal. Expressing an "interest" in the Toronto factory, Thomas persuaded Lozier to withdraw the Canadian operations from the deal with the ABC, who acquired only the Toledo factory and the USA rights to the Cleveland brand.

Being based in Canada, Thomas was aware of the Cox, Flavelle and Massey plan to form the Canadian amalgamation that would become Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd. (hereafter called CCM), in an attempt to thwart a possible move into Canada by ABC. Lozier was one of the two largest manufacturers in Canada at that time, along with Massey. It was a company that CCM would need to acquire, to solidy its position of dominance in Canada and CCM would  have been aware of ABC's attempt to buy the Canadian operations of Lozier. Thomas undoubtedly saw the potential for a large and quick profit, all in cash.

Thomas would sell Lozier's Canadian operations to CCM. How much he profited is unknown, though he did become director of the new company, while the Toronto Junction facility became the flagship of operations. Still, it must have been substantial, as he left the next year, to establish the E.R. Thomas Motor Co. in Buffalo, where he would manufacture the Thomas Flyer automobile. It appears that Thomas' need for cash to establish his own company, may have been the prime factor in the breakdown of the deal between Lozier and ABC. 

So, CCM did not acquire the Cleveland brand with the buyout of ABC's eventual Canadian subidiary, as they did with Columbia, Sterling and several other brands. It's interesting to think of what might have happened, if ABC had acquired the Canadian operations of Lozier, as originally intended. ABC would have had a substantial foothold in Canada, while CCM would have been substantially weaker. It could be argued that CCM and the nascent Canadian bicycle industry may have been saved by E.R. Thomas, an American. 

 

That is a brilliant piece of history  T-mar.  I hope other people appreciate your input to this site as much as I do.

Ron

Thank-you for the kind words, Ron. I was hoping that some members would find it interesting.

Well done T-Mar. Thoughtful and thorough, as always. It's true, as you point out, that CCM would have been much weaker without the inclusion of the Canadian operations of Lozier. Your specualtion about how that inclusion came about is both interesting and valuable. Thank-you. 

John

That was some solid information that I did not know.  Thank you T Mar