The year is 1982 and friends Mark Hopkins and Bruce Hollingshead are discussing their respective jobs.

Bruce is working at a Home Hardware store and Mark is working at Collegiate Sports and both are looking for something else. Bruce mentions that people often bring items into the hardware store to get repaired. Occasionally people would ask whether the store repaired bicycles, which they didn’t. Mark’s father owned Hopkins Cycle & Sports and Mark had often worked with his father over the years repairing bicycles.

An idea was born

Over beers at The Nags Head North an idea was born and a business plan was formulated. It would be proposed that select hardware stores offer a bicycle repair service to its customers and be given a percentage of the repair cost. Bruce would pick up the bicycles, Mark would repair them and Bruce would return them to the stores.

To make the idea work the friends would need 4 things – a location to store and repair the bikes, somewhere they could purchase the bike parts, a vehicle to pick up the bikes and most importantly some hardware stores willing to agree to their proposal. Bruce’s parents, Dennis and Eleanor graciously agreed to allow their garage to be turned into a bicycle repair depot. Mark’s father, Ken agreed to provide the required parts and accessories.

In the fall of 1982 Bruce and Mark approached 15 hardware stores in the GTA and presented their idea. Over the winter they agreed on a company name and The Bicycle Man was born. The next spring savings were pooled and invested in the company’s first asset, a 1973 Dodge van. The first year in business The Bicycle Man had agreements with 8 hardware stores in the Toronto area.

Through the years….

The 80’s

  • 1982 The Bicycle Man is born.
  • 1983 Agreements with 8 hardware stores.
  • 1984 Agreements with 15 hardware stores.
  • Agreement with Hudson’s Bay Company to provide bicycle repair service and bicycle assembly in select stores.
  • The partnership is dissolved as Bruce pursues a career in computer consulting and programming.
  • Moved to a new location in Thornhill.
  • 1985 Bicycle assembly and repair for The Bay and Simpsons.
  • Began providing exercise equipment repair and assembly service for Simpsons.
  • Move to a new location in Thornhill.
  • 1986 Exercise equipment assembly and repair for The Bay and Simpsons.
  • 1989 The Bicycle Man becomes an incorporated company.

The 90’s

  • 1990 Bicycle and fitness equipment assembly / repair for The Bay, Simpsons and Eatons.
  • John Turanski is hired as Service Manager and Senior Technician.
  • 1991 Moved to a new location in Thornhill.
  • 1992 Bicycle and fitness equipment assembly / repair for Canadian Tire.
  • 1993 Bicycle assembly / repair at Costco and Price Club stores across Canada.
  • Bicycle and fitness equipment assembly / repair at 50+ stores in the GTA.
  • Donna Byers is hired to handle customer service and billing.
  • sportseffect inc. is formed and The Bicycle Man winds down as the company begins to focus exclusively on fitness equipment.
  • 1999 Moved to a new location in Richmond Hill.

The 2000’s

  • 2003 Roel Kanneigeter is hired as a senior technician.
  • 2010 Moved to a new location in Markham.
  • 2014 Craig Stephens is hired for service.
  • 2017 Daniel Shaffran is hired for service and administration.
  • 2018 Maxx Gibbons is hired as a technician.

Today

We provide fitness equipment repair, service, assembly and sales to –
Manufacturers’, Retailers, Condominiums, Hospitals, Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy Clinics
and most importantly Consumers in southern Ontario.